riching themselves? and if they have not all availed themselves of the golden opportunity, are the comforts of others to be abridged, that their luxuries may not be diminished? Yet this would be the certain effect of a non-importation law, to which I believe it is now pretty well ascertained the Legislature will not agree. Some other means less obnoxious then must be had, to meet the difficulties with which the occupier has now to contend; but these cannot be found in removing the weight of taxation from the shoulders of one set of men, and placing it upon those of others. When all classes are wearied with the burthen, all have equal claims to relief; and, without entering at large into the argument, I believe there are few but will agree in the opinion, that even supposing the farmer to have borne his fair proportion of the public burthen during the war (a fact, by the way, not very easily established) he has been most amply repaid for the sacrifices he may have been called upon to make. I will now, Mr. Urban, proceed to the consideration of the third scheme of amelioration, and one which is much more extensively cherished than either of the two preceding-the proposed suppression of Tithes. By confounding all distinctions of right and wrong, it is now the custom to class tithes with rates, taxes, and in short, with what the writers on this side of the question are pleased to term national impositions!! But is this proceeding just or honest? Is there any analogy between a temporary import enacted by the Legislature, and a property which, without the support of a divine origin, which yet ought not to be forgotten, is secured by as sacred a title as any landholder in the kingdom can produce. There would be as much justice and propriety in a proposition for selling any portion of the landed property, and applying it to the reduction of the national debt, as there is for stripping the ecclesiastical and lay possessors of their vested property in tithes. Surely the good sense of the land-holder and the land-occupier ought to convince them, that it is not by any violent seizure of the property of others, they can permanently secure the best interests of their own; let them wait with becoming forti Lude the issue of events; and they will find, that as the great increase of the price of corn was the primary cause of advancing the price of labour, of tradesmen's bills, of tithes and rents, rates and taxes, so will the decrease in the value of this article of prime necessity be followed by a general reduction in all these particulars. No one is more strongly convinced than your Correspondent, that the grower cannot afford his produce at the present prices, unless his expences are reduced; but, Sir, it must be a general reduction in the whole scale of his expenditure, and not a partial alleviation in any particulars of his account (e. g. rent or tithe) that can enable him to go on. This general reduction will, nay, must take place; and when it has, the farmer must be less ambitions, less expensive in his habits, less ostentatious in his pursuits; or he will still find himself involved in difficulties which he will not very easily be able to surmount. The farmer ought always to be able to enjoy his comforts; but he must in many instances retrench his absolute luxuries; in short, Sir, the Squire must once more become the Yeoman, and the Squire's lady the farmer's wife! These, Mr. Urban, are harshsounding truths; but they are plain ones; and by giving them a place in your pages, you will confer a favour upon, I Yours, &c. Mr. URBAN, CANDIDUS. Nov. 1. BEG the favour of you to insert an answer to some strictures against one of the Psalms of David, as being opposed to the Christian temper. That it is the 109th which is here meant, need hardly be expressly pointed out. I apprehend that the translation of it in common use is not correct; and that it is only to the unfaithful version that the censure of uncharitableness can justly apply. Some well- meaning people have taken great offence against it: and one gentleman of my acquaintance, who was in the habit of only attending the afternoon service in the Church of England, declined going there on the 22d day of the month, if it hap pened to be a Sunday: for it is ou that afternoon that it is read. David is represented in the common transiations, both the old one of the Liturgy, and that of the Bible, as imprecating direful judgments upon his enemies; whereas whereas it is they who imprecate, according to my way of rendering it. And this my translation is not a forced one; it follows naturally from the context. The points of the masora, however, must be discarded, and we shall see the idiom no way offended, and no violence done to the passage. David, in the beginning of the Psalm, complains that his enemies are praying against him, as well as making their comments upon his measures with great freedom. "Keep not silence, O God of my praise; for the mouth of the injurious, and the mouth of the deceitful, are opened against me." Then he reports