Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

deputy or deputies, or lord's justices, or other chief governor or governors" for the time being, officiating as deputy grand masters. The statutes of the order of St. Patrick direct the badge to be of gold, surmounted with a wreath of shamrock or trefoil, surrounding a circle of gold, bearing the motto of the order in gold letters, Quis separabit? with the date MDCCLXXXIII, wherein the order was founded, and encircling the cross of St. Patrick gules, surmounted with a trefoil vert, each leaf charged with an imperial crown or, upon a field argent; the badge, encircled with rays in form of a star of silver of eight points, four greater and four lesser, worn on the left side of the outer garment. The Shamrock.

The The It is

The shamrock is the trefoil. Druids used it to cure diseases. Irish use it as a national cognizance. Isaid that when St. Patrick landed near Wicklow to convert the Irish in 433, the pagan_inhabitants were ready to stone him; he requested to be heard, and endeavoured to explain God to them as the Trinity in Unity, but they could not understand him, till plucking a trefoil from the ground, he said, "Is it not as possible for the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as for these leaves, to grow upon a single stalk," then the Irish were immediately convinced.*

St. Patrick.

[ocr errors]

The Welch claim St. Patrick. Mr. Owen in his "Cambrian Biography affirms, he was born at Aberllychwr in Pembrokeshire, South Wales, where there is a church dedicated to him. They call him Padrig, the son of Mawrn or Maenwyn, of the laird of Gwyr. Mr. Owen cites from the genealogy of the British saints, that, "It was the glory of the emperor Theodosius, in conjunction with Cystonnin Llydaw, surnamed the blessed, to have first founded the college of Illtyd, which was regulated by Balerus, a man from Rome; and Padrig, son of Mawrn, was the principal of it, before he was carried away a captive by the Irishman." In corroboration, Mr. Owen says, it is recorded in the history of Wales, "that the Irish were enabled to settle themselves along nearly the whole extent of its coast, in the beginning of the fifth century, and continued there until nearly the middle of the same era; when they were expelled from the north by the

Brand's Pop. Antiquities.

[blocks in formation]

251.

979.

March 18.

St. Alexander, Bp. of Jerusalem, a. d. St. Cyril, Abp. of Jerusalem, A. D. 386. St. Edward, King, A. D. St. Anselm, Bp. of Lucca, A. D. 1086. St. Fridian, Erigdian, or Frigdian, Bp. of Lucca, a. d. 578. St. Edward.

This is the English king who was stabbed in the back with a dagger, by order

of his stepmother, Elfrida, while Corfe castle, in the isle of Purbeck. He drinking on horseback at the gate of spurred his horse, which plunged him into a deep marsh, and there he died of his wounds, in 979. Butler says his body was discovered by a pillar of light, and buried in Wareham church, and worked miracles. His name is in the church of England calendar.

It is an historical fact, that the wretch

ed contriver of king Edward's murder passed the remainder of her days in dismal horror; and her nights brought no repose from the afflictions of her conscience. She obtained a kind of armour formed of

crucifixes, wherein she encased herself, performed penances, built monasteries, and died universally execrated by the indignant people. The treachery of the crime occasioned a general distrust, no one would drink without security from him, who sat beside him, that he was safe while the bowl was at his lips; and hence is said to have originated the customary, expression at table of "I pledge you,' when one person invites another to drink first

CHRONOLOGY.

1745. Sir Robert Walpole, earl of Orford, died, aged 71.

FLORAL DIRECTORY.

Great Leopard Bane. Doronicum Purdulionetes.

Dedicated to St Cyril.

March 19.

St. Joseph. St. Alemund, 819.

St. Joseph. The church of Rome has canonized Joseph he spouse of the Virgin Mary, and honours him with offices and worship of various forms.

CHRONOLOGY.

720, B. c. the first eclipse of the moon on record happened on this day.

1355. Pressing for seamen to man the navy commenced.

1668. Sir John Denham, poet, died in London; he was born in Dublin, 1615.

1719. A surprising meteor was seen about eight o'clock in the evening, from all parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland. To an observer in St. Paul's churchyard, it appeared a ball of fire as large as the moon, of a pale bluish light, and with little motion, till in a moment it assumed the shape of a common meteor with a stream of light, double the diameter of its first appearance, emitting a splendour by which the smallest print might have been read. Its duration was not above half a minute, and its greatest light about the tenth part of a minute. At Exeter its light exceeded that of the sun at noonday, and there it seemed to break like a skyrocket, into sparks of red fire, which reflected that colour on the houses, and shortly after a report, loud as cannon, shook the windows, succeeded at the interval of a minute by about thirty others; "they sounded just as the tower guns did in Mincing-lane, but shook the houses and windows much more." Mr. Whiston

[blocks in formation]

1727. Sir Isaac Newton died; he was born December 25th, 1642.

1751. Frederick, prince of Wales, father of king George III. died aged 44.

1793. Died William Murray, earl of Mansfield. He was born on the 2d of March, 1705, and during thirty years, and until his death, presided as lord chief justice of the court of King's Bench. He was eminent as a lawyer, and dignified as a judge. It is said that he altered the common law of England, by ingrafting upon it the civil law in his decisions. As an elegant scholar, of highly cultivated and vigorous intellect, he shone in the constellation of great men, which arose in the reign of queen Anne. In eloquence and beauty of diction, he outrivalled his predecessors, and has not been excelled by any successor in the high office he filled.

