for they were too small to be difcernable either by day-light or candlelight. For feveral nights that I watched them, I found their numbers diminish gradually, till at laft they all became totally extinct, which, I fuppofe, was owing to their being no longer able to furvive out of their native element the fea. One reads accounts, in voyages, of the fea fonetinies appearing luminous, and of that pha nomena being attributed to infects; and, poffibly, the fhining appearance on ftinking whitings, lobsters, &c. &c. may be imputable to infects likewife, and that my fparklers might be of that race.

A SOUTHERN FAUNIST.

Mr. URBAN, Crediton, Jan. 10. OBSERVE in your laft obitus tuary, an account of the death of Mr. Parr, formerly a furgeon in Exeter, and your quare refpecting the probability of his having been a defcendant of the OLD PARR. I knew the father of the gentleman, whofe death you record, well. He was a Diffenting minifter, of talents and acquirements highly refpe&table, and was equally known as a gentleman and a fcholar. He was an intimate friend of the famous bifhop Hoadly, who offered to ordain him on his own terms; and when the character of the bishop is confidered, it will not be fuppofed that any thing which could be difpenfed with would have been in> Gifted on. At this time alfo, Mr. Parr poffeffed two livings in very defirable fituations, near Exeter, thofe of Rewe, and St George's Clift, now worth 2001. per ann. each! But to the point.

From this gentleman's youngest fon, Mr. William Parr, of Moreton, I have heard the fame ftory of the family having defcended from the Shropshire labourer. Yet, on tracing his documents, I could not find any ftriking proof of this opinion. The family, he told me, were not originally from Devon fhire, but from Shropshire; and claimed a defcent from a lord La

timer, whofe arms, tranfmitted from a very early period, on a gold ring of antique workmanship, was ftill preferved, as having belonged to one of their ancestors. I found, however, from his papers, which he obligingly thowed me, that Robert Parr, from whom the genealogy is regularly deduced, was a merchant in Exeter, in about 1585, born in 1567, when the Old Parr was 84 years old; and it is not probable that the labourer of Shropfhire could have had a fon in this fituation, in a town fo diftant; nor have we ever heard of any collate ral defcendant, or even of any other branches of the family at that time. It is probable therefore, though we may admit of the origin of the family from another county that eo connexion with the Old Parr can have exifted. Mr. Parr, the furgeon, lived to the age of 87, and his father one year longer, but I do not find any of the other branches of the family remarkable for longevity.

*

I fhall, however, be glad to hear the opinions of thofe who may be better informed, and am

Yours, &c. ANTIQUARIOLUB. I have great reason to add, that the Rev. Mr. Parr was a constant reader and purchafer of your Magazine from its commencement, as well as an occafional correfpondent. He was alfo one of the last furviving correfpondents of the Spectator, of which he ufually claimed two or three papers of no inconfiderable merit.

Mr. URBAN, Slaufton, Jan. 11.

HAVING, fometime fince seen under an arch in a very antient church, the effigie; of a man in armour, fculptured in oak wood, now much decayed by worms, &c.; allow me to atk of what age is this kind of fculpture, and how long fince it gave place to carving effigies in ftone, &c. Yours, &c. J. T.

that there is no other family of this name ♦ One argument in fupport of this is, in Devonshire, though common in Shrop mire, Lancashire, &c.

church-yards: I have feen fomewhere the following Latin fentence:

Celeriter cadaver Taxus venenata confumit." [corpfe." "The poisonous yew quickly destroys a and have made enquiries whether the dead, that have been buried near the yew-tree, were fooner decayed than thofe buried in a more remote part, of the church-yard; but on that fubject have not been able to gain any fatisfactory answer.

It appears to me most probable, "that our wife ancestors had regard to the gloomy appearance of the yew; and on that account, conceived it beft calculated to add a greater fanctity to the places of worship, and, to ftrike the mind with a folemn and fuitable impreffion,

However, if my fentiments on this point are erroneous, I fhall be happy to be corrected by any of your readers, who will oblige me with their informaWILLIAM SNAPE, A. B. (To be continued.)

tion.

I

Mr. URBAN, Jan. 27. CANNOT but admire the extreme penetration of Iülus in detecting error. Let me afk him, is there any more impropriety in fuppofing the firit and fecond beaft of St. John to be one and the fame, than the dreams of Pharaoh, interpreted by Jofeph, were one and the fame; adding, because the thing was established and certain? Nor do I acknowledge any error, in affirming, that not one and the fame perfon were meant, but one and the fame power; and then applying the No. 666 to Boniface III. For, though it feems incomprehensible to Iulus, the number may apply to him as the firft grand in novator, as he certainly was, and laid the foundation for his fucceffors to become fo terrible to all Europe; yet, is there no impropriety in fuppofing the fucceeding pontifs to be equally reprefented, or rather the whole and government

power

There are many reafons to fuppofe the papal power to be here defcribed by St. John; and alfo, that it is the fame in the fourth vifion of Daniel; mentioned by him as dreadful, terrible, and exceeding ftrong, and diverfe from all government. Now, as the papal was certainly more dreadful, and totally different from all governments that

*Thus did Nebuchadnezzer's image reprefent the monarchs of many ages.

HA

Jan. 10.

