sistibly awakens the purest affections! ron in "Love's Labour Lost," when he But we are becoming too minute for our limits and will, therefore, take leave of Mr. Grattan, with our hearty thanks for his interesting and very promising volume-and with cur earnest advice that he will adopt the resolution of Bi completes those works which we shall rejoice to welcome: "Taffeta phrases, silken terms precise, Three piled hyperboles, spruce affectation, Paragraphs, From the English Magazines, &c. December, 1820. LORD BYRON. last request he was ever troubled with. WE hear that among Lord Byron's At his return the cauliflower was pro forthcoming labors, the castigation of a Review and a Magazine is included: Translations from the Italian too, will appear, as well as from Ovid's Epistles; Two other Cantos of Don Juan,&c. &c ! CLEOPATRA'S Needle. This celebrated monument of antiquity has been presented to his majesty George IV. by the Pacha of Egypt, and is expected to arrive shortly from Alexandria. It is intended to be set up in Waterloo Place, opposite Carlton Palace. The weight of the column is about 200 tons, the diameter at the pedestal seven feet. LOVE OF ROMANCES. Nothing proves the discontent of mankind so clearly as the love of those tales which bring them into a new world. The readers of romances wish for magicians to build and furnish their palaces, angels to live in them, and fairies to be always within call to execute every command of whim and caprice. ANECDOTE. The celebrated Earl of Hardwicke, Chancellor of Great Britain, was the son of an attorney at Dover. During his education for the law, which commenced by his serving a clerkship with an attorney, he was frequently teazed by the wife of his employer, a notable housewife, with trifling errands, as foreign to the circumstances of his profession as they were inconsistent with propriety and decorum. He soon took an opportunity to put an end to this. "As you are going by the green grocer's, Mr. Yorke, will you be so good as to buy me a cauliflower?" was the duced, which he observed cost one shilling and sixpence-sixpence for the cabbage and a shilling for a sedan chair to bring it home in!! At a late assizes in Limerick, a boy was brought forward as a witness for the prosecution in a case of murder. He appeared so young and so ignorant, that the judge, (Solicitor-GeneralBushe) thought it necessary to examine him as to his qualifications for a witness, when the following dialogue took place: Q. Do you know, my lad, the pature of an oath? A. Yes. Q. Do you mean to say that you do not know what an oath is? A. Yes. Q. Do you know any thing of the consequences of telling a lie? A. No. Q. No! What religion are you of? A. A Catholic. Q. Do you never go to mass? A.No. Q. Did you never see your priest? A. Yes. Q. Did he never speak to you? A. Oh! yes. Q. What did he say to you? A. I met him on the mountain one day, and he bid me hold his horse and be d--d to me. Judge. Go down: you are not fit to be sworn. It is only proper to add, that the boy appeared to be more knave than fool, and that his ignorance was in all proba. bility paid for by the defendant. It is pretty generally known, that Mr. Solicitor General Bushe is to succeed to the Chief Justiceship of King's Bench or of Common Pleas in Ireland, as soon as either becomes vacant. Some one in his presence was highly, and most deservedly, praising Chief Justice Downes, who, he asserted, possessed every virtue under heaven. "No," replied Mr. Bushe, "I am sorry to say he does not possess the virtue of resignation." HINTS TO LADIES OF FASHION. How many useful lessons in life may we receive from observing the instincts and habits of animals to whom we deny reason. Many a splendid beauty, thus instructed, would quit the ball-room before midnight with great advantage to the freshness of her bloom and the lustre of her eyes, if she were told that the glow worm is never seen to shine after eleven o'clock p. m. COURTSHIP. Should a man in purchasing an horse praise it up to the skies, could he then expect to have it at his own valuation? would not the seller raise his? So in courtship, when the poor lover overrates the charms of his mistress by flattery and exaggerated praise, can he wonder that the lady does not think that he bids high enough for so much excellence? and does not take sighs and tears as part of the purchase? ORGANIC REMAINS. Extract of a letter from Dr. Tytler, dated the 9th instant:-1 forgot whether I mentioned to you, that in my late expedition to Kallingur, I picked up a fossil oyster shell on the summit of a high hill, above the village of Bheeamow; strange to say, this organic remain was in union with granite and basalt rocks. Along with many other circumstances, this proves that these bills were formerly under water. In the bed of a river near Russur, I also found the fossil remains of the first joint of a human finger. It is evidently the first phalanx of a finger, and I think the first finger of the right hand, but it is more than twice the size of the joint of an ordinary man; the person it belonged to must at least have been 12 feet high. These two singular curiosities will shortly be dispatched to the Asiatic Society-Cal.Gov. Gaz, March 1820. DEAFNESS. From observations that have recently been made, it has been suggested, that in cases of deafness, where the distube being stopped up, the patient order is occasioned by the eustachian might be cured by descending in a diving bell. Dr. Hamel, who descended in one at Howth, in the vicinity of Dublin, informs us that he suffered during his re-ascent, a violent sensation of pain within his ear, in consequence of the expansion of air in the exterior cavities: yet, as the air escaped much easier than it entered, owing to the nearly