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"j. John Burgh within named lyth buryed within the chappel or porch of our Ladye within the said Kyrke of Cattrik, which John Burgh dyyd the tenth day of January A°. Dom. 1412, the 12th yere of the Rayne of Kyng Henry the fourth.

"ij. Wylliam, son and heyre unto the said John lyth buryd in the forsayd porch and Kyrke of Catrik, which Wylliam deceased the fourth day of No vembre A. Dom. 1442, the 32nd yere of the Rayne of King Henry the syxth.

"iij. Wylliam, son unto the sayd Wylliam and also his heyer lyeth buryed in the sayd Kyrke and porch of our Ladye and within the same tombe with his father he dyed the last day of December Ao. Dom. 1462. Ao. Regis Edwardi 4ti 20.

“ij. Wylliam, son and heyer unto the second Wylliam lyythe also buryyd in the same Kirke of Catrik in the chappel or porch dedicated unto Saynt James, and dyed the 17th day of August, A. Dom. 1492, the 7th yere of the rayne of king Henry the 7th.

"v. William, son unto the last before namyd William and also his heyer, lyeth buryd in the sayd porche of Saynt James in the sayd Kyrk of Catryk, and decease the 12th day of Apryll A°. Dom. 1508, ano. Regis Henry VII. 22"

Of the monuments in the church I will not make any mention, as a very correct account of them has been given in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1805. There is one, however, on the north side of the communion table, to which I would draw your attention, as it is erected to the memory of one, supposed to be the author of "DRUNKEN BARNABY," a work unique in its kind in the annals of literature :—

Juxta sitæ sunt

RICARDI BRATHWAIT

De Barneshead in Comitatu
Westmorlandiæ Armigeri, et
Mariæ, ejus Conjugis, Reliquiæ.
Ille quarto die Maii Anno 1673
Donatus est; hæc undecimo Aprilis 1681
Supremum diem obiit. Horum filius
Unicus, Strafford Brathwait, Eques
Auratus, adversus Mauros, Christiani
Nominis hostes infestissimos, fortiter,
Dimicans, occubuit. Cujus cineres
Tingi in Mauritania Tingitana
humantur.

Requiescant in Pace.

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Richard Brathwait appears to have been a very learned man, for besides Drunken Barnaby, he was the author of "Essaies upon the five Senses,' "Nature's Embassie," "English Gentleman and Gentlewoman," and other publications.

This church is a vicarage, in the patronage of the crown, to which has been lately presented the Rev. Dr. Scott, late chaplain to Lord Nelson, who died in his arms at the memorable battle of Trafalgar. I need hardly mention that such a respectable divine is a great addition to the society of this part of the county, as, with great suavity of manners, he is full of anecdote, well acquainted with several languages, and is in possession of a most ex

sellent library, collected at various times in his voyages up the Mediterranean, Baltio, &c.

66

In addition to my letter of the 28th of Feb. last, you may insert if you please, after “Ao. xeitoyovias 1631"-"His soul being so speedingly returned to God that gave it, his body was sheeted in leade and lyes interred close to ye north wall of the Quire, within the raile, in a vault made within the ground, as the inscription on the wainscot shews."

June 5th, 1818.

SCRUTATOR.

ON THE PARTICIPLE, "TRANSLATING."

To the Editor of the Northern Star.

YOU, no doubt, when at school, found considerable difficulty in parsing some particular English sentences, and of course will bestow a little attention upon the following communication. I am fifteen years of age, and pursuing my studies at a very respectable academy in this town. As English grammar forms one part of our daily exercise, I flatter myself that I have acquired a general knowledge of its most prominent features, and am capable of following the critic in his investigation of the philosophy of language, through its varied and almost imperceptible changes of structure and idiom.

