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lip of the bell. This bell is supposed by Dr. Clarke to have been founded in 1653, during the reign of Alexis, although the Russians for the most part

maintain, probably on account of the female figure with which it is ornamented, that it was cast during the reign of their Empress Anne. This great and powerful princess succeeded Peter the Great on the throne, in 1725.

ANECDOTE OF THE LATE BENJAMIN WEST, PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY.

IN the month of June, 1745, one of his sisters, who had been married some time before, and who had a daughter, came with her infant to spend a few days at her father's. When the child was asleep in the cradle, Mrs. West invited her daughter to gather flowers in the garden, and committed the infant to the care of Benjamin during their absence, giving him a fan to flap away the flies from molesting his little charge. After some time, the child happened to smile in its sleep, and its beauty attracted his attention. He looked at it with a pleasure which he had never before experienced, and observing some paper on a able, together with pens and red and black ink, he seized them with agitation, and endeavoured to delineate a portrait; although at this period he had never seen an engraving or a picture, and was only in the seventh year of his age. Hearing the approach of his mother and sister, he endeavoured to conceal what he had been doing; but the old lady observing his confusion, inquired what he was about, and requested him to show her the paper. He obeyed, entreating her not to be angry. Mrs. West, after looking some time at the drawing with evident pleasure, said to her daughter, "I declare, he has made a likeness of little Sally;" and kissed him with much fondness and satisfaction. This encouraged him to say, that if it would give her any pleasure, he would make pictures of the flowers which she held in her hand; for the instinct of his genius was now awakened, and he felt that he could imitate the forms of those things which pleased her sight. This happened in America, near Springfield in Pennsylvania, where West was born.-GALT's Life of West.

HOWEVER frequently you are injured, if real penitence and contrition follow the offence, a Christian is always bound to forgive.-BISHOP PORTEUS.

THE nominal professions of religion with which many persons content themselves, seem to fit them for little else than to disgrace Christianity by their practice.-MILNER.

A KIND refusal is sometimes as gratifying as a bestowal: he who can alleviate the pain of an ungracious act is unpardonable unless he do so.

ANNIVERSARIES IN JULY.
MONDAY, 8th.

1397 The Union of Caimar, by which Norway, Sweden and Denmark, were formed into a single kingdom, under Margaret of Denmark, commonly called the "Semiramis of the North." This union lasted till 1520, when Sweden became again an independent state under Gustavus Vasa.

1797 Died, at Beaconsfield, Edmund Burke.

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TUESDAY, 9th.

1497 Vasco de Gama sailed from Belem, near Lisbon, on a voyage of discovery, which terminated in his finding the passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, while Columbus was seeking the shores of Asia, by sailing continually to the West, and in so doing discovered the New World. The Portuguese navigator, by patiently pursuing the Coast of Africa, and at length doubling the Cape, which terminates this continent on the south, actually arrived on this longsought coast the 22nd of May, 1499, after a voyage of one year and ten months.

1762 Catherine II. deposed her husband, Peter III., and caused herself to be proclaimed Empress of all the Russias. 1816 The countries of La Plata and Paraguay declared themselves free, and assumed the name of the United Provinces of South America.

WEDNESDAY, 10th.

1212 London Bridge was nearly consumed by a fire, which broke out at both ends at the same time. In this conflagration near 3000 persons perished, the sides of the bridge being occupied by rows of houses, there was, consequently, no escape for the unfortunate inhabitants, thus hemmed in by the fire on two sides, and the water behind.

1472 The Town of Beauvais saved from falling into the hands of the Burgundians by the courage and zeal of the women, who, when the garrison, exhausted by a long resistance, were on the point of giving way, came to their assistance, led by one Jeanne de Hachette. This heroine herself threw down from the walls the Burgundian officer, who was about to plant his standard on them. Louis XI. made an honourable marriage for her, and commanded that the event should be annually commemorated by a procession, in which the females should walk first; a custom which prevails to this day.

1559 Henry II. of France died of a wound in the eye, received in a tournament from the Count de Montgomery. In his last moments the monarch commanded that the unfortunate, but innocent, cause of his death should not be molested; but, fifteen years after, he was arraigned for the fact, and sacrificed to the revengeful feelings of Catherine de Medicis. THURSDAY, 11th.

1708 The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene obtained a great victory over the French at Audenard, or Oudenarde, on the Scheldt.

1536

FRIDAY, 12th.

