BEING THE FIFTH NUMBER OF VOL. LVI. PART 1. MR. URBAN, W May 4. HEN Dr. Ducarel's very curious account of the "Alien Priories in England" was published by Mr. Nichols in 1779, it was embellished with elegant views of all fuch Norman cathedrals as drawings could be obtained for. One of these you copied for your readers in March 1783; which brought forth an original drawing of another in the October of that year. To contribute towards the compleating of fo defirable a feries, you now receive four different views of the cathedral church of SEEZ. It is a handsome building, dedicated to the martyrs Gervafius and Protafius, and one of its cha. pels is a parish-church. The dome over the choir, reprefented in the north, fouth, and weft views, was taken down two years ago, at which time the fmall fpire (fee the eaf view) was erected in its place. This injudicious alteration is a plain proof of a want of tafte in Gothick architecture. A dome, forming part of the roof of a cathedral, gives the idea of lightness, magnificence, and space; but one is at a lofs to conceive how a fpire or pyramid can be fupported when placed on the ridge of a building. The diocefe of Secz is 25 leagues in length, and between 8 and 10 in breadth. It is furrounded by the bishopricks of Lifieux, Evreux, Mans, and Bayeux. It contains the Païs du Houme and des Marches, and part of the county of Perche; the towns of Seez, Alençon, Argentan, Falaife, Hiefmes, Mortagne, and Bellême, Trun, Ecouchey, Car rouge, Effey, Moulins, and several other boroughs; five archdeaconries, f rural deanries, many abbeys and religious houfes, and 500 parishes. Its annual income is 10 or 12,000 livres. The chapter confifts of a provoft, chanter, principal archdeacon and four others, 16 canons, and four demi-preheads. The chapter was fecularized 1547, and all thefe benefices are in the gift of the bishop; the canonries are worth 4 er 500 livres each. The city for want of trade is aimoft deferted. It has four other parishes, a Benedictine abbey, a convent of Cordeliers, &c. Yours, &c. M. GREEN. MR. URBAN, TRU May . RUE GLORY GUIDES NO ECHOING CAR-as is now exemplified in the noifelefs tenour of the way long purfued, in his going about doing good, by the most truly glorious of mortal beings. When I give him this title, I flatter myself that but few of your readers will want to be informed, that I mean the Confummate Philanthropist, who has fo fully and feelingly demonftrated, that indeed nothing human is alien from him, by having given himself up to the foftening the forrows and fufferings of fome of the moft unworthy, as well as of the most unfortunate of our race, in that to the horrors of a prifon, where the iron fo often enters into the foul, horrors fhould not be added. Urged by ftrong benevolence of foul from his pleafant home, and his more pleasant friends, who, I fhould fuppofe, do honour him but just on this fide idolatry, he is now, instead of rattling in a tri umphal umphal car, gliding tranquilly on the fea, apparently but an obfcure paffenger, amidft all the wants of eafe and accom modation, at about 60 years of age, in a common veffel, to dare the vile contagion of the Turks, and, if he cannot purge their air of peftilence, to try at leaft to correct its virulence, retard its progrefs, and be bleffed by thousands faved from untimely death. In the only hour that I had ever the happiness and the honour of his converfation, two months ago in Italy, I did all but worthip him. He was then at Rome, which for once faw, but knew him not, a true vicar of the God of Mercy, by whom the man that, when his fellow-creature was in prifon came unto him, and performed other acts of charity, shall be placed on the right-hand of his throne; and was going firft to vifit the lazarettos at Naples and at Malta, and thence to Conftantinople. He will be abfent fomewhat above a year. He cherishes a hope, that the means which he has discovered to check the influence of the jail-infection, will be efficacious likewife against the plague; and, to make the trial, abandons his comforts, and rifks his life. Glorious man! God fulfil his hope, and fend him fafe back, to be still an ornament to human nature in general, and, in particular, to this glorious country which produced him, and which an accomplished daughter of it has lately told us the has the daily delight to hear applauded in others as eminently juft, generous, and humane! I pleafe myfelf with thinking what a hoft will join me in the wifh. But fhall we be content with giving him but empty words, and not avail ourselves of the only opportunity, which in all probability we can ever have till he reft from his god-like labours, of doing ourfelves honour, in doing, to freak humanly, a folid and a folemn one to him? Suppofe, Mr. Urban, you were to erect a ftatue to him? Entertaining as great an opinion of the glorious poffibilities of the English character, as Lord Chatham could do of thofe of the English conftitution, I perfuade myfelf that you would be quickly furnished with the means, in only calling, by the publication of the hint in your next Magazine but for a fingle guinea (though the opulent need not be flinted) upon thofe of the juft, generous, and humane, amongst us, who can eafily afford themselves the pleasure of giving a teftimony to their exalted fenfe of what our nature owes to Mr. HoWARD. How truly has he ennobled the name! Before this glorious man arofe, what had been ever done for mankind by all the blood of all the Howards? Ye little ftars, hide your diminished rays! More I think will be furnished than is requi fite to erect a ftatue; the overplus will go almoft felf-directed to the jails. A buft, or picture of him, for a sculptor to work from, can, without doubt, be fupplied by fome friend. You and your correfpondents will think of the proper fpot in which the ftatue should be placed, and of the infcription for it. But no time is to be loft; for, if it be not executed before his return, Mr. Howard's humble fenfe of his own merits would moft certainly prevent it. Alas, alas, Mr. Urban, what are pofthumous honours! No! præfenti illi.