To think that we have walk'd amid mankind Mr. Southey, however, has by no means confined himself to the poetical history of Spain. With respect to Portugal, he has enriched his book with an abridgment of a very curious and valuable manuscript, written by a Portuguese secretary of state, containing plans for the improvement of his native country; and he has given several anecdotes, and other interesting par ticulars, concerning the manners and modes of life of the inhabitants. On the whole, these letters contain a large portion of information, communicated in a very agreeable and lively manner. ART. XI. IN An History of the principal Rivers of Great Britain. Vol. II. Folio. 41. 48. Boards. Boydell, and Nicol. the Review for December 1794, we gave our opinion of the first volume of this instructive and entertaining work; and it is with pleasure that we again accompany the ingenious. editor in his course along a river, the banks of which present to the delighted spectator the richest productions of nature, and the noblest monuments of human art. The former volume left us at Kingston in Surrey; and, though we now approach the capital, the same rural scenery continues, but is embellished by a greater number of beautiful seats and villas; many of which are rendered peculiarly interesting by having been the abodes of men distinguished by useful learning, and by virtue. The first object that now strikes us, on either border, is Strawberry-hill, the seat of the late Earl of Orford, better known and much esteemed in the learned world by the name of Horace Walpole. It is constructed in the Gothic style, with suitable accompaniments; and the whole is strongly expressive of the elegant but peculiar taste which characterised the author of the Castle of Otranto. Not far distant, is the beautiful villa which has been celebrated for having been the residence of Mr. Pope, at which he wrote the greater part of his poems, and at which the constellation of wits, who adorned the beginning of the present century, frequently met, and conversed on the most important and interesting subjects:the disposition of that man is not to be envied, who can con template this spot without feeling some emotion. Richmond Richmond-hill next presents itself to our view, the beauties of which have been celebrated by the foremost of our descriptive poets-Thomson. The house in which he passed his latter years since became the property of the Honourable Mrs. Boscawen, widow of the brave Admiral of that name; and who, in the alterations which she made in the gardens, took considerable pains to express her admiration of that excellent poet and truly good man.-The editor fails not to give the history of the Palace of Richmond, which contains many curious particulars. The neighbouring hamlet of Sheen is well known as being the favourite residence of Sir William Temple: from this place, many of his most entertaining letters are dated; and here he had an opportunity of rejecting those splendid offers of wealth and honours, which, though it is the pride of philosophy to despise them, few men know how to refuse. Pursuing our course down the river, we now behold Sionhouse, which, from its peculiar style of magnificence, seems to merit the particular description here given of it. We would borrow the words of the editor, did we not fear that most of our readers have already met with accounts of this celebrated building. We are next entertained with a description of the Royal Gardens of Richmond and Kew; from which we pass on to the busy town of Brentford. Here we must bid adieu, not without regret, to those rural and picturesque scenes on which our imagination has so long dwelt with pleasure: but the prospects which succeed, though not so pleasing to the eye of the poet and the painter, may be more interesting to the philosopher and the politician. The extensive manufactures which now open themselves to our view, the wonderful contrivances for the diminution of labour, the wharfs and warehouses full of the choicest productions of every soil and clime, are certainly objects of high importance, and must impress the reflecting mind with an exalted idea of our national prosperity. Let us, however, suspend these reflections for a moment; and, as we pass through the village of Mortlake, contemplate with heartfelt satisfaction the house which was occupied, at the beginning of this century, by the benevolent Edward Colston. This gentleman expended upwards of seventy thousand pounds in charitable institutions, chiefly in the city of Bristol, where he died in the year 1721; and in which place his living and testamentary charities are honoured and acknowleged by annual * Originally a convent, founded by Henry V.; now belonging to the Duke of Northumberland. commemorations.'-A tribute of respect is likewise duly paid to the excellent Sir John Barnard, who died in 1764, and was buried in the chancel of Mortlake church. Of this true patriot, intelligent merchant, and upright magistrate, we have a judicious and well-written life in the Biographia Britannica. The author seems to be much attracted by the Duke of Devonshire's beautiful villa at Chiswick; and he offers several observations respecting it which appear to be dictated by good sense and a just taste, closing them by a very deserved encomium on the Earl of Burlington, who built it, and to whom it belonged before it passed by marriage into the Devonshire family. The writer's account of Cromwell, Earl of Essex, who was born at Putney, may be entertaining to many of our readers; particularly as it relates some circumstances of his birth and education, which, we believe, are not generally known: f Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, an eminent statesman and distinguished character in the reign of Henry VIII., was the son of a blacksmith. Tradition continues to point out the place of his birth, which is in some measure confirmed by the survey of Wimbledon Manor, taken in 1617; as it describes " an ancient cottage, called the Smith's Shop, lying west of the highway leading from Putney to the upper gate; and on the south side of the highway from Richmond to Wandsworth, being the sign of the Anchor." As his extraction was mean, his education was low; but his genius predominated over both. He was, during a considerable period, in foreign countries, where he is supposed to have been engaged in the secret service of the King, and was some time a soldier in the army of the Duke of Bourbon, at the siege of Rome. On his return to England, he was admitted into the family of Cardinal Wolsey, as his Solicitor; to whom he proved a faithful servant and sincere friend. After the Cardinal's fall, the King employed him (Cromwell) in various services, for which he was rewarded by being successively appointed a Privy Counsellor, Master of the Jewel-office, Clerk of the Hanaper, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Principal Secretary of State, Master of the Roils, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, a Baron of the Realm, and Vicegerent over all the spiritualities under the