often slashed and corrected. Sir Edward Coke rode the circuit with such a fan, and the Earl of Manchester used such a one. At Oxford, the rod was often used by the tutors and deans; and Dr. Potter, of Trinity Hall, I know right weil whipped his pupil with a sword by his side, when ke came to take leave of him to go to the Inns of Court." See Antiquarian Repertory, vol. iii. p. 47.. It is manifest to me, Mr. HONE (whatever it may be to other people), that the stern, arbitrary, and unfeeling conduct of parents to children, which continued to the latter part of the last century, took its tone from the despotic and cruel nature of our governments, down to the times of the commonwealth of England. I have alluded to this elsewhere, and Hentzner's account of the court of Elizabeth abundantly confirms me; but my thoughts are chiefly turned to the kind of knowledge which was acquired at grammarschools in the "good old times!" Let us look a little into this matter. So late as 1595, it appears that persons were taught to reckon with counters. One may infer from a sketch of a grammarschool founded in Sandwich, in 1580, by sir Robert Manwood, that "cyphering" was not deemed a necessary acquisition to the young inhabitants, though this was a cinque port. Latin, and parsing words, were then the chief exercises. Mr. Ayscough, indeed, writing in 1797, says," Whatever may be the present usage (i. e. in grammar-schools), it is within recollection that, fifty years ago, there were sent, from capital schools,* to the universities, youths of good abilities, and not by any means wanting in grammar and classical learning, yet so little versed in common figures, as to be obliged to have recourse to a master of a day school in the town, for instruction in the four fundamental rules of arithmetic." fingers? Could they measure a plot of ground? gauge a cistern? find the solid contents of a haystack? or the height of a steeple? Did they know any thing about the history, or constitution, or laws, or customs, or antiquities of their country? What was their astronomical, mathematical, chemical, geographical, or other useful knowledge, down to the times of Bacon, if not of Newton? Why, it was nothing, or next to nothing.-Yet these parrots, with a bit of dead linguistry, which a Grecian ploughboy or milkmaid would have laughed at, thought themselves, and were thought by others, mighty fine scholars; and, as is frequently the case even now, very competent to instruct others. Greek, as I before have stated, was almost unknown in this country before the Reformation.* When Erasmus lectured in one of the universities here, I have somewhere read that he could scarcely obtain an auditory: as to Hebrew, there were catholic priests, even, who considered it a new language, then forming, and that whoever learned it became a Jew. I shall here, for the present, close this very amusing subject with a display of the library of that great disputant, theologian, and quack, the " Defender of the Faith," his Highness, Henry VIII. One greate booke, called an Herbal. A Masse booke covered with black velvet. vi. other small books. For the present I remain, NORRISSON SCATCHERD. : What, then, did these disputants in churchyards, or at fairs, with whom we commenced, understand? Why, syntax, August 24. Day breaks h. m. 2 43 and what they called metaphysics, or Sun rises 4 59 logic, or some other kind of humdrum stuff; and, after the Reformation, besides "qui, quæ, quod," they knew something about γὰρ and roi-about Greek particles, and Greek metres, and such unedifying, artificial learning; but could they do more than count with counters, or their * i. e. The chief, or head public schools. * See Ellis's Letters, second series, vol ii. p. 60, Letter 111. M' Cree's life of Knox, vol. i. p. 343. † It is manifest, from what has come out of late years, that this monster was a very great moll-coddle, besides quack. An immense bason of copper, and its iron shaft, or foot, clothed with two thousand four hundred pieces of glass, construct a vase fourteen feet high, and twelve feet wide across the brim, weighing upwards of eight tons, and capable of holding eight pipes of wine. Each piece of glass is richly cut with mathematical precision, and is beautifully colored; the colors are gold, ruby, and emerald, and they are enamelled upon one side of the glass. These colored sides being cemented upon the metal body, and rendered perfectly air-tight in that junction, the exterior is a gem-like surface of inconceivable splendor. On entering the room in which it is exhibited, I was not so much struck by the first sight of the vase, as I expected to be from the account I had received respecting it. The room being small, a few steps from the entrance door had brought me too near to the object, and the eye sought relief from a mass of brilliancy. On continuing to look at it, the strong light of a sunny summer afternoon, commixing with the full blaze from several gas-burners, made out the details too clearly. Ascending a small gallery at the back of the apartment, I saw down into the concavity of the immense vessel. After admiring, for a few minutes, the Thyrsis-like ornaments of the interior, and then proceeding to descend the stairs, my eye was caught by the effect of shadow which dimmed a portion of the exterior, and rendered more lustrous gleams shining from other parts. It seemed to me that this was a good place for a view; and, lingering on the stair-case, the beauty of the vase, as a whole, appeared to gradually enfold; but, upon reaching the floor of the room, the sudden drawing of a curtain obscured the day-light, and the vase, by the illumination of gas alone, glittered like diamonds upon melting gold. From a remote corner I observed the magic splendor at leisure, and watched the varying effects of different degrees of the light, as it was heightened, or lowered by a valve regulating to the burners of the surrounding lamps. Waiting till the visitors. had retired, who better pleased with its full lustre; the doors were closed, and I was then allowed half an hour's contemplation in a partial and subdued light. By causing some of the gas-burners to be extinguished, and the flame in the others to be reduced to a finger's breadth, one side of the room was darkened; parts of the vase were in deep shadow, while the rest seemed a glowing golden fire, silently consuming precious gems; and the transparent edges of the encircling rim above became a sparkling nimbus of starlight. I coveted to be shut up with the stillness, and banquet my eyes through