1811. Napoleon, son of the late emperor of France, by the empress Maria Louisa, was born, and received the title of king of Rome.

On the 20th of March, the sun enters the constellation T Aries, or the Ram, which is the first zodiacal sign; and this day is the first day of Spring

By an accident, the remarks relating to SPRING were inserted under MARCH 6, instead of this day and as the error is thus particularly noticed, in order as far as possible to rectify it, the reader will please to consider all that has been said

Whiston's Account of a Meteor, 8vo. 1719.

on the sixth of March as applicable to the twentieth alone. The editor, while acknowledging, and craving pardon for a vexatious and unpurposed misrepresentation, will endeavour to set a watch upon himself in future, to guard against a similar accident.

Aries, or the ram, as a zodiacal sign, is said to have been derived by the Greeks from the golden fleece brought from Colchis by Jason, about 1263 years before Christ; but as it is a hieroglyphic

season

on Egyptian monuments, it is of higher
antiquity, and symbolizes that
when sheep yean their lambs. The peo-
ple of Thebes slew a ram in honour of
Jupiter Ammon, who personifies the sun
in Aries, and is represented by ancient
sculpture and coins with the horns of a
ram on his head. The Hebrews at this
season sacrifice a lamb, to commemorate
their deliverance from Egypt. Aries, or
the ram, was the ensign of Gad, one of
their leaders

VERNAL EQUINOX.

ARIES,

The remarks on the Vernal Equinox, immediately following, are communicated by a respected scientific friend to the editor. This is a day of great consequence in the year, and one that must excite many associations in the mind of the astronomer, and of every one who entertains a due reverence for our sacred records. The sun on this day passes the imaginary line in the heavens, called the equator, or equinoctial; it being the middie circle equally distant in every part from the north or the south poles. The line is passed to an observer on Greenwich hill, at ten minutes past nine in the morning; and, consequently, when it is on the meridian, or its highest point at noon, it will appear to every observer in the united kingdom at some distance from the equator. It is commonly said, that at this time the day is equal to the night all the world over; but this is a vulgar error. The day is not equal to the night in this country; that is, the sun appears for more than twelve hours

above the horizon, and, consequently, a less time than twelve hours elapses before it shines again to us in the morning. Besides, the failacy of this common saying is perceived at once by any one who considers, that the inhabitant of the north pole, if there is any inhabitant there, has already seen for some days the sun above his horizon, and it will not set to him for above six months. The day then is not equal to the night, either in the united kingdom, or at the north pole. We will leave to the astronomer to determine at what part of the earth this circumstance really takes place; in the investigation of the problem he may encounter some difficulties, of which at present he is probably not aware. the equinoctial line. at ten minutes past nine; it was therefore at its rising south of that line, and at its setting it will be north of that line. The line it marks out in the heavens is an arc of a spiral; but had it risen and set in the equinoctial line, the arc would have been circular.

The sun crosses

To leave, however, the circumstances Deculiarly relative to astronomy, let us consider this day in another point of view. The sun and the moon are the regulators of days, and months, and years, and times, and seasons. Every nation in the world pays some regard to their motions; and in this country they are the subjects of legislative enactments-enactments which have been laughed at by our makers of almanacs; disregarded by the church, though sanctioned in its rubrics; and set at naught by courts of justice, whose openings at certain periods depend on prescribed appearances in the heavens. Of this, hereafter, sufficient proof will be given; and, in thus noticing the errors of past times, there is a chance, that a statute of importance, certainly, as it has been thought worthy of legislation, should not be hereafter violated without the interposition of the legislature.

Our ancestors began their year about this time, and not without reason; for they had for it the sanction of a divine command. To the Israelites it was conmanded, that this should be the beginning of their sacred year, on which the great festivals prescribed by their law should depend. Their civil year begins in September, and they continue to observe the command, having an almanac founded on the complicated motions of the sun and moon, whose calculations are of a very subtle nature, and whose accuracy far exceeds that of the polished nations of Europe. That the year should begin either at the vernal or the spring equinox, or at the autumnal equinox, good reasons may be given; but for our taking the first of January for the commencement of the year, nothing more can be said, than the cld theme,

Sic volo, sic jubeo, stet pro ratione voluntas. -Such is my will, the sun and moon may move as they please.

Except for the refraction of the atmosphere, the inhabitants of the equator would have at all times twelve hours' day and twelve hours' night; the sun being north or south of this circle not causing any difference, for the equator and ecliptic being both great circles of the sphere, the two points of intersection must be in the same diameter.