conical form of that duct, be felt at almost every foot of his ascent an air bubble, that passed from his ear into his mouth, and each time afforded him considerable relief. The orifice which connects the eustachian tube with the mouth, forms a valve; it is therefore exceedingly difficult to admit a passage here to atmospheric air; but within a diving bell this is effected merely by the act of swallowing the saliva; and occasionally a violent report is heard nearly like that of a pistol, which is immediately succeeded by a cessation of the pain. THE FOUR ÆRAS OF LIFE. Children think with timidity, young persons with vivacity, middle-aged persons with solidity, and old men with inefficacy, if at all. Thus the spring produces buds, the summer blossoms, the autumn fruit, and the winter nothing at all. Miss Sandham, author of the "Twin Sisesting little work, under the title of the ters," &c. will shortly publish a very interBoys' School; or, Traits of Character in Early Life, a Moral Tale. The Rev. R. Maturin, author of Bertram, &c. has in the press a poem entitled, “The Universe.” WINTER NIGHTS; OR, FIRE-SIDE LUCUBRATIONS. BY NATHAN DRAKE, M.D. Author of "Literary Hours," of " Essays on Periodical Literature," and of" Shakspeare and his Times.” [The literary character of Dr, Drake requires no eulogium. His several works have raised him to the first rank among the elegant writers of his time, and these Winter Nights will add to his reputation. Every one of the twenty essays would have furnish hope of immortality, we cannot wonder at the cruelties which marked their "The cruel Guthrum," says course. one of our oldest historians, " arrived in ed interesting passages, but we have selected three England, A. D. 878, at the head of an as interesting exhibitions of his historical and critical powers.] HA GUTHRUN THE DANE. ADLEIGH in Suffolk, the spot whence these lucubrations are dated, is a town of considerable antiquity, and remarkable, also, as being the burial place of Guthrun the Dane, and the scene of the Martyrdom of Rowland Taylor. Guthrun, Guthrum, or Gormo, the Dane, was one of those chieftains or sea-kings, who, towards the close of the ninth century, issuing from the heart of Scandinavia, carried all the horrors of the most savage warfare throughout the coasts, and even the interior of England. Educated in the religion of Odin, the acknowledged God of slaughter and desolation, these fierce warriors conceived themselves alone entitled to happiness in another world, in proportion to the violence of their own death, and the number of the enemy whom they had slain on the field of battle. As in their ferocity, therefore, was founded their sense of virtue and their 31 ATHENEUM VOL. 8. army of pagan Danes, no less cruel than himself, who, like inhuman savages, destroyed all before them with fire and sword, involving cities, towns, and villages, with their inhabitants, in devouring flames; and cutting those in pieces with their battle-axes who attempted to escape from their burning houses.The tears, cries, and lamentations of men, women, and children, made no impression on their unrelenting hearts; even the most tempting bribes, and the humblest offers of becoming their slaves, had no effect. All the towns through which they passed exhibited the most deplorable scenes of misery and desolation: as venerable old men lying with their throats cut before their own doors; the streets covered with the bodies of young men and children without beads, legs or arms; and of matrons and virgins, who had been first publicly dishonoured, and then put to death." It was into the camp of this ferocious leader of piratical invasion, that our patriot king the unrivalled Alfred, was introduced in the disguise of a harper ; a stratagem which, enabling him to de tect the insecurity of his foes, and their want of discipline, led, very shortly afterwards, to their complete defeat at Eddington in Wiltshire. With Alfred, the first result of victory was clemency and benevolence. To Guthrun and his followers now prostrate at his feet, he proffered not only mercy and forgiveness, but protection and territory, provided they would abandon Paganism, embrace Christianity, and be regulated by the laws of civilized society. rector of Hadleigh in the reign of Henry the Seventh, Ecclesia Sanctia Marie, the supposed tomb of Guthrun was opened; when,deep beneath the surface, was discovered a massy grave of stone, the floor of which was tesselated with small square glazed tiles, and covered with some light blue ashes; circomstances which seem to corroborate the record, and the local appropriation of antiquity. INSCRIPTION for the Tomb af GUTHRUN THE DANE, in St. Mary's Church, Hadleigh, O STAY thee, stranger; o'er this hallow'd ground Whom Royal Alfred, with a Christian's zeal, Or Odin, bath'd in blood and breathing war, To these terms Guthrun joyfully, and as the event proved, sincerely acceded; In solemn silence pause! Here sleeps the chief, himself and thirty of his officers being immediately baptized in the presence of Alfred. Part of his army was sent into Northumberland, and the remainder, Here oft, repentant of the erring course with their chief and his retinue, settled That stain'd his dawn of manhood, hath he how'd in East Anglia, Guthrua fixing on the His head in meekness; with a pilgrim's faith scite of Hadleigh, in Suffolk, as a central situation for his capital or heardliege. Here he continued to reside and reign nearly eleven years, inviolably observing the laws and the religion of Alfred, and preserving his own people within the strict bounds of peace and good order. No stronger proof, indeed, can be given of the integrity and fidelity of Guthrun, than that no sooner had he ceased to govern than the Danes of East