what they say. "in return for my kind treatment, they vent their malice against me myself in their prayer." The Bible translation has it," For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer." But here italics must be resorted to; for there is no give myself in the Hebrew. The Liturgy, less scrupulous than the Bible, renders at a venture without italics. Though the (ani) as a nominative may to some be thought to imply an elliptical verb, that is not the case. We have similar instances of the use of that nominative without a verb in Hebrew. Those to whom the lan guage is familiar, will see that my translation is correct. Then there is no preposition to : but there we have no difficulty at all, as any Phil-hebraist may perceive. Indeed in my own way of reading without points, I always supply a particular short vowel where that preposition is wanted. However, that makes no difference. This elliptical preposition is of very frequent occurrence. My "their" is only used for the occasion, to make the sentence more clear. I apprehend the history to be, that David wanted to enforce the Mosaic law; and that he found great difficulty to do it, as the people had not been accustomed to such rigour while the Philistines were lords of the country. And that he did not find it easy to maintain his authority at first, ap"Who will pears from Psalm 94. rise up for me against the evil-doers ?" &c. verse 16. For I suppose him to be King in Hebron at this time; and to have been punishing somebody for a breach of the law of God, and to have thereby given displeasure to many more for that the Philistine Magistracy had never been willing to take cognizance of such sort of transgressions: and that made David appear very severe. Then we may conclude the "Set a tyrant to be ruler over him," verse 6, Psalm 109, to be their prayer, and not the King's: for he could resort to other methods than imprecation. The enemy at the Judge's right hand, was to correspond with Nathan, or whoever had prompted the new regulations. "When he is judged," &c. verse 7. would be better rendered, "When he is plaintiff, let him be non-suited; and more than that, let him be convicted." The 16th verse: "He persecuted the poor man who was entitled to compassion," is an expression to excite sympathy in favour of him who had been punished. The "cursing" in verse 17. is neither an execrating nor an imprecating curse: p is a railing curse. David, it may be believed, had very sharply reprimanded some others; and the construction they put upon it was, that it was downright railing. David on his own side says, verse 22. "It is I that am the person entitled to compassion: I suffer in mind,” if I do not in estate. He does imprecate too at last in verse 29; but it is only for shame upon them. He excuses his own alleged severity under the plea that he had only executed God's command; not made any new law himself, verse 27. Perhaps, Mr. Urban, you may not think my feeble attempt unworthy of insertion, when considered as a mean, in one particular, to remove the scruples of the feeble-minded, as far as relates to introducing the Psalms of David into any place of religious worship. RICH. EDWARDS. Mr. URBAN, THE HE Lion carved in wood, which was the head of the Centurion, Commodore Anson's ship, was afterwards set up against an Inn, ou a stone pedestal, at Goodwood, in Sussex, with the following inscription: Stay, Traveller awhile, and view One who has travell'd more than you Quite round the Globe, through each degrée, Anson and I have plow'd the sea; S. VOLCANIC ERUPTION. "TH "Manilla, Feb. 24, 1814. HIRTY years had elapsed, since the Volcano of Albay, called by the natives Mayon, had remained in undisturbed silence; so that it was contemplated without those feelings which volcanoes generally raise in the minds of the neighbours. The last eruption took place in the year 1800, when great quantities of sand, stone, and ashes were thrown up, and caused great damage to the neighbouring villages. From that period nothing occurred to mark a volcano; so that the terror which it had occasioned, began by degrees to evaporate. The lofty brow of the mountain was converted into a pleasant and beautiful garden; and was cultivated with hemp, cocoa-nuts, and many kinds of fructiferous trees, with a great quantity of roots and leguminous plants, which, at the same time that they afforded a delightful prospect for the eye, gave support to many industrious families. "In this state the volcano was on the 1st of this month. The dangers which it had occasioned were almost obliterated from the memory; and the mind became satisfied that the volcanic fire had become extinguished, and that the subterraneous conduits by which it attracted the combustible matter in the bowels of the earth were closed. The mountain gave no sign to indicate the eruption; on the former occasion, they were preceded by subterraneous noises and thick volumes of smoke: but, in the present instance, nothing of the kind occurred. It is true, on the last day of January, some slight