Death of Erasmus.-He was one of the most learned men of the extraordinary age in which he flourished. Equally courted by the Sovereigns of France and England, and by the Popes of the House of Medici, he could never be induced to abandon the learned pursuits in which he delighted, for the employments or benefices so profusely offered to him. The cotemporary of Luther, it has been said of him, that there was not an error which Luther sought to reform that Erasmus had not made the subject either of severe censure or keen satire; yet, restrained by the natural timidity of his temper, by his love of peace, and hoping that mild measures would produce a gradual amelioration of the vices he so loudly censured, he chose rather to assume the character of a mediator between Luther and the Church of Rome, than openly to join the party of the reformers. He died at Basle, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and was interred in the Cathedral of that town.

SATURDAY, 13th.

1771 Captain Cook, in the Endeavour, returned to Portsmouth, having sailed round the world.

1788 A dreadful storm took place in France, which desolated the country and destroyed the harvest for a space of fifty leagues. 1789 The first breaking out of the French Revolution; the mob of Paris forcibly entered the Hospital des Invalides, and possessed themselves of the arms deposited there.

1793 Marat, the coadjutor of Robespierre and Danton, and one of the worst monsters the Revolution produced, was assassinated by Charlotte Cordé.

SUNDAY, 14th.

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

1223 Died at Mantes, in the forty-third year of his reign, and the fifty-ninth of his age, Philip II. of France, called by his historians Philip-Augustus. He was the great rival of Richard Cœur de Lion of England.

1824 Riho Riho, or Tamehameha II., King of the Sandwich Islands, died in London; his wife, who came to this country with him, had died about a week before.

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Saturday

No 66.

JULY

TERATURE

Magazine.

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

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VOL. III.

LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL.

THE first authentic mention of Lichfield occurs in Bede's Ecclesiastical History, where it is alluded to as the See of an Anglo-Saxon Bishop. The name is of Saxon origin, but its etymology has been much disputed. In the Saxon Chronicle the word is written Licetfeld; in Bede, Lyccetfelth and Licitfeld. Some etymologists derive its signification from leccian, to water (and it is well known to have abounded in numerous lakes and pools); others, from the verb licean or lician, to like, or to be agreeable, and therefore make it to signify Pleasant Field. It has however been more frequently allowed to be derived from lic, a dead body, and consequently as signifying cadaverum campus, the Field of Dead Bodies. This derivation is supported by a prevailing tradition, of the martyrdom of a thousand British Christians on this spot, at the time of the persecution (A. D. 303) under Dioclesian, when Maximian was governor of Britain. It is certain that the present diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, anciently formed a part of the kingdom of Mercia, which, being conquered by (the Christian King) Oswy, introduced the Christian faith into this powerful kingdom of the Saxon Heptarchy. He made Lichfield an episcopal See, by appointing Diuma, a Scotsman, the first Bishop, A. D. 656. After a succession of three others, the famous Ceadda, or Chad, was raised to the Bishopric A. D. 667. Bede informs us, that "he had built himself an habitation not far removed from the church; wherein he was wont to pray, and read with a few, that is, seven or eight, of the brethren, as often as he had any spare time from the labour and ministry of the word." From this period, little is known of the history of the See till after the Norman Conquest, when at the National Council held in London, a. D. 1075, it was determined to remove the See of Lichfield to Chester, which was done by Peter (the first bishop appointed by William the Conqueror), who went by the appellation of Bishop of Chester and Lichfield. Robert de Lymesey was his successor, and removed the See to Coventry, having obtained from the King, the custody of that Abbey (originally founded by Canute); this edifice having been restored and greatly enriched by Leofric, Earl of Hereford, and his celebrated wife Lady Godiva. Robert Peeke, chaplain to Henry the First, was consecrated to this See, A. D. 1117, and was succeeded, 1128, by Roger de Clinton, who was a liberal benefactor both to the city and Cathedral church of Lichfield. He is said to have rebuilt great part of the latter, to have increased the number of Prebendaries, and to have appointed the first Canons. De Clinton restored the See to Lichfield, and styled himself Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry. Until the establishment of Chester as a separate See, A. D. 15-42, the succeeding bishops were indifferently called Bishops of Lichfield, Coventry, and Chester, having an episcopal residence at each place. Coventry and Lichfield was the usual designation till Bishop Hacket, on the restoration of the monarchy, placed Lichfield before Coventry, as a compliment to the loyalty of the former place. Walter de Langton succeeded to the See in 1295, and did much benefit to the city, forming streets, causeways, &c.; he augmented the income of the Vicars, expended 20001. on a shrine for St. Chad, and rebuilt the Bishop's Palace, giving the old episcopal house to the Vicars Choral.

