advantages of due cultivation, it is to be supposed, he would have held, rather than that which he really ocsupied. JAMES WHYTE, of Ballymote, co. Sligo, holds the same rank in the line of genius, with respect to his contemporary Carolan, that the minor Poets hold with regard to their superiors. Born with a rich vein of comic humour*, he possessed powers sufficient to turn (if possible) things the most serious into downright ridicule; but, his talent never having received a proper direction, he abandoned himself to the luxuriancy of his imagination. About twenty years ago his memory was fresh in the minds of many in the barony of Corran, in the co. Sligo. The story of a poor homely man (Cruighure bui O'Gallagbure), who was witness to the many calamities of Ireland after the battles of the Boyne and Aghrim, and which Whyte (who has often heard him boast, with a great share of vanity, of the wonders he had seen during the civil-wars) has framed, is a master-piece of humour not to be equalled perhaps by a Farquhar or a Sheridan. His descriptions of an entertainment and council held at Temple-house (the family-seat of the Percevals, co. Sligo) may be considered as the ne plus ultra of all the subjects that the wit of man has ever devised, to excite and continue the loudest peals of laughter. A gentleman, in whose hands the salt of real humour has never lost an atom of its original flavour, has often repeated it to me; never, I must confess, without leaving the strongest desire upon my mind, that he would, for my entertainment, renew the comic scene, and hold again and again so faithful and true a mirror up to nature. FIL O'FEIGHNY was another of the stella minores, who lived in the time of Carolan and Whyte. He seemed to have a talent for Irish odes; but, growing conscious too soon of what ever abilities he possessed, he some * Mr. O'Connor, speaking of Whyte, in a letter to a friend, says :-" He had a genius for Comedy; and, had he been bred in the school of Moliere, would have been one of the most celebrated comic poets of the age. Have you heard his funeral Elegy on the death of Captain Boswell? No ridicule, with a serious air, could be more happy.” times stretched his strings beyond their natural tone. Many other instances could be produced in support of this hypothesis. The Ode intituled T1AGHARNA MHAIGHE-EO was composed by a poor dependant of a former Lord Mayo, whom he had taken, from motives of benevolence, under his roof and protection; and whom the fear of continuing in his Lordship's disgrace, after having incurred his displeasure, incited to give birth to one of the finest productions, for sentiment and harmony, that ever did honour to any country. We have no other memorial of that Composer's genius. Perhaps he was not conscious of the powers he possessed; or, like many other eminent men, having attained the object of his wishes, and seeing himself in the enjoyment of competence and ease, he grew careless about fame, and neglected all the means of perpetuating his memory. Certain it is, that the TIAGHARNA MHAIGHE-EO, or, more properly speaking, the first sketches of it, were planned in the house of a respectable gentleman of the name of Finn, near Boyle, who served in the late wars of Ireland in the commission of a Captain, and who proposed an attempt of this nature as the most effectual means of reconciliation with his offended Patron. It is one of those compositions that please all men, of whatever age or condition; and was, for the first time, played in Lord Mayo's hall, on Christmas Eve, where our penitent Bard had concealed himself after night-fall, from an apprehension that the most humble advances would not soften his Lordship's resentment. He conjured him, by the birth of the Prince of Peace, to grant him forgiveness, in a strain of most natural pathos, which he accompanied with his harp. The flattering manner in which my Correspondent has mentioned the TIAGHARNA MHAIGHE-BO, must undoubtedly have awakened the Readhis curiosity to look round for gratier's literary curisosity. But, were fication, it would probably be disappointed; for this Ode (which, on the indisputable authority of Mr. O'Connor, I can assert, was composed by DAVID MURPHY, a retainer of the Mayo family) has scarcely met the public eye. I will therefore subjoih And deathless be his name! Of Glory's sons, thou glorious heir, O bid thy exil'd Bard return, O Judith fair! Susanna sweet * ! Mr. URBAN, July 8. IN your last Volume (P. ii. p. 40. b.) Hinckleiensis expresses his surprise, that there should be such a thing as a thatched Church and Chancel in Norfolk, particularly "on the great post-road from London to Norwich." I never was in Norfolk; nor, as far as I recollect, ever saw a Church or Chapel covered with thatch ;—but a worthy friend, who is possessed of a benefice in the diocese of Norwich, informs me, that in that part of the Kingdom such 'an occurrence is by no means uncommon. He instances, in particular, the church of Shading field, in Suffolk, on the great post-road