spring from on high, which in its benign visitation will finally secure every soul of man, as in one fold under one shepherd! I cannot conclude these brief ob servations without_sending_you the following extract from a Letter of W. B. Martin, Esq. late resident at Amboyna, to whose care was confided the distribution of 3000 Malay Testaments, for which he had selected a certain number of individuals :— "This intention I was afterwards com pelled to relinquish; as I found it impos through the ignorance of the vender, a poor illiterate widow, in the Isle of Wight. The book is at least worth 701." All the world knows the bright manœuvres by which the Duke of Marlborough's famed Boccaccio came into the Earl Spencer's library at less than half price, astantibus, arri. dentibus, ac annuentibus primoribus Bibliomaniacorum. (See Gent. Mag. June, 1819, pp. 501. 503. 556.) Not to weary you with repetitions of similar instances, however, let one very recent sible to confine the distribution within the case of good luck for this time suffice. narrow limits which a rigorous adherence On Thursday, 20th January, 1820, to it would have prescribed; for so great Mr. William Boone, a spirited young was the eagerness pervading the commu- bookseller, resident in the Straud, nity to reap the benefit of a liberality London, bought for only six shillings, which they had not before experienced, at a public sale by Mr. Robert Saunand of which they would not expect soon to witness the recurrence, that on the day street, Lot 242, GEYLERI NAVICULA ders, the noted auctioneer of Fleetappointed for the distribution, instead of FATUORUM, ARGENT. 1510. which is the comparatively small and select number of individuals designated by the lists, the first edition of a book remarkthe church was crowded by a multitude of ably curious and scarce. people of both sexes, and of all ages, imploring, with an earnestness of supplication which could not be resisted, the unreserved communication to them all, of an advantage which all appreciated, and all had been prepared, and were qualified to enjoy *." N. B. Of this singularly pious work [far more rare than the supposed first edition of Brant's STULTIFERA NAVIS, or even than Barclay's paraphrase called THE SHIP OF FOOLES] a neat copy was knocked down by Mr. Evans, at his sale of a library belonging to the late Mr. Edwards of Harrow, for the truly moderate sum of forty-three pounds. As the demand for the Holy Scriptures every where increases, so we may be allowed, in an enlarged proportion, to encourage the hopes Books are two-edged tools, Mr. above expressed, and “ may infer, Urban. A true Bibliomaniac well from this general avidity to possess knows how to show off all ticklish them, that the Gospel has begun to commodities with fascinating terms of make its way, as it doubtless will art and in a dainty Lincolne Noseever spread. Where a fair effort is gay' can touch up his own snug made to remove the obstructions of purchases slily to some golden tune. ignorance and incapacity, a free-Still, the whole tribe of bookcourse is left to the blessed influence and operation of Divine Truth." Yours, &c. Mr. URBAN, A. H. Chelsea, Feb. 3. IN your Supplement for 1819, Part ii. page 619, you inform your Readers of an egregious bite, without making any comment, save and except your sarcasm on the old goody who parted with a mirror into which, it seems, she had no wish to pore. These are your own words: "Some time since The Mirroor of the Worlde, edited and printed by JOHN CAXTON, in 1487, in perfect condition, was sold for the small sum of 2s. 6d. * Bib. Rep. worms have Scriptural evidence that their ingenious devices are of very antient date indeed.“ Pessi mum est, ait emptor; sed quum digressus fuerit, tum se ipsum laudat.” Anglice. “It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth." Prov. xx.14. Your shrewd Correspondent, T. M. in p. 40, of your Magazine for Jan. 1820, seems mentally to assent to the orthodoxy of this doctrine, and to the utility of its practice. In truth, the CANTER editions he mentions are almost invaluable for their rare oc currence. A LOVER OF GREAT GAINS FROM BOOKS. ACCOUNT is fol those parts; but on the approach of Abdallee, who has beat them handsomely, the cowards walked off. need be INDOSTAN le divided by attich affairs there are so aid of the Decant to Lahor, and Serhind, are the Siks, about 50 or 60,000 fighting men; but disunited, and under several different Chiefs. The province and city of Dehli are held by Nudjil ut Dowla, Mir Buxy of the empire; he with great difficulty defends it against the Morattoes, Siks, and other invaders. The King's eldest son is with him, and near a thousand descendants of the Royal Family, shut up in the Castle of Dehli. To the Westward are the Rajeponts. At Agra dwells Rajah Juvaher Sing Taut; the domi nions of the Tauts extend to the Eastward, along the banks of the Jumna, and on both sides of it; they have several strong forts to the North of Agra; all the country extending from the province of Dehli to the frontiers of Sujah Dowla's and the King's dominions, is possessed by the Rohillas, who are Mahometans and Pattans; they are under three Chiefs, but tolerably united with each other. The country, from Corah Gehanabad to Allahabad, at the conflux of the Jumna and Ganges, about 60 or 70 coss, is allotted for the King's maintenance; and our protec. tion supports him in a quiet possession. The district of Benares is between the Caraminassa and Allahabad, and belongs to Sujah Dowla; all the rest of his dominious lay to the Eastward of the