Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

account of the population of each county and each district in Scotland; from which we are informed, that the whole amounted, in 1755, to 1,265,380; in 1790-S, it increased to 1,527,892; and in 1801, to 1,604,896; making an increase, in 46 years, of 339,416 persons. To this are added, a chronological table of kings, the peerage, the districts of royal boroughs which send members to parliament, the real and valued rent of Scot

land by counties, the principal roads and fairs arranged under each month.— "The elegant map," announced in the title-page, is very badly drawn and badly engraved. We often sought in vain for places mentioned in the description, and found that the spelling of places in the map and in the gazetteer, was often at variance; a circumstance which should be more strictly attended to by editors.

ART. VI. The History, antient and modern, of the Sheriffiloms of Fife and Kinross; with a Description of both, and of the Firths of Forth and Tay, and the Islands in them; in which there is an Account of the Royal Seats and Castles, and of the Royal Burghs and Ports, and of the religious Houses and Schools, and of the most remarkable Houses of the Nobility and Gentry. With an Account of the natural Products of the Land and Waters. By Sir ROBERT SIBBALD, M. D. A new Edition, with Notes and Illustrations.

Svo.

PP. 468.

SIR Robert Sibbald has had the honour of leading the way in the arduous dertaking of elucidating the history this native country. That he has reduced a work worthy of its patroage is implied by the republication of his volume at the present more enlightaed period; he introduces the followng words in his epistle to the reader. "This history and description of Fife and Linross, courteous reader, is a specimen I as desired to give of what I had done by command of King Charles II. in the derption of North Britain, ancient and mon: it was not my blame that it is not acpanied with maps of them, but theirs to ought to have seen that done. I have plied that want as well as I could, by a rticular description of the most remarkable acts, and by lists of the heritors ancient d modern."

The work contains four parts, and an ndix. The first describes the anst extent of the shire; its antient name; description of the country in the time the Romans; a character of the Calelans termed Dicaledones and Vecones, and whence they emigrated; e language of the Picts; their man", policy, and religious rites. The tions and exploits" of the Romans Scotland, and the wars of the Danes the shire.

The second part treats of the firths Forth and Tay, the islands of the mer, the animals, the sanguineous , ersanguious animals, and the mials of both the firths, and the plants pon the firth of Forth, and some within sea-mark; the natural history of the re: the state of the christian religion,

and an account of the Culdees who first introduced it," shewing how the Culdees were deprived of their rights," and of the religious houses and hospitals in these shires.

The third division concerns the shire of Fife; the jurisdiction; the earls; and officers: Macduff the first earl, and the privileges he obtained of king Malcolm Kanmor; a list of the earls; the civil jurisdiction; list of bishops and priors of St. Andrews; of the clergy, nobility and gentry; officers of state of Fife; and an account of the university of St. Andrews. Next follows a history of Kinross-shire.

Part fourth. The coast from the western boundary to the river Leven, thence to Fifeness, thence to the river Eden; a description of the inland country east from the Lomonds, of the Strath of Leven, of Lochorshire, of the western parts inland of the plains of Eden, and of the northern parts inland.

The appendix contains the natural history of Fife; particulars concerning some natives of this shire eminent for learning and arts; antient heritors of the shire; new list of the principal heritors, and of those of Kinross; Gordon's list of those of the former shire; houses of the nobility and gentry: the valuation of Fifeshire, 1695; list of the parishes, as divided into presbyteries, with the names of patrons and incumbents; list of the British kings; and, lastly, an account of the arrival and treatment of some ship-wrecked mariners and soldiers of the Spanish armada, at Anstruther.

The editor of this edition has collected a vast number of notes, which are in

serted at the bottom of almost every page, from the most valuable authors who have written on Scottish history or antiquities, some emendatory, others illustrative and explanatory.

The reader who can understand the obsolete Scots idiom of the reign of Charles II. will meet with many curious and interesting particulars from the labours of the industrious Sibbald, who wrote many other works of value besides this history.

