destroyed 600 houses, and goods to the amount of 200,0007.; and in 1731 a third fire consumed 298 houses, and property of the value of 60,000l. March 15, 1760, The Ramillies, man of war, with above 600 men, perished off the Edystone rocks. A descriptive account of the light-house, with plates, in imperial folio, was published by its architect, Smeaton. Combe Martin was once famous for silver mines.-In Ottery St. Mary are the remains of the residence of Sir Walter Raleigh.-In Buckland Monachorum is a monument by Bacon, in memory of Lord Heathfield, defender of Gibraltar.-Mason has made the romantic story of Elfrida the subject of a fine dramatic poem. DORSETSHIRE. 'SITUATION AND EXTENT. Boundaries. N. E. Wilts. N. W. Somerset. East, Hants. South, English Channel. West, Devon. Greatest length 55, greatest breadth 36, circumference 160, square 1129 miles. Province, Canterbury. Diocese, Bristol. Circuit, Western. ANTIENT STATE AND REMAINS. British Inhabitants. Durotriges or Morini. Roman Province. Britannia Prima. Stations. Durnovaria, Dorchester; Vindogladia, Blandford, or Wimborne Minster; Londinis, Lyme Regis; Canca Arixa, Charmouth; Clavinio, Weymouth; Morinio, Wareham Bolclaunio, Poole; Ibernium, Bere Regis. Saxon Heptarchy. Westsex, Antiquities. British, the Agglestone, 400 tons weight, near Studland. Portisham Cromlech. Winterbourne and Pokeswell Druidical Circles. Badbury Rings Encampment.-Roman, Maunbury Amphitheatre, Maiden Castle, and Poundbury Castra Estiva, near Dorchester. Abbotsbury,、 Bindon, and Cerne Abbeys. Sherborne, Swanwick, Wareham, Wimbourne Minster, Melbury Samford, and Cerne Churches. St. Catharine's Chapel, Abbotsbury. Stalbridge Cross. Corfe, Sandford, Bow and Arrow Castles. Sherborne was an Episcopal See from 705 to 1076, when it was transferred to Sarum. Among the relics in Wimborne Minster, where Ethelred I. was buried, were pieces of our Lord's manger, robe, and cross, some of the hairs of his beard, and a thorn of his crown; the blood of St. Thomas à Becket, and part of St. Agatha's thigh! Shaftesbury nunnery, of which there are now very inconsiderable remains, was the richest in England. Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred, was its first Abbess. Edward the Martyr was first buried at Wareham, but his corpse was afterwards removed to Shaftesbury. PRESENT STATE AND APPEARANCE. Rivers. Allen, Axe, Birt or Brit, Cale, Char, Dewlish, Frome, Ivel or Yeo, Natural Curiosities. Portland Peninsula, 41⁄2 miles long, 2 miles broad, one rock or bed of freestone, of which St. Paul's, and the principal edifices in London, are built. Cave Hole in Portland; Chesil Bank; St. Adhelm's Head, off which, Jan. 6, 1786, was lost, the Halsewell East Indiaman, when Captain Pearse, seven ladies, and 160 other persons, perished. Brownsea Island; Lullworth cove and arched rock; Nottington medicinal water. Public Edifices. Portland Light-Houses; Weymouth Esplanade; Dorchester Gaol. Seats. Lullworth Castle, Thomas Weld, esq. Seats. Sherborne Lodge, Earl of Digby, Lord Lieutenant of the County. Kingston Hall, Henry Bankes, esq. Langton, J. J. Farquharson, esq. Merley House, (late) J. W. Willett, esq. Whatcombe, E. M. Pleydel, esq. Members to Parliament. For the County, 2; Dorchester, 2; Bridport, 2 ; Corfe Castle, 2; Lyme Regis 2; Poole, 2; Shaftesbury, 2; Wareham, 2; Weymouth, and Melcombe Regis, 4; total 20. Produce. Freestone, Chalk, Pipe Clay, Wheat, Barley, Flax, Hemp, Sheep, Butter, Timber, Apples. Manufactures. Sail Cloth, Cables, Twine, Nets, Shirt Buttons, Baize, Blankets, Flannel called Swanskin, Worsted Stockings, Ale. Grand Divisions, 5; Hundreds, 34, and the town and county of Poole; Parishes, 248; Market-lowns, 22; Houses, 24,051. Inhabitants. Males, 57,717; Females, 66,976: total 124,693. Families employed in Agriculture, 12,982; in Trade, 9,607; in neither, 4,232: total, 26,821. Baptisms. Males, 1,796; Females, 1,657.-Marriages, 871.-Burials, Males, 1,053; Females, 1,142. Towns having not less than 1000 Inhabitants; viz. 299 1,483 1,461 Sherborne. Wimborne Minster Melcombe Regis Shaftesbury ..... 587 2,635 Sturminster Newton..... 325 Total, Towns, 14; Houses, 7081; Inhabitants, 36,115. HISTORY. A. D. 787, At Portland, landed the first party of Danish robbers that visited England. 833, Near Charmouth, indecisive battle between Egbert and the Danes; and 840, near the same place, indecisive battle between Ethelwolf and the Danes. 918, At Corfe castle, May 18, Edward "the Martyr," whilst drinking, stabbed in the back, by order of Elfrida, his step-mother. 1003, Dorchester taken and burnt by Sueno, king of Denmark. 1035, At Shaftesbury, November 12, Canute died. 1202, At Corfe castle, 22 nobles of Poictou and Anjou starved to death by order of the tyrant John. 1213, At Wareham, Peter of Pomfret, who had prophesied that John would lose his crown before Ascension day, hanged with his son, although, the day before the time predicted, John had resigned his crown to the Pope's legate. 