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This true ftate of the matter rectifies the error in the account I before fent you, which, however, was long ago mentioned to me as a current and credited report.

The line fupplied by Academicus in the fimile at the end of the 8th book of the Iliad had efcaped my memory; which I can the more readily account for, as there is nothing in the original to which it indifpenfably attaches.

If Academicus has the honour of being acquainted with the celebrated Mr. Burke, and will apply to that gentleman, I apprehend his opinion of the Bishop's tranflation of Homer, which he perufed fome parts of about 30 years ago in the college of Dublin, will fupport the idea entertained of it by Dr. Lawfon. Yours, &c.

Mr. URBAN,

G. M.

June 22.

April, twelve days fooner than they appeared to me the year preceding. They were flying ftrong and active, fo much fo, that I could scarce ascertain whether there were five, or fix, or seven, as I did not go out of the room to observe them. They took the eye of a lady fitting with me, or they would have efcaped my notice; and as the feafon afterwards feemed retrograde, and it became again feverely cold, I did not fee any more of the fpecies until the 29th, or 30th day of that month. Thofe birds, therefore, I fufpe&t had fallen again into a ftate of reft, and their fa culties fufpended until a more genial fun and milder skies confpired to renew their powers. And if thefe birds continued with us in fuch a death-like state thefe intervening days, fo might they have continued as fecurely through the winter. But I fhould be glad to learn

EVERY confideration and every cies if

relative to them inclines me to conclude it more than probable our plumed friends, which feed upon the wing, and render our atmosphere falubrious, do, many of them, remain in this ifland during winter in a torpid ftate. Your correfpondent at Walton, near Liverpool, who kindly furnishes you, and me through your means, with a meteorological diary, fays, a friend of his obferved a swallow on the 11th of April laft. The weather about that time, I know, was fine, and favourable to their appearance; but it is fcarcely cre dible that this bird came fingly into this country, or that any of them should quit a warmer climate, where food abounds, for another whofe funs had not yet brought their diet to maturity.

Now every fpring affords us in our houfes ocular demonftration of a fingle fly, or two perhaps, crawling about in a funny window, ufing frequent efforts with their wings, which hardly convey them to the top of a fquare; and, if the weather changes to a cold cloudy sky, you may fearch perhaps in vain to difcover thofe flies, which have retired providentially to their hiding-place, there to remain until re-animated, to efcape the cleanly maiden's care. In like manner, the martins and fwallows fecrete themselves fomewhere from the eye of man, who wantonly or unwittingly might fruftrate the intent of their

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any correspondent of yours faw any

birds of this kind between the 14th
28th of April laft, and in particular on
the coldest days, and in what part of
this ifland.

Mr. URBAN,

June 22. SHALL be happy to fee an answer to your correfpondent C. W. p. 410, by a gentleman worthy the name of a philofopher; not that I feel any difficulty whatever in fatisfying my own mind refpeâing his question therein, but that at all times I attend with delight to their fentiments and opinions on things above the fir and bustle of this world. Though, at the fame time, believe me, I love the world, and all the paraphernalia which the old lady poffeffes, and in particular certain goodly beings therein, her offspring, many of whom appear to be defcendants of the dwellers on Olympus! Indeed, I do not wonder at the compliments or apprehenfions of the antients, for I perfuade my felf it is not within the limits of man's fagacity to conceive an order of creation, in Heaven itfelf, fuperior to the graceful forms and elegant endow ments, the dignified deportment of con fcious virtue, united with the winning manners and captivating beauties, which fo often attract our notice in this finworn world; and which, did they not perpetually claim our attention from their numbers, we otherwife might be induced, like fome of our progenitors, to think they were inhabitants of Heaven! And in very truth nothing more can be requifite to fit them for the skies