-Influenced only by our admiration and our love of fuch virtue as we must confefs hath never yet arifen but in Mr. Howard, let us render it mature honours whilft it is yet prefent with us in this world, as the best foundation for not defpairing that equal virtue may yet arife. ANGLUS. P. S. Your wonder perhaps, Mr. Urban, and I am fure your indignation, will be excited, when you are informed, that, in a country pretending modeftly to be the most highly civilized, and in this age, when fo much more light than heretofore, and, one would hope, confequent goodness, are diffufed, fome of the ruling powers of that country could harbour the thought of feizing upon Mr. Howard in his paffage through it, for having, in the hope they might be reformed, made abufes known, in a book published in another country and another language. That he was not feized, is undoubtedly owing to the light which is diffused. When I asked Mr. Howard, with what antifeptic he arins himself when he ventures into thofe manfions of mifery and infection, which, for the fake of his fellow-creatures, he has long frequented, and is now again feeking in a diftant land; he told me, that he trusts, under God, to extreme cleanliness alone; of the property of which to refift, or rather afford no hold to, infection, he entertains a great, and, from experience, just idea. An additional recommendation this to the decency and the comfort of that charining quality, I had almost faid, virtue, the concomitant of civilifation. That the most uncivilifed people are the mos dirty, will not, I believe, be controverted; and, if the converfe of the propofition Original Correspondence on the Discovery of Rowley's Poems. 361 propofition be equally true, let it not be forgotten by the travellers in France. Having the fame opinion with our correfpondent of "this Confummate Philanthropist," and of "the glorious poffibility of the English character;" our printer (Mr. Nichols, in Red-Lion Paffage, Fleet-ftreet) has undertaken to receive fubfcriptions for this purpose till the end of June; before which period fome refpectable bankers will be requested to affift this laudable propofal. EDIT. MR. URBAN, May 5. THE following original correfpond. forect "Rowley's Poems," may, perhaps, tend to throw fome light on that memorable and muchagitated fubject. Your readers are particularly requested to attend to the dates. Yours, &c. EUGENIO. Rev. Mr. CHAPMAN, Rector of Weston near Bath, to Dr. DUCAREL. My dear Sir, Wefton, Dec. 15, 1771. I return you my best thanks for your two laft very kind letters. The firft I did not know how to answer, till I had enabled myself to give you fome account of the ancient poems in MS. which were lately found in Bristol. For this purpofe I have made two vifits to that place; my laft has fucceeded; and here follows the refult of my enquiries. There had been, time out of mind, a large cheft in the tower of Redcliffe church, full of old papers, fome of which had occafionally been taken out to wipe the candlefticks with, or for other vile purposes. A few years ago one Chatterton, the fexton's fon, who had received a tolerable education in Colfton's charity-fchool, and was befides a lad of good parts, had the curiofity to examine these papers more attentively. He was pleafed with them, and carried the remains of them and fold them to one Barrett, a furgeon, and one Catcott, a pewterer, in Bristol, in whofe poffeffion they are at prefent. They confift of an entire tragedy, fome elegies and ballads, and fome profe pieces. We learn from them, that the author's name was Thomas Rowley, chaplain to a Mr. Cannings, a very rich merchant in Bristol about 1460, who built Redcliffe church. I was all day yesterday with Mr. Catcott, who read the tragedy to me, and the other poetical pieces, with which I was charmed, particularly with a ballad occafioned by the death of Sir Charles Baldwyn, who was beheaded at Bristol by order of Edward the Fourth. It abounds, as indeed all I his works do, with poetical images, and very noble fentiments. I was delighted with it. The tragedy is an admirable work: fome parts of it, particularly a fong on the fuppofed death of Ellie, are extremely beautiful. I begged with moft earneft importunity for a copy of this fong, which I dare fay was a favourite fong in Shakspeare's time, for he puts the burthen of it into the mouth of Ophelia in the play of Hamlet. But, earnest as I was, I could not prevail upon Mr. Catcott to fuffer me to copy it. All I could get from him was the extract have inclofed. It is taken from the tragedy of Ellie. Bertha, his lady, is diftreffed by his abfence, and calls for mufic to footh her melancholy. The minstrels describe in their fongs the four feafons. The firft and third, Spring and Autumn, are all the fpecimens I could procure. However, I hope I fhall be able, in another vifit, to get fomething more. The tragedy is in the fole poffeffion of Mr. Catcott; the other pieces are betwixt them: but I believe the originals are all with Mr. Barrett. This gentleman, who is faid to be a man of learning, is compofing a Hiftory of Briftol, and intends to infert in it fome account of Rowley, and those of his works which are in his poffeffion. Mr. Catcott, I fancy, is waiting in hopes fome gentleman will buy his pieces. It is faid, he has refufed two hundred pounds for them. But I believe it has never been offered to him; and, from what I could pick out of him on that head, I have reafon to think that one hundred, or lefs, would purchase the whole. I wish some man of fortune would buy them out of his hands, as it is pity fuch valuable papers should be denied to the public. I fhould be extremely happy to wait Extract from the Tragedy of Ellie, by Enter Muficians.-Firtt Mynftrell. The mees bee fpringedde wythe the yel low hue, Yan |