Ganges, and are bounded by a range of mountains. We now come to Bengal, &c.; who that belongs to is sufficiently known. The great countries laying from the Jumpa Southward, and from the Judus Westward to Orixa and the confines of Bengal, are either possessed or traversed by the Moratta armies; their principal seat of Government is on the Malabar coast; the next is that of Nangpoor in the province of Berar, Johnagee Rajah; there is also one if not more Chiefs in other places, but they are tolerably united in the common cause of plunder. Notwithstanding these immense possessions, they are ever discontented, and want ing to increase them. They have for a long time kept a large army near the Jumna ready to take advantage of any disturbance that may arise in is only in Indostan such changes have happened within these six or seven years, as to admit of no records being made; and it is chiefly from the mouths of people who have been eye witnesses to the principal transactions, that one is able to obtain a just ac count of the present state aud division of the country. Abdallee, the Durannee Shing to Dehli, has lately frightened all the powers of the country; but all apprehension is now over. Abdallee has met with such opposition from the Siks, a Gentoo nation, inhabiting he tween Lahor and Dehli, as has prevented him from reaching the latter city; and much more extending his views to Bengal, which would be near a thousand miles further to march. This man's dominions are situated beyond the Judus, or Attock; containing the countries of Candahar, Caboul, &c.; he was very low in the service of Nadirshaw, and for some misdemeanour lost his ears; but being descended from the Chiefs of the Abdallees, a principal tribe of the Afghans, at the demise of his master, and the confusion which followed in the affairs of Persia, he prevailed on his countrymen to revolt and declare him their King; he has since made a principal figure in the affairs of Indostan, having twice carried off great riches from Dehli. SPEECH OF HENRY SMITH, ESQ. TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF YORK. May it please your Royal Highness, "I AM commanded by the Master and Wardens of the Drapers' Company, to inform you that they are now convened in Court, for the purpose of executing an unanimous resolution of the Court of Assistants, that your Royal Highness should be humbly requested to receive the Freedom of this Company. In order that your Royal Highness may be enabled to form a correct judgment of the proper answer to be returned to the Petition now preferred, it may be convenient that should apprize your Royal Highness of the duties and functions of the Body of which you are requested to become a Member, and of the motives which have induced the request. ` "It will doubtless not have escaped the historical reading of your Royal Highness, that the London Companies were instituted in the infancy of Commerce and Manufacture, for the encouragement and regulation of the several trades whose name they bear; whatever may have been the utility of such institutions in their origin, trade, at least the trade of the woollen-draper, which was committed to the care of this Company, has long ceased to need such protection; the jurisdiction and authority, therefore, of this Society as to inaiters of trade, has certainly become obsolete, and perhaps may be extinct. "Its corporate capacity, however, still remains, and the Drapers' Company still continue to form a component part of the City of London, partaking of its interests, and supporters of its credit and honour; amongst others, it is not the least import. ant of the duties of the Company, to select from its members those freemen, who, from wealth and situation, may be supposed to be independent, to join in the choice on the part of the Metropolis, of those persons who are deemed worthy to represent the Commons of the united kingdom in Parliament. "The Company have also from time to time been invested with the duties of executors and trustees to a large extent, and in that character have the adminis tration of various charitable establishments; the execution of these important functions was probably confided to them in part, from their perpetual existence as a Corporation; but chiefly, one would fain believe, from the fidelity with which they have carried into execution the intentions of those who have placed trust in them; in this manner the Company have become charged with the care of children, in different schools, in some of which they are not only educated, but wholly main tained; they have the administration of funds destined to place youth of both sexes in apprenticeships; they are the Governors and Managers of Alms-houses, and funds for the consolation and relief of age and infirmity; the honest discharge of these various duties is an arduous task, and its frequent recurrence calls for the patient exercise of much discretion, much kindness, much forbearance. "The Company have likewise property of their own, though by no means to the extent often supposed; of this they have the entire disposal, free from any control but that of the good sense and judgment of those in whom the executive adminis. tration of their concerns is vested by charter, and by this means they are enabled to indulge their feelings in acts of charity and liberality. One of the most interesting parts of this property consists of lands in Ireland, granted to the Company by GENT. MAG. February, 1820. was one of the predecessors of our revered Monarch, in consideration of large contributions to the public, exigencies; the