Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

A young farmer, who had begun well on a good estate that had descended to him from his ancestors, found, to his vexation, at the end of the first year, that he was poorer than when he started. His stock was less, and his purse not heavier. We do not approve of idle fortune-tellers, but it happened that a Gipsy being in the neighbourhood, our friend told her his sad tale; gave her a crown for advice as to "how he might become better off by the end of the next year," and promised to make the crown a pound, if by that time he should have met with fair success. The bargain having been struck, "Take" said the wise woman, "this little cup, and drink from it every morning of the water which you must get at such and such a spring. But remember! you must draw it yourself regularly at five o'clock, or the charm will be broken." Accordingly, the very first morning after this, as he proceeded across his fields, (for the spring was at the further end of the estate,) he spied a neighbour's cows, which had broken through the fence, and were feeding on his pasture; of course he instantly turned them out, and had the hedge mended. But the labourers were not at hand; they came loitering in after their proper time, and were startled at seeing "Master" so early: "Oh" said he, "I see how this is; it comes of my not getting up in time." In a few mornings all went on as regularly as clock-work: his early rising became a pleasant habit: his walk and cup of water gave him an appetite for his breakfast: the people about his farm were all the better and happier for their leader's punctuality; and when, at the close of the year, he saw and rewarded his nut-brown adviser, it was allowed that her plan, like many an admirable invention, was as simple as it was efficacious.

45. Make the BEST of a bad bargain.

Thus, even disappointments may be turned to good account. We should try to keep our spirits from sinking

66

under misfortunes, and use our best endeavours to lessen
or remove the trouble: if this cannot be done, it is our
duty to bear it with patience, which will in time make it
more tolerable. "How do you know" said some one, but
it was a good thing for me that I broke my leg?" What
can't be cured must be endured, is the plain language of
our English adage: and it is astonishing to see how griefs
are lightened by the influence of a resigned, contented, and
Christian spirit. When, in any bodily ailment, human'skill
has done its utmost without a favourable effect, the sufferer
may call to mind a cheerful proverb quoted by Ray,
The best physicians are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr.
Merryman; as well as the soothing counsel offered by
Dr. Bland.

Of all the sorrows that attend mankind,
With patience bear the lot to thee assigned;
Nor think it chance, nor murmur at the load;
For know, what man calls fortune is from GOD.

M.

ALL the ideas that man can form of the ways of Providence, of the employment of angels and spirits, must ever fall short of the reality; but still it is right to think of them. What can have a more exalting influence on the earthly life than in these first days of our existence, to make ourselves conversant with the lives of the blessed, with the happy spirits whose society we shall hereafter enjoy? We should accustom ourselves to consider the spirits of Heaven always around us, observing all our steps, and witnessing

our most secret actions. Whoever is become familiar with

these ideas, will find the most solitary place peopled with the best society.-KLOPSTOCK.

THE caterpillar, on being converted into an inert scaly mass, does not appear to be fitting itself for an inhabitant of the air, and can have no consciousness of the brilliancy of its future being. We are masters of the earth, but perhaps we are the slaves of some great and unknown beings. The fly that we crush with our finger, or feed with our viands, has no knowledge of man, and no consciousness of his superiority. We suppose that we are acquainted with matter and all its elements, yet we cannot even guess at the cause of electricity, or explain the laws of the formation of the stones that fall from meteors. There may be beings, thinking beings, nearer surrounding us, which we do not perceive, which we cannot imagine. We know very little, but in my opinion, we know enough to hope for the immortality, the individual immortality of the better part of man.- -SIR HUMPHRY Davy.

WATCH MAKING. THE origin of watch-making in Switzerland, as related by Mr. Osterwald, ancient banneret of Neuchatel, is extremely curious; and the truth of his account was confirmed to me by several artists, both of Locle and La Chaux de Fond.