Of the author and this work, the editor gives the following account.

authority, printed and manuscript, we his reach, which was likely to throw on any branch of his work. And there. profusion of extracts in Latin, copier. length into the text, which, though it c manifests his fidelity. In the modern pa his pages a deformed and motley appeanr of the history, his own personal knowl of the county, and his opportunities of > taining information from his numer friends and relations, who lived in it, the exactness with which he has descr such objects as are permanent, or that t happened to remain, give us perfect on dence of his general accuracy. Two editions of this work were printed at Edinburga "The style of Sibbald is inferior to his the author's life-time; and from the matter. Both in his Latin and English correct of these, in 1710, the present œ» » works, it is very often embarrassed and sio- carefully taken. It was thought prope venly, to a degree that surprizes in a literary cept where there is obviously an error of t character of such eminence. He evidently press) to preserve the original spelling, wh wrote in haste, and was attentive in general is by no means correct or uniform, rather to ascertain and state facts, than stumark of the unfixed state of this brancad dious about the language employed in com- literature in Edinburgh in the begi municating them. Of his works, the History the 18th century." of Fife is one of the most esteemed. To the subject he was naturally partial, and on the illustration of it he bestowed more than common labour. He seems to have examined every

The volume is embellished with neatly engraved plates by R. Scott.

ART. VII. Memorabilia Cantabrigia: or, an Account of the different Colleges in Cas bridge; biographical Sketches of the Founders and eminent Men; with many w Anecdotes; Views of the Colleges, and Portraits of the Founders. By JOSEPH WIL Esq. Svo. pp. 358.

THERE has ever existed some degree of rivalship and jealousy between our two national universities. This has been strongly displayed in the contention about their respective claims to antiquity. Yet the unsophisticated page of history is sufficiently decisive to impar

tiality. Those who have written expressly about Cambridge university, (though very few) have thought they gave consequence to their subject, by referring its origin to a very early period. That it occupies the site of a Roman station, or castrum estivum, of that people, is more than probable, but that its first college was erected and endowed previous to any at Oxford is a subject we submit to the investigation of those who have particularly studied the subject. Oxford has certainly many advantages over her sister university; and her history and antiquities have been more copiously and satisfactorily developed, Among the writings connected with that university is, Wood's Athena Oxonienses, which contains anecdotes and memoirs of all the learned and celebrated men,

object of Mr. Wilson, in this barty l

volume.

The author very humbly appeals his readers, by stating,

[ocr errors]

that I submit this work to the publi:
"It is not without the greatest diffic
I am fully aware that an Athena Canta
gienses would have been too arduous a
for me to have attempted, notwithst:di
the abundance of materials which ma
found for such a work, in the volum
collections of Mr. Baker, Mr. Cale,
and the MSS. of Mr. Drake Morris, in the
Harleian library, which seem tolerably ‹
plete, so far as relates to the archbishops
this university. That such a work, consi
bishops who have finished their educate a
dering the copious fund of amusement
instruction it would afford, if properly e
cuted, has never appeared, may indeed eac
much surprize and regret; as no universit
has possessed a greater number of ber
more fully adequate to such an under
That Dr. Richar
than Cainbridge.
Mr. Baker, and Mr. Cole had the idea,
ever be lamented that men so eminently p
evident from their collections, and it
lified did not live to complete it."

born or educated there. To imitate Knowing the vast mass of bigra that work in a humble degree is the phical materials collected, and kit bị

these gentlemen, we are much surprized and dissatisfied with the meagreness of the volume before us. Mr. Wilson has no justifiable apology for rejecting the stores that are laid open to him. The great collections in print and MS, by Mr. Baker, are readily accessible at the British Museum; where are also those amassed by Mr. Cole. The latter were bequeathed upon the condition of their not being made public till twenty years after the donor's decease. That singular injunction being fulfilled, the whole, consisting of sixty volumes, were lately opened for the inspection and advantage of those persons who wished to benefit by them. We fear Mr. Wilson is not one of them, or his memorabilia would have been more copious, more satisfactory, and more interesting. "All that I can hope on the present occasion," he observes," is, that I have executed at least a more complete and entertain

ing guide to the members and visitants of the university, than any which has yet appeared." That this work may be a little superior to the common "Cambridge Guide" we readily grant.

The contents of this volume may be divided into the four subjects of history, topography, description, and biography. In the three first it is unsatisfactorily concise, and often erroneous in dates and spelling. Its only claim to novelty or utility lies in the biographical sketches, wherein we occasionally distinguish a few touches of the improving pencil. Petit views of all the colleges, with slight portraits of the founders, are given in the volume; but the whole of them bear such striking marks of forgery, that they must not pass current through our hands. They are mere " shadows of shades," or, to express it more techni cally, they are slovenly copies of copies.

ART. VIII. The Swansea Guide; containing such Information as was deemed useful to the Traveller, through the Counties of Glamorgan and Monmouth: from the Exemplifica tions of antient and modern Authors. 18mo. pp. 198.

