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THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. General Elliott, with equal courage and good conduct. THE rock of Gibraltar is, as its name imports, an The number of rounds of artillery from the allied immense mountain of stone, rising abruptly from batteries, was sometimes a thousand a day. The the sea, at the southern extremity of Spain, and of total on both sides amounted to half a million. The the European continent. It is separated into two loss of life was of course proportionate. All the distinct parts by a lofty ridge, which beginning ab- known arts of taking towns were exhausted, and ruptly at the northern extremity, rises still higher new inventions in the hateful art of destruction date until it has reached an elevation of 1400 feet, thence from the siege of Gibraltar. Among the number declining gradually, and terminating in Europa point, were ten floating towers of the Allies, which mounted the southern extremity of Europe. The eastern sec- 200 guns, and were so contrived as to be both ball tion, which looks upon the Mediterranean, is either and bomb proof, and had consequently nothing to perfectly perpendicular, or else so steep and craggy fear from any known art of annoyance. But they as to be altogether inaccessible. The western front, were not provided against possible inventions. In though interspersed with dangerous precipices, offers this emergency, the expedient was tried by the some gradual slopes, which have furnished sites to British, of heating shot in furnaces, and discharging the town. On this side are the only landing places. them red hot at these moving fortresses, which were This spot of ground which has been the cause of able to approach the walls, and place themselves in so much bloodshed and contention, is yet only three the most assailable positions. The expedient succeedmiles long, and but seven in circumference. It is ed; the shot penetrated and fired the wood, and at not quite insulated, being connected with the Anda- midnight those floating castles, which in the morning lusian coast by a narrow sandy neck of land, which had been the terror of the besieged, furnished huge rises but a few feet above the level of the sea. To funeral piles for the destruction of the besiegers. the west there is a deep bay, which forms the har- The situation of the brave but unfortunate Spaniards, bour of Gibraltar, an unsafe roadsted: the eastern shut up in these sea-girt towers, is enough to make coast is utterly inaccessible. This place, until the the heart bleed. Assailed by balls of fire from the invasion of the Saracens, was known by the name of fortress, by flames from within, surrounded by an Calpe. Its position in front of the opposite African adverse element, and their escape cut off by the mountain of Abyla, and at the opening of that vast British Flotilla, all that remained to them in their sea of unknown waters, which none ever penetrated, extremity was a choice of deaths. From that period or penetrated to return, awakened at an early period to the present, Gibraltar has continued in the possesthe attention of the ancients, who invented a fable sion of the English. which has connected its origin with the achievements of a deified hero of Antiquity. As the story goes, Hercules, in honour of a victory he had obtained over the Girons, caused immense stones to be thrown into the mouth of the Strait, until a great mountain arose on either side; and these were the famous "Pillars of Hercules."

Gibraltar was for a long time a strong-hold of the Moors: but subsequently returning into the possession of its proper owners, it continued for many centuries to form an appendage of the Spanish crown, and its fortifications were enlarged and strengthened by Charles the Fifth, until it was esteemed impregnable. While the Austrian and Bourbon competitors were struggling, in 1704, for the Spanish crown, the weakened garrison having only 150 men, to work 100 guns, became the prey of a third party. Admiral Rooke having been sent to Barcelona with troops had failed to effect the object. Dreading the reflections of a disappointed public at home, he called together a council, in which it was determined to attack Gibraltar. On the 21st. of July, the fleet arrived in the bay, and 1800 English and Dutch were landed on the beach. The fortress was summoned to surrender, and, on receiving a refusal, the batteries were opened, and the Spaniards were eventually driven from their guns, and forced to submit. The possession of this fortress, to recover which Spain has sacrificed tens of thousands of men, and millions of money, was purchased by the British with the trifling loss of sixty killed, and two hundred and twenty wounded. Several unsuccessful attempts were made from time to time, especially in 1726 and 1760, on the part of the Spaniards, to recover their lost possession: but all the efforts made to regain this important fortress become insignificant, when compared to the siege it sustained during the great war, set in motion by the struggle for American independence.