In the time of Henry the Eighth, the Cathedral became a prey to depredation; its ornaments, statues, shrines, and all other valuable articles were converted to the use of the crown, with the exception of the shrine of St. Ceadda; this was saved by the intercession of the Bishop, Rowland Lea, who ob

tained it from the King. This prelate earnestly endeavoured to save the monastery of Coventry, and its fine church, from spoliation, but in this his labour was fruitless, and they were entirely demolished. Little of interest occurs afterwards in the historical details of Lichfield, till the commencement of the civil wars. In 1642, a troop was raised for King Charles by Sir Richard Dyott, Kt. : during this time the Close sustained three sieges, by which the Cathedral was greatly injured. Preparations to considerable extent were made, 1643, to defend the Close against Lord Brooke, and three thousand troops. This nobleman was a zealous opposer of episcopacy, and had determined on the complete destruction of the Cathedral; on his approach to Lichfield he prayed that he might be annihilated if his cause were unjust; on his return from placing his artillery, he was shot by a brace of bullets, discharged by a deaf and dumb gentleman, of the name of Dyott, who had watched Lord Brooke's motions from the top of the cathedral. Lord Brooke's body was removed to Warwick to be buried with his ancestors; the armour worn by him on this fatal day, and his doublet stained with blood, are in the armoury at Warwick Castle. The gun with which he was killed remains in possession of the Dyott family, resident near Lichfield.

Notwithstanding the check given to the rebels by the death of their leader, the garrison could not long stand the siege, and were constrained to yield to the Parliamentary forces. This was the first cathedral which surrendered to them, and every species of havoc and profanation was committed by these miscreants. The soldiers belonging to the King's party were imprisoned in the Cathedral three days and four nights without food, except what could privately be obtained, and the inclemency of the season obliged them to convert the seats and desks into fuel. At this period the venerable pile became one scene of desolation, the centre spire was battered down, the costly monuments destroyed, and amongst others, that of Lord Paget, sculptured in Italy at the enormous expense of 7007. Dugdale says, "courts of guard were kept in the aisles; they broke up the pavement, every day hunted a cat with hounds throughout the Church, delighting themselves in the echo from the goodly vaulted roof, and to add to their wickedness, brought a calf into it wrapt in linen, carried it to the font, sprinkled it with water, and gave it a name in scorn and derision of that holy sacrament, Baptism; and when Prince Rupert recovered that Church by force, Colonel Russel, the governor carried away the communion-plate and linen, with whatsoever else was of value."

The Close was retaken by Prince Rupert in 1643, and Colonel Hawey Bagot was appointed Governor of the garrison; he had the honour of entertaining Charles the First, after the battle of Naseby, when his majesty left Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and slept at Governor Bagot's, in Lichfield, on the 15th of June 1645; this unfortunate monarch twice afterwards revisited this city; but short was its period of tranquillity, for in 1646, the Close was again taken by the Parliamentary forces, under Sir William Brereton, and its walls dismantled. In 1651, by authority of the Rump Parliament, men were employed to strip off the lead from the roof of the Cathedral, and break in pieces the Bells*. It may not be uninteresting to remark on the heavy afflictions, or violent deaths, suffered by many of the spoliators of the Church of those days; among others, Colonel Danvers who stripped the roof, and Pickings who demolished the bells, met with untimely ends.

For the History of Bells, see this Magazine, vol. i., p, 20.

of the church is 400 feet, and the breadth in the transept 187 feet. The Nave and Aisles are good specimens of the simple yet exquisite taste of the architecture of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; the clustered columns, delicately moulded arches, and vaulted roof, impress the beholder with a solemn and pleasing effect. Amongst the numerous monuments, we must give the first place to that of the Cathedral's greatest benefactor, the good and pious Bishop Hacket: it consists of a recumbent figure, and at the head is engraved the following appropriate inscription; "I will not suffer mine eyes to sleep, till I have found out a place for the temple of the Lord." But the monument which attracts the eager attention of all admirers of the sculptorial art, is that erected to the memory of the two Miss Robinsons; it is considered a chef-d'œuvre of Chantrey's, and certainly has rarely been equalled for beauty of design and workmanship. The remains of many celebrated characters are recorded within these walls-that colossus of literature, Dr. Johnson, justly the pride and boast of Lichfield: Lady Mary Wortley Montague, who so greatly benefited mankind by the introduction of the art of Inoculation. Gilbert Walmesley, Dr. Smalbroke, Dean Addison, David Garrick, and Andrew Newton, who founded and endowed the noble institution in the Close, for the widows and orphans of Clergy; for this purpose, he gave, by will and donation, the sum of forty thousand pounds.