than

The

than to diveft themfelves, if poffible, of fome certain paffions and inclinings which they derive from Dame Nature, and which propenfities are co-eval with the earth itself; and this is evident, becaufe no creature exifts therein independent of fimilar difpofitions. tree is known by the fruit. So thofe goodly creatures, thofe angelic beings, have but the eafy talk to fubdue depreffing propenfities (which, gratified, leave a fting behind), and wing themfelves for heavenly manfions-from Aurelias. But I beg your pardon, Mr. Urban, and that of C. W. for running thus from the fubject of his enquiry. He wishes to know how it happens the atmospheres of the feveral ftars are never feen to affect the brilliancy of their appearance, provided our fky is ferene and clear. In the first place, C. W. evidently carries with him to thofe funs terreftrial ideas-as mortals are apt to do when they contemplate Heaven and angels. He fees this horizon frequently darkened by denfe humid vapours, of which there can be none in the fun and ftars. He fees our fuel (which always contains a confiderable portion of water) fend upwards volumes of black fmoke, and concludes thofe ever-burning funs muft put on a like appearance: but it is evident they do not; and though to be fure we are, and must remain, ig norant of the real matter which conftitute those bodies, yet we may divine the matter is not in all exactly the fame from the different colours of them, and which variety they continue to difplay unalterably.

There is no doubt, a being, ftanding on the fun, might have his view ob ftructed by volcanic explofions there; but fuch, on the face of the grand erup tive, at this diftance, are not vifible, except by the aid of glaffes-they be come minute by fpace, and, are nothings compared with the magnitude of the parent, whofe flaming difk is not confpicuoufly eclipfed thereby.

I know not how better to elucidate my ideas to your correfpondent than by requesting he will confider well the area of the moon's orbit; and this he may do by looking at that fatellite, and conceiving allo the like diftance on the other fide our earth; let him then imagine this whole area to be compleatly filled by one folid body of compaƐt matter; and that body will then be about half the diameter only of our fun. This huge inflammable orb, being removed

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2d July, 1777.

About a fortnight ago I went to fee Tom, at Bow, where he is very happy, and hath. made great improvement, efpecially in the ufe of his pen. This I know will give you pleafure; but it will give you more to read the following narrative of cures performed by a defpifed weed that grows on every ditch, and is a nuifance in every garden, which I fend with a request that you will make it as public as poffible, and as fpeedily as you can, becaufe, the plant being now in bloom, I ap prehend its juices will neither be fo copious and I am very defirous that as many more proofs may be made of its virtues as poffible during the remains of the feafon.

nor efficacious after its feeds are formed;

Tom's master, Mr. Emblin, informed me, that he was perfectly cured of a violent fcorbutic complaint, which had afflicted him many years, notwithstanding he had taken Maredant's drops, other noftrums, and feawater, by drinking a tea-cup-full of the freth-expreffed juice of Clivers, or Cleavers, commonly called Hariff, or Goofe-grafs, ten fucceflive mornings.

That, being agreeably furprised at his own medicine to feveral of his boys, who were extraordinary cure, he administered the fame affected with fcorbutic humours, one of them remarkably and feverely; and they were cured every one.

That a perfon in Bow had been afflicted feveral months with a violent pain in the tendons of his heels, which communicated all up the hind part of his legs, and was attended with a great depreffion of fpirits; he was under the care of an eminent apotheca❤ ry, who treated his complaint as rheumatic, fpring, having heard of the cures Mr. En without giving him any relief. Early laft

blin had made of himself and his fcholars, by taking the juice of Hariff, or Goole grafs, he had the young plants gathered, and ufed

them as tea; but fo foon as they were big enough to furnith a proper quantity of juice, he took a tea-cup-full ten mornings, and is to far recovered that he feels nothing of his complaint, unless after fevere or long exer

cife. It is prefumed this person, for fo obftinate a complaint, fhould have continued the medicine longer.