This famous siege lasted nearly four years. The Duke de Crillon commanded the Spaniards and their allies. The defence was conducted by the brave

The rock of Gibraltar would be considered a very singular production of nature, if it had not St. Michael's Cave: and if it possessed no other claim to attention, this alone would render it remarkable. This cave, like other similar ones to be seen at the rock, is supposed to be produced by the undermining and falling away of the loose earth and stones below. In process of time, the dripping of the moisture and its petrifaction cover the vault with stalactites, some of which depend lower and lower, until they reach the corresponding mass of petrifaction (commonly called stalagmite), which the dripping water has produced immediately below: these uniting, form a perfect column, while the space between two of them, assumes the figure of an arch. The entrance to St. Michael's Cave is very small, and, being overgrown with bushes and brambles, might easily escape the search of a stranger. On entering, however, it at once expands into a vast hall, from which passages branch out to other halls, deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth. The floor, like the vault above; is very irregular, and the stalactites of the roof above are much blackened by smoke from the torches of visiters. Upon penetrating a short distance, the cave assumes a beautiful and highly interesting appearance. The little light which streams in at the entrance, is yet sufficient to define with clearness the outline of caverns, columns, and arches, which intervene: and so closely has nature seemed in this instance to have imitated art, that in earlier times, the whole might have passed for the work and residence of a fairy.

The extreme singularity of the place has given rise to many superstitious stories, not only among the ancients, but also among the vulgar of our own day. As it has been penetrated by the hardy and enterprising, to a great distance (on one occasion by an American, who descended by ropes to a depth of 500 feet), a wild story is current, that the cave communicates, by a sub-marine passage, with Africa. The sailors who have visited the rock, and seen the monkeys, which are found in no other part of Europe,

and are only seen here occasionally and at intervais, | the Holy Katharine; out green cloaths, or those ensay that they pass at pleasure, by means of the cave, tirely red, or any other striped cloaths, or tending to to their native land: the truth, however, seems to be dissoluteness, shall not at all be used. And that the that they usually live among the inaccessible preci- brethren, clerks there assembled, shall have the pices of the eastern side of the rock, where there is a crowns of their heads shaved in a becoming manner. scanty store of monkey-grass for their subsistence: "None of the brethren or sisters shall stay out of but when an east wind sets in, it drives them from the said Hospital longer than the usual time of ringtheir caves and crannies, and they take refuge among ing the fire-bells belonging to the churches within the western rocks, where they may be seen from the City of London, for the covering up or putting below, hopping from bush to bush, boxing each out of the fires therein. And also that none of the other's ears, and cutting the most extraordinary brethren shall have any private interview or discourse antics. If disturbed, they scamper off with great with any of the sisters of the said house, or any of rapidity, the young ones jumping upon the backs, and the other women within the said Hospital, in any putting their arms round the necks of the old. As place that can possibly beget or cause any suspicion they are very harmless, strict orders have been issued or scandal to arise therefrom." from the garrison for their special protection.

While I was at the rock, two drunken soldiers, one day, undertook to violate these orders. The result was a most melancholy one. As they were rambling about the declivity, below the signal-tower, they happened to come upon the traces of a party of monkeys, and at once gave chase. The monkeys, cut off from their upward retreat, ran downwards; the soldiers followed, and the monkeys ran the faster. In this way they approached the perpendicular precipice which rises from the Alameda; one of the soldiers was able to check his course, and just saved himself: the foremost and most impetuous, unable | to stop himself, passed over the fearful steep, and fell a mangled and lifeless corpse upon the terrace below. The next morning the slow and measured tread of many feet beneath my window, the mournful sound of the muffled drums, and the shrill and piercing plaint of the fife, told me that they were bearing the dead soldier to his tomb.

4

[Abridged from A Year in Spain.]

F. E. P.

in pure and per

ST. KATHARINE'S HOSPITAL THE Hospital of St. Katharine*, near the Tower of London, was founded, in 1148, by Matilda, of Boulogne, wife of King Stephen, petual alms," to secure the repose of the souls of her children, Baldwin and Matilda; and for the maintenance of a master, brethren, sisters, and other poor people. Eleanor, wife of Henry the Third, having unjustly obtained possession of the Hospital, refounded it, after the decease of her husband, by her charter, in 1273, in honour of the same Saint, for a master, three brethren, chaplains, three sisters, ten beads women, and six poor scholars, reserving to herself the nomination of these upon all vacancies. The beadswomen were to receive their sustenance from the alms of the Hospital, and to lodge within it, for which they were required to pray for the foundress, her progenitors, and the faithful. The boys to be maintained, taught, and assist in the celebration of divine service.

