Printed for D. HENRY by JOHN NICHOLS, Red Lion Paffage, Fleet-ftreet; where all Letters to the Editor are defired to be addressed. POST-PAID. 45 29,9 fair 4542 ,64 rain W. CARY, Mathematical Inftrument-Maker, oppofite Arundel-Street, Strand. Days 2 S moderate. Barom. Therm State of Weather in September 1791. blue sky, clear fine day Ja few fpecks of blue, great fhower at noon overcaft, rain from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. starlight clouded, fmart showers W calm 55 58 grey, no fun all day, rain at night W calm 45 60 clear fky, begins to rain at 4 P.M. S moderate 58 61 white veil, clear fine day 8 W 80 60 SE و 78 62 clear fky, no fun, fun breaks out, ftarlight, brigat lowring, clears up, pleasant clouded fky, very hot day clear expanfe, hot thin white veil, rich harvest weather thick fog, clears up, fog in the low lands grey morning, clear fine day clouded towards the South, fine day clouded, black day fun, blue fky, very fine day overcaft, flight showers [morn 58 68 53 21 NW gentle 68 56 22 SW gentle 23 NW calm 90 58 flight thowers, fine day fhowery all day 24 W calm 70 56 cloudy dull day 25 E moderate 76 57 grey, tine day 86 26 E moderate 55 clear tky, pleafant 98 27 E moderate 56 98 28 NE moderate 55 clear fky, fine day white and blue fky, black clouds 98 29 NE moderate 56 grey, no fun the whole day 98 30 SE gentle 56 grey, gleams of fun clear iky, not much fun, no ftare 6. Very red sky funfet.-7. Great dew.-11. Thermometer 108 out of doors betwixt one and two. Grafs fprings amazingly. A few leaves begin to fall. The autumnal tints are apparent upon the foliage of the foreft-trees and the walls of buildings. Nectarines and peaches have been gathered fome time; the fruit but indifferent. Nuts very scarce. Filberts s. 6d. per pound.-17 Moft of the wheat got in in high condition. Crops good, and the grain remarkably well fed and productive. Barley but flight; oats tolerable. - 13. Red after funfet; a mift ariies. 14. Great Dews. We's upon the hedges. White frotts in a morning. Not a cloud has appeared upon the sky from the rath to the 15th.—16. Apples few, Gentleman's Magazine: 1791. For OCTOBER, BEING THE FOURTH NUMBER OF VOL. LXI. M Mr. URBAN, Wefminfer, Oct. 13. XXX R. LODGE, in the third volume of his late valuable and interefting pub. lication 9 pp. 178, 179, has made fome strictures **X*# on the article of the Lathe "Biographia Britannica," and has dy Arabella Stuart, in blamed the authors for faying, that "fhe was far from being either beautiful in her person, or from being diftinguished by any extraordinary qualities of mind." The juftice of Mr. Lodge's objections to thefe affertions I freely acknowledge; but must beg leave to obferve, that his cenfure is delivered in too hafty and indifcriminate a manner. His charge properly relates only to the old articles; and, if he had adverted to the addition which is made to that article in the fecond impreffion of the "Biographia," he would have found that I have given a very different account of the Lady Arabella, both with regard to her understanding and perfon. This too, I did, without having thofe advan. tages Mr. Lodge has enjoyed by the poffeflion of the Talbot papers. Will you indulge me, Mr. Urban, in tranfcribing what I have faid on the fubjett? "Mr. Ballard hath given a place to the Lady Arabella, in his Memoirs of British Ladies, who have been celebrated for their Writings or Skill in the learned Languages, Arts, and Sciences.' His realons for fo doing are, that Mr. Evelyn, in hi, 'Num:fmata,' hath put her in his lift of learned women; and Mr. Philips, in his Theatrum Poetarum,' has introduced her among his modern poetelles. Though no works of this lady have appeared, which can ferve to fhew on what foundation her literary reputation is built, yet it is not probable that Mr. Evelyn and Mr. Philips fhould, without cause, have PART II. affigned her the rank they have done. Three lard, from a MS volume in Mr. Ashmole's letters of hers are transcribed, by Mr. Balftudy, which prove her to have been a woman of a good understanding. We shall add, from the fame author, a fhort copy of Latin verfes, addreffed to the Lady Arabella, by the noted epigrammatift Mr. John Owen, together with a tranflation of them by Mr. Thomas Harvey. Si foret in nudis virtus aut gloria verbis, "We learn from Mr. Granger, that the print of her, which is very rare, is thus infcribed, The picture of the moit noble and learned Lady Arabella Stewart.' ftanding than is mentioned in the text, fo it "As there are thefe teftimonies to the fhould feem, from Mr. Oldys's Manufcripts, Lady Arabellas having had a better undergreater fhare of beauty than is above reprethat he had, at leaft when young, a far fented. From a picture of her, which was drawn at full length in white in 1589, when fhe was thirteen years and a half old, it appears that the was, at that time, very beautiful in her perfon. Her complexion was fair as alabafter: fhe had fweet large grey eyes, waift, and finely curled at top. Mr. Oldys fays, that the was born in 1575.” and long flaxen hair, flowing almost to her Yours, &c. AND. KIPPIS. Mr. URBAN, I Q8. 