grant not unconditional; the condition, however, was of a most acceptable nature. The grant, if it did not express, fully implied, that the grantees were to take the estate upon condition of their improving the country,—a duty most grateful in its performance, as it must be attended with the advantage of those upon whom it is fortunately imposed. "Persons competent to perform the functions to which I have had the honour of referring, must be capable of appreciating the conduct of those to whom is intrusted the administration of the public affairs of the State in which they live; nor can it be deemed an impertinence, that in a free country, such persons should turn their minds to the consideration of such subjects. The members of this Company have done so, and their considerations have led them to an ardent affection for our Constitution and Laws, being thoroughly convinced that they are well calculated for the end for which every Civil Society is formed. The considerations of the Company have also fully convinced them, that the Nation is highly indebted to the House of Brunswick for making our Constitution and our Laws effectual to their object, the preservation and enjoyment of our liberties.-This feeling the Court of Assistants are most anxious to acknowledge and testify; and they know not how better to make an offer of respectful homage to the Royal Family, than by humbly requesting your Royal Highness, as one of its most eminent and illustrious Members, to accept the Freedom of their Company. "It is my duty further to state that, in coming to the resolution 1 have just had the honour to mention, the Court of Assistants were actuated by considerations personal to your Royal Highness, as well as of your relation by blood to the Reigning Sovereign. In the Court of Assistants, in common with their countrymen, entertain a high and grateful sense of the very important services which your Royal Highness has rendered to the Realm in the management of His Majesty's Army, which, under the conduct of your Royal Highness, has attached a perfection almost unexampled; which has enabled this Country, under Providence, to contribute most essentially to the deliverance of Europe from evils as great as any with which the World has been at any time visited. "The Drapers' Company are well aware, Sir, that what they offer is no boon. They do not deceive themselves by presuming to imagine that they are conferring a favour. They consider that they are peti petitioning for one at the hand of your Royal Highness. They will look on your acceptance of the Freedom proffered, as an assurance of the good opinion and protection of your Royal Highness. And with this feeling, I am commanded humbly to entreat of your Royal Highness, in the name of the Master and Wardens of the Drapers' Company, that you will be graciously pleased to permit your name to be enrolled as a Member of the Corporation of The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London'." Mr. URBAN, W Shadwell, Feb. 5. HEN I submitted for your insertion my Letter of the 1st September, 1818, on the subject of Colonization of the Cape, admitted in your Magazine for Dec. 1819, p. 434, it was my intention to have followed it by a continuation of communications on the subject, for your wellinformed Readers to notice; and, if worthy their observations, to avail myself of them. It so happened, that detention in publishing my first Letter prevented others in continuation. Having in early life landed where, I believe, the foot of man never trod before, and enjoying in reflection a train of ideas that led my mind back to the creation of our first parent, I gave up the imaginary sentiment which first occurred, that where I then stood was preferable than to be placed on the spot where our first parent stood. Following the occasion of my travels, I afterwards encamped with, and sojourned amongst savages; and during the total eclipse of the sun, the birds went to roost, and the beasts of the forest began to prowl: illustrating to my feelings the beautiful language in which such scenes are expressed in the 104th Psalm; whilst the Aborigines surrounded me with the most marked terror, in expectation that nature was about to subside, and all visible things to be annihilated. Impressions made in youth are retained to the close of life; and having observed at this time the attempts of civilized man to begin his operations of forming settlements in the wilderness, the full impression has been retained ever since. My avocations and employment leading me to consider and reflect on the situation of the country which gave me birth, was another ground of inducement to wish that, circumscribed as islanders, increasing in population as we are, and observing that jealousy takes pos session of states as well as of indivi duals, it was absolutely necessary to promote colonization; and, for reasons already advanced, the Cape was the fittest place. Your correspondent G. A. in your Magazine for January, p. 35, favours us with his just remarks. No doubt, much was, and still is, requisite to illustrate the subject; and it was, as I before observed, my intention to have submitted the necessity of a Board of three Commissioners and a Secretary, with an office in the City, all men of business, and more useful than lucrative, for the express pur pose of attending to this great national concern, the Colonization of the Cape. It was found necessary to have such a Board, to settle the claims of the American Refugees, and also such a Board to settle the Dutch claims, and I am persuaded, in this momentous