A child in Bow, a girl about two years old, appeared to be finking under a complication of diseases. She had a fevere wheezing and fhortness of breath, a rustling in her breast, vomited a great quantity of phlegm, had loft her appetite, and got very little fleep; confequently was very weak, and judged to be in a dangerous way. The child's nurfe informed its mother that the ferved in a family where a young lady, fupposed to be far gone in a confumption, was perfectly cured by taking, by the direction of a great phyfician, a tea-cup-full of the juice of Hariff, or Goose-grafs, feveral times a day, after it had been boiled and fcummed till no more fcum would arife, and then close bottled. In confequence of this intelligence, the child's mother prepared and adminiftered this medicine, and in less then a fortnight all the forementioned fymptoms difappeared, the child recovered its appetite and fleep, and became quite lively. Its overjoyed parent boafted of the recovery of her child to an acquaintance, who had borne and brought up a great number of her own, who would allow no merit to the medicine, but infifted the cure was owing to the return of warm weather, and the child's natural ftrength. The medicine was left off; and, behold! all the fymptoms returned. The medicine was administered as before; the child recovered in the fame aftonishing manner, and is now very well.

This invaluable medicine was first introduced in the neighbourhood of Bow by a main-fervant in a gentleman's family, the palms of whofe hands broke out fo full of fores that he could not use them. She told her mistress that fhe muft have recourte to her old medicine, and that would fet her to rights Being asked what it was, the faid, that the had loft much of her time in fervice

by the fores which used to break out, as thofe fhe had then on her hands, in the spring of the year; that he had tried abundance of things, but found benefit from none; that at laft the was fent to an hofpital, from which the was difcharged as incurable; but was afterwards told of the juice of Hariff, or Goofegrafs, which he took as above, and was perfectly cured. This medicine was provided; the took it ten mornings, and, to the furprize of her miftrets and all the family, was perfectly cured.

A little while after this, a lad, who worked in the linen-ground near Bow, broke out in fores all over his bo ly, fo dreadfully, that he was reduced to ufe crutches for his fupport. Somebody, who had heard of the cure laft related, recommended the fame medicine to the lad, who took it, and got fo well as to return to his work, but left the place prefently after, and hath not fince been heard of.

I here two laft-recited cafes coming to the

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knowledge of Mr. Emblin, induced him to try the medicine; and he having related his own and the forementioned cures to me, whofe face at that time was very fore, I took. this fimple eafy draught ten mornings, and, I praife God! am perfectly well recovered. Thofe proofs of the extraordinary powers of this innocent tastelefs herb, I think, are fufficient to awaken the attention of every person who shall hear of them; wherefore, I repeat my request, that you will make them public as foon as poffible. Perhaps fome gentleman, whofe province it is to care for the health of British feamen, may take notice of it, and recommend its trial to the faculty; and if it shall be found to retain its fanative quality, when boiled and preserved in bottles, what a valuable acquifition will it prove!

The idea of making the above facts known did not occur to me fooner, or I would have attempted to have done it myself; but being obliged to fet out on my journey, and knowing the benevolence of your mind, I make no apology for devolving the task upon you.

Remember me to, &c. &c.

It may be eaten with or without other vegetables, as a fallad, with oil and vinegar.

Clivers have lately been recommended in cancers; the juice fhould be drunk twice a day in fuch quantities as the stomach will bear, and an ointment, made by boiling equal parts of hogs-lard and the juice of the Clivers, may be applied to the affected part.

Mr. URBAN,

June 25. LEST the hiftory of the life and

poems of Lovelace (which was continued in your Magazine for April) be totally forgot amidst a variety of other avocations, and the conteft for admiffion of the crowded materials of your incomparable publication, I fend you the character given of him by Philips, in his Theatrum Poetarum, p. 160; a critick, whofe opinions are of confiderable value, as they are fuppofed to have had the fanction of his uncle Milton. "Richard Lovelace," fays he, "an approved both fouldier, gentleman, and lover, and a fair pretender to the title of poet; a fouldier, having commanded a regiment in the late king s army; a gentleman of a Vilcount's *name and family; a lover militant under the banner of Lucafta, the lady regent under a poetical name of his poetical endeavours; and as to the last of his qualifications, befides the acute and not unpleasant file of his verfes, a man may difcern therein fometimes thofe fparks of poetic fire, which, had they

He fhould have faid Baron's-Baion Lovelace, of Hurley.