My father is a friend to those institutions which have for their object the amelioration of the condition of the lower orders of society. To inspire me with the same benevolent feelings he takes me with him to all the public meetings where he thinks the talent to be employed, will call into action the generous principles of the human heart. A short time ago he took me to the anniversary of the Bible Society in this place, where I heard a reverend gentleman of very extensive learning, make the following remark:-"The Bible is translating into seventy different languages." It immediately occurred to me that there was something peculiar in the construction of this sentence, and I began to examine its constituent parts. It is a standard rule of the English language that every sentence must have at least three parts, the subject, the attribute, and the object, but in his expression there is no object to sustain the action indicated by the participle "translating.” I thought there might be an ellipsis of the accusative case, which I attempted to supply by such words as appeared most likely to make sense,Bible is translating itself," "The Bible is translating the Koran," "The Bible is translating the learned gentleman into seventy different languages." None of these, however, nor indeed any other word, could supply the deficiency and render the sentence intelligible. I next supposed that it must be an idiom of some other language with which the learned orator was better acquainted than he was with his own; yet I could not so far divest myself of the opinions which I had formed of the nature of universal grammar as to believe that the idiom of any language could sanction the use of the ellipsis when there was no means of determining what words were to be understood.

The

The pious people who come to our house, have frequently, when conversing with my father upon the interesting intelligence which was commu

nicated to the meeting, mentioned that of the "Bible translating into se+ venty different languages." Now, sir, since my father is not an ignorant man, his company very select, and the gentleman who used the expression very learned, I determined to elicit some remarks on the subject from my teacher. Accordingly, having to write a theme on Spring, I made use of the following expression,-"The earth is cultivating with the utmost assiduity;" but he not perceiving the cause which induced me to use so incorrect an expression, reprimanded me severely for such a perversion of language. When I gave him the reason, he proposed several sentences of the same kind to exhibit more distinctly its absurdity: but it is unnecessary to introduce them here. He farther remarked that it is a mode of expression which has of late been much used in reports, magazines, and newspapers, but is a disgrace to the pen from which it flows.

I wish, Mr. Editor, that you would use all your influence to counteract the spread of such pernicious innovations, and to preserve the purity and energy of our language. You will, perhaps, have the goodness to inform me whether such breaches of grammatical construction ought not to receive the most decisive mark of public disapprobation. Of His Reverence it may, in the present instance, be said, that,

"Just like an old finger-post turn'd in the road,
"He points the wrong way."

Wrexham, May 17, 1818.

GRYFFYDD AP RHYS.

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD "AINSTY."

༢༠༠་༠༠༠>༦༠།༠།༠༦.

Of the Saxon verb stigan, ascendere, ire, is formed the participial substantive stige. This word, among other significations, is rendered regio, plaga, a country, or district; but it has lost in its present pronunciation, along with many other Saxon derivatives, the guttural sound of g, and is called Stie or Sty.

The name of the Ainsty of York has puzzled many of the writers upon the antiquities of that city. Some have supposed it to have been derived from Ancientcy, as denoting its antiquity. Camden conjectures its etymology may be referred to the German word Antossen, implying a boundary or limit. Drake derives it from the northern word Anent, signifying opposite, contiguous, or relating to. Looking at the district of the Ainsty, its boundaries are found to be principally marked out by the rivers Wharf, Nid, and Ouse; and this consideration leads me to another etymology as more naturally descriptive of its situation. The old word Avon is frequently contracted to Ain or Ayn; thus Ain or Aynholm, a very common name in the north, indicates a field contiguous to a river or a brook, and Ainsty or Water-district, the name given to this Wapentake, (for it was one anciently before it was attached to the jurisdiction of York,) arose from its being in a great measure bounded by the rivers mentioned above.

ANTIQUARIOLUS.

ON ADMIRATION OF THE ANCIENTS.

༢༠༠༠༠༠༠>+༢༠༠༠༦ ༢༠་

To the Editors of the Northern Star.

YOUR correspondent V. F. F. has in your last volume, (page 176,) given your readers an able essay on the common prejudices in favour of the an cients. He has stated his arguments against this prejudice in so strong a manner, that no one will attempt to controvert his general position-that the ancients have by some been greatly overrated. But it is to be feared that the right inference may not strike the mind of every reader, and that some may be tempted to think that all the admiration of antiquity, which has been excited in so many breasts for so many ages, has been entirely groundless; and that the utility of studies that has been fostered by this admiration has been falsely attributed to them. I have frequently witnessed the attempts of those who have not had the opportunity of cultivating these pursuits to detract from, or even to deny, their merit; and I am so far disposed to think well of my day and generation, as to allow that, under the same circumstances, I should have been unwilling to believe in the superior talents of ancient worthies. But as I have been so fortunate as to derive at least great gratification from the writings of former times, I will now try to show my gratitude, by endeavouring to establish the right of the ancients to be exhibited in a fairer light in regard to their usefulness, than is by some allowed. I am conscious that V. F. F. might, nearer home, have found a more able champion of the ancients, but, without any apology for my unworthiness to engage in so good a cause, I will do my best to restore them to their proper rank.