to Yarmouth, the church-yard bounded by the said road, where both the church and the chancel are thatched; and both were, seven years ago, like an ordinary barn, open to the thatch; * Children of Lord Mayo. + The epithet of "Cœur de Lion" was bestowed on Richard I. of England, by the Poets of his age. Vide PERCY'S Essay on Anc, Eng. Min, p. 30. but at the instance (and partly at the expence) of the present worthy Rector, both the Church and Chancel have been decently ceiled. It should be noted, however, that the thatch in question is reed, and that a covering of this sort will, it is said, last 40 or 50 years. Tusser's "Five Hundred Points of Husbandry" were reprinted in Numbers, with Notes, about a century ago, by the title of Tusser Redivivus. I happen to have a single number of the work, that for May; in which are the following lines, and the subjoined note upon them: "Where houses be reeded (as houses haue need) Now pare of the mosse, The iuster ye driue it, the plaine, [in the reed: and go beat smoother and [the raine. More handsome ye make it, to shut off Reeding is no-where so well done as in Norfolk and Suffolk, and is certainly, of all covering, the neatest, lightest, and warmest ; neither will it (like straw) harbour any vermine, and besides comes very reasonable and cheap. If it be now and then cleansed from moss, which stops the water and rots it, and smooth beaten, to be sure it will last the longer; but it is not very apt to gather moss, and will bear a better slope than any other thatch." In Cornwall they thatch with what they call Reed, which is straw of wheat, from which the ears have been cut, without passing under the flail. This, I believe, is more durable than the ordinary thatch of other counties; but cannot, if the preceding account is true, vie with the real reed of Norfolk and Suffolk. Yours, &c. R. C. Mr. URBAN, A June 13. CORRESPONDENT, Part I. p. 216, requests me to point out some of the cases to which I al luded, when I stated that the breadth of Parishes, in Domesday, sometimes exceeds their length. I should have done this before, had not a long absence from home prevented me. I now refer him to the following pages in the Second Volume of Domesday. P. 311. Terra in Huntingafelde habet 1 leug. in longo, & ix quart. in lat. P. 315. Gressegrava habet dim. leug. in longo, & iiij quart, in lato. P. 317. Suthtuna habet I leug, in longo, & viij quart, in lat, P. 317. b. Culeslea habet in longo 1 Jeug, & vj quart. in lat. 1 Ibid Baldeseia habet in longo I leug. & v quart. in lato. P. 331. Delham in lon. dimid. leu. & jij quart. in lat. P. 429. Bradeleia ht. 1 lg. in longo, & vij qr. in lat. The above are the result of five minutes' search; more might easily have been found; but these will probably be sufficient to satisfy your Correspondent. My reason for proposing the question respecting the meaning of the words" longum" and "latum" in the Conqueror's Survey, was, that I have nowhere met with a satisfactory explanation of them. Perhaps the Commentators have thought the terms too well understood to need explanation; but, from the preceding references, some difficulty certainly Jurks. My idea is, that " longum" means the space across the parish measured from East to West, or in longitude; and "latum," the space from North to South, or in latitude; this certainly answers in some of the cases which are within my own knowledge: but I should be glad to have the opinion of persons better informed; and I know no method so likely to obtain this, as making the inquiry through the medium of your Magazine. In my search, I found three instances, where the length and breadth are equal. This circumstance appears some corroboration of my idea.The parishes are Bufelda, Sedestana, and Healesuurda. Yours, &c. Mr. URBAN, CUR D. A. Y. April 12. YURIOSITY is a prevailing foible in almost every country; and the person who is capable of performing any wonderful exploit seldom fails to excite the attention of the admiring inultitude. The inhabitants of this kingdom have for some years past been endeavouring to raise this passion by the swiftness of their horses; and while some have lavished away their fortunes in pursuit of this pleasure, others have more prudently employed these useful animals, and rendered their speed of general service, by using them in business where dispatch is necessary. Hence it has become an universal practice to have recourse to thein in matters of haste and expedition, and men have therefore had few opportunities of shewing their alertness. In England, indeed, from the goodness of the roads, the opportunities of changing horses; and their extraordinary speed for single stages, swiftness in man is of less consequence to us than it was to our ancestors, who kept in their service men of prodigious swiftness, called Running Footmen,and used in all messages and affairs of dispatch. Of the swiftness of Horses we have the two following remarkable instances. It is mentioned in Drayton's History of York, that one John Leyton, groom to