Philippa, wife of Edward the Third, was a great benefactress to this Hospital, to which she appointed an additional chaplain, and granted a new charter and statutes, containing various regulations; among them are the following :

:

"The said brethren shall wear a strait coat or clothing, and over that a mantle of black colour, on which shall be placed a mark, signifying the sign of

St. Katharine was born at Alexandria, and bred up to letters. About the year 305, she was converted to Christianity, which she afterwards professed with great courage and constancy; openly rebuking the heathen for offering sacrifice to their idols, and upbraiding the cruelty of Maxentius the emperor to his face. She was condemned to death in a very unusual manner, namely, by olling a wheel stuck round with iron spikes, or the points of swords, over her body.-BISHOP MANT.

This Queen was likewise a liberal contributor to the rebuilding of the church, which was begun about the year 1340. Her husband founded here a chantry in her honour; and several of the succeeding monarchs were benefactors to the Hospital. Henry the Sixth granted to it a fair, to be held annually upon Tower Hill, for twenty-one days successively, which would no doubt draw together many merchants with their goods, who were declared to be under the King's protection.

The Hospital is supposed to have escaped suppression under Henry the Eighth, at the request of Queen Ann Boleyn. The revenues at that time were 3157. 18s. 2d.

In the reign of Philip and Mary, 1558, Calais being taken from the English, together with Guisnes and the Castle of Hames, many of the inhabitants, upon quitting these places, settled within the precincts of this hospital, in a place which thence acquired the name of Hames and Guisnes Lane, afterwards, by one of those corruptions which has deformed many a sightly object and respectable appellation, changed into Hangman's Gains.

It has been mentioned, that a fair was granted to this Hospital by Henry the Sixth, to be held annually upon Tower Hill; this privilege was lost through the rapacity of Dr. Wilson, who was appointed master by Queen Elizabeth, in the third year of her reign, being at that time her secretary of state and privy-councillor. He sold the fair to the Lord Mayor and Commonalty of London, for the sum of 700 marks (466l. 13s. 4d.), and surrendering the charter of King Henry the Sixth, took a new one from Queen Elizabeth, leaving out the liberty of the fair. The rules and orders for the Hospital, now in use, originated with Lord Chancellor Somers, who, in 1698, upon certain complaints against the then master, Sir James Butler, visited the Hospital, removed the master, and drew up rules, which have ever since been observed.

Such is a slight sketch of the history of this very interesting foundation, and, in some few instances, of the part in which it stood. It may not be unin teresting to add a short description of the buildings, which were often perhaps, in olden times, beheld with no small feeling of pride and inward satisfaction, happily, unchecked by a dread of that fate which no human prudence could have anticipated.

The Hospital contained within its precincts a church, cloisters, court-room, and chapter-room, houses for the master, brothers, sisters, and beadswomen, and a school-room. The church was a venerable Gothic building, which, at one time, was sufficiently distinguished to be a rival of the more celebrated and fortunate abbey at the west of the metropolis, and was called East Minster. The body of the church, consisting of a nave and two aisles, is supposed to have been built in the reign of King

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Edward the Third by Thomas de Beckington, Bishop of Bath and Wells, then master; the choir, nearly as long as the body of the church, and of the same height, but only half as wide, was the work of William de Erldesby, master, 1369. On each side of the entrance, within the west end of the choir, were four stalls, and within the two first divisions, on the north and south sides, were nine stalls. In the choir, likewise, were the magnificent monument and chantry of the Duke of Exeter, of which we shall speak hereafter, and some other very respectable memorials of persons of note. The view of the choir, with its open worked doors, its noble width, height, the lofty and delicate clusters of colums attached to its sides, its stalls, and other decorations, was truly impressive, even after it had been much disfigured by modern repairs. Under the seats of the stalls were curious carvings; at the corners of one of them were the heads of Edward the Third and his wife, Philippa, and, if we may judge from the representation of these great personages upon their monuments, were as accurate in resemblance as beautiful in work. Other carvings, according to the fashion of the times, were, of course, very fantastical, we may say, unbecoming the sanctity of the place.

Of the other buildings belonging to the Hospital it is needless to speak; all have now passed away,

and vanished from the sight. That which had escaped the rapacity of Henry the Eighth and his courtiers, and the puritanical frenzy of an after-age, has fallen before a mightier power; the whole has been swallowed up in the all-absorbing gulf of commercial speculation. As a phoenix, however, from the fire, so this has arisen from the water in greater beauty. As it was formerly a splendid monument of the munificence of monarchs, and the picty of the devout, and attracted, no doubt, the admiration of the wealthy merchant and holy pilgrim, so it is destined to be now a monument of reviving taste, and the best ornament of one of the most beautiful parts of this vast metropolis.