Anglia showed signs of turbulence and disaffection, and took the earliest opportunity of co-operating with their countryman Hastings, in his invasion of England, A. D. 893. Guthrun died, according to the testimony of history, a sincere convert to Christ anity, about the year 889, and was buried within the ground now occupied by the present church of Hadleigh. An ornamental Gothic arch in the wall of the south aisle, is said to mark the grave where this celebrated warrior rests. It is evidently, however, of a date some centuries posterior to the age of him over whom it is placed, and was probably designed merely to rescue from oblivion the traditionary spot of his interment. In consequence of some repairs which in 1767, were carried on in this church, termed in the will of Dr. Pykenham, Abjur'd the idols of his native land; Then, hence retiring, with a patriot's care, O ye, who, 'mid the strife of battle, burn Such thrilling rapture as did Guthrun feel The storm of vengeful passion luil'd to rest, Go, stranger, if perchance to thee belong Power's forceful arm, or vict'ry's crimson steel, Looks on the heart, alone vouchsafes to dweil In that pure bosom, where, with Peace, reside MARTYRDOM OF DR. TAYLOR. Rowland Taylor, D. D. and rector of Hadleigh, in Suffolk, from 1544 to 1554, suffered martyrdom on Aldham Common adjacent to Hadleigh, on February 9th, 1555, for his opposition to the errors of popery, and his steady adherence to the doctrines of the Refor mation. Of this great and pious character it is scarcely possible to speak in terms too laudatory. He was, in fact, the perfect model of a parish priest, and literally went about doing good. It was not to he expected, therefore, that when the bigoted Mary ascended the throne of these realms, a man so gifted, and at the same time so popular as was Dr. Taylor, should long escape the arm of persecution. Scarcely, indeed, had this sanguinary woman commenced her reign, when an attempt was made to celebrate Mass by force in the parish church of Hadleigh; and in endeavouring to resist this profanation, which was planned and conducted by two of his parishioners, named Foster and Clerke, assisted by one Averth, rector of Aldham, whom they had hired for the purpose, Dr. Taylor became, of course, obnoxious to the ruling powers, an event no doubt foreseen and calculated upon by the instigators of the mischief. A citation to appear before Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, and then Lord Chancellor of England, was on the information of these wretches, the immediate result of the transaction; and, though the friends and relatives of the Doctor, earnestly advised bis noncompliance, and recommended him in stantly to fly, be resisted their solicita tions, observing, that though he fully expected imprisonment, and a cruel death, he was determined, in a cause so good and righteous, to shrink not from his duty. Ob, what will ye have me to do?" he exclaimed; "I am old, and have already lived too long to see these terrible and most wicked days. Fly you, and do as your conscience leadeth you; I am fully determined, with God's grace, to go to the Bishop, and to his beard, to tell him that he doth Dought." Accordingly, tearing himself from his weeping friends and flock, and accompanied by one faithful servant, he hastened to London, where, after enduring with the utmost patience and magnanimity, the virulence and abuse of Gardiner, and replying to all his accusations with a firmness and self-possession, and with a truth of reasoning which, unfortunately served but to increase the malice of his enemies, he was committed a prisoner to the King's Bench, and endured a confinement there of nearly two years. During this long period, however, which was chiefly occupied by Dr. Taylor in the study of the Holy Scriptures, and in preaching to, and exhorting his fellow-prisoners, he had three further conferences with his persecutors. The second, which was held in the arches at Bow-church a few weeks after his commitment, terminated in his being deprived of his benefice as a married man. The third, which did not take place until January the 22d, 1555, and was carried on, not only with the Bishop of Winchester, but with other episcopal commissioners, ended, after a long debate, in which the piety, erudition, sound sense, and Christian forbearance of the sufferer was pre-eminently conspicuous, in his re-commitment to prison, under a threat of having judgment passed upon him within a week. This judgment was accordingly pronounced at a fourth conference on the 28th of the same month, the Bishops of Winchester, Norwich, London, Salisbury and Durham, being present, when, on the Doctor again declining to submit himself to the Roman pontiff, he was condemned to death, and the day following removed to the Poultry Counter. Here, on the 4th of February he was visited by Bonner, Bishop of London, who, attended by his chaplain, and the necessary officers, came to degrade him. Refusing, however, to comply with this ceremony, which consisted in his putting on the vestures or mass-garments, he was compelled to submit by force, and when the Bishop, as usual, closed this disgusting mummery with his curse, Taylor nobly replied;" though you do curse me, yet God doth bless me. I have the witness of my conscience, that ye have done me wrong and violence; and yet I pray God, if it be his will, forgive you.' It was on the morning of the 5th of February, 1555, at the early hour of two o'clock, that the sheriff of London, arriving at the Counter, demanded the person of Dr. Taylor, in order that he might commence his pilgrimage 10wards Hadleigh, the destined place, of his martyrdom. It was very dark, and they led him, without lights, though not unobserved, to an inn near Aldgate. |