We find that although the building was in this | being no less worthy of notice. The external length dilapidated state, its ministers did not neglect their duties, and Ashmole has the following memorandum. "This morning Mr. Rawlings of Lichfield told me, that the vicars of the Cathedral had entered the Chapter-house, and there said service; that this, with the Vestry, was the only place in the church that had a roof to shelter them." On the Restoration, Dr. John Hacket was happily appointed prelate: he found the church little better than a heap of ruins, but, zealous in the cause of religion, he immediately set to work with an activity rarely equalled. The morning after his arrival, he employed his own coach horses to remove the rubbish, and took the most vigorous measures to obtain assistance; petitioning from house to house for pecuniary aid, and being himself a liberal benefactor. By his unwearied diligence and munificence, the Cathedral in the space of eight years had nearly regained its original splendour, and was re-consecrated in 1669. The intrepid character of this admirable man may be shown by the following anecdote.-Hacket was preaching in London, during the persecution of the established Church, and although the Liturgy was proscribed, under a severe penalty, he continued the use of it; at length, an armed sergeant and trooper were sent to the church to compel his obedience, but he, with a firm voice and unintimidated manner, read the service as he was wont to do; and when the soldiers, placing a pistol at his head, threatened him with instant death, he calmly replied "Soldiers, I am doing my duty, do you do yours!" then with a voice equally composed, he resumed the prayers. The soldiers, awe-struck by his pious courage, left the church in astonishment!

From Bishop Hacket's time, the Cathedral underwent little alteration till the year 1788, when the building being acknowledged to be in a very dilapidated state, subscriptions were raised to repair and renovate it. Under the direction of Mr. Wyatt, the external structure was put in good order, and the internal decorations restored and embellished. The beauty and magnificence of the edifice has since been greatly enhanced, by the addition of some painted windows, from the dissolved Abbey of Herckenrode in Germany: this valuable purchase was obtained by the Dean and Chapter, through the liberality of the late Sir Brooke Boothby, who made the acquisition when travelling on the Continent, for the small sum of 2007., and generously transferred to them his bargain, estimated at 10,000l. These windows were painted at the period when the art had attained its highest degree of perfection, and are considered by connoisseurs as very valuable and choice specimens. Several modern windows of superior merit, have also been inserted, by the present Dean, Dr. Woodhouse, and others interested in the embellishment of the venerable pile. The large window at the west, which had been totally destroyed during the civil wars, and restored by James the Second when Duke of York, has been filled with painted glass, from a legacy of Dr. Addenbroke, who died Dean of this Cathedral, in 1776.

Although this Cathedral cannot compete in size and magnificence with York and some others, in point of elegance it is inferior to none, and its light and beautiful architecture is the theme of universal admiration. The building is in form of a cross, having a large spire at the intersection of the cross, and two smaller ones at the west end; the pyramidal form of the western façade, enriched with highly wrought decorations and tracery, is eminently beautiful; neither must the centre porch be forgotten,

The Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, was in early times of very great extent; it is now much more limited, but contains the whole county of Stafford (except Brome and Clent, which belong to Worcester), all Derbyshire, the greater part of Warwickshire, and nearly half of Shropshire. It has the Archdeaconries of Salop, Coventry, Stafford and Derby. In the reign of King John, permission was granted to the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry to build a castle at Eccleshall, and this has generally been, as it now is, the residence of the Bishop. There is also a palace in Lichfield belonging to the See; the present one was erected in 1687, by Bishop Wood, on the ground occupied by the garden of Langton's Palace (of which there are no remains), and was built in compliance with an order from Archbishop Sancroft, as compensation for damage committed upon property belonging to the See.

