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robbed of brasses; one evidently having borne the effigies of a man and woman with legend at their feet, and the other only a plate for epitaph. On other slabs in the S. Chancel. (In Capitals)

of Dichiland dise ased Maye the

first, 1661."

(In Capitals):

1598.

Her. lieth. Constanc
Havse. widov, who

died. the. 3. of Jan." "To the memory of Ann, wife of Jas. Wood, of this parish, who departed this life the 29th of September, 1776, aged 76 years."

"To the memory of James Wood, late of this parish, who departed this life the 2d of June, 1790, aged 90 years. Also of Mary, daughter of James Wood and Ann his wife, who departed this life the 8th of January, 1736, aged 1 year and 11 months."

On a slab in the S, Transept:

"In memory of Mrs. Sarah Price, relict of Mr. Nathaniel Price, late of Bermondsey, Southwark, who died December 29th, 1764, aged 75 years."

On a slab in the Nave:

"Here lyeth interrd ye body of the Rev. Mr. Edward Powel, late Vicar of this parish, who departed this life the 13th day of May, 1746, aged 35 years."

In the N. Transept is a mural halftable Monument, much decayed and injured by whitewash, containing two shields of Arms (defaced) under niches of Grecian architecture, and two others below, concealed by pews.Along the frieze is the following inscription (in Capitals) :

"Here lyeth Henry Poole, esqvier, who dyed the 28th daye of Marche, Ao D'ni 1580."

These Notes were taken Oct. 12th,

1810.

Yours, &c. WILLIAM HAMPER.

[The following Letter, illustrative of the Monument at Lee, in Kent, engraved in Plate II. of our Magazine for June last, was accidentally omitted to be then inserted.]

Mr. URBAN,

June 1. HE little Church at Lee near

situation, and the happy combination of objects, which are so disposed as to produce all those serene sensations of pleasure experienced in a village the most remote from the Metropolis On the South side of the Church is the effigies in brass (as shown in the second Plate of your Magazine for June last, p. 529) representing Nicholas Annesley, Serjeant of the Cellar to Queen Elizabeth, who entered the service of the Queen at the age of 25, and died 1593, aged 58. Yours, &c.

Mr. URBAN,

You

M.

Aug. 9. YOUR Correspondent X. B. coma plains with great justice of the present received theory of Sound. I have, among other philosophical subjects, devoted some time to the inves tigation of this very curious question, and shall furnish you occasionally with my remarks, if you consider them entitled to a place in your pages.

Sound, it must be observed, does not proceed from one cause in every case. This opinion or hypothesis will be an answer to part of X. B.'s Quere. One of the causes which produce Sound may be explained in this way: the condensation or compression of the atmospheric fluid between two or more bodies, causes a degree of motion, called vibration, in that part of the circumambient fluid with which it (the condensed part) comes in contact, which degree of motion is violent or otherwise, according to the kind of resistance the condensed fluid shall meet from those bodies between which it has been compressed.-This kind of resistance produces the endless variety, modulation, and delightful but indescribable sensation on the nerves, called Sound. X. B. can apply this mode of reasoning to any kind of mentioned cause, and will find it, I sound proceeding from the abovehope, satisfactory: other causes shall be treated of at a future day.-The expression "kind of resistance" must be held in recollection as a peculiarly nice distinction in this place. Yours, &c.

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Mr. URBAN,

W.

Aug. 10.

N the private Memoir of the late unhappy John Bellingham, pub

T Blackheath, has frequently been lished in your last Supplement, p. 665,

mentioned in terms of approbation, not for the elegance of its outline or decorations, but for the beauty of the

it is asserted that he was a Tinman in Oxford-street, and a Bankrupt in the year 1794. I beg to refer you to

Smith's

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"The etymology of the word Almanac has been, perhaps, the subject of more dispute than that of any term admitted into our language. With the single exception of Verstegan, all our lexicographers derive the first syllable al from the article definite of the Arabic, which signifies the; but the roots of the re maining syllables are variously accounted for, some taking it from the Greek paxxos—a lunary circle; others from the Hebrew, manach, to count; Johnson takes it from the Greek ny, a month; but why the first syllable should be in one language, which these authorities agree in, and the two last in any other language, is not easy to comprehend. Whether, therefore, the Saxons originally took their term from the Arabic, either wholly or in part, Verstegan seems the most to be relied on: They,' he says, alluding to our antient Saxon ancestors, used to engrave upon certaine squared sticks, about a foot in length, or shorter or longer as they pleased, the courses of the moones of the whole veere, whereby they could alwaies certainely tell when the new moones, full moones, and changes should happen, as also their festivall daies; and such a carved stick they called an al-mon-aght, that is to say, al-mon-heed, to wit, the regard or observation of all the moones, and here hence is derived the name of almanack.* An instrument of this kind, of a very antient date, is to be seen in St. John's college at Cambridge, and there are still in the midland counties several remains of them. The accompanying fac simile and description of one that was used in Staffordshire has been copied, as a curious specimen, from Dr. Plot's Natural History of that coun. It is called the clogg, from its form