In 1679, one of the inhabitants brought with him from London, a watch, the first that had been seen in these parts; which, happening to be out of order, he ventured to trust in the hands of one Daniel John Richard, of La Sagne. Richard, after examining the mechanism with great attention, conceived himself capable, and was determined to attempt to make a watch from the model before him; but to this end, he was destitute of every other assistance than the powers of his own native genius. Accordingly, he employed a whole year in inventing, and in finishing the several instruments previously necessary for executing his purpose; and in six months from that period, by the sole force of his own penetrating and persevering talents, he produced a complete watch.

besides applying himself successfully to the invention His ambition and industry did not stop here: of several new instruments for the perfection of his work, he took a journey to Geneva, where he gained considerable information in the art. He continued, for some time, the only man in these parts who could make a watch; but business increasing, he took in and instructed several associates, by whose assistance he was enabled to supply, from his single shop, all the demands of his neighbouring country. Towards the beginning of the eighteenth century, he removed to Locle, where he died in 1741, leaving five sons, who all of them followed their father's occupation. From these, the knowledge and practice of the art gradually spread itself, till, at length, it became almost the universal business of the inhabitants, and the principal cause of the populousness of these mountains.

[COXE's Letters from Switzerland.]

NATURE, as well as Christianity, teaches us, that we are not born only for ourselves; and, therefore, as we ought to converse with the best men to acquire virtue and know ledge, so we must sometimes converse with others, that we may impart them: and though we do not find that our conversation does immediately, and visibly reform those we converse with, yet it will not follow, that it is altogether ineffectual on them: for besides that the seeds of virtue and knowledge, as well as those of plants, may long seem to lie dead, even in those soils wherein they will afterthough not a conspicuous effect of your discourse and wards flourish and fructify, there may be at present a good, example.-BOYLE.

A CRIPPLE in the way out-travels a footman or a post out of the way.-BEN JONSON.

"BE in reality what you would appear to be."-If you observe, you will find that all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves, by the practice and experience of them. Take my advice, then, and labour to acquire them.

NOTHING.

MYSTERIOUS Nothing! How shall I define
Thy shapeless, baseless, placeless emptiness?
Nor form, nor colour, sound nor size are thine,
Nor words, nor figures, can thy void express.
But though we cannot thee to ought compare,
To thee a thousand things may likened be;
And though thou art nobody, and no where,
Yet half mankind devote themselves to thee.
How many books thy history contain !

How many heads thy mighty plans pursue!
What labouring hands thy portion only gain!
What busy men thy only doings do!
To thee, the great, the proud, the giddy bend,
And like my sonnet all in Nothing end.-PORSON.

CROYDON PALACE. OUR engraving of the interior of the Hall, or principal apartment of this ancient and interesting structure, speaks far more forcibly of the desolation which has fallen on its fortunes, than a page of verbal description. Once honoured with the oft-repeated presence of royalty; the resort of the high-born and the far-descended; the scene of olden hospitality; it is now appropriated to the purposes of an outhouse! We could moralize for an hour on such a subject, but let us turn to its changeful history.

The Manor of Croydon appears to have been attached to the archbishopric of Canterbury at a very early period. The Palace, or Manor-House, was long the occasional abode of the archbishops, particularly during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who seems to have delighted to visit this place. The queen held a council here on the 30th of April, 1567; during which year she twice visited Archbishop Parker, who then held the see, and was eminently distinguished for his virtues and his learning. In July, 1573, the queen and her whole court remained here seven days; passing the time with "jousts" and rejoicings.

were constructed entirely of brick) seem to possess the greatest antiquity. The foundation of the Guardchamber has been ascribed to Archbishop Arundel; the date of the chapel is quite unknown, but we find that it was greatly embellished and repaired by Archbishops Laud and Juxon, who, with many of their successors, expended large sums of money on the edifice. The hall, of whose fallen condition we have already spoken, was built by Archbishop Stafford; and here it may not be uninteresting to say a few words on this distinctive feature of old English residences.