business, if such a Board had been established, with small salaries, upon the principle on which the Directors of the various Public Offices in the City are formed, much good would have arisen, and perhaps 50,0001. more subscribed, in addition to the 50,000. granted by Parliament. The late Lord Mayor did me the favour of a note of introduction to Mr. Parker, the intelligent and principal settler who is gone to Algoa Bay. Pressed beyond measure at the time, he said, the plan of Commissioners would have been every thing. It is a subject of so serious a nature, attending to the comfort of new settlers and a previous arrangement with the greatest possible information on the subject, that the whole time of such a Board would have been occupied in the duties of it. To do things merely on the spur of the occasion, is one way; but to do them well, requires a steady thought and gradual employment; and also requires very dif ferent feelings from what, I am sorry to say, actuates people in the presen day: mere speculation and dash wil not do, but a strong discrimination i necessary. Persons offering them selves, require to be convinced of the propriety or impropriety of thei views; take, for instance, a poor weak weak, indulged, dram-drinking weaver from his garret, put an axe or saw in his hand, or a spade and a hoe, with his blanket to sleep on, and send him to clear a spot that civilized man never before attempted, and the creature sinks under it; take any other indulged person, brought up in a manufactory, who wishes to emigrate with his wife and two children, so helpless as to require their food to be brought to them, and what can they do? Sink under it. Yet, for want of a due attention to this momentous business, fear we shall hear many painful relations of disappointments and distresses, which a Board, set specially apart, might have prevented. I will say nothing about the crowded state of the ships that are gone, nor the evils that will flow from them in consequences. Compare this description with the restless back-woodsman in America, who, with a horse carrying all his furniture, and with a wife and child, or two, perhaps, has to raise his log-house, cut down trees in a forest as old as the creation, clear the land, raise his Indian corn, and presently become an easy settler. If we wish to settle the Cape, it must be with such characters as these, the hardy agriculturist, not the puny manufacturer; and every attempt to elucidate a subject of such moment should be adopted. Your correspondent G. A. reasons well, therefore, in all he says; and we shall act well, if we form a permanent and increasing settlement in the South of Africa, for a day will come when we shall want it. Jan. 13. ever THE study of Biography of the most interesting and instructive parts of History. When we read of any person who has made himself couspicuous, as a statesman, lawyer, or soldier, or who has been pre-eminent in any branch of literature, a natural wish arises to know something of the private life and character of such a man. In this branch of knowledge, Great Britain is second to no other country; and the many valuable works which we possess, treating of the lives of eminent men, which this kingdom has produced, may be considered as rendering any further elucidation of the subject unnecessary. It strikes me, however, that a very entertaining as well as useful work might still be formed, with this object in view; and I shall state my ideas for the consideration of any person who may be disposed to see the subject in the same light as I do. The Abbey Church of Westminster contains the ashes of a very large portion of the majesty, worth, genius, and abilities, of this nation. What I should propose, therefore, is, that the several epitaphs of the monuments and tombstones should be followed by a short biographical sketch of the lives and characters of the persons commemorated. This would form a very interesting guide to parties, who from curiosity may be led to visit that venerable pile, and be a material addition to the many books which have been written, illustrative of the topography of the Metropolis. The notices in such a work should not, I' think, be select, but general; though the extent of each notice should, of course, be in proportion to the interest of the subject; and this point alone would require the exercise of a sound judginent. I cannot but persuade myself, that such a proposal as the above would be well received, and meet with an adequate reward for the labour it might occasion. Now I am upon the subject of projects in literature, let me suggest the following to your botanical readers. First, a Flora of the United Kingdom, arranged according to soils. It is well known that a considerable portion of the plants indigenous in these kingdoms are local, and can with difficulty be cultivated with success, in a different soil from that of their natural habitat. A skilful arrangement of plants, therefore, according to the above idea, would be an useful assistant to the practical agriculturist, and be interesting in a philosophical point of view. To this a very useful appendage would be, the provincial names of indigenous plants, arranged under the Linnæan names. Many of our common weeds are known by dif ferent names in different counties; and such a list of names would at once designate, in any part of the kingdom, the plants treated of in any agricultural work, and thereby prevent confusion and mistakes. Secondly, an alphabetical Catalogue of the generic names of plants, with the derivation thereof, the Authors who |