The plan for making new docks near the Tower, which had been defeated, after a severe struggle, in one session of Parliament, being at last successful, the whole of the buildings belonging to the Hospital were purchased, in order to be pulled down, and a new and very advantageous site was chosen in the Regent's Park. Here was erected a chapel, which, for chasteness and elegance, perhaps surpasses any thing which the present day can boast. Hither was conveyed much that had adorned the old church; six of the stalls, the organ, the pulpit, and monuments.

The chapel is without galleries, except at the west end, where is the organ, with seats on each side for

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the school-children and some other persons. About
half the seats in the body of the chapel are let to
families resident in the neighbourhood, the rest is
laid out in free sittings, scarcely distinguishable from
the former. The worship of God is here performed in
all the beauty of holiness; and he can have little of
true taste, and less of devotion, whose heart is not
at once humbled and lifted up, soothed and glad-
dened, by all that meets the outward sense. Many
a time has the writer of these lines, while indulging
more than perhaps was meet, but not more than the
very sanctity of the place might easily excuse, the
feeling which it is so well calculated to inspire, and
mounting his thoughts upon the wings of contem-
plation, seemed to himself, as it were,
"Carried
above the earth and earthly things;" and as that
noble organ gave forth its notes, to aid the solemn
services of the church, felt them

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"Dissolve him into ecstacies,

And bring all heaven before his eyes."

The organ, which is capable of filling a larger space than that in which it is now heard, was built by Green in 1778, and its tones are remarkably fine. "It contains three sets of keys, full compass, is five notes lower than St. Paul's, and has a whole octave in the swell more than usual."

The Pulpit, which was likewise brought from the old church, is an object of great curiosity; it is of the age of James the First, and was a benefaction of Sir Julius Cæsar, when he was master of this Hospital. Round the six sides is this inscription:

EZRA, THE SCRIBE-STOOD VPON APVLPIT OF WOOD-WHICH HE HADMADE FOR THE-PREACHIN: NEHE! CHAP. viii. 4. It is covered with the representation of "four views of the Hospital in its very antient state, and the two gates thereof," as Dr. Ducarel reports. Others have thought" that so large a scale of building as here represented, is rather descriptive of some out-works belonging to the Tower of London at that time, especially as the workmanship is so much embattled." The opinion of Dr. Ducarel, a well-known antiquary, and intimately connected with the Hospital, was, no doubt, supposed to be correct by those who had the charge of setting up the pulpit in its present site, and, by way of correspondence with it, they carved on the reading-desk a representation of the late Hospital. The names of the Queens of England, together with their coats of arms, are arranged in succession under the compartments of the windows, and those of the chancellors, as visiters of the Hospital, on the back of the seats appropriated to the master and brethren, and the front of the gallery.

On the north side of the altar is the noble monument in memory of John Holland, Duke of Exeter, who is there represented as reposing with two ladies, one of whom is his first wife, Anne, the other his sister, or his second wife, a point upon which antiquaries are not agreed. The monument is abundantly, and, in most respects, appropriately ornamented, and is a noble and most beautiful specimen of sepulchral architecture.

CARVINGS ON THE PULPIT OF ST. KATHARINE'S CHAPEL.

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THE PASSOVER,

AS CELEBRATED BY THE MODERN JEWS. AN account of the manner in which the modern Jews celebrate the PASSOVER, at all times interesting, is peculiarly appropriate at the present season of Easter. Our narration is taken from ALLEN's Modern Judaism, in which is to be found a very full history of the sentiments and observances of that extraordinary people. The Feast of the Passover begins on the fifteenth day of their month Nisan, and continues, with those Jews who live in or near Jerusalem, seven days; and with those in all other places, eight days.

The Sabbath immediately before the Passover is called the great Sabbath. On that day, the Rabbi, or teacher of each synagogue, delivers a lecture, in which he explains the rules to be observed on the approaching Festival. During the whole time, they During the whole time, they are required to abstain from leavened bread, (that is, bread with any thing put into the dough to make it ferment, or rise,) and to suffer no leaven to remain in their houses. On the thirteenth day of the month, in the evening, the most careful and minute search is made by the master of each family, through every part of his house, in order to clear it of leavened bread, and every other particle of leaven. All that can be found is collected together in a vessel, carefully preserved during the night, and, together with the vessel in which it is deposited, is solemnly burnt a little before noon the next day. No vessels are to be used at the Passover that have had any leaven in them; and, therefore, the kitchen-utensils used at other times are to be put away, and their places to be supplied by new vessels, or by some that are kept from one Passover to another, and never used but upon that occasion. For the same reason, the kitchen tables and chairs, shelves and cupboards, undergo a thorough purification, first with hot water, and then with cold.