King, who was declared supreme head of the church. All the power resulting from his high station, and the royal favour, he employed in promoting the Reformation; and with this view he became the chief instrument in dissolving the monasteries, depressing the clergy, and expelling the monks. The King at length advanced him to the dignity of Earl of Essex, constituted him Lord High Chamberlain of England, and loaded him with the confiscated estates of religious houses. Nor can it be considered as an uninteresting circumstance in the life of this extraordinary man, that, among the numerous possessions he acquired by the royal favour, we can number the manor of the place where he was born. But the plan he formed to secure his greatness proved his ruin; such is the weakness of human policy, and the short-sighted views of man man. He had employed all his power to procure a marriage between Henry and Anne of Cleves; and, as her friends were all Lutherans, he imagined that such a circumstance might tend to bring down the Popish party at Court: at the same time, he naturally expected great support from a Queen of his own making. But the capricious monarch taking a disgust to his bride, conceived an immediate and irreconcileable aversion to the principal promoter of the marriage. He was accordingly accused of heresy, which was wholly improba ble, and of other offences, which he could have justified by the King's orders: but so enraged was his late master against him, that no one dared to appear and plead his cause. One man, to his honour be it recorded, proved the friend of the fallen Cromwell, when every other friend had forsaken him: Archbishop Cranmer addressed a letter to the King in his favour, in which he solemnly declared it to be his opinion, that no prince ever had a more faithful servant. He suf fered on Tower Hill, with great fortitude and composure, in the month of July 1540. His character has been differently treated by different parties: but it is well known that he preferred more men of abilities and integrity, both ecclesiastical and laymen, than any of his predecessors. Nor shall we hesitate to declare our opinion, that he deserved a better master, and a better fate.' In passing through Battersea, the celebrated Lord Boling. broke is the subject of the author's panegyric. We are ready to allow, in the fullest extent, his Lordship's wonderful powers of genius: yet, as we have always considered that not merely the possession but the proper application of talents is essential to the formation of a truly great man, we cannot but express our wish that the ingenious author had moderated his encomiums on one whose private character was stained with vices, and whose philosophic writings are in many respects hostile to the best interests of morality and religion. On Chelsea Hospital, the writer enlarges with that benevo lent and patriotic pleasure, which the contemplation of establishments of that sort naturally inspires. London and Westminster afford so many objects worthy of attention, that it is not easy to make such a selection as may gratify the curiosity of the reader, without being tedious and prolix. In this respect, the editor merits great praise. Without entering into minute particulars or uninteresting details, he gives a comprehensive view of what is most remarkable and deserving of notice in those famous cities. Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Church are too well known, to render it necessary for us to make any quotations from that part of this work which relates to these magnificent edifices; which have long been the subject of national pride, and are never viewed without admiration; the former exhibiting a noble specimen of Gothic architecture, when brought to its highest degree of possible perfection; the latter abounding Y 3 ww in the chaster beauties of Greece and Rome, with every decoration that is consistent with true taste and a just attention to the rules of the art. The following historical account of London Bridge, however, we conceive to be too interesting to be wholly omitted: • We proceed to London Bridge, whose antiquity carries back our inquiries to a very early period of the English history. The year of its foundation is not ascertained by antiquarian sagacity, but it appears to have been built between the years 993 and 1016, since, in the first of them, Unlaf the Dane, according to the Saxon Chronicle, sailed up the river as far as Stanes; and in the latter, Canute, King of Denmark, when he besieged London, caused a channel to be formed on the South side of the Thames about Rotherhithe, for conveying his ships above the bridge. If any credit is to be given to the traditionary account of the origin of the ancient wooden bridge, given by Bartholomew Linstead, the last prior of Saint Mary Overy's convent, London is indebted for this structure to that religious house. Stow seems to be of this opinion; but the persons who continued his work allow no other merit to the monks of this convent, than that they gave their consent to the erection of the bridge, on receiving a sufficient recompence for the loss of the ferry by which they had been supported; and that this conjecture is not without foundation, appears from the appropriation of lands for the support of London. bridge, at so early a period as the reign of Henry I. In the year 1136, it was consumed by fire; and in 1163, it was in such a ruinous state as to be rebuilt, under the inspection of Peter, curate of St. Mary Colechurch in London, who was celebrated for his knowledge in the science of architecture. At length, the continued and heavy expence which was necessary to maintain and support a wooden bridge becoming burthensome to the people, who, when the lands appropriated for its maintenance proved inadequate to their object, were taxed to supply the deficiencies, it was resolved in the year 1176 to build one of stone, a little to the west of the other, and this structure was completed in the year 1209. The same architect was employed, who died four years before it was finished, and was buried in a beautiful chapel, probably of his own construction, dedicated to St. Thomas, which stood on the ninth pier from the north end, and had an entrance from the river, as well as the street, by a winding staircase. In the middle of it was a tomb, supposed to contain the remains of its architect. But though so much art and expence were employed in building the bridge with stone, it suffered very much from a fire in the streets at each end of it; so that from this accident, and other circumstances, it was in such a ruinous condition that King Edward I. granted a brief to the bridge-keeper, to ask and receive the benevolence of his subjects through the kingdom towards repairing it. It would be equally irksome and unnecessary to enumerate all the casualties which befel London-bridge, till the corpo-ration of London came to the resolution, in 1746, of taking down all the houses, and enlarging one or more of its arches, to improve the navigation beneath it: but it was ten years before this resolution was |