shocks of earthquakes were felt; but were hardly noticed, similar shocks having become very frequent since the dreadful eruption in October 1800. During the night the earthquake became more severe, and at two o'clock in the morning was more violent than had at any time been known. It was repeated at four o'clock; and from that time continued without intermission till the eruption commenced. A morning more fair, or an horizon more serene, than attended the approach of the day, had never been known. The hills contiguous to the volcano were observed, however, to be covered with mist, which was supGENT. MAG. Suppl. LXXXIV. PARTII, D posed to be the smoke of some house that had been burnt during the night. No sooner, however, had the clock on that fatal morning struck eight, than the volcano began to emit tremendous quantities of stone, sand, and ashes, which were instantaneously thrown up into the air, higher than the eye could reach, and caused terror and consternation among the inhabitants, who saw the summit of the mountain assume a most terrific appearance. The eruption was more tremendous than had ever before been known, and every one expected instant death. The first effort was to offer up prayers to the divine mercy, and then fly to seek shelter in the caves and remote parts of the mountains; but the efforts of many were fruitless, being overtaken in their flight by showers of stones and burning matter, which spread death among them. The misery of our situation increased as the day became darkened, and the subterraneous noise of the volcano more severe. The eruption continued for ten days, and during the first four was accompanied by almost total darkness. About noon on the tenth day the noise of the volcano began to lessen; and at two o'clock the horizon was entirely clear, and enabled us to see distinctly the horrid and lamentable destruction which the darkness had concealed from us. Five populous towns in the province of Cumariues, and the principal part of Albay, were destroyed; more than twelve hundred persons were reckoned among the dead, and many that survived were dreadfully wounded or burnt. "The mountain now presents a melancholy picture. Its brow, which was before so cultivated, and offered a beautiful prospect, is now a dry and barren desert. The matter thrown out by the volcano covers the ground in some places from ten to twelve yards in depth, and in others it reaches the top of the lof tiest cocoa-nut trees. Its ravages extend over the whole of the beautiful province of Cumarines, where scarcely a tree has been left standing or uninjured. The opening of the mountain, which forms the crater of the volcano, has extended itself twenty fathoms below the level; whilst on the Southern aspect of the mountain three 642 Relicks of Druidism?-Sir Watkinson Payler. [LXXXIV. three new apertures have been opened, out of which smoke and ashes still continue to be occasionally thrown. The population of the province was calculated at 20,000 souls; and all who have survived the eruption have been ruined, or deprived of every thing they possessed." Mr.URBAN, Coventry, Dec.13. forming a repository for tracts which have been or may be written on this subject by those who have made it the object of their research." Had this been adopted only at the beginning of the last century, how great a mass of Druidism would have been transmitted to the present generation, which is now irrecoverably lost by its tremendous enemies, AMONGST the number of Institu- agricultural innovation, and wanton tions formed for the preservation of ancient, and accumulation of modern knowledge, it is much to be regretted that, at this momentous period, when the astonishing progress of science seems rapidly approximating that period when (in the words of the Inspired Writer) "the earth shall be filled with the know destruction! Much, however, yet remains undescribed and unnoticed; and a vast field still presents itself to those who are inclined to explore the apparently exhaustless subject. Yours, &c. Mr. URBAN, AN EUVATE. Piermont, Thanet, Dec. 14. AVING observed in a late Maga ledge of the goodness of the Lord, Hine a request from Biographi as the waters cover the sea;" that no Society has been formed for transmitting to posterity an account of those antique relicks which almost exclusively belong to this Island-the long neglected and almost forgotten remains of the ancient Druids. To those who consider them as a race of men somewhat advanced beyond a savage state; or, as others, who rest satisfied with Julius Cæsar's description; enough has already been said by various writers: but those who conceive Druidism to have been of divine antediluvian origin, and will patiently investigate the remains of Abury, Stone Henge, and Rowldrich, and endeavour to develope their mysterious construction, must be convinced that the little which is known of their early scientific acquirements serves only as a distant beacon, pointing out a path at whose termination the astonished spectator will be overpowered by their