ON SENSIBILITY.

prehenfion, but is vendered incapable of enjoying the prefent, and the bleff. ings that are placed within his reach are neglected altogether, or received with coolness and difcontent. He fees every o er through a dar, ened glafs; he can undertake nothing with fpirit, becaufe his gloomy imagination, ever induftrious in tormenting itself, conjures up a thousand vexations and croffes that may attend his enterprize: confequently he becomes weak-minded and cowardly. And of what avail is all this anxiety? If indeed misfortunes could be prevented, or even leffened, by anticipation, there would be fome colour of reason for indulging this gloomy temper; but as our fears will neither prevent nor diminish them, as

torturing our imaginations now will not prevent our feeling the evil that we dread when it really arrives, why make the whole of our life miferable, through fear that at fome part of it we may meet with misfortunes? How different is the character of him who really poffeffes fenfibility? Hope is the conftant inmate of his bofom; his prefent misfortunes are reduced, nay almolt annihilated, by his hopes of the future; he receives the gifts of Heaven with thankful cheerfulness; all men are his brothers; and he evinces his fenfibility, not by brooding over his own misfortunes, but by using his utmolt endeavours to alleviate the miffortunes of those around him. ISABELLA.

THE CAMELEON.

GOLBERRY, during his refidence in with astonishing rapidity. Refer

M. in Africa, afcertained the faculty ring to their colour, M. Golberry fays,

attributed to the Cameleon, of living upon air alone for a confiderable length of time: he confined five Cameleons in feparate cages, furrounded by a fine gauze, fo as to exclude any infect, or fubftance of any defcription, floating in the air. In a few days they became thin, and acquired a blackish grey colour, a certain fign of their diftiefs; but having arrived at a great degree of leannefs, they remained in the fame ftate for the space of a month, without any evident diminution of their ftrength. At the end of two months, they became fo weak and languid as to be unable to move from the bottom of their cages-their skins became almost black, their eyes heavy, and they could not inflate themfelves to more than half their usual fize; they at length became nothing more than animated keletons. The first that died, exifted 89 days without food; the fecond, 91 days; the third, 105 days; the fourth, 115 days. The fifth Cameleon had been 116 days without food, when M. Golberry fet it at liberty, and in a fortnight it recovered colour and itrength; hortly after which it efcaped from ins further obfervation.

The Cameleon lays motionless on a bough, or in the grafs, and lets its glutinous tongue, which refembles an earth-worm, hang pendant; the tongue is probably gifted with a fcent, by which Imall infects are attracted; and when covered with them, it is drawn,

"When I kept my Cameleons in a cage, and plagued or tormented them, I law that they laboured under anguith and rage, which they tenfibly exprefled by expiring the air fo ftrongly that its force became audible; foon after which thefe animals became lean, and their fine green colour was tarnished. On continuing to teaze them, they became a yellow green; then a yellow, spotted with red; then a yellow brown, spotted with red brown; next a brown grey, marked with black. At length they became thinner, and affumed different fhades; but thefe were the only colours I could fucceed in making them adopt."-M. Golberry wrapped them in different coloured ituffs, and left them for whole days in that Hate, but the colour of the animal was never affected by the practice, and he is of opinion that the change of colour is produced by its internal motions, and the influence of heat or cold, light and darkness, health, eafe, &c. The Cameleon has a power, peculiar to itfelf, of moving its eyes in every direction, and entirely independent of each other.

The Cameleon is fo organized, as not only to infpire a very great quantity of air, but also to retain, absorb, and digeft this fluid, which penetrates and filters through all parts of the body, fo that even the feet, tail, and eyes, are filled with it.

PINDAR's

'Twas the reverfe. For much fire tried,
With all her mind and many an ardent prayer,

To turn his better thoughts afide,

And innocence infnare.

But her fpeeches loathfome prove;

His wrath they kindled, not his love.

Sudden from the nymph he turn'd,
And all her fond entreaties fpurn'd;
For his father's ire he fear'd,

Who hofpitality rever'd.

But Jove, who reigns fupreme the gods among,

And rolls the fleecy clouds along,

Look'd down from heaven; for well he knew

Worth to requite with honours due.

Peleus' wrongs employ'd his thought;

Soon a fea-born bride he fought ;

One of the god-like Nereid race,
Whofe hands the golden distaff brace.

STROPH. III.

For Jove, to Neptune near allied,

Him with potent reafons plied;
Who, quitting Æg, foon attains
The Ifthmus, and its celebrated plains.
Where hilarity's gay throng

Receive their god with pipe and fong;
And, contending in the dance,

With valorous strength of limbs advance.

Still

WE

Still fate, that o'er our birth prefides,
On every enterprize decides.

But thou, reclin'd on Victory's arms,
Shalt court the goddess' winning charms,
And gain, Euthymenes, immortal praise,
Thro all Ægina fung in ever-varying lays.