1471, At 1471, At Weymouth, April 13, Margaret, Queen of Henry VI. her son Prince Edward, and Lord Wenlock, with some French troops, landed, and proceeded to Cerne abbey, where they were joined by the Duke of Somerset, and Earl of Devon, whence they advanced through Somersetshire to the fatal field of Tewkesbury. 1506, Into Weymouth, January, Philip, Archduke of Austria and King of Castile, driven by storm. 1643, Corfe castle heroically and successfully defended in a siege of six weeks against Sir Walter Erle and the Parliamentarians, by the Lady of Lord Chief Justice Banks. 1644, Lyme Regis gallantly defended by Colonel Ceeley and Lieutenant Colonel (afterwards Admiral) Blake, against repeated assaults of Prince Maurice and the Royalists, who lost nearly 2000 men. 1645, Sherborn castle, August 15, defended by Sir Lewis Dyves; after a siege of 16 days, and several assaults, taken by Sir William Fairfax and the Parliamentarians. 1645, Near Dorchester, a detachment of Parliamentarians routed by General Goring. 1653, Off Portland, February 18, after three days fighting, the Dutch fleet under Van Tromp defeated by Admiral Blake, with the loss of 11 ships of war and 30 merchantmen. 1685, At Lyme Regis, June 11, Duke of Monmouth landed, and published his declaration against James II. 1685, In a ditch of an inclosure in the midst of Shag's heath, three days after the battle of Sedgemoor, in Somersetshire, the unhappy Duke of Monmouth taken prisoner. 1688, At Sherborne lodge, William, Prince of Orange, was joined by George, Prince of Denmark, the Dukes of Ormond and Grafton, and Lord Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough. BIOGRAPHY. Ashton, Thomas, divine, Wareham, 1716. Baley, Walter, physician to Elizabeth, Portisham, 1527. Basket, Thomas, soldier, Dewlish (died 1530.) Bastard, Thomas, poet and divine, Blandford (died 1618.) Bingham, Sir Richard, commander in Irish wars, temp. Eliz. Bingham's Melcomb. Bridport, Giles de, Bp. of Salisbury, consecrated 1256, Bridport. Bush, John, non-conformist, author of sermons, Gillingham, 1631. Case, John, empiric, Lyme Regis, flor. temp. Jac. II. Chapman, John, divine and critic, Wareham, 1704. Churchill, Sir Winston, author of "Divi Britannici," Wooton Glanville, 1620. Clark, Richard, navigator, Weymouth (shipwrecked 1583.) COOPER, ANTHONY ASHLEY, first Earl of Shaftesbury, Statesman, Wimborne Coram, Thomas, founder of the Foundling Hospital, Lyme Regis, 1668. Doddington, George Bubb, Lord Melcombe, politician and poet, 1691. GRANGER, JAMES, biographical historian, Shaftesbury, 1776. Hallet, Joseph, non-conformist divine, and author, Bridport (died 1688.) · Hutchins, John, historian of the county, Bradford Peverel, 1698. Lambe, Philip, non-conformist divine, and anthor, Cerne Abbas, 1622. Mather, Nathaniel, non-conformist divine, and author, Dorchester, 1680. Miller, Miller, James, poet and dramatic writer, 1703. Morton, John, Cardinal, Abp. of Canterbury, Bere Regis, 1409. Pitt, Christopher, poet, translator of Virgil, Blandford, 1699. Russel, John, first Earl of Bedford, Statesinan, Kingston Russel (died 1554.) Ryves, Bruno, Dean of Windsor, Author of "Mercurius Rusticus," Blandford, 1596. Ryves, George, Warden of Winchester, Divine, Blandford. Ryves, Sir Thos. civilian, Author of " Sea-battles," Little Langton, died 1652. Sagittary, Frederick, Physician, Blandford, 1661. Stafford, John, Abp. of Canterbury, Chancellor of England (died 1452.) Summers, Sir George, discoverer of Bermudas, Lyme (died 1610.) Templeman, Peter, Physician, Dorchester, 1711. Thompson, William, with one man and a boy, took a French privateer and sixteen men, in 1695, Poole. Thornhill, Sir James, painter, Melcombe Regis, 1676. Towers, Joseph, biographical, critical, and political Writer, Sherborne, 1737. Turberville, Sir Pagan, one of the conquerors of Glamorgan in 1091, Bere Regis: MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS. Corfe Castle for a short time, in 1327, was the prison of Edward II.-The first chemical experiments of Boyle were made at Stalbridge in 1647.—Sixtyseven persons were executed in different parts of this County, by order of Judge Jeffreys, for rebellion in 1685.-At Wimborne St. Giles, is one of the finest grottos in England: it cost 10,000l. From Weymouth, Packets sant for Jersey and Guernsey. In 1789, their Majesties first visited that place.In St. Mary's, Wareham, is the Monument of Hutchins, Historian of the County. in Sherborne Church is a tablet to the memory of a son and daughter of William Lord Digby, with an Epitaph by Pope.