It is well known that some philosophers, and more "homines inficeti," have laid claim on behalf of antiquity to the highest order of merit. Others, disappointed in the expectations which were so much raised by these unbounded panegyrics, have gone to the contrary extreme. The truth, I think, as is generally the case in arguments, where opposite opinions are widely different, lies between these distant points. All must allow the vast improvement in religion, morals, and science which has taken place since the commencement of the Christian era, the period usually considered as the, bound of antiquity; but in allowing this, they cannot be blind to some of the excellencies of former times-excellencies unequalled by the many successive attempts of succeeding ages. I was about to discuss the literary character first, as I think that the only point on which the superiority of the ancients can be maintained, and as I think the few arguments ever brought for their superiority in morality and government, (which are first noticed by V. F. F.,) unworthy of notice at the present time. V. F. F. appears to have forgotten their unrivalled cultivation of the fine arts. Of these, Sculpture and Architecture were brought to a perfection that seems hardly to admit the idea of improvement; and Painting, whatever improvements it has since received, must have been, (to argue from the accuracy and grace of their sculpture, and the few means we have of judging of it,) in a great degree of advancement.

I will follow your correspondent's order in observing on the morality, politics, and literature of the ancients; and as I cordially agree with him in opinion on the great advantages the moderns have in the two first, I would

only wish to add a tribute of justice, which, after the contrast of ancient and modern times, is strictly due to the days of antiquity. Christians often, in their honest zeal, oppose the truths of revelation to the notions of the wisest of heathen philosophers, and sneer at the imperfections of his creed; but surely it is more just to Socrates, and surely more honourable to the Divine Author of Revelation, that, even before the period when the light of the Gospel was shed through the earth, the human mind, in a humble search after truth, should, unassisted, have arrived at the great truths which that man taught his disciples. And it is equal justice to their ideas of govern ment to state that, great as are the advantages of modern times, but few nations seem to make the use of them that the ancients did of their more im perfect notions.

Of the literary and intellectual character of the ancients, V. F. F. himself gives so favourable an account, that it would hardly be necessary to notice it but in terms of commendation, had he not by the general tenor of the observations that follow his admission of their pre-eminence, almost negatived his approving testimony. But after conceding that " in some kinds of composition they have never been surpassed, in others never equalled," which is all I claim for them, he combats what he seems to think is the "general prejudice," that the whole of the motley assemblage called the Classics is entitled to this eulogy. This, however, I imagine, cannot be the opinion of any, even the warmest, admirer of classic authors; for whatever difference of rank may be assigned to the best of their writings, all will allow that no grosser puerilities are any where discoverable, than in some books which, from their language being Greek or Latin, are included in the term Classics. And even of the lighter specimens of writing, to which the origin of modern novels is clearly traced, and which are above mediocrity, it may be said that a perusal of them is by no means necessary to entitle a lover of the higher order of writers to be enrolled in the list of classical scholars.

We agree, then, in ranking some of these ancient writers above all who have succeeded them, and our only difference will be in the number to which we grant so high a station. Among the poets, I would add to Homer and Virgil, the only two that your correspondent seems disposed to honour with his suffrage, Theocritus and Pindar, two worthies whom I despair of seeing equalled in the less musical and less nervous languages of modern days;-the Greek tragedians, who, though now surpassed as dramatists, might furnish innumerable specimens of unrivalled poetry;-the epigrammatists;-among the Latins, Horace, Juvenal, and, above all, the divine Lucretius, a man whose genius has shed over the chilling heartless pages of a dark philosophy, a light of poetry that shines even brighter by the contrast. These are names that, in the strictest justice, must be placed before their most successful followers since the revival of literature.

In eloquence we have, within a few years, rivalled the greatest orators of Greece or Rome; but we should remember that, till within the memory of man, none had appeared to contest the superiority. I am not afraid to say that I should give the palm to Demosthenes, who, as I have seen it somewhere remarked, is usually more praised than read; but to whose merit, I will venture to say, none who have read his orations can think it possible to give too high a character.

The historians of antiquity have never, in my opinion, been equalled,

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