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been the main defign, and not parergon, in fome work of heroic argument, might happily have blazed out into the perfection of fublime poefy." CLIFFORDIENSIS. Yours, &c.

WHEN

Mr. URBAN, Ch. Ch. Oxford, June 14. we perufe a writer, who raifes in us a general admiration of his judgement and tafte, we are apt to adopt all his particular opinions without a fufficient enquiry into the propriety and juftice of them. This obfervation ftruck me very forcibly on reading a paffage in that exquifite piece of criticifm of Winkelmann, tranflated into Italian under the title of "Storia dell' Arti del difegno preffo gli Antichi." After having made fome excellent remarks on the influence of climate on the genius and temper of men, and the mechanifm of the human body, and illuftrated them by many ftriking examples, he proceeds to draw an inftance from our country *: "Those talents which the Greeks poffeffed for the Arts fill exift pretty generally among the Inhabitants of the Southern provinces of Italy, who have a great liveliness of imagination: while among other people, and efpecially with the Englishman, abforbed in reflexion ('Inglefe penfatore), cold reafon has too great a dominion over the mind. It has been faid, and not without fome foundation, that the poets beyond the Alps, although they fpeak the language of imagination, vet prefent few images to the eye; and indeed it must be agreed that the terrible defcriptions, in which confils the greatnefs of Milton, are not objects for a fublime and noble pencil, and could not even be expreffed in painting." It cannot be denied that there is fome truth in the general affertion, that, in Northern countries, the imagination is lefs fertile in producing lively objects for the pencil, and for the fame reafon there are few great painters in Northern counBut the remark is not happily Jurated by examples drawn froin Eng land. We have produced writers that, even in this refpect, may be compared with the Italians. The caules which counteract the effects of our Northerly fituation, appear to be thefe: ft, the variety of picturefque objects in our country; zdly, the influence of our form of government; and, 3dly, our connexion with the manners and litera

tries.

* Lib. I. cap. ill. § 23. edit. Roma, 1783.

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ture of our Southern neighbours. ft.
I believe even foreigners agree, that our
country is by no means deficient in
landfcape fcenery, of every fort. We
have fometimes as clear and foft a ky
as any in the landfcapes of Claude.
2dly. We have great advantages of go-
vernment. Our political confequence,
and the extenfivenefs of our commerce,
has at the fame time increafed our ar
dour for the fine arts, and furnished us
with the means of cultivating them. It
was after the cruel diffenfions of a long
civil-war had ceafed, and after. the
death of an overbearing and defpotic
monarch, that writers of excellence in
every kind of compofition arofe undet
the foftering reign of Elizabeth. The
prevailing fpirit of the times was grati-
fied by the fovereignty of a female, who
aggrandized her nation by an unparal-
leled train of fuccefs; and our language
arrived at a high degree of perfection
under the hands of Bacon, Raleigh,
Hooker, Sydney, Spenfer, and Shak-
speare.

From the two last might be
produced innumerable inftances of lively
During
and picturefque defcription.
the laft hundred years, the diffufion of
fcience, and a free form of government,
have greatly favoured our progrefs in
the arts.

3dly. Our connexion with our Southern neighbours has continued, fince the 11th century, to have a strong influence on our manners and language. At the time of the Norman Conqueft French cuftoms were fo much in vogue, that it was reckoned a difgrace to be ig norant of the Gallic tongue; and, fince that period, our expeditions in the Crufades, our conquefts in France, and our

conftant intercourfe with that and other Southern nations, have contributed much to embellish and enliven the Gothic heaviness of our native language. I cannot difmifs thefe obfervations without adding, that the illuftrious critick is right when he fays that fome of the fublime images of Milton are not to be delineated on canvas; but the fame remark is qually applicable to Homer and Dante *; and indeed the very nature of

#Longinus, S. 9. Who would attempt to paint the image of Difcord in the fourth book of the Iliad ?