We may premise that the architects of the old time seem to have had the principal feature of monastic establishments in view, in forming their designs for lay residences. The hall, which we need scarcely remind our readers, has given its name to many of our ancient mansions, was, in fact, the Refectory, or dining-apartment, which in the hospitable times of our ancestors, when the head of the family, and all his retainers and dependants dined together, was necessarily constructed of large proportions. The hall, with few exceptions, consisted of a lofty and After the accession of Archbishop Whitgift to the undivided room, in form a parallelogram. At the see, he was frequently honoured with visits from his upper end, the floor was raised a step, which was sovereign, the last of which that we can find recorded called the dais, or high place, designed for the recepwas in 1600. When James the First, king of Scot- tion of the master of the house and his chief guests, land, was a prisoner in England, he was placed at who sat at a table placed parallel to the wall. At this Palace, under the custody of Archbishop Arundel. the opposite extremity of the apartment was It is singular, however, that although many interest-elegantly enriched screen or partition of wood, behind ing events must have taken place at Croydon, so little of its history remains to us; especially as almost all the archbishops, since we have any records of the see, have dated some of their public acts here.

In the olden time, one hundred and seventy acres of "emparked ground" were attached to the Palace, and persons of note seem occasionally to have held the office of its keepers, amongst whom was the famous Sir William Walworth, in the reign of Richard the Second. It is probable that the grounds were thrown open and disparked during the disastrous times of the Commonwealth, when the whole of the property was seized by the Parliament. A lease was first granted by these spoliators to the Earl of Burlington, who did not hold it long; as shortly after we find it in the hands of Sir William Brereton: "A notable man," says an old writer, " at a thanksgiving dinner, having terrible long teeth, and a prodigious stomach, to turn the archbishop's palace into a kitchen, and to swallow up that palace and lands at a morsel." Archbishop Juxon, therefore, found it in a very dilapidated state at the Restoration; but although a considerable sum was subsequently expended upon it, the Palace seems, after this period, never to have been a favourite residence; and, about the middle of the last century, was wholly abandoned.

In 1780, an Act of Parliament was at last obtained for disposing of the structure, and fourteen acres of land attached to it—but a poor representative of the ancient demesne. The property was then purchased by Sir Abraham Pitches, for 25201., which was invested in the funds, in aid of the erection of a new palace for the archbishops of Canterbury. The premises were subsequently used for the purposes of a calico-printing establishment and bleaching-ground; and the chapel was converted into a School of Industry.

Croydon Palace has evidently been built at different periods. The precise date of the erection of the present structure has not been handed down; but it appears to have replaced the original palace, a wooden edifice, about the middle of the fourteenth century. The east and west sides of the principal court (which

an

which was a passage extending from side to side of the building, and the doors leading to the "kitchener's" department, buttery, &c. The wooden roof was the most striking part of the hall; from the richness of its carving, and boldness of its design. One of the finest examples yet remaining is at Hampton-court Palace, and that at Eltham is highly interesting.

The hearth, instead of being placed at the side, was in the middle of the room; the fagots (for wood was then the universal fuel,) were placed against a sort of fire-iron called the rere-dosse; the smoke escaping through the louver, a light open-work turret in the roof, which, as may be seen by the beautiful example at Westminster Hall, generally formed a highly ornamental feature in the exterior of the edifice, to which it gave a distinctive character. The windows were placed at a considerable height from the floor, on one or both sides of the room, of which the hall at Croydon affords an illustration.

Early in the sixteenth century, the alteration of manners gradually led to the withdrawal of the family from the hall, and to the introduction of the dining-parlour or banquetting-room. We may remark, that the halls at our Universities, especially at dinner, furnish an excellent idea of the style, and in a certain degree, of the customs of the times of our ancestors. The following passage from the Aubrey MSS. describes the ancient hall.