-Aug. 6, 1616, at Dorchester, 2 Churches and 300 houses; and June 4, 1731, at Blandford Forum, 14 persons, the Church, Town-hall, Alms-house, Free-school, and all the houses, excepting 40, were destroyed by fire. BYRO. Jun. 6. Mr. URBAN, SHOULD be much gratified by any particulars of the Rev. William Smith (or Smyth) of Queen's College, Oxford, M. A. 172.,; who was six years Rector of St. John's, at Nevis; and who in 1745, published some account of that Island, being at that time Vicar of St. Mary's, in Bedford. When was he presented to that Living? When did he die? A copy of his Epitaph, if he has one, would, perhaps, answer these queries. Might I also ask some Correspondent at or near Beverley, for the EpiGENT. MAG. January, 1817. Symbolical Illustrations of the History of England, by Miss Rundall of Bath, to possess myself of that Volume; and it is but justice to acknowledge that I have found no occasion to regret the purchase. Having for some time been occupied in the education of youth, and become deeply impressed with a conviction of the difficulties which lie in the way of success, arising from the volatility and distaste so often manifested by the object of my care and attention, I felt no prejudice against any plan which professed to facilitate my purpose and lighten my labours; and I confess I have found Miss Rundall's Book a most happy auxiliary. But while I do justice to ingenuity and labour, laudably bestowed by a female on one of the most important objects which can interest society, I cannot refrain from expressing some surprise and regret at the treatment her Work has experienced from a contemporary critic, the Quarterly Review. The sarcastic sneers of that Writer, Mr. Urban, may, perhaps, gratify the vicious taste of the age, but will do little towards promoting the real interests of Science; with reference to which I hesitate not to af firm, that no man, who has them really at heart, can treat with contempt any projected improvement in education. I looked in vain, in the Article in the Quarterly Review, for any thing like a discussion of the merits of Miss Rundall's Performance, or any estimate of her ingenuity and application; instead of which I found misapprehension and mis-statement in abundance. In no part were these more evident, than in the unfounded notion that Miss Rundall's plates were designed to explain her letter-press, and in giving a quotation from M. Von Feinagle's Treatise on Pneumonics, as a sample of Miss Rundall's Work. Thus much I deemed due to truth and candour, which appear to me to have been as egregiously violated by the Quarterly Reviewer, as they were punctually observed in your own Critique (just referred to) on the same Book. I will not further trespass upon you, Mr. Urban, than by merely expressing my regret that the public taste should be, in any, even the smallest degree, subject to the direc tion of such blind guides; because, though the adage is trite, it stands on high authority, that "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the pit." CANDIDUS, Another Shaksperian Pedigree, and "SHAKSPERE" the true mode of spelling the Name. Mr. URBAN, London, Dec. 8. attempt to ascertain and establish one certain mode of spelling the NAME of SHAKSPERE, (viz. the mode used by himself, or his Contemporaries, and if possible, the Contemporaries of his family), and secondarily, of a desire to eliçit, elucidate, and accomplish (by degrees) a more ample and authentic HISTORY of the Family, I some months ago began the compil ation of the accompanying PEDIGREE, which I now request of you to insert in your highly-respected Magazine, from the alleged Transcript of the Parish Registers of Stratford-uponAvon, given by Mr. Malone, in his Edition of Shakspere of 1790, You have, I observe, recently * published exact copies from the Stratford Registers, of the entries thereon, in memory of the family and connexions of Shakspere, together with a PEDIGREE of the Shakspere and Hart families, for Mr. R. B.Wheler of Stratford. Without here entering into de tails, in evidence of the composition of my Pedigree having originated with myself, it may, I hope, be sufficient for me to state, that Mr. R. Wheler saw it, before his appeared in print; as will be found proved by the European Magazine for September last, and that his secing it arose from my sending it to him to correct, as to the spelling of the Sir-name of selves. Shakspere, by the Registers them By the print of Mr. R. Wheler's copies of the Registers, I have corperfect transcript; and from that, so rected my copy of Mr. Malone's imgree: but as I found, upon compar far as it extends, perfected my Pediing it with Mr. R. Wheler's Pedigree, that he had deduced it from other sources than the Stratford Registers (though not minutely) to so recent a period as 1806, I have taken advantage of his collections, and, without further investigation (though with direct acknowledgment of it, * In the Number for Sept. last, p. 204. and |