Ουρανώ εςηρίξε καρα, και επί χθονι βαίνει.
Or that of Charon, in the third canto of the
Inferno ?

Qu nei per quete le lautre gote
A nocchier della livida palade

Che 'ntorno ogli occhi ave' di fiamme mote.
dublimity

fublimity feems to imply fomething fupernatural. M--s.

Mr. URBAN,

THE

July 7.

HE communications of Ferd. Stanley and R. P. relative to the biography of authors in the science of Heraldry, deferve that fincere acknowledgement which every collector is happy to pay to thofe who contribute with fo much liberality. I avow it most willingly, and hope for further information from your correfpondents upon a fubject, in examining which industry is the only claim I have to offer to the publick, and my fole merit that of ar ranging those materials for which I am indebted to my friends.

When F. S. confeffes that "he had once the folly to collect this fort of books," I truft he speaks with reference not to his own, but the opinion of thofe who juftly ridicule others for accumu. lating "all that reading which is never read; for I may with pleasure decide that he has perused them much at leaft to my advantage.

Voltaire, who fneered moft at thofe things which he would not take the trouble to understand, defined Heraldry to be "la science des fots qui ont de la mémoire." Let me not fuppofe that this Alimfy witticifm is allowed in fa&t by many general fcholars who have haftily confidered Heraldry as unconnected with literature.

My ambition may be, perhaps, fuch as my humble labours cannot authorize. I feel thefe investigations delightful to myfelf; and, like other enthufiafts, I am content to hope for fupport, though it be from prejudice.

From popular opinions refpecting at purfuit, now fo infultingly abandoned in that very country where it had its moft aufpicious origin, I have little to expect; but from thofe who are verfed in this study, and are defiious that England may full be the retreat of virtue and its diftinctions, with much diffi dence I folicit encouragement.

Mr. URBAN,

JAMES DALLAWAY.

July 8.

As a learned Academician of Paris has thought proper to accufe the English of pirating other nations inventions, and that there is a French gentleman of the fame fociety who teems to claim the honour of having found out a method of making a ftandard for an univerfal mealure, I take the liberty to

let my country-men know, by your means, that an Englishman has found the manner of coming to the defired perfection by making ufe of a double ftandard, the one latitudinal, and the other by an elementary principle, in which he has demonftrated how to make compound ftandards for finding univer fal measure in folids as in fluids.

I the rather enter into this affair, as nobody in England feems to take no. tice of it, though it has been a parlia mentary one, and has given an immenfe trouble to the member who was chairman on the enquiry for the reform on the dif cordance in weights and measures of England. I the rather look into this bufinefs, as the negligence which appears may deprive my country of the honour of having produced, in its capital, a man who has fhewn how to demonftrate the problem in hand. I defire this, Sir, to be known, on account of the National Affembly of France having ordered a meridian to be made from Dunkirk to Barcelona, in order to fix divifions on it, one of which is to be a standard; and that one of the members of the Academy feems to fet up for the original inventor of making ufe of one elementary measure for the rule wanted.

I have no thought of accufing the ingenious Monfieur de la Voifiere of faying he is the inventor; but he has not faid, that the principles he mentions were explained by me in the French Journals, 1780, in a more certain manner than according to his account he made experiments.

In order to be underflood, I must say fomething on what has been done to find a standard for weights and meafures; though there fhould be two ftandards, viz. one for measuring space, the other for finding out aliquot parts in gravity.

For more than a century paft, the pendulum has been looked upon as a proper inftrument for meafuring space as well as time; and was thought fuch a true principle, that its author forgot the ftandard for meafuring gravity. Many have perfifted in thefe notions, though no one has been able to come within a

reafonable probability of what they wanted.

Ithink, that, if we must have aftronomical obfervations, we ought not to make ufe of the most difficult, as many French and English gentlemen have

done

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