"The lords of manours did eate in their great gothicque halls, at the high table or oreile, the folk at the side tables. The meat was served up by watchwords. Jacks are but an invention of the other daye; the poor boys did turn the spits and lick the dripping-pan, and grew to be great lusty knaves. The body of the servants were in the great hall, as now in the guard-chamber, privy-chamber, &c. The hearth was commonly in the midst, as at colleges, whence the saying, 'round about our coal fire.' Here, in the halls, were the mummings, cob-loaf stealing, and great number of old Christmas playes performed. In great houses, were lords of misrule during the twelve dayes after Christmas.

[graphic][subsumed][merged small]

The halls of justices of peace were dreadful to behold. | the seats are free. The sum of 3500l. was granted The screenes were garnished with corslets and helmets by the commissioners for building churches and gaping with open mouth, with coates of mail, lances, chapels, in aid of this most desirable object. pikes, halberts, brown-bills, battle-axes, and the modern callevers, petronells, and (in King Charles's time) muskets and pistolls."

The parish of Croydon is one of the most extensive in the kingdom, being thirty-six miles in circumference, and comprising within its limits more than 10,000 acres and eight hamlets. There is nothing very remarkable in the history of Croydon, which is a considerable market-town, pleasantly situated in "sylvan Surrey," about ten miles to the south of London. The most memorable event in its annals, is a battle which took place there during the disputes between Henry the Third and his barons, when the forces of the latter were defeated with great loss.

The ancient church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is worthy of the notice of the lover of hoar antiquity. The structure is distinguished by a lofty square tower, built with stone and flint, and adorned with pinnacles. The nave is separated from the north and south aisles by clustered columns, and pointed arches of elegant proportion, between which are several grotesque ornaments and rude heads. Some remarkable monuments are to be found here. The eastern end of the north aisle is called Heron's Chapel. On either side of the north and west doors are the arms of Archbishops Courtney and Chichele, who are supposed to be the founders of the edifice. In consequence of the increasing population of the parish, a new church, in the early pointed style of architecture, was built in 1827, from a design by Mr. Wallace. This beautiful structure is calculated to accommodate twelve hundred persons; two-thirds of

At the latter end of the sixteenth century, an hospital was founded here by Archbishop Whitgift, at a cost of 27001., and endowed with lands of the annual value of 1857., for the support of a warden, schoolmaster, and forty poor brethren and sisters, if the income proved sufficient to support so large a number. The lands have since greatly improved in value.

EARLY INHABITANTS OF BRITAIN,-In times past, men were contented to dwell in houses builded of sallow, willow, &c., so that the use of the oak was in a manner wholly dedicated unto churches, religious houses, princes' palaces, navigation, &c.; but now sallow &c., are rejected, and nothing but oak any where regarded: and yet see the change: for when our houses were builded of willow, then had we oaken men: but now our houses are come to be made of oak, our men are not only become willow, but a great many altogether of straw, which is a sore alteration. In them the courage of the owner was a sufficient defence to keep the house in safety: but now the assurance of the timber must defend the men from robbing. Now have we many chimneys; and yet our tender lines complain of rheums, catarrhs, and poses, then had we none but reredosses, and our heads did never ache. For as hardening for the timber of the house, so it was reputed a far better medicine to keep the good man and his family from the quack or pose, wherewith, as then, very few were acquainted.

-HOLLINGSHED.

LONDON:

JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND. PUBLISHED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE ONE PENNY, AND IN MONTHLY PARTS, PRICE SIXPENCE, AND

Sold by all Booksellers and Newsvenders in the Kingdom,

[graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][subsumed][merged small][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small]

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

[merged small][merged small][graphic][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][subsumed]

THE County of Caernarvon is, in almost every | living chiefly upon the produce of their dairies. "The respect, the most interesting district in Wales. For centuries the scene of one of the noblest struggles for national independence which has ever been recorded-its history abounds with stirring recollections. The magnificent mountain-range of "Snowdonia," (so called from its central and highest elevation, Snowdon,) which covers so large a portion of its surface, is picturesque in the highest sense of the term. Druidical and other remains of antiquity, of a very remarkable character, are frequently to be met with; and its people still preserve, through the lapse of ages, the language, and many of the distinguishing features, of the early inhabitants of these isles.