King James I. rode between London and York in one day for six days together. He set out from Aldersgate on the 20th of May 1606, and performed his journey each day before it was dark. The days at that time of the year are about sixteen hours long; so he must have rode upwards of 12 miles an hour for sixteen hours each day! The second instance we have of this kind is that of Mr. Cooper Thornhill, master of the Bell Inn at Stilton, Huntingdonshire, who, in 1745, rode between London and Stilton three times within twelve hours; the whole length of which journey being 222 miles, he rode 18 miles and a half an hour for twelve hours together. These are certainly very extraordinary performances; nor are the several ones here extracted from history less remarkable as pedestrian expeditions. Among the Ancients the following are the most singular : Philippides, who was sent by the Athenians to implore the assistance of the Spartans in the Persian war, in the space of two days ran 170 Roman miles. Euchides was sent from Athens to get some of the holy fire from Delphos; he went and returned the same day, which is 125 Roman miles. Henry V. King of England, was so swift in running, that he, with two of his lords, without bow or other engine, would take a wild buck or doe in a large park. There were a sort of footmen, called Piechi, who attended upon the Turkish Emperors, and were occasionally dispatched with orders and expresses. They ran so admirably swift, that with a little pole-axe and a phial a phial of sweet waters in their hands, they have gone from Constantinople to Adrianople in a day and a night, which is about 160 Roman miles. Among the Moderns we have also some particularly mentioned: On the 4th of January, 1759, Geo. Guest of Birmingham, who had laid a wager that he walked 1000 miles in twenty-eight days, set out on his journey, and finished it with great ease. It seemed that he had laid by for bets; for in the two last days, we are told, he had 106 miles to walk, but walked them with so little fatigue to himself; that, to shew his agility, he came the last six miles within the hour, though he had full six hours to do it in. In July, 1765, a young woman went from Blencogo to within two or three miles of Newcastle in one day, being 72 miles. “Notum quid fœmina possit." Mr. Foster Powel went, on foot, from London to York and back again in six days, for a wager of 100 guineas. The particulars of this journey, as authenticated by Mr. P. are as follow: On Monday, Nov. 29, 1773, set out from Hicks's-Hall 20 minutes past 12 in the morning, got to Stamford about 9 o'clock in the evening of that day; distance about 88 miles. On Tuesday set out from Stamford at 5 a.m. arrived at Doncaster 12 p. m.; · 72 miles. On Wednesday left Doncaster at 5 a. m. reached York at 2 p.m.; 37 miles. The last 17 miles he went in less than two hours; and for the last 3 miles several persons attempted to keep pace with him, but in vain. At York he delivered a letter to Mr. Clark, a watchmaker, and then went to the Golden Anchor, took a little refreshment, went to bed for an hour and a half. At half-past 5 he set out on his return, reached Ferry-Bridge 10 p. m.; 22 miles. On Thursday morning at 5, he set off from Ferry Bridge, got to Grantham about 12 p. m.; 65 miles. On Friday set out from Grantham at 6 a. m. got to the Cock at Eaton by 11 p.m.; 54 miles. On Saturday morning at 4, he began his last day's journey, and at half past 6 p. m. arrived at Hicks's Hall; 56 miles. Number of miles in the whole 394. The singularity of this exploit will be thought still greater, when we consider that Mr. Powel set out in a very indifferent state of health, being com pelled, from a pain in his side, to wear a strengthening plaster all the way. The condition of his wager was, that he should begin his journey some Monday in November, or forfeit his deposit; he therefore imprudently preferred the fatigue of it, though at the hazard of his life, to save this deposit of only 20%. Mr. Powel, I am told, was born at Horseforth, near Leeds, Yorkshire, and performed several other expeditions with great swiftness. When in the 51st year of his age, he set off on a walk from Canterbury to London and back, to be accomplished in 24 hours. Powel undertook the expedition solely for the honour of it; that he might, as he himself express ed it, die Master of the reputation which his former exertions had obtained him. If, Mr. Urban, you think this "long story" worthy of insertion in your Magazine, I hope some other of your Correspondents will favour us with the recent exploits of a Barclay, and of other amateurs of pedestrianism down to the present day. Yours, &c. R. S. Mr. URBAN, Essex-house, July 28. vert your respectable Miscellany into a theatre for theological controversy; but, as you have thought fit to give publicity to a severe and unfounded accusation against me, I ap peal to your justice to be heard in my own defence. The learned and worthy Bishop of St. David's, P. i. p. 541, has published "An Address to