THIS little Cambrian guide contains a concise account of all the principal towns, villages, castles, abbies, and seats, with the natural and artificial curiosities, included within the two counties men tioned in the title. Of the latter county, the public have already had ample information in the history of it, by Mr. Williams, in Coxe's Tour, and in several smaller books; but the history and antiquities of Glamorganshire are but little known. What is contained in this small volume appears to be the result of personal investigation; therefore, though short, it becomes very useful. The author has not avowed himself, but we are informed he is the Rev. Mr. Oldisworth, Master of the Free Grammar School of Swansea; whose name we announce with some degree of pleasure, from the modesty and unaffected simplicity which prevail through the book. We trust the sale of it will tempt its author to make considerable additions to his account of Swansea, and to the whole of the county, but for the reasons above stated we would recommend him to omit the notices relating to Monmouthshire. From this guide it appears that Swansea is a Sourishing town, and has greatly aug

mented its commercial consequence, and its local trade within the last century. This has partly arisen from the various mines of coal and culm in the neighbourhood. The vast increase of its shipping will be seen in the following statement

" Number of vessels in the year 1768 were 694, or 30,631 tons.-Ditto, in 1790, 1697 vessels, or 74,926 tons.— Ditto, from September 29, 1799, to September 29, 1800, 2590 vessels, or 154,264 tons."

Among other subjects of notice and celebrity, appertaining to Swansea, is Richard Nash, or Beau Nash, as he was commonly called. He was born here on the 13th of October 1673, and in a very early part of his life gave proofs of that volatility and gaiety, for which he afterwards became so distinguished. The writer of this Guide has related many anecdotes and particulars of this "king of fashion," exemplifying his polite urbanity of manners, which obtained him numerous friends, though his governing passion was gaiety and dissipation. At length settling in Bath, which even at the end of the sixteenth century was extremely poor and unfashionable, he accidentally obtained the

See an account of them, with the character of the collector, in the Monthly Magada, vol. ivi. p. 23.

patronage and friendship of some of the beau-monde, who, in 1710, elected him master of the ceremonies at a small ball, then established in that city. It is curious to trace the history and connection of places with that of individuals. Bath is a remarkable instance of a city's attaining extraordinary fashionable celebrity, thro' the character and conduct of a single person. From the time of Nash's settlement there till his death in 1761, that city annually increased in buildings, visitors, conveniences, and luxuries, and his memory is perpetuated by a statue, inscription, portraits, &c. Swansea is also ranked among the list of summer bathing places; and, according to the number of lodging-houses, &c. we may conclude it is much frequented. "The bay," observes our author, " is universally allowed to be singularly beautiful, and the shore very commodious for bathing, as the great influx of company for many years for that purpose sufficiently evince. The town, in consequence, has undergone many capital improvements; and the new pier, as it is of admirable advantage to the harbour of Swansea, so it is with the adjoining barrows, a most pleasant promenade, comprehending much beautiful scenery."

Among other subjects particularised in this town is, "the Cambrian pottery" established here, on Mr. Wedgewood's plan. Its mode of manufacture is described in the following terms. "The clay made use of is brought from vari ous parts of England, which is afterwards mixed with flint very finely ground; and after it is well blended in water it is passed through sieves till all the coarser particles are lost, then exposed to heat, which evaporates the water and leaves the clay (after it has been well beaten for the purpose of press ing out the air) of a consistency for working. A piece of clay is stuck upon a circular board, which has an horizontal rotation, and a vessel is almost instantaneously formed by the artist; then follows the more perfect operation of the work, the processes of colouring, glaz ing, painting and stamping; the drying or baking kilns complete the work."This little Guide may be consulted with advantage by those who wish for infor mation relating to Swansea ; and points out candidly and honestly all those ob jects in the county of Glamorgan, which an antiquary or tourist would most probably enquire for.

ART. IX. The Gloucester New Guide; containing an Account of every Thing worthy of Observation, respecting the City, its History, antient and modern Trade, Buildings, and par ticularly the Cathedral; together with a Directory of the principal Gentlemen and Tradesmen in the City and its Environs; also the different Routes and Roads through the County; with Observations intended to amuse and inform the Traveller. 12mo. pp. 138.

LOCAL guides of this description, when written by well-informed liberal minded residents, are not only pleasant and engaging to the curious traveller, but prove very useful auxiliaries to general topography. These little wade me cums have usually been made up by some illiterate printer, and consequently have been unworthy the perusal, or criticism of the veteran antiquary. Many of the English cities and towns have " guides" of this description; but scarcely any have been honoured with a learned, local historian. Dydes's liberal and ingenious History of Tewkesbury, Warner's History of Bath, Coates's circumstantial History of Reading, and the present little manual, are interesting exceptions. The latter, though printed anonymously, is, we are assured, the production of the Rev. Mr. Rudge, a respectable clergyman of the city, who has announced for publication a History of Gloucestershire.

