Plusieurs personnes m'ayant demandé le memoire sur la Theorie des Cometes que je presentai a l'Acad. de Sciences in 1747. Jai cru qu'il seroit a propos de le jouindre iér: J'y ai ajouté les elemens de l'orbite durite, par le Comete qui a parue depuis in 1748.

Wishing you success, I remain, your obedient Servant, W. G. N.

Manchester, Jan. 12, 1819.

The Study of Antiquities.

MR. PALMER,

The Study of Antiquities is so indispensably necessary to all ranks and degrees of society, that no man can be said to be properly or completely educated, who has not studied and become acquainted with the manners and customs of his forefathers; indeed, there are many professions where a perfect knowledge of antiquarianism cannot be dispensed with, such as statesmen, soldiers, lawyers, divines, poets, painters, sculptors, architects, actors, &c. Without this knowledge, the statesman and the legislator can have little idea of the laws, customs, arts, arms, and commerce, of the different æras; or can he defend the constitution he is bound to protect, without a thorough knowledge of the origin of it, and the causes which led to the formation of this invaluable prerogative of Englishmen; and how is this to be obtained? Why, by a perusal of ancient records, illuminated manuscripts, coins, medals, arms, buildings, and inscriptions. The soldier, who seeks for honour 166 even in the cannon's mouth," will in vain attempt to reach the summit of his hazardous profes

sion, if he has not imbibed a knowledge of Antiquities, and of the various modes of warfare, together with the armour, and weapons in use by our brave an cestors; in vain will he attempt to account for the parade and ceremony attendant upon a soldier's life, unless he is aware for what purpose they were introduced; and it is necessary he should be acquainted with the formation of ancient military. buildings, and a complete knowledge of the discipline of " auntient dayes;" and this cannot be attained by other means, than from an examination of old chronicles, castles, forts, and other antiquarian mementos.The lawyer will plead in vain, without a knowledge of the antiquities of his country, for the lex non scripta, or common law, is entirely founded on ancient customs, and can only be elucidated by ancient history. Therefore, the Study of Antiquities must be a principle feature in the education of the man of law. The Divine must have a knowledge of Ecclesiastical Antiquities, or how can he account for the ceremonials of his church, the vessels, garments, &c. appropriated to his use; in short, the Holy Scriptures may be, with propriety, called a Study of Antiquities.-Poets, Sculptors, and Painters, must have a clear insight into the manners, customs, and costume, of former times, or they would be likely to fall into as ridiculous an error as the Dutch Painter, who represented Abraham shooting his son with a large horse pistol!-To the Actor, who professes to "hold up the mirror to nature," an acquaintance with antiquities is as necessary as to the painter, för the same reasons; and it is a want of this information, which

so often leads them into the greatest absurdities. Who could behold, without great disgust, "The Roman Hero die on his own sword," in a tye wig, cocked hat, and laced ruffles! And yet equal absurdities exist in our theatres of the present day, which a very slight acquaintance with Antiquities and costume, would point out; it is, therefore, absolutely necessary, that the actor and his manager should study antiquities.-The Architect would make a bungling job, were he employed to repair an ancient church or mansion, did not a clear knowledge of antiquities enable him to recognize the peculiar style and date of the edifice he was employed upon. Without a knowledge of the antiquities of his country, no man is fitted to sit in Parliament; for how can he guard against the encroachments of the crown, who is unacquainted with the rules, orders, and precedents of that body of men, of which he is a member; and this is only to be known by a diligent search into the records and history of Parliaments, and of antiquities. And I am bold to say, that had those who lately voted for the suspension of our liberties, and substituted the bayonet for the palladium of British liberty; been at all acquainted with the history of their country, or even read Magna Charta, they would have paused, ere they had violated its injunctions, and wantonly trampled on those liberties they had sworn to protect. Even a gentleman in private life, ought to be well ac quainted with antiquarian lore, or, how can he with propriety accept the office of magistrate, or even be qualified to act as a juror, for both these require a knowledge of the customs of our