11. GREATLY admire the prefent refpectable Bishop of Durham's Speech to his Chapter, which you have given lar, the polite nobleman, and, what is in p. 695. It befpeaks the elegant Icho. above all, the ferious Chriftian prelate. Friendly as I am to our prefent ex few, but very fine. Wafps, which have been numerous, after making depredations upon cellent cellent Church-eftablishment, I greatly respect many of the Dillenters and their writings, fuch as Dr. Doddridge and Mr. Orton, who are both dead, and whofe letters and correfpondence I would ftrongly recommend to the publick. And I should have thought more favourably of Dr. Price if he had died in those tenets which he profeffed in his fermon of 1759; extracts from which are to be had at Meff. Rivingtons. Mr. John Clayton's Addrefs and Sermon of the prefent day do him much credit; and, if the fame rational, moderate, and candid fpirit, had influenced the reft of his brethren, we fhould neither have heard of Birmingham riots, nor of French Revolution-feafts in England. The widow of that excellent man, Dr. Doddridge, died within these two years. It is to be hoped that the Editor of his Correspondence, in the next edition, will infert the admirable and pious letter which he wrote to her children, from Lifbon, upon the death of their father. In the mean time, I fend it to you, to intert in your uietul and interefting Repofitory. Philip Doddridge, D.D. was prevailed upon, for the recovery of his health, to go to Lisbon, in the neighbourhood of which city he died October 26, 1751. His widow, Mrs. Mercy Doddridge, who accompanied him thither, wrote the following letter to her children in England after his decease. Yours, &c. O. C. held in perfect astonishment, and is ready to burst into fongs of praise under its most exquifite diftrefs. "My dear Children, "Lifbon, Nov. 11, N.S. 1751. "How fhall I addrefs you under this aweful and melancholy Providence! I would fain fay fomething to comfort you. And I hope God will enable me to fay fomething that may alleviate your deep diftrefs. I went out in a firm dependence that, if Infinite Wisdom was pleafed to call me out to duties and trials as yet unknown, He would grant me thofe fuperior aids of ftrength that would support and keep me from fainting under them; perfuaded that there was no diftrefs or forrow, into which he could lead me, under which his gracious and all-fuflicient arm could not fupport me. He has not difappointed me, nor fuffered the heart and eyes directed to him to fail. God all fufficient, and my only bepe, is my motto: let it be yours. Such, indeed, have I found him; and fuch, I verily believe, you will find him too in this time of deep diftrefs. Oh! my dear children, help me to praife Him! Such fupports, fuch confolations, fuch comforts, has He granted to the meanest of His creatures, that my mind, at times, is "As to outward comforts, God has withheld no good thing from me, but has given me all the afliftance, and all the fupports, that the tendereft friendship was capable of affording me, and which I think my dear Northampton friends could not have exceeded. Their prayers are not loft. I doubt not but I am reaping the benefit of them, and hope that you will do the fame. "I am returned to good Mr. King's. Be good to poor Mrs. King. It is a debt of gratitude I owe for the great obligations I am under to that worthy family here. Such a folicitude of friendship was furely hardly ever known as I meet with here. I have the offers of friendship more than I can employ ; and it gives a real concern to many here that they cannot find out a way to ferve me. Thefe are great honours conferred on the dear deceased, and great comforts to me. It is impoffible to fay how much these mercies are endeared to me, as coming in fuch an immediate manner from the Divine Hand. To his name be the praife and glory of all! "And now, my dear children, what shall I fay to you? Ours is no common lofs. I mourn the best of husbands and of friends, removed from this world of fin and forrow to the regions of immortal blifs and light. What a glory! What a mercy is it that !! enabled with my thoughts to purfue m there! You have loft the dearest and best of parents, the guide of your youth! and whofe pleasure it would have been to have introduced you into life with great advantages. "Our lots is great indeed! But I really think the lofs the publick has fuftained is full greater. Eut God can never want inftruments to carry on his work. Yet, let us be thankful that God ever gave us fuch a friend; that he has continued him so long with us. Perhaps, if we had been to have judged, we thould