and matter, being usually made of a piece of wood, squared into four plane sides, and with a ring on the upper end of it, to hang it on a nail somewhere in the house. There is some diversity in the form of them, some being more perfect than others. The figure represents the common or family clogg, where each angle of the square stick, with one half of each of the flat sides belonging to it, is expressed; and this is the most clear and intelligible form it can well appear in, upon a flat.-On each of the four sides, are three months, the number of the days being represented by the notches; that which begins every month having a patulous stroke turned up from it: every seventh notch, being also of a larger size, stands for Sunday, which seems to shew that the cycle of the sun, or dominical letters, are here committed to memory; the Sundays and other days here being fixed. Over against many of the notches, whether great or small, there are placed on the left hand several marks or symbols, denoting the golden number, or cycle of the moon; which number, if under 5, is represented by so many points; but if it be 5, then a line is drawn from the notch, or day to which it belongs, with a hook returned back against the course of the line; which seems to be designed to représent V. the Roman letter for 5.-If the golden number be above 5, and under 10, then it is marked out by the former hooked line for 5; and with the addition of as many points as make up the number de signed; as if it be 8, there are three points added to the hooked line, &c.— When the golden number is 10, there is a cross on the notch to represent X; and if it be above, and under 15, it iş expressed by points as before; and if above 15, by the cross stroke, points, and a hooked line for V: when it is 19, the line issuing from the notch for the day has two patulous crosses, or strokes, as is plain from the figure.-And these numbers are not set so wildly and con fusedly against the days of the month, as at first sight may appear, but in a method and order, whether you consider them as they immediately precede and follow one another, or the distance interceding each figure, or the value, or denomination; for every following number is made by adding 8 to the preceding; and every preceding one, by adding 11 to the following one; still casting away 19, the whole cycle, when the addition shall exceed it. Thus to 3, which stands against January 1, add 8, it makes 11, which stands against the third day of the month; to which add 8 again, and it makes 19; whence 8 itself comes to be the following figure, and 16 the next':

on the contrary, if to 16 you add 11, it makes 27, whence deducting 19, there remains 8, the number above it; and so on, &c. And for the distances of the numbers of the same denomination, it is to be noted, that they stand asunder either 30 or 29 days, interchangeably. Thus after 3, which stands over-against the 1st of January, at 30 days distance you will find 3 again at the 30th of thre same month; and from thence, at 29 day's distance, you will have 3 again set to the 1st of March; and at the last of March, at 30 days distance, 3 again, &c.

Note, 3 stands against the 1st of January, because 3 was the golden number when the fathers of the Nicene council settled the time for the observation of Easter.-On the right hand, and issuing from the notches, are several inscriptions and figures, hieroglyphically representing the festival days by some actions, offices, or endowments of the saints; or else the work or sport in fashion at the time of the year. Thus from the notch of January 13, being St. Hilary's day, issues a cross, the badge of a bishop. From the 1st of March, a harp for St. David. Against June 29, St. Peter's day, you have his keys: and against St. Crispin's day, a pair of shoes, Against January 25, St. Paul's day, there is an axe: and against June 24, a sword for St. John Baptist. On August 10th, a gridiron for St. Lawrence. So a wheel for St. Katherine, a star for Epiphany, a true lover's knot for St. Valentine's day, &c. and against Christmas day is the old wasshailling, or carousing horn, that the Danes used to make merry withal at that time. The Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, appear to have used these almanacks, though under various denominations, such as, Reinstocks, Runstocks, Runstaffs, Primstaries, Scipionees, Runici, Bacculi, Annales, Staves, Stakes, Cloggs, &c. by the last of which Dr. Plott ealls the specimen he has described: and they appear to have been introduced into this country at the Norman Conquest.-Before printing was introduced, and when manuscripts were scarce and dear, these Runic almanacks were particularly useful in assisting the memory.

In all visits to distant churches, in all pilgrimages, &c. they were made the instruments of instruction and regularity; and that they might be doubly serviceable, they were frequently carved on the tops of pilgrims' staves, or stakes, so as to regulate their times of assembling at particular spots, and also to support them in their wearisome journies. These Runic almanacks, like others in manuscript, bore the characters of pagan superstition until about the fourth

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century, when they partook of both heathen and Christian emblematical devices, so as to be more generally saleable but after the seventh century, they became wholly Christian; and that they might be made as universally serviceable as possible, they were sonietimes cut on sword scabbards, imple ments of husbandry, &c. &c.-Those immense square pillars or obelisks in Egypt, the hieroglyphical characters on which have so much. perplexed the learned, have been considered as containing directions for the monthly rural labours of the Egyptians, and conse quently to have been the first species of almanack ever used, of which the Runic staves before mentioned are but very humble imitations, though of somewhat similar construction: and when the repetition of the same figures or characters on each of those vast pillars is considered, which would perhaps never have been so uniformly alike, unless for some such general and extensively useful purpose; -the titles assigned to them by the Egyptian priests, offingers of the sun,' to which orb they were usually dedicated; — and the nature of the stone of which they were composed, being of various colours, and regarded as typical of the four elements; there is good reason for concluding that they were in tended as almanacks rather than as histories of their sovereigns, or for any other of the uses that have been assigned them by the ingenuity of antiquaries.-There does not appear to be any trace of the original inventors of almanacks, whether in wood, in manuscript, or in print; the first in print is generally admitted to be that of John Muller, of Monteregio, better known by the name of Regiomontanus; this person opened a printing-house, and published his first almanack at Nuremburgh in the year 1472, wherein he not only gave the characters of each year and of the months, but foretold the eclipses, &c. for thirty years in advance. -The first recorded account we have of almanacks in this country, appears in the year book of Henry the Seventh, or about fifteen years subsequently to that of Muller: though Mr. Jackson of Exeter, in a work published by him, says, "I have in my possession an almanack made in the reign of Edward the Third, of parchment, being about one hundred and forty years prior to Muller's, not in the usual form of a sheet, or a book, but in separate pieces, folded in the shape of a flat stick, or lath, in the Saxon fashion it is perfectly fair, and exhibits the best specimen of antient numerals I have yet met with.”

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