ancestors, the origin of our laws, and the basis of our invaluable constitution; and these attain- . ments are only to be found in the Study of Antiquities. The learned Antiquarian, Francis Grose, says, that " every man is naturally an antiquarian." This assertion is literally true; for what man, however humble his station, but delights in "tales of yore;" or what peasant but can point out some particular spot, or hand down some tradition to posterity, indicative of his knowledge of antiquity. I must, however, add, that all is not gold that glitters;" there are those who have, by interest or superficial knowledge, collected from the heads. of others, tacked F.A.S. to their names, and who pass for antiquarians, without more brains than will just enable them to distinguish a brass button from a Roman coin, or Queen Ann's farthing; and whose ridiculous pretentions to a knowledge of antiquarianism are only calculated to excite the risible muscles of the scientific student; and, "who wanting genius for nobler studies, bury themselves in heaping up illegible MS. mutilated statues, obliterated coins, and broken pipkins!" These pretenders throw an air of ridicule upon a study of such value to society; but it by no means follows, that this abuse or perversion is sufficient reason against the study itself, and therefore I assert, that there is no study of more genuine advantage to society than the Study of Antiquities. I am, Sir, your's, &c.

Jan. 21, 1819:

X.

On the Re-union of Christians. [Concluded from No. XI, Vol 1. pp. 778.]

THE RESULT.

It does not appear that, subsequently to the communication between Archbishop Wake and Dr. Dupin, any attempts for a general or partial re-union of Christians were made in the last century: but, early in the present, Buonaparte conceived the project of effecting such a re-union. He is said to have particularly had in view the Catholicizing, as it was termed, the northern part of Germany. To forward his design, many works were published; one of them, the Essay sur l'Unité des Cultes of M. Bonald, is written with great ingenuity. That Essay, and several others by the same author, were inserted in the Ambigu of Peltier, and deserve the attention of every reader. Though they contain some things to which a Roman Catholic writer would object, they are evidently written by a Roman Catholic pen.

The first point to be considered by those who meditate the project of re-union is its practicability-those, who are disposed to contend for the affirmative, will observe the number of important articles of Christian faith, in which all Christians are agreed, and the proportionally 'small number of those, in which any Christians disagree.

All Christians believe,-1st. That there is one God:-2nd. That he is a Being of infinite perfection:-3rd. That he directs all things by his providence:4th. That it is our duty to love him with all our hearts, and our neighbour as ourselves :-5th. That it is our duty to repent of VOL. II.-No. XII.

the sins we commit :-6th. That God pardons the truly penitent: -7th. That there is a future state of rewards and punishments, when all mankind shall be judged according to their works:-8th. That God sent his Son into the world to be its Saviour, the author of eternal salvation to all that obey him:9th. That he is the true Messiah:-10th. That he taught, worked miracles, suffered, died, and rose again, as is related in the four gospels:-11th. That he will hereafter make a second appearance on the earth, raise all mankind from the dead, judge the world in righteousness, bestow eternal life on the virtuous, and punish the workers of iniquity.

In the belief of these articles, all Christians, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, Socinians, and Unitarians are agreed. In addition to these, the Roman Catholic, and not the Roman Catholic only, but every other division and subdivision of Christians has its own tenets. What the other tenets of the Roman Catholics are, will appear from the work, which we shall afterwards have occasion to mention.

Now, let each settle among its own members, what are the articles of belief pecuilar to them, which, in their cool deliberate judgment, they consider as absolutely necessary that a person should believe, to be a member of the true Church of Christ; let these articles be divested of all foreign matter, and expressed in perspicuous, exact, and unequivocal terms; and, above all, let each distinction of Christians earnestly wish to find an agreement between themselves and their fellow-christians: the result of a discussion, conducted on this plan, would C

most assuredly be, to convince all Christians that the essential articles of religious credence, in which there is a real difference among Christians, are not so numerous as the verbal disputes and extraneous matter in which controversy is too often involved make them generally supposed. The grounds of Catholic faith on those contested articles, have not been better shewn, than in Dr. Milner's recent publication, "The End of Religious Controversy," 3 volumes, 8vo.