By the almanac it will be found, that there are nearly eight days more in the

interval between the vernal and the autumnal equinox, than between the latter and the return of the vernal equinox,

As, therefore, from the vernal to the autumnal equinox, the sun is on the northern side of the equator, our summer occurring during this period, gives us an advantage of nearly eight days, in this respect, over the southern hemisphere. This difference arises from the oval or ellip tical form of the earth's orbit. The earth, therefore, being at different distances from the sun during the year, it is found to move with different velocities; moving slowest when furthest from the sun, and quickest when nearest to that luminary. It happens to be at its greatest distance just after our Midsummer, and moving consequently slower during our spring and summer months; our summer is about eight days longer than that of the southern hemisphere, our winter eight days shorter than theirs.

[merged small][graphic]

CARE SUNDAY.
Care Sunday; care away,

Palm Sunday, and Easter day.

Shrove Tuesday, consequently it is the Care Sunday is the fifth Sunday from next Sunday before Palm Sunday, and the second Sunday before Easter. Why it is denominated Care Sunday is very

uncertain. It is also called Carle Sun

day, and in some parts Carling Sunday. A native of Newcastle-upon-Tyne* observes, that in that town, and many other places in the north of England, peas after having been steeped a night in water, are fried with butter, given away, eaten at a kind of entertainment on Carle Sunday, and are called Carlings, "probably as we call the presents at fairs, fairings." To this he attaches a query, whether Carlen may not be formed from the old plura. termination in en, as hosen, &c." The only attempt at a derivation of the word Care, is, that "the Friday on which

Mr. Brand.

Christ was crucified, is called in German both Gute Freytag and Carr Freytag;" and that the word karr signified a satisfaction for a fine, or penalty. The interence is corroborated, by the church of Rome anciently using rites on this day peculiar to Good Friday, whence it was also called Passion Sunday. It is noted in an old calendar, that on this day "a dole is made of soft beans," which was also "a rite in the funeral ceremonies of heathen Rome." This "dole" of soft beans on Care Sunday, accounts for the present custom of eating fried peas on the same day. No doubt the beans were a very seasonable alms to help out the poor man's lent stock of provision. "In Northumberland the day is called Carling Sunday. The yeomanry in general steep peas, and afterwards parch them, and eat them on the afternoon of that day, call

word ceorl, the name for a husbandınan. The older denomination of the day, then, may not have been Care but Carl Sunday, from the benefactions to the carles or carlen. These are still the northern names for the day; and the dialect in that part of the kingdom is nearer to Saxon etymology. But whether the day were called Curle or Care Sunday it is now little known, and little more can be said about it, without the reader feeling inclined to say or sing,

"Begone dull Care."

FLORAL DIRECTORY.

Dog's Violet. Viola Canina. Dedicated to St. Wulfran.

March 21.

ing them carlings. This is said by an old St. Benedict, or Bennet, Abbot, A. D.

author, to have taken its rise from the disciples plucking the ears of corn, and rubbing them in their hands."+ Hence it is clear, that the custom of eating peas or beans upon this day, is only a continuation of the unrecollected "dole" of the Romish church. It is possible, however, that there may have been no connection between the heathen funeral rite of giving beans, and the church donation, if the latter was given in mere charity; for there was little else to bestow at such a time of the year, when dried pulse, variously cooked, must have been almost the only winter meal with the labourer, and a frequent one with his employer.

The couplet at the head of this article Mr. Nichols says he heard in Nottinghamshire. There is another,

Tid, Mid, Misera,

Carling, Palm, Paste Egg day. The first line is supposed to have been formed from the beginning of Psalms, &c. viz. Te deum-Mi deus-Miserere mei.‡

But how is it that Care Sunday is also called Carl Sunday and Carling Sunday; and that the peas, or beans, of the day are called carlings? Carle, which now means a churl, or rude boorish fellow, was anciently the term for a working countryman or labourer; and it is only altered in the spelling, without the slightest deviation in sense, from the old Saxon

Brand's Pop. Antiq. from Marshal on the Saxon Gospels.

↑ Gentleman's Magazine, 1786. Brand's Pop, Antiquities

543. St. Serapion, called the Sindonite, A. D. 388. St. Serapion, Abbot St. Serapion, Bishop, 4th Age. Enna, or Endeus, Abbot, 6th Cent

St.

ST. BENEDICT, or BENNET, Founder of the order of St. Benedict. The accounts of distinguished persons of the Romish church written by its ecclesiastics are exceedingly curious. The rev. Alban Butler states of St. Benedict, that he was born in Umbria about 480, sent to school at Rome, and afterwards being determined to leave the world, "therefore left the city privately, and made the best of his way to the deserts." Here he remained secreted at a place called Sublacum, till a "certain pious priest," whilst preparing a dinner on Easter-day, heard a voice say to him,

[ocr errors]

you are preparing for yourself a banquet whilst my servant Benedict at Sublacum is distressed with hunger." Then the priest found out Benedict, and invited him to eat, "saying it was Easter-day, on which it was not reasonable to fast." Bennet answered, he did not know it; and Alban Butler says, "nor is it to be wondered at that he should not understand the Lunar cycle, which at that time was known by very few." Soon after, some shepherds found him near his cave, and "took him for a wild beast; for he was clad with the skins of beasts, and they imagined no human creature could live among those rocks." From that time he began to be known and visited, and the devil came to him " in the shape of a little

« ZurückWeiter »