have thought that we nor the world could never lefs have spared him than at the prefent time. But I fee the hand of Heaven, the appointment of His wife providence in every itep of this aweful difpenfation. It is his hand that has put the bitter cup into ours. And what does he now expect from us but a meek, humble, entire fubmiflion to his will? We know this is our duty. Let us pray for thofe aids of His Spirit, which can only enable us to attain it. A father of the fatherless is God in his holy habitation. As fuch may your eyes be directed to him! He will fupport you. He will comfort you. And that he may is not only my daily, but hourly, prayer. "We have never deferved fo great a good as that we have loft. And let us remember, that the beit refpect we can pay to his memory is to endeavour, as far as we can, to follow his example, to cultivate thofe amiable qualities that rendered him so justly dear to us, and fo greatly esteemed by the world. Particularly I would recommend this to my dear P. May I have the joy to fee him acting the part worthy the relation to fo amiable and excelent a parent, whofe memory, I hope, will ever be valuable and facred to him and to us all! Under God, may he be a comfort to me, and a fupport to the family! Much depends on him. His lofs I think peculiarly great. But I know an all-fufficient God can over-rule it as the means of the greatest good to him. "It is impoffible for me to tell you how tenderly my heart feels for you all! how much I long to be with you to comfort and aflift you! Indeed, you are the only inducements I now have left to wifh for life, that I may do what little is in my power to form and guide your tender years. For this purpofe i take all poffible care of my health I eat, fleep, and converfe at times with a tolerable degree of chearfulness. You, my dears, as the best return you can make me, will do the fame, that I may not have forrow upon forrow. The many kind friends you have around you, I am fure, will not be wanting in giving you all the affiftance and comfort that is in their power. My kindeft falutations attend them all. "I hope to leave this place in about fourteen or twenty days. But the fooneft I can ach Northampton will not be in less than x weeks, or two months time. May God be with you, and give us, though a mournful, yet a comfortable meeting! For your fakes I trust my life will be fpared. And, I blefs God, my mind is under no painful anxiety as to the difficulties and dangers of the voyage. "The winds and the waves are in His hands, to whom I refign myfelf, and all that is dearest to me. I know I fhall have your prayers, and those of my dearest friends with ⚫you. "Farewell, my dearest children! I am your afflicted, but moft fincere friend, and ever affectionate mother, M. DODDRIDGE.' Mr. URBAN, Gravefend, Aug. 12. THE HE family of WISEMAN appears to have existed in the county of Effex fince the time of Edward IV. and to have been in poffeffion of Much Canfield park, in that county, which was obtained, by purchase, in the reign of Edward VI. by John Wileman, efq. who had been one of the auditors to Henry VIII. and knighted at the battle of Spurs. The title of baronet was conferred on two of its branches, and many honourable pofts under the Crown were enjoyed by its defcendants. The laft of this family, of confequence fufficient to attract any thare of public attention, was Sir Charles Wifeman, bart. ap. Mr. URBAN, MY October 17. Y old cat having twice effayed to jump as usual in at my window, which is about five feet from the ground, and failed; when the fucceeded on the third trial, on taking her up in my arms I was furprized at the palpitation of heart and thortnefs of breath which the felt. Calculating from this little inftance what must be the degree of palpi tation, and the velocity of refpiration, in a hunted hare or fox, I with John Hunter, or fome other equally skilful anatomift of the quadruped race, would inform us whether thefe animals are furnished by Nature with organs adapted to qualify them to fuftain the pursuit of the two-legged Nimrods, who take an annual pleasure in worrying them. Yours, &c. I PHILOZOΩΝ. Mr. URBAN, Sept. 21. SHALL confider myself indebted to any of your numerous and intelligent readers, who will indulge me with information relpecting the article gunpowder, under all or any of the following heads, viz. The origin of its difcovery? By whom? The period of its being firft applied to the purposes of war? When the use of it became general ? Whether, in the early period of its use, it was manufactured in this country, or imported ? If manufactured here, whence were the raw materials fupplied, particu larly falt-petre? What laws or reftrictions have, from time to time, been framed for the encouragement of its manufacture, or affecting its export or import? When, and where, the first gunR. W. powder-mills were erected? |