Still,--some articles will remain, the belief of which one denomination of Christians will

consider to be the obligation of every Christian, and which other Christian denominations will condemn. On some of those, a speedy re-union of Christians is not to be expected; but, to use the language of Mr. Vansittart, in his excellent letter to the Rev. Dr. Marsh and John Coker, Esq."There is an inferior degree of re-union, more within our prospect, and yet, perhaps, as perfect as human infirmity allows us to hope for; wherein, though all differences of opinion should not be extinguished, yet they may be refined from all party prejudices and interested views, so softened by the spirit of charity and mutual concession, and so controuled by agreement on the leading principles and zeal for the general interests of Christianity, that no sect or persuasion should be tempted to make religion subservient to secular views, or to employ political power to the prejudice of others.-The existence of Dissent will, perhaps, be inseparable from religious freedom, so long as the mind of man is liable to error: but it is not unreasonable to hope, that hostility may cease though perfect agreement cannot be estab

lished. IF WE CANNOT RECONCILE ALL OPINIONS, LET US RECONCILE ALL HEARTS."

These lines cannot finish better than by these golden words. S.

Memoirs of the Vicars Apostolic. [Continued from No. XI. Vol. i. pp. 791.] V.

GREGORY WILLIAM SHARROCK, O.S.B. was born at Preston, on 30th March, 1742. At the age of sixteen, he dedicated himself to religion, in St. Gregory's Convent at Douay. His prudence, zeal, and placid virtues, induced Bishop Walmesley to petition the Holy See, that he might have him for his coadjutor. His petition was readily complied with, and he accordingly consecrated him in 1781, at Wardour, by the title of Bishop of Telmessus, a city of Asia Minor. By the death of Bishop Walmesly, Dr. Sharrock succeeded to the administration of the Western District, and presented to the world the model of a perfect bishop. He died at Bath on the 17th October, 1809. His respected coadjutor and successor communicated the following notice of his decease to the clergy and laity of the district:

ły breathed out his Soul, into the bosom of his Maker. Though we confidently hope our departed Friend and Father is now become an intercessor for us, at the Throne of Grace, yet, as the thoughts of the Lord, who judges justice itself, are not as the thoughts of Men, lest any unexpiated frailty may retard him from the beatific enjoyment of his God, we earnestly entreat you to be mindful of him in your Prayers, and particularly in the great propitiatory Sacrifice of the Altar.

BERN. PETRUS THESPIEN, Vicarus Apostolicus. Bath, October 17th, 1809."

Bishop Sharrock was interred near his venerable predecessor in Bristol Chapel. As yet no monument has been erected to his memory, but he lives in the hearts of all who knew him.

N. B. The present venerable Bishop of the Western District, Dr. Bernardine Peter Collingridge, O. S. F. was consecrated Bishop of Thespia, on 11th October, 1807, at St. Edmund's College, Herts, by the Right Rev. Dr. Poynter.

Serus in coelum redeat, diuque Lætas intersit populo.

(To be continued.)

Memoirs of the Scotch Vicars Apostolic.

MR. PALMER,

I am induced to send you the following letter, from reading in the last chapter of Mr. Butler's Historical Memoirs, that his endeavours to procure materials for a short Historical account of Scottish Catholics since the Reformation had absolutely failed: and am not without hope that it may induce others to contribute

what information they possess on that interesting subject. The letter is written by the Right Rev. Dr. Hay to the Rev. Thomas Eyre, who, at that time, presided over the Establishment of Crook Hall, and afterwards over that of Ushaw College. I wish, in particular, to see a life of that venerable prelate, whose conversion to the faith of the Catholic Church, was, as I have heard, attended by extraordinary marks of Divine Providence, and whose edifying life from that period to that of his death, was the life of a most laborious, exemplary, and zealous missionary.

January 16, 1819.

J. K. L.

To the Rev. Thomas Eyre.
DEAR SIR,

I have had so many things to manage since I left Edinburgh, and my memory has, for these several years past, been so much upon the decay, that I candidly acknowledge, that I had almost tirely forgotten my promise to you, of sending you a list of the bishops we have had in this country, since the change of religion amongst us. But Mr. Rattray having refreshed my memory, at your desire, I resolved to let every thing be laid aside, which could be dispensed with, and perform that promise, and I hope you will excuse the delay, which I shall here put an end to.

From the time that the old religion was abolished in this country, till about the year 1653, there were some priests, both secular and religious, who came over to Scotland now and then; but there was no fixed body of missionaries, till about that period, when one Mr. William Ballenden, a very zealous and pious man, seeing the great loss to re