After the burning of the leaven, they make unleavened cakes, as many as will be wanted during the Festival, to be in the place of all common bread. Amongst other rules for preparing the grain for these cakes, the meal is to be boulted, that is, in the presence of a Jew, and the dough is not to be left a moment without working or kneading, lest any the least fermentation should take place. The cakes are commonly round, thin, and full of little holes, and, in general, they consist of flour and water only; but the more wealthy and dainty Jews enrich them with eggs and sugar: cakes of this latter kind, however, are not allowed to be eaten on the first day of the Festival. They are also forbidden to drink any liquor made from grain, or that has passed through the process of fermentation. During this season, therefore, their drink is either pure water, or a homemade raisin wine.

radish. These are their "bitter herbs." Near the salad is placed a cruet of vinegar, and some salt and water. They have also a dish made to represent the bricks which their forefathers had to make in Egypt. This is a thick paste, composed of apples, almonds, nuts, and figs, dressed in wine, and seasoned with cinnamon. Every Jew who can afford wine also, provides some for this great occasion.

The ceremony then proceeds in this way. The family being seated, the master of the house pronounces a grace or blessing over the table in general, and over the wine in particular; then, leaning on his left arm, in a somewhat stately manner, so as to show the liberty which the Israelites regained when they came out of Egypt, he drinks a portion of wine; in this also he is followed by the rest of the family or party assembled. Then they dip some of the herbs in vinegar and eat them, whilst the master repeats another blessing. He next unfolds the napkins, and taking the middle cake, breaks it in two, replaces one of the pieces between the two whole cakes, and conceals the other piece under his plate, or under the cushion on which he leans. And for what reason is this? In allusion, as they say, to the circumstance mentioned by Moses, (Exod. xii.34,) that the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes. He then removes the lamb and the egg from the table, and next the plate, containing the cakes, being lifted up by the hands of the whole company, they join in saying, "This is the bread of poverty and affliction, which our fathers did eat in Egypt; whosoever hungers let him come and eat; whosoever needs, let him come and eat of the paschal lamb. This year we are here, the next, God willing, we shall be in the land of Canaan. This year we are servants, the next, if God will, we shall be free children of the family and lords." The lamb and the egg are then again placed on the table, and another portion of wine is taken the plate containing the cakes is removed, to lead the children of the family to inquire into the meaning of this festival: if no children are present, some person of riper years puts the question, according to a regular form. This is answered, by an account being given of the captivity, bondage, and slavery of the people of Israel in Egypt, their deliverance by the hand of Moses, and of the institution of the Passover on that occasion. (See Exod. xii.) This history is followed by some psalms and hymns being sung, after which the cakes are again placed on the table, and pieces of them are distributed amongst those present, who, instead of the paschal lamb, the offering of which is now altogether discontinued, eat this unleavened bread, with some of the bitter herbs and part of the paste made in memory of the bricks. The reason they give for not eating the paschal lamb is that this cannot be lawfully done out of the land of Canaan, or Holy Land, all other countries being unholy and polluted.

On the fourteenth day of the month, the first-born. son of each family is required to fast, in remembrance of the first-born of the Israelites being delivered, when the Lord smote all the first-born of the Egyptians. In the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, the men assemble in the synagogue, to enter upon the Festival with prayers and other appointed observances, during which the women are occupied at home in preparing the tables against their return; and all the most costly furniture which each can procure is then made use of. The table is covered with a clean linen cloth, on which are placed several plates and dishes: on one is laid the shankbone of a shoulder of lamb or kid, but generally lamb, and an egg: on another, three cakes, carefully This same course of discourses is repeated on the wrapped in two napkins: on a third, some lettuce, second night; and the modern Jews profess to conchervil, parsley, and celery, wild succory, or horse-sider that all this will be as acceptable in the pre

After the unleavened bread has been eaten, then follows a plentiful supper. Then some more pieces of the cakes are taken, and two more portions of wine. Each is required to drink, on this occasion, four portions; and every cup of wine, the rabbies or teachers say, is in memory of some special blessing vouchsafed to their forefathers. The fourth, and last cup, is accompanied with some prayers, borrowed from Scripture, calling down the divine vengeance on the heathens, and on all the enemies of Israel.

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