Johnfon and Heron not unfimilar Critics.-Siege of Ecclefhall. 215 not have wounded Mr. Heron through his fides. It is fomewhat curious, that, in the arrangement of their club, the province of metaphyfics was aligned to Johnfon, however proper he was for the profeffor of fcholaftic divinity. Dr. Johnfon's mind was rather frong than great, I mean greatnefs of foul; yet his Meditations do no honour even to the ftrength of his understanding. He was not a man that would have broken the fhackles of any abfurd religion or fuperftition: though arrogant, he would have humbled himself before priefts and monks; nevertheless, his obfervations on Tranfubftantiation and the Trinity deferve attention. AntiStiletto's unqualified condemnation of Blackmore and Watts is barbarous. The verfification of the former is hap py; the Creation has received the encomium of a greater critic; Watts's pieces are in general poetical, and ometimes very happy; and this line, "A thousand loofe Pindaric plumes fly fcatt'ring down the wind," is a beautiful exemplification of his own poetry. T. ** We have no objection to what this writer withes us to do. MR. URBAN, ΤΗ HE rev. and learned author of the XXI number of the "Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica, or your Reviewer(Gent.Mag.vol. LIV. p. 444), has made miftake in afferting, that no account is extant of the fiege of Ecclefhai cattle in the reign of Charles I. A very full and fatitfactory relation of the taking of this place is to be found in Vicars's " Parliamentary Chronicle," part II. pp. 411, 412; a book which ought to be confulted by every one who withes to be informed of the minute tranfactions which happened in the civil wars. Clarendon is the author which is moit commonly reforted to, whilft the plain and interefting narrative ef Vicars, Sprigge, and other contemporary writers, are never fought for; or, if taken up by accident, are foon thrown afide with contempt. Your editor has fhewn a proper refpect to Vicars's work, by inferting is account of the defence of Caldecote Hall, in your Mag. for April laft, and I trust the fame attention will be given to the following particulars, which are tranfcrib. ed by the fame hand. "Upon Wednesday, August 30, 1643, being the fatt-day of that moneth, and there fore, as in many of our former victories, fo much the more memorable, the brave and trong cattle, called Ecclefail cattle, was taken by Stafford fouldiers: and thus in brief it was: "Great preparations were made by the Lord Capel, Colonell Haftings, Baggott and others, to relieve the caffle, the old bithop being dead, and his corps unburied, his wife the Lady Woodley and others being alfo at that time in it, and plate and other goods of divers perfons of great value were then in it. This caitle had been befieged about eight weeks, but then the King's forces came to Ecclefall, and ere they went did relieve the caftle, and had little oppofition therein, though Stafford-men had notice thereof time enough to have prevented it. But whiles the King's forces were at the caille, Captain Bowyer and Captain Snow, with Captain Mafon and their fouldiers (who kept Ecclefall church, and were then in it), faw fome of Stafford horfe, commanded by that brave gentleman Colonel Leigh, approach near the towa, they in the church (thereupon) gave a great thout; and then infantly fome of our dragooners alighted off from their horfes, and fet upon the King's partie, at Ecclefall townes-cuc, and Captain Bowyer prefently fallied out of the church; whereupon all in the caftle, and all the Kg's partie in the town, cryed out, horfe, horfe, and prefently fled away in fuch hafte and distraction, that they left only one captain and but ten men in the caitle, and at the cattle gate had left the bifhop's dead corps, and a trunck of plate, which they had brought out to have carried away with them. Hereupon ours feized on all they left behinde, which was a great deal of treasure and plate, and (as was toucht before) ftore of goods of great value, and worth (as was conceived) many thousand pounds. Now after the King's forces were gone, the cafile was thut up faft again; but our men who lay in the church, took one ( the enemies prifener that came laft out of the cafi'e, who confeffed upon examination, that there were but ten men left in the cafile. Whereupon that next night, our men fet upon the caftle, and Captain Snow entered the first gatehoufe, and poffeft the drawbridge; and then he and the captain in the caffle entring into a thort parlie, the ce was foon delivered up upon free quarter; and fo the very frong and almost impiegnable cafle, and a place of great contequence in thefe parts, was by the good providence of God taken by ours, with little dif ficultie, and as little effufion of blood; which indeed is the highly commeodable way of ours, where with any convenicuby and poffibine it may be effected." Yours, &c. B. R. 216 Prefident Bradshaw.