the night upon the gorgeous vision. By elevating and adjusting my hands to exclude the illuminating burners from my sight, the colossal gem appeared through the gloom mysteriously self-lighted, and I gazed and mused till I might have imagined it to be the depository of the talismans of Eblis, which disclosed forbidden secrets and exhaustless treasures, to the impious caliph who preferred knowledge to wisdom, and who discovered too late that the condition of man is to be humble and ignorant. This gorgeous wonder produced only by native art, at the opening a new and auspicious æra in our history, should be destined to the palace of a King who holds the hearts of the people to his own, and rules by the law of kindness. Let them respectfully tender it to His Majesty, as the splendid first fruit of British ingenuity, in the first year of his beneficent reign, in testimony of their unanimous sense of his natural purposes, and of their sincere affection to his person. To a subscription properly originated and conducted, the poorest man that could spare a mite would doubtless contribute, and the "Royal Clarence Vase" may be an acceptable present from the nation to William the Fourth. July, 1831. WILLIAM HONE. TO MR. JOHN GUNBY, O! worthy of applause! by all admired, T'enrich thy walls; but thou didst form thy VASE From molten masses of the glassy wave. were one.. ! Colors of various hues, with gold emboss'd, serene. So stands the splendid prodigy-A scene Edgbarton, July 1, 1831. ACCOUNT BY MR. REINAGLE. The present era is distinguished by the grand and rapid progress made in the sciences and in arts, which multiply to infinitum things to fill us with astonishment. But up to the present day no part of the world has produced a genius of sufficient power of mind to conceive even the possibility of fabricating in cut glass an object of such wonderful magnificence, and of a size so immensely colossal, as the Vase of which we are about to paint, in description, a feeble portrait. The human mind, in all its extensive range of thought, is not able to conceive a splendid Glass Vase, cut in the most elaborate and novel way, and embellished with enamel all over its surface, as this presents itself to the beholder. At the first sight one is confounded with astonishment, and knows not whether what we see is real, or whether we have not been transported, on a sudden, to another globe, to be surrounded by miraculous things. The spectacle is one of the most surprising that can be exhibited. To England is due the honor of its production; and it comes from the hand of one of its numerous celebrated artists, MR. GUNBY. The precious metal, gold, glitters in all its glory, intermixed, or rather united, with extraordinary beauty of cutting, and rich and splendid enamel painting-in colors the most vivid and imposing. The genius that is observed in the design of the ornaments, and in the novel beauty of the coup d'œil, is remarkable in all its details, and leaves the spectator bewildered. One is at a loss whether mostto admire the shape-the gorgeous brilliance-the sparkle of the gems-the beauty of the cutting-the enamelling-the general conception-or the immense bulk of this magnificent and astounding work of We have seen China vases of a form and size very large, but never of a decidedly fine contour. Up to the present day all cut glass vases have been limited to a scale of about two feet, the pedestal included; but here is a cut glass vase, not only the most embellished and the most beautiful in shape possible to be conceived, but of a magnitude beyond all previous calculation or conception. One is tempted to believe that some supernatural inspiration had developed to the mind of the distinguished artist the plan, and the means to construct what no being of this globe, since the creation, had ever seen. is the truth. We know of no description in history that indicates any similar effort; and this precious colossal vase must be seen to have any just idea of it. Original Vortry. W.CN. [Original.] art. We have fill'd many a goblet high, 2 K2 S. H. S. Such August 25. August, 1735. At the assizes in Cornwall Henry Rogers was tried, condemned, and executed, for murder. He was a pewterer at a village called Skewis, and was so ignorant of the reason, as well as of the power, of the law, that, when a decree in chancery went against him, he resisted all remonstrances, and fortified his house, making loop-holes for muskets, through which he shot two men of the posse comitatus, who attended the under sheriff. A little while after, he shot one Kitchens, as he was passing the high road, on his private business. He also fired through the window, and killed one Toby; and would not suffer his body to be taken away to be buried, for some days. At length the neighbouring justices of the peace assisted the constables, and procured an aid of some soldiers, one of whom he killed, and afterwards made his escape; but at Salisbury, on his way towards London, he was apprehended and brought down to Cornwall. Five bills of indictment were found against him, by the grand jury, for the five murders. To save the court time, he was tried on three of them only, and found guilty in each case, before lord chief justice Hardwick. As he lay in gaol, after his condemnation, the under sheriff coming in he attempted to seize his sword, with a resolution to kill him, swearing he should die easy if he could succeed in that design. He was attended at the but they could make no impression on place of suffering by several clergymen, August 25. Day breaks hmon 246 es his brutal stupidity, and he died without expressing any remorse. His portrait, from which this account is taken, represents him in prison, leaning with his left arm on a bench, and hand-cuffed. His appearance perfectly agrees with the description, and depicts him with a countenance of doltish ignorance, and hardened insensibility to his situation. The print is well executed and very rare. 11 Sun rises, setsw August 26. gif OW TO CAD101St 26 August, 1776, died, aged 73, at Paris, the celebrated historical tourist of that city, Germain Francois Poullain de St. Foix. His only amusements were the society of a few literary friends, a beautiful garden, an aviary peopled with different kinds of birds, seven or eight cats to which he was strongly attached, and some other animals. In all seasons he slept upon a sofa, with no covering but a dressing-gown. He was desirous of being a member of the French Academy, but it was customary to make visits, and to this he could not conform He |