In an advertisement to this Guide, the author gives the following very modest account of his book. "The following pages being designed principally to point out to the hasty traveller such things and places in Gloucester and its neighbour hood, as are most deserving notice; the reader will not expect to find all that an antiquary would enquire after, or a mi nute investigation of events which oc curred in periods far remote from present times. The editor only means to bring forward to immediate view the most prominent features, among which he ranks the cathedral." In the description of this noble and interesting struc ture he has borrowed liberally from the preceding histories by Bonner and Dallaway; and we are sorry to observe, that he has not improved much on his precursors; yet he apologizes for his "prolix" account of the cathedral. This was totally unnecessary; for we are per

suaded that a full and circumstantial description of this grand pile would be highly interesting to most readers in the closet, and to almost every visitor. This cathedral presents a singular and curious series of architectural examples, wherein are combined different styles that characterised different periods of the art. Hence a particular exemplification would be highly gratifying and interesting.

Our author, however, is not very assuming, for he acknowledges at the end of the advertisement, that he "puts in very little claim to originality; he has made free with whatever authors came in his way, and selected from them whatever suited his purpose. He flatters himself that he has added something to the original stock, but in doing it he has not sacrificed truth to an affectation of novelty. He has lopped off many redundancies without omitting any thing material. In short, he is not without the hope, that the Gloucester New Guide

will supply, even to the native, some information he was not in possession of before, and relieve the traveller from a considerable portion of that tædium, which usually accompanies a temporary resi dence at the hotel."

The subjects of this Guide are:-very concise accounts of the situation and antient state of the city; its present and antient trade, wherein is a short account of the pin manufactory; the present state and government of the city; the appearance of its environs; a history and description of the cathedral and its appendages, with the other churches of Gloucester. An account of hospitals, schools, and meeting-houses succeeds, with a few particulars of the other public buildings and offices of the city. Next follow some memorandums of the gentlemen's seats in the vicinity, and an interesting description of the river Severn, its navigation and fishery.

ART. X. The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset: compiled from the best and most antient Historians, Inquisitiones post mortum, and other valuable Records and MSS. in the public Offices, and Libraries, and in private Hands. With a Copy of Domesday Book, and the Inquisitio Gheldi for the County: interspersed with some remarkable Particulars of Natural History; and adorned with a correct Map of the County, and Views of the Antiquities and Seats of the Nobility, Gentry, &c. By JoHN HUTCHINS, M. A. The second Edition, corrected, augmented, and improved. In 3 Vols. folio. Vol. II. pp. 620.

IN the year 1774 Mr. Hutchins, who was a native of Dorsetshire, and rector of a parish in Wareham, published a History of that County in two folio volumes. That "being out of print," and consequently rather scarce, Mr. Gough undertook to edit another edition, two volumes of which are now published; and as the editor informs us, are "corrected, augmented, and improved." The first volume was published in 1796, and the second in 1803. If another seven years elapse before the concluding volame is made public, we presume that many gentlemen of the county will reprobate its tardy progress. In one of the olumes we expected to meet with an advertisement or preface, but this very neessary explanation is withheld till the conclusion of the work, when the editor promises to give "a map of the county, preface, and the life of the author, with some additions to the letter-press, &c." Without this preface we cannot easily enter into an investigation or history of these volumes, not knowing the respecive portions of each editor. We must

therefore content ourselves (for the present) with a concise analysis of the introduction, and a few remarks.

The first volume commences at p. xxi, with an essay called an " Introduction," which continues to page cxii. This contains some dissertations on the etymology and ancient history of the county, its boundary, first inhabitants, and antient monuments. Among the latter are enumerated the Roman camps, roads, and barrows; but in describing these relics of antiquity we find the same confusion of ideas, and of objects that characterise the writings of Doctor Stukeley, whose work on Stonchenge is frequently quoted and referred to. Many of the encampments called and described as Roman, may with equal propriety be ascribed to any other warlike tribe who possessed this part of the country. On this subject, with that of barrows, and what the author calls druidical remains, we find the descriptions and opinions very unsatisfactory and trite. With antient authors and their works the editors are much better acquainted, and we peruse

« AnteriorContinuar »