Mr. URBAN, Chapter Coffee-houfe, AVING feen a fketch of Strongbow's monument, with the defcription, vol, LXX. p. 818, I was highly gratified; although I regret that your ingenious correfpondent did not tranfcribe a more enlarged fketch, as it is rather mall; and the half figure.noticed by him is fcarcely perceptible. The attitude and fculpture are apparently fimilar to thofe of the knights of St. John of Jerufalem interred in the Temple church.

An antient writer fays, that, in one of the actions (after the reduction of Wexford) which Strongbow had with O'Rian, prince of Idrone, in the county of Catherlough (Carlow), he with his own hand, in the prefence and view of his army, flew his only fon, a youth about 16 years old, who, at the head of a troop of horfe, had charged the van of the Irish army, and finding that they did not give way, and that he could make no impreffion, returned back with his men to the main body of the army commanded by his father.

We are told from better authority, that there are two monuments in the church; one of Strongbow, noticed above, as defcribed by your correfpondent, and the other reprefenting his fon by his fide, holding up with both his hands his entrails, which feem falling out. This pofture feems in fome measure to corroborate the legend above recited; but the sketch given in LXX. 818, with the infeription on the tablet immediately over it, by no means elucidate the antient ftory, as your correfpondent only notices an half figure by the fide of Strongbow without any comment. I doubt the authenticity of the hiftorical defcription; or, perhaps, it is at prefent fo much defaced and dilapidated as ta leave the original form and attitude fcarcely perceptible, Strongbow died

in

ing remarks to the publick through the medium of it, if they be compatible with its plan and defign. The rural atonomy of the kingdom furnishes at all times an important and interefting ftudy; and, if we can only fuggeft a hint towards its improvement at this time of fignal fcarcity, we may, perhaps, contribute fomething towards ameliorating the future condition of the rifing generation at all events, we fhall have the fatisfaction of reflecting that our efforts were confecrated by Jaudable intention.

I believe it is a fact generally known, that many of the most valuable fheep in this kingdom are annually loft to the community by premature and fudden death on rich clover and other Juxuriant paftures. From the pampered manner in which rams are paf tured a great length of time, it can fcarcely be neceflary to apprize your agricultural readers that thefe loffes often, and perhaps generally, happen among them. The ingenious and indefatigable author of the volumes on agriculture and rural economics, fpeaking of the fatnefs of rams, obferves, that the decay of vigour is brought on prematurely by the unnatural ftate of fatnefs in which they are kept, and of which a variety of difeafes ure inevitable confequences." The particular difeafe to which I have above alluded is, provincially, termed "the blood," and the yellows." It would feem that it has received thefe denominations from fome fymptoms which ufually Dccur as it approximates its fatal period. I believe it is well known in the anidland district, Romney marsh, and fome other places; and it is apprehended that it prevails, in a greater or lefs degree, in every part of the ifland where the more luxuriant artificial graffes are highly cultivated, and the Theep are paftured on them, or on other very fucculent and forcing herbage. But high feeding among the rambreeders appears to be indifpenfable: if they cannot how their rams in high condition, they cannot command a public preference. But this expofition of animals to fatal cafualties embarraffes and much difcourages breeders in their efforts at improvement, and may be, eventually, a great lofs 19 nation. Hence the value of an antidote against the recurrence of the difcafe in thefe circumftances would appear obvious. If this could be contri

the

ved to comport well with the nature and the circumftances of the animals, and rendered practicable and easy to their owners, it would feem to claim higher title to attention. But it is precifely on thefe grounds that I folicit your indulgence. Long appreciating the importance of the fubject to the agricultural interefts of fociety, I determined to bestow upon it a proportionate degree of inveftigation. At length I feel myfelf warranted in acquainting you, that I have difcovered an antidote for the difeafe, which is naturally ac commodated to the circumftances of the animals and their owners, and which I fhall feel much confidence in propofing as effectual, even though the breeders continue to feed their theep as high as they have hitherto done; which remedy, I believe, will be found to poffefs affo thefe recommnendatory properties, that the animals to which it may be adminiftered will acquire a greater degree of fatnefs and vigour than they would do without it. It is prefumed, therefore, that the publication of it will be ufeful, not only as a prevention of the difeafe mentioned, but as an improvement in the general management of this feful fpecies of animals: and it would feem to enhance the importance of this preventive remedy when I re mind you, that the difeafe is reputed to have hitherto completely baffled veterinary and medical fkill, which have heen reforted to occafionally. In propofing this preventive remedy, how ever, I by no means with it to be underftood that I think the difcafe beyond the reach of medicine; from fome experiments I have recently made, I am well convinced of the contrary. But I have no need to inform you, that the practice of the generality of veterinary profeffors is merely empirical, and without any knowledge of the animal aconomy, or of thofe principles which govern it: and fuch is the indifference of moft regular medical practitioners to the difeafes of brute animals, and fo. little do they concern themfelves to in-veftigate the true caufes of them, when indeed they can be perfuaded to floop to veterinary practice, that I am not furprized in learning that the attentions of each have hitherto proved ineffectual,

As gentlemen cannot be in poffeffion of too much information relative to the extent and prevalence of this dif eafe in different parts of the kingdom; as it is defirable to collect the know

ledge