Lichfield being situated on the road between London and Liverpool (now so much the line of communication with our sister country), is much frequented by travellers; and few places are more interesting to the lover of literature, having been either the natal spot, or home, of so many distin guished for learned attainments. Every one capable of appreciating the profound wisdom and moral energy of Johnson, must feel a reverence and respect for the place where he first drew breath. Thomas Newton, Bishop of Bristol, brother to Andrew Newton, whom we have already mentioned, and the learned author of Dissertations on the Prophecies, was a native of this city; as was also that famous virtuoso, Elias Ashmole, the contributor of a valuable collection of curiosities and MSS. to the University of Oxford, now assembled in the Ashmolean Museum. Here was the paternal residence of that elegant scholar, Addison; and in addition to the names already brought forward, Lichfield could boast amongst its inhabitants the eccentric James Day, author of Sandford and Merton, Mr. and Miss Edgeworth, Dr. Darwin, of botanical celebrity, and several others of highly esteemed intellectual powers.

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WOODCROFT HOUSE, Of which we furnish a view from the pencil of Mr. Blore, is situated in the parish of Etton, in Northamptonshire, about four miles from the city of Peterborough. This building well deserves notice as an early and perfect specimen of English domestic architecture. The form of the windows is peculiar to the time of the first two Edwards, and the character of the mouldings evidently points out that period, as the date of its erection. The masonry is remarkably well executed, and the mouldings beautifully worked; those forming the finish of the Tower, over the entrance, are distinguished by a boldness rarely to be met with. Originally, this must have been a place of some strength; it was surrounded by water, excepting at the western approach, and the walls are four feet in thickness. Though nothing remains of an embattled parapet, there can be little doubt but that it possessed such provision for defence, and that in this, as in other respects, it partook of the character of the mansionhouses of the age.

The round bastion at the north end, represented in the drawing, is that portion of the building to which an interesting historical incident is attached; one of those events, which are the melancholy, and certain fruits of anarchy and civil war.

66

sented in the drawing. His hands being either actually cut off, or severely hacked and bruised by the sabres of the soldiers, he quitted his hold and fell into the moat underneath, desiring only to reach the land and die there; but this miserable boon was denied him, as, in attempting to reach the bank, he was knocked on the head with the but-end of a musket, and drowned*.

May we never, by God's blessing, witness a recurrence of the scenes which were presented at this eventful period of our history! Our great dramatic poet, who showed his patriotism, by always giving to his countrymen the wisest counsel, and encouraging correct sentiments respecting justice and good government, thus beautifully describes a kingdom, restored to the blessings of internal tranquillity.

No more shall trenching war channel her fields,
Nor bruise her flow'rets with the armed hoofs
Of hostile paces: those opposed eyes,
Which, like the meteors of a troubled heaven,
All of one nature, of one substance bred,
Did lately meet in the intestine shock
And furious close of civil butchery,
Shall now, in mutual, well-beseeming ranks,
March all one way; and be no more oppos'd
Against acquaintance, kindred, and allies;
The edge of war, like an ill-sheathed knife,
No more shall cut his master.-Henry IV., Part I.
H. M.

Sir Walter Scott, in his novel of Woodstock, has skilfully worked this incident into the narrative, but has departed from historical accuracy, both in fixing the scene in Shropshire, and restoring to

SYMBOLICAL WRITING

Dr. Michael Hudson, who is styled by Wood, "an understanding and sober person, and of great fidelity," was, from his sincerity, called by King Charles the First, his "plain-dealing Chaplain.' When the troubles of that period commenced, Hud-life the sufferer, whom he calls Albany Rochecliffe. son, like some others of his profession, left his benefice, under an impression that his monarch demanded his personal aid; and King Charles having, as we are told, an especial respect for his signal loyalty and courage," intrusted him with some important secrets, as regarded his own proceedings. Hudson proved himself a courageous soldier, but, being apprehended by the Parliamentary forces, he suffered a tedious confinement. Escaping from his prison in London, he joined a body of royalists, who had fled to Woodcroft House. When attacked there by the Parliamentary forces, Hudson, with some of his bravest soldiers, went up to the battlements, where they defended themselves for some time. At length they yielded, upon the promise of quarter; but when the rebels were admitted, they broke their engagement. Hudson was forced over the battlements, and clung to one of the stone spouts repre

IT would seem that the earliest of all written language consisted of actual drawings of the forms of animals or things; rudely sketched, indeed, by the hands of our rude forefathers, but sufficiently plain to mark the object designed. This mode appears the more natural, because the representation of sounds, which express the names of things, by certain characters or alphabets, which is the mode now most extensively in use, must necessarily require some previous concert between two parties, the one of whom suggests, and the other agrees, that a particular mark or form on paper shall be the symbol for a particular sound. But if we suppose a savage separated from his friend, and wishing to communicate with him, without having had this previous consultation, and supposing that he has lent his distant acquaintance some articles of

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