Caernarvonshire, surrounded as it is by the sea on all sides, except on the east and a portion of the south, is extremely irregular in its outline. Its aspect, as we have stated, is generally wild and mountainous, the hills rising abruptly from the skirts of narrow valleys into stupendous elevations, which intersect each other, and afford, by their combinations, an endless variety of romantic scenery. Cattle and sheep are fed in considerable numbers on these mountains; they are generally tended by their owners, who, for the season, dwell in temporary huts, VOL. V.

bread of the peasantry," says a recent writer," in Welch called bara ceirch, is of oats, and their principal beverages whey and buttermilk, with a few bottles of curw, or ale, preserved as a cordial in cases of illness. One daily meal throughout the year consists of a very wholesome vegetable mucilage, called llymru, (in English flummery,) which is made by adding as much warm water to finely ground oatmeal as it can well absorb, to which some sour butter-milk is added; in three or four days' time more warm water is put in, to make it thin enough to be strained through a hair-sieve; it is then boiled, after which it is ready for use. The slight fermentation which it undergoes gives it a pleasant acidity, which contrasts well with the sweetness of the milk with which it is generally eaten." Crime is almost unknown amongst these rude, but sober and industrious people. Following, from age to age, and from father to son, their peaceful occupations, amongst mountain-passes and sequestered hollows, intellectual pursuits have necessarily hitherto made, comparatively, but little progress amongst them; the recent introduction of popular literature, in Welch, however, bids fair to effect a wide change in the rising generation, and to drive away from the land the race of fanciful

137

beings, with which superstition has peopled almost every hill; and glen, and lake, and waterfall, and

river.

the river Seiont, whilst the two other sides were environed partly by a fosse and partly by a creek from the adjacent strait. Its external fortifications are still nearly perfect, and display an example of decorated castellated architecture, which is perhaps unrivalled; it is indeed this combination of strength with ornament, which gives so remarkable an effect to Caernarvon Castle. Above the embattled parapets of the walls, rise numerous turreted towers of singular beauty, not uniform, but pentagonal, hexagonal, and octagonal in their shape. Of these, some idea may be formed from the turrets seen on the summit of the EAGLE TOWER in the centre of our engraving.

More than fifty llyns (lakes), are to be found in this country, which generally abound with char and other fish, peculiar to alpine waters. The lyns of Llanberris, Ogwen, Idwal, and Cawellyn, are amongst the most beautiful of these lakes, though of comparatively small extent. Westward of the mountain-range is a considerable expanse of level country, stretching to the bold shore of the Menai Strait, which abounds with large rounded fragments of rock, of the same conformation as those of the hill-country; the memorials of some vast convulsion of nature in other days. The geological features of the country are, indeed, of extreme interest. Mines of lead and copper are worked in several parts, and slates are exported to a considerable extent. The climate, although moist and variable, is considered very fa-sented with a sword half-drawn from its scabbard vourable to longevity; this, however, may be partly owing to the temperate habits of the people.

The Romans, during their sojourn in Britain, founded an extensive military station on the shores of the Menai, called Segontium; in the immediate neighbourhood of which there is good ground for concluding, that the native princes of the district first commenced the building of Caernarvon.

Constantine, who married Helena, a daughter of one of the princes of North Wales, is supposed, from some remains which have been found here, to have resided for a short time at this station;-in Welsh it is called Caer Custenit, the City of Constantine.