-Anthony Scholaker.-St. Dunstan. P. S. I will here correct an error in my account of Prefident Bradshaw, in your Magazine for Nov., 1784. I have there faid that I find no mention of the prefident, in hiftory, after the death of Oliver Cromwell, who died in 1658. This is wrong. After the death of Oliver Cromwell, the prefident was returned by the Sheriff of Chethire to reprefent that county in Richard Cromwell's parliament, which met on the 27th of Jan. 1658-9; "but fome of that county having returned another perfon, he was not prefent at their firft meetings, the affembly having made an order, that in cafe of a double return, neither of the competitors fhould fit till the matter hould be heard and decided."-See Ludlow's Memoirs, vol. 11. p. 618. He was afterwards chofen one of the Council of State, and one of the Commiffioners of the Broad Seal. After Lambert and his party had prevented the parliament from meeting at Weftminster on Oct. 13, 1659; he was prefent at one of the meetings of the Council of State, when Col. Sydenham endeavoured to juftify the proceedings of the army" But the President, though, by long fickness, very weak, and much extenuated; yet, animated by his ardeat zeal and conftant fection to the common caufe, upon hearing Sydenham's words, ftood up, and interrupted him, declaring his abhorrence of that deteftable action, and telling the Council, that, being now going to his God, he had not patience to fit there to hear his great name to openly blafphemed; and thereupon departed to his lodgings, and withdrew himself from publick employment. Ibid, p. 727. B. R. I Mr. URBAN, SHALL be obliged to any of your correfponpents for an account of the book or perfons mentioned underneath Yours, &c. C. N. "Anthony Scholaker, in 1548 printed in Saint Nicolas Parish, in Ipfwich, Com. Suff. cum privilegio ad im. primendum folum, a book called, Certeyne Precepts, gathered by Hulrichus Zuinglius, declaring howe the ingenious youth ought to be inftructed and brought unto Christ, tranflated out of Latin into Inglish, by Mafter Richarde Argentine, Doctor in Phyfyk, and dedicated to Mafter Edward Grimiston " *See above, p. 211. EDIT. Mr. URBAN, ON reading the account given by Langbournienfis (vol. LV. p. 953.) of the difficulty with which fome of the parishioners of Clapham, at the time of adjusting the fiite of their new church, difcovered the chief points of the compafs, it occurrred to me with what fkill and adroitnefs Dunftan was faid to have re&tified a mistake made by the builder he had employed to erect a church at Mayfield, in Suffex. Eadmer is my authority, who has informed his readers, that in the procefs of dedication, whilft Dunftan, with the ufual folemnity, was walking round the church, he obferved that it was by no means directed to the equinoctial rifing of the fun; but that, by gently preifing his shoulder against the fabric, the pofition of it was changed, and, agreeable to his wifh, turned to the middle Eaft tract. The monkish hiftorian mentions its being a church conftructed of wood, and his having related the miracle from common report; but his additional reinark implies, his believing that the Archbi fhop did not want faith to have removed a mountain with a word. From this legendary tale we may, however, fairly conclude, that Dunftan was one of the few perfons of that age, who could ascertain the four cardinal quarters of the sky, at every feafon of the year. For, with regard to the placing of churches, I rather fufpect it to have been a general rule to aflume that for the Eaft point, where the fun rofe on the morning, when cither the ground-plan was marked out, or the foundation-ftone laid. The prefent church is, I understand, a ftone building, and it is to be hoped that the architect of it strictly adhered to the true Eaft line, fo marvellously fixed by a prelate, who afterwards, perhaps, partly for that reafon, became the tutelar Eadmerus de vita S. Dunstani Archie pifcopi Cantuarienfis-Angl. Sacr. v. ii. p. 217. "Quam ipfemet dedicans, dum ex more circumiret et cam ad æquinoctialem folis or tum minime verfam perciperet, fertur, quod tranfiens humero fuo illam aliquantulum preffit, moxque mutatum a proprio ftatu in mediam orientis tramitem pro voto convertit. Quod ipfum facile potuiffe efficere nemo ambigit, nifi qui verbis Domini Chrifti, quibus fidem ficut granum finapis habentibus promittit quod etiam montem diâo transferant, incredulus exigit.” faint a Why old English Books more imperfect than Latin.