E are told by Clemens Alexandrinus, that Pindar imitated in his moral fentences the proverbs of Solomon. In the lines before us, Jupiter is reprefented as looking down from heaven, and approving the conduct of Pelcus. In the facred fcriptures fimilar expreffions occur. God is there faid to have looked down from heaven, to punish or to fpare.

References to Pindar are frequent in Gregory Nazianzen. Our poet is

quoted more than once in his oration on Bafil. The father, in his poem to Seleucus, advifes him to read the pagan writers; but with caution. He wishes him to retain ὅσα μὲν αὐτοῖς εἰς ἀρετὴν yxia but to turn away from their fables, ως βρόχουςτε καὶ πάγας, γέλωτος αξίους καὶ δακρύων, δαιμόνων διδάγματα. He recommends to him to cull, like the bee, fweets from every flower; but τὰς ἀκανθας φευγε, καὶ ξόδων δρίπου.

Y.

THIS Crofs is fituated on the Eaft fide of the road, almoft in the middle of the town, and has been a crofs time immemorial. Formerly it was a column of wood raised upon a little hillock, and of confiderable height, from whence the village took the name of Tottenham High Crofs. About 1580 it had four fpars to fupport or keep it upright, and the top was covered with lead, to keep off the water, and preferve it from falling to decay. Being much out of repair, it was taken down about two hundred years ago, and the prefent

ftructure raised in its flead by Dean Wood, who lived in the houfe next behind it. The edifice is octangular, built with bricks, finishing at top in a point crowned with a weather-cock and the initials of the four cardinal points. On the South and West aspects were placed ftone dials, one of which is ftil remaining; and under the necking in the brick-work are made croffes formed like the letter T, from the Greek T, alluding to the form of the true cross, and called Tau Crolles.

VESTIGES

VESTIGES,

COLLECTED AND RECOLLECTED,
BY JOSEPH MOSER, ESQ.

MR. JUSTICE CROOKE.

NUMBER XIX.

THIS learned Judge has, by hiftorians, been cenfured for a verfatility which can scarcely be termed profeffional, becaufe, although an advocate pleading for his client may, and, fuch is the na ture of things, must, be allowed confiderable latitude; though he muft, in the courfe of his exertions, be imagined to fee the fame objects in different points of view, as he may, at different periods, be engaged on fides of the fame question diametrically oppofite, and because he is, both by law and reafon, fuppofed to be placed in exactly the fame fituation with the perfon whofe caufe he is either urging or defending, and is, for the minute, believed to have adopted the fame fentiments, the fame prejudices, to be furnished with the fame excuses, and, with fuperior talents, to be equally interested in a keen investigation of the cafe as his client would have been if he had stood in his place and spoken in perfon, as was perhaps the original practice, instead of availing himfelf of that brilliant, that illuminated assist. ance, which the Bar never fails to fupply. This may briefly account for that verfatility of difpofition, or rather of pleading, which has been fometimes drawn forth as a subject of observation, by those that had more wit than either judgment or difcretion. But although, as was observed, we may excufe, nay applaud, the exertions of advocates, frequently made against the grain; though we may admire their happy turns, and elegant apologies, for purfuing a profeffional line, which certainly does not demand any, it feems much more difficult, when we meet upon the historical record any part of the conduct of a judge that amounts to a waiver, to treat it with that charitable indulgence which we owe to each other as human beings with regard to fentiments, because we may suppose those exalted perfons who know their opinions have, in many cafes, the force

VOL. XLV. Jan. 1804.

and effect of law, never did, at any period, adopt them haftily, nor, which feems a much more difficult task, refcind them without due confideration. Yet it does appear, cafting a retrospective glance at that turbulent period when it would feem that the whole pandemonium had been indulged with a holiday, in order to harafs and deftroy that excellent and amiable Monarch, the unfortunate Charles, that the fcience of waivering had mounted from the Bar to the Bench, and was, in colours glaring and itrong, alluding to their fanguine and fable tints, and, alas! too permanent with respect to their durability, exhibited in the conduct of the Judge, or rather Judges, who are the fubject of this short notice.

When the legality of collecting fhipmoney was agitated, and the King fent his letter containing queries to the. Judges, ten of them gave their answer in favour of its faid legality, while the other two, Grooke and Hutton, diffented at first, but in a short time being convinced, they owned it to be lawful, and, with the reft of their brethren, fubfcribed to that opinion *.

In this form the matter refted. This ex parte opinion of the Judges being acted upon as the law of the land, pro-duced the famous cafe of the King and Hampden, refpecting which, when it came, upon demurrer, to be argued in the Exchequer Chamber, the only two that diffented were Mr. Justice Crooke and Mr. Juftice Hutton. "The former," fays Whitlock, "had, with his reverend brethren, refolved to give judgment in favour of the King, and to that purpofe having examined every point with the utmost accuracy, he had prepared his argument: but a few days before the cafe was to come on, having hinted his" perfeverance in "opinion to fome relations, it came to the ears of his wife," who, though a good and pious Lady, it appears, had a fall fpice of republicanifm, fome final defire * Collier.