The town of Caernarvon, which has been designated "the boast of North Wales," is beautifully situated at the mouth of the river Seiont, on the south-eastern side of the strait of Menai, about four miles from St. George's Channel. It is chiefly surrounded by the massive and lofty remains of its ancient walls, which are flanked and strengthened by mumerous semicircular towers. Of late years, Caernarvon, from the salubrity of its site, and the eminent beauty of the adjacent district, has not only ranked high as a "watering-place," but has become the permanent residence of many respectable families. A new town, as it were, has in consequence arisen beyond the ancient precincts. It possesses a very considerable coasting trade, to facilitate which, great improvements have been recently made in the harbour. But the glory of the place is its Castle; a fortress, which it has been well observed, from whatever point or whatever distance it is viewed, assumes a romantic singularity of appearance, that excites mingled feelings of awe and pleasure in the beholder.

A fortification seems to have been erected here shortly after the Norman Conquest of England, by Hugh Earl of Chester, who had, after an arduous conflict, succeeded in temporarily dethroning the Welsh monarch, and in nominally possessing himself of the greater part of North Wales. The present structure, however, was built by Edward the First, after the completion of his conquest of North Wales, in 1282. The care bestowed in the plan and construction of this magnificent fortress*, sufficiently indicates the important light in which Edward regarded his acquisition, and the difficulty which he foresaw would arise in keeping it, from the restless and undaunted character of the Welsh people.

The castle occupies the summit of an extensive rock, boldly projecting into the Menai Strait. On one side it was surrounded by the sea, on another by

This monarch also constructed the castles of Conway and Harlech, little inferior in extent and splendour to that at Caernarvon.

The walls of the castle are of great height, and generally about ten feet thick, having, within, a narrow gallery, with occasional loop-holes for the discharge of arrows in time of siege. In front of the principal entrance tower is a statue of Edward, who is repre

in his hand. This massive gateway is defended by four portcullises. The interior of the castle is in a state of considerable dilapidation, but it is magnificent in its ruin. The state apartments have been extremely extensive, and were lighted by spacious windows profusely adorned with tracery, much of which remains. A corridor, or covered way, ran completely round the entire structure, of which about seventy yards are nearly perfect.

We cannot even glance at the changeful history of this stupendous relic of the olden time. It was last used for the purposes of defence during the Civil War, when it was repeatedly taken and retaken by the Royalists and Republicans,

The Eagle Tower, (so called from a figure of that bird sculptured on its walls,) to which we have previously alluded, is, perhaps, the most interesting part of the fabric. "Within a little dark room of this tower," says Mr. Pennant, "not twelve feet long, nor eight in breadth, was born Edward the Second; so little, in those days, did a royal consort consult either pomp or conveniency." This assumption has, however, reasonably been doubted; and the scene of the royal accouchement has, with greater probability, been fixed in a spacious adjoining chamber on the same floor. Leaving this point to be contested by future antiquaries, we shall glance at some remarkable circumstances connected with the event. "Edward," says the historian, "had, by what are termed the statutes of Rhuddlan, annexed the principality to the kingdom of England, and in a great degree incorporated it, as to the administration of civil justice, with that country" But the Welsh became impatient under this usurped dominion, and the principal chieftains, who mostly remained in their inaccessible mountain-fastnesses, at last acquainted the English monarch, that they would never acknowledge him as their sovereign, unless he would reside in Wales. This being a proposition which it was impossible to comply with, the Welsh ultimately modified their requisitions, and after setting forth the cruel oppressions and unjust exactions of the English officers, stated, in a strong remonstrative memorial, that they never would acknowledge or yield obedience to any prince, but of their own nation and language, and of an unblamable life. "King Edward," continues the historian, "perceiving the people to be resolute and inflexible, and absolutely bent against any other prince than one of their own country, happily thought of this politic, though dangerous expedient. Queen Eleanor was then daily expecting to be confined; and though the season was very severe, it being the depth of winter, the king sent for her from England, and removed her to

« AnteriorContinuar »