Persons calling themselves Unitarians," with the generous design of "undeceiving them in their opinions respecting Jesus Christ." In order to which, his Lordship warns them against my writings; the Author of which he is pleased to represent as “ignorant, prejudiced, incompetent," &c. in the extreme. Of this, Mr. Urban, I do not complain-If his Lordship believes me to be what he describes, he has a right to declare it: and, if able, to prove it. I need not remind his Lordship, that, in the present inquisitive age, hard words are not accepted for solid arguments, and least of all by that class of Christians for whose spiritual edification his Lordship interests himself with such such warm and unsolicited benevolence. Of one imputation, however, 1 conceive that I have just and very great reason to complain. After having stated that "Mr. Belsham calls Bp. Horsley a baffled and defeated antagonist, and pronounces the victory of Dr. Priestley to be decisive and complete," his Lordship adds, “ Mr. Belsham may suy this, but he cannot believe it." Mr. Urban, this is language which I should have been ashamed to use of the learned Prelate, however erroneous or paradoxical his opinions may appear to me to be; and however improbable it may seem that a man of sense and learning should, in these times, entertain and avow such extraordinary tenets. What his Lordship asserts, I am satisfied that he believes. Nor did it ever enter into my contemplation that any orthodoxy of sentiment, or elevation of ecclesiastical preferment, could release a gentleman from those forms of civility, which the custom of polished life has rendered indispensable in the intercourses of society, and which ought by no means to be banished from theological discussions. I can, however, assure his Lordship, that I do most firmly believe, and that, in the estimation of some Readers who are very competent to judge, as well as in my own, I have demonstrably proved, in that little work upon which his Lordship animadverts, that Bishop Horsley retired from the controversy with Dr. Priestley "baffled and defeated;" that, "the victory of his opponent was decisive and complete:" and that, "though his Lordship might be gratified to see the effect produced by his pompous and imposing style upon the unthinking crowd, he would have been the first to laugh to scorn the solemn ignoramus who should seriously profess to believe that the advantage of the argument remained with him." Far be it from me, Mr. Urban, to maintain, that my late learned and revered Friend was successful in every point in this famous controversy. There were some skirmishes in which, truth constrains me to acknowledge, that victory perched upon the standard of the Bishop. In evil hour was the taunting question proposed by my too confident friend, "Pray, Sir, in what Lexicon or Dictionary, ordinary or extraordinary, do you find idiota rendered idiot?" In reply to which, in a learned dissertation, the Bishop, to the eternal confusion of his unguarded opponent, produces no less than ten distinct significations of the word idiota, and cites five Lexicons in which that word is translated idiot. My respected Friend likewise was rather too precipitate in attributing to his acute antagonist the sole honour of discovering the sublime mystery, that "the Father produced the Son by the contemplation of his own perfections:" and though the learned Prelate, with exemplary discretion, declines to offer any proof or explanation of this mysterious doctrine, or to say why this energetic contemplation of divine attributes should exhaust itself in the production of one Son only, in an elaborate and learned disquisition upon the subject, the Bishop has distinctly shewn, that the credit of this grand discovery did not belong entirely to himself; but that it had been revealed originally by some of the antient Platonizing Fathers, and was adopted by some learned Divines at the era of the Reformation. It also appears, that Dr. Priestley was guilty of an oversight, in reckoning Irenæus in the number of those writers who had not specified the Ebionites as heretics. All this, Mr. Urban, I most readily concede; but I still maintain, that the most material point at issue between the learned champions was not a question of "scholarship and criticism," but concerning a plain matter of fact, in which Dr. Priestley obtained the most decided advantage; and that of this his learned adversary was perfectly conscious. The fact asserted by Dr. Priestley is, that the great body of Hebrew Christians, in the two first centuries, were believers in the simple humanity of Jesus; and, to establish this assertion, he appeals, amongst others, to the testimony of Origen. Bishop Horsley, upon the authority of Mosheim, denies the fact; stigmatizes Origen as a liar; and contends for the existence of an orthodox Hebrew church at Etia, the new name which Adrian had given to Jerusalem, or rather to a Colony in its vicinity; which Hebrew church consisted principally of returned emigrants from Pella, |