longconcealed light bursting on his senses with effulgent splendour; and irrefragably convince him that numerous modern discoveries are only a renovation of their doctrines as communicated in an enigmatical shape to the initiated. May I presume to recommend an attentive consideration of this subject to some one whose rank in life, talent, and abilities, are sufficient to insure success in the establishing a Society for the preservation of the little that now remains of their works by drawings and description, and cus, to be informed of the issue of Sir Watkinson Payler, who was living in 1698, I (who succeeded to the Thoralby estates, in the East Riding of York,) have to inform you, that Sir Watkinson left one daughter, "Mrs. Mary Payler," who left my father (her brother) the above-mentioned estate, and entailed it on me, requesting that I might be christened Watkinson, in hopes that the title might be recovered and continued. has never been done, although often thought of, in compliance with her wish. The Lady Staughton, mentioned by Biographicus, was my grandmother. My father was her only child. I mean to make an immediate petition for this baronetcy, having a right to the revival in my family; and am bound so to do by the consideration of Mrs. Mary Payler's most earnest wish. This T. W. PAYLER. Mr. URBAN, Dec. 15. Na work of such general and deserved celebrity as Leland's History of Ireland, I was surprized to meet with the following inaccuracies: viz. in Vol. II. p. 182, where he speaks of Murrough O'Brien, first Earl of Thomond, he adds, "his son Connor, to whom the Earldom was limited, was by another patent created Baron of Ibrackan." Now this is manifestly erroneous. Murrough O'Brien, Chieftain of Thomond, was created Earl of Thomond, for life, and Baron of Inchiquin, with re mainder 4 mainder to his male issue. His nephew, Donogh O'Brien, (the son of his elder brother) was at the same time created Baron of Ibrackan, and Earl of Thomond; the latter title'to take place on the death of his uncle, Earl Murrough. The reason of this limitation was, that Murrough had, according to the custom of Tanistry, assumed the principality of Thomond, though his elder brother Connor, Prince of Thomond, had left a son Donogh, an infant; and on his submitting to Henry VIII. was rewarded with the Earldom of Tho her father, certainly becomes entitled to the Viscounty as "heir general of the body of Sir John Clotworthy." I conceive also, that the Viscounty of Massereene thus devolving on the heir general, will in future descend, like a Barony in fee, to the heir general, being a female, iu preference to the collateral heir male ;and that Lady Harriet's grand-daughter (through her eldest son) would take the precedence in succession from her second son. G. H. W. Mr. URBAN, Dec. 17. N Nichols's Literary Anecdotes, for Edward, third mond, with reversion to the right Vol. II. p. 71.. heir, Donogh, whose possessions he had usurped. On Earl Murrough's death, the Earldom devolved to his nephew Donogh (from whom sprung the Earls of Thomond in Ireland, Viscounts. Tadcaster of England, extinct in 1741 in Henry eighth Earl of Thomond and Viscount Tadcaster); but the Barony of Inchiquin devolved to his son, Dermod, second Lord Inchiquin, whose descendant Murrough, sixth Baron of Inchiquin, was created Earl of Inchiquin in 1654, and was ancestor of Murrough, fifth Earl of Inchiquin, created, in 1800, Marquis of Thomond, and Baron Thomond in the English Peerage, thus uniting the honours of Thomond aud Inchiquin. The other inaccuracy in Leland is in page 232, where he speaks of M‹ Carthy, chieftain of Desmond, being created Earl of Clancarty. This chieftain was created (vide Beatson) Earl of Clancare, and Baron of Va lentia. The Earldom of Claucarty was not conferred until more than half a century afterwards, on another branch of the Macarthy family. Yours, &c. H. M. Mr. URBAN, Dec. 16. N Oxford Correspondent states A his opinion, that, under the pa tent of Charles II. to Sir John Clot worthy, the first Viscount Masserene, as quoted in your volumes, Lady Harriet Foster is not entitled to the honour, which he supposes to be limited to the male descendants of Sir John Skeffington, and Mary Clotworthy, daughter of the grantee. The present Earl of Massereene is the last male descendant of that marriage; but his daughter, Lady Harriet Foster, in the event of surviving son, read Ewan, third son. In the same Volume, p. 715. for Massareene, read Massereene. Elizabeth Tonson, (see Gent. Mag. for Sept. p. 293.) was first married to Major John Reading, of Saintoff, in Yorkshire, (see Smith's History of Cork): the Rev. Percy Meade was her second husband. She was the eldest daughter of Henry Tonson, esq. of Spanish Island, co. Cork, who died Nov. 25, 1703, ætat. 37, (by Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sir Ri chard Hull, knt. of Leameon) the only son of Richard Tonson, esq. of Spanish Island, temp. Charles II. who had a grant of lands from that monarch for his services during the civil wars. |