-American Anarchy. 217 faint; should this be the cafe, the builder will have perpetuated a more authentic memorial of this wonder working prelate, than are the "lately forged tongs, anvil, and hammer," which according to your Enfield correfpondent (vol. XLVI. p. 464.), are exhibited as reliques of Dunstan, by the domeftics of a farm houfe that was once an archiepifcopal palace! W. and D. Mr. URBAN, T the question incidentally propofed by your correfpondent Philarchon (vol. LV. p. 963), "whether any reafon can be given, why old English books are generally imperfect, while old Latin, French, Italian, &c. never are fo;" the anfwer will not, I truft. be deemed quite unfatisfactory-that books written in the vulgar tongue were more used and worse treated than thofe in a foreign language; for, in this refpect, to judge of former days by the prefent, Greek, Latin, French, Italian, &c. authors, and even English Quartos, which is the mody fize, being neatly bound, gilt, and lettered, are carefully placed upon a fhelf, if not within a glazed cafe, and not very often difturbed: whereas, new plays, novels, fatirical poems, political pamphlets, and reviews (nor, I fufpect, muft your ufeful and amusing mifcellany be excepted), together with that comprehenfive and highly entertaining publication, commonly called the Red Book, are toffed upon a table, or heedlessly fkimmed into a chair or window, that they may be at hand, when a few minutes are to be again whiled away in turning over the leaves of a book. W. and D. Mr. URBAN, now out of the earth, and righteousness thall look down from heaven." Or, rather, "is not their table made a fnare, and a trap, and a ftumbling-block, and a recompence unto them; and are not their eyes darkened, that they fhould not fee their true intereft,' and their back be bowed down alway." Can it be true that religious tefts are impofed by men, who, in this country moved heaven and earth to get free from them; and that an epifcopal establishment has been adopted from that part of Britain which was fufpected to cooperate moft vigorously to enflave America; and, from a party or fect, who have fuffered moft for their mistaken attachment to our regal fucceffion. These are the inconfiftencies of men, who, in their zeal to break off the bands, and caft away the yoke of Britain, tolerated mafs in their churches. But thefe are not all their inconfiftencies. Inveterate against the mother country, they will forego the benefit of commerce with her, because they cannot trade in their own way; and, be-. caufe, after their revolt has been overlooked, and their feparation admitted, they are not confidered as brethren or allies, or put on a better footing than the most favoured nations of Europe. Over greedy in trade, and deceitful in credit, they are angry they cannot compel us to enter into dangerous connec-. tions with them; and, while they give liberty to negroes, are preparing to over-reach and extirpate favages, to encroach on Spain, and to practice on the credulity of France for loans. That fomething not very unlike this is the cafe, we may infer froin a famous letter from one of their warmeft champions in this country, who, after * IF all is true that is daily reported of bringing himfelf off as well as he could the present state of affairs in America (and I with your faithful Chronicle would, if it can, tell us the truth, and tranfmit it to pofterity), what a fhocking profpect do we fee there. Anarchy and the wildeft confufion among men, who united to deliver themfelves from what they called oppreffion, and union in nothing, but to admit an hierarchy which no arguments from the mother country could introduce among them. Is this that new world where civil and religious liberties are to flourish; where "mercy and truth are met together; and righteoufnefs and peace have killed each other;" where "truth thall fpring GENT. MAG. March, 1786. with Britain, finds he cannot make fo good an apology for America. Yours, &c. N. O P. NCLOSED you have a reprefentation [plate II. fig. 1.] of the front of a building erected in Dublin, for the ufe of the Dublin Society, and the Company for carrying on the inland navigation from that city to the river Shannon, commonly called the Grand Canal Company; and awith which I rather trouble See this letter at large in p. 243. COIT you, |