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THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE,

For JULY, 1808.

Mr. URBAN,

Southend, near Roch ford, Essex, May 22. PERMIT me to solicit the attention of the Literary World to the necessity which exists for the republication of Morant's History of Essex, or rather for a new County History, upon a scale suitable to the extent and opulence of this great County. The only History we have of any value, the one I have mentioned, is only brought down to the year 1768, and is consequently very imperiect and unsatisfactory. It is now become very scarce, and difficult to be procured; and the price has risen, I believe, to 12 or 14 guineas. Under these circumstances, I cannot but believe that a republication of the above, brought down to the present time, or an entirely new work on this subject, would be most liberally encouraged and patronized by the Nobility, Gentry, and Clergy of the County. And I earnestly trust that this suggestion may induce some one of the many persons qualified for such an undertaking, to step forward, and to render to those who are interested in Antiquarian and County History this acceptable service.

Yours, &c. WM, HEYGATE. Mr. URBAN,

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June 9, answer to the queries of "an Antient Briton," respecting the method adopted by our ancestors in the execution of Deeds, I take the liberty of troubling you with a few observations, which, if you should not think them unworthy, you will perhaps admit into your valuable Miscellany.

With the Saxons it was usual for those who could write, to subscribe their names to Deeds, and in all cases the sign of the cross was affixed. The custom of subscribing the name continaed till the Norman Conquest,

when the practice of sealing without signing was introduced, and remained till the famous Statute of Frauds (29 Ch. II.) enacted, that all leases and interests of freehold not put in writing, and signed by the parties, or their agents, lawfully authorized, should have no greater force or effect than estates at will; except when the lease was not to exceed three years, and the rent reserved was equal to at least twothirds of the full improved value of the thing demised. And after the reign of Henry VIII. it became usual for the witnesses iso to subscribe the deed. In antient times, deeds were not only without sig natures, but, in general, without dates also, till the reign of Edward II. and Edward III.; for which Lord Coke (Co. Litt. s. 1.) gives the following reason: "For that the limitation of prescription or time of memory did often, in processe of time, change; and the law was then holden, that a Deed bearing d'te before the limited time of prescription, was not pleadable; and therefore they made their Deedes without date, to the end they might alledge them within the time of prescription. And the date of Deedes was commonly added in the raigne of Edward II, and Edward III. and so ever since,"

"An Antient Briton" will find this subject amply discussed in the second volume of Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries, where he treats of the evidences of the transfer of real property. A MODERN.

Mr. URBAN, July 2. U INDER a deep sense of the blessings of his Majesty's reign, and having lived to the present happy commencement of events, which, I flatter myself, he is reserved to produce, by emancipating Europe from claims

which it has not spirit or strength "ent, who, in p. 129, enquires the name to release itself from; and grateful of the author of the beautiful song, for favours received; I call upon you, to call upon our Countrymen, to promise to enter into a subscription, that may express a National sense of our gratitude, for being left in possession of the means of supporting the Liberty of Europe.

Every man who feels that he has these means will express it, in however small a degree; and will add to his thankfulness on this occasion, as a Poundage or Per-centage, his mite, as a last effort to preserve the common cause of liberty inviolate; and every one who knows the value of improving improveable property will exult in the exertion of improving it. You and I, Mr. Urban, have shewn this spirit; and are not ashamed of the motive and manner with which we have done this. If we can glory in relieving the wants of others, let us not shrink from the common cause of honest and honourable Liberty; and let us cry aloud and spare not, for the assistance, not of Europe only, but of the World.

We have only to call to mind what this Nation did for the Savoyards 150 years ago; and take (if we want it) example from our countrymen, and the effect of their exertion, when the sum of nearly £40,000. was collected, and seconded by a National contribution at a general Fast. And shall the descendants of Britons, who increase in opulence, be reproached with shrinking from supporting the security of that wealth?

Thus far I had written, when your Magazine for last month was put into my hand, to transport me with your Patriotism; and I request the earliest insertion and acknowlegement of my Toesin against the ArchTyrant of Europe. The train has caught, and I see it run, and an impatient till I see its progress in your Magazine, with a list of Subscribers among whom I am to rank; and hope that the noble efforts of the Spanish Club, begun at the London Tavern, will be properly supported; and that they will never be deserted by the inhabitants of that City, or their neighbours,

I

PHILELEUTHEROS.

Mr. URBAN, May 3. WISH it was in my power completely to satisfy your Correspond

"Away, let nought to Love displeasing." The Edinburgh Reviewers are assuredly mistaken in ascribing it to the late George Steevens; and who they, by a strange inattention, call Stephens,

This Song appears in a very elegant little volume, published by Dodsley in 1757, intituled, “Letters on Taste, and Essays on similar and other Subjects; by the Author of the Life of Socrates." This, it is well known, was John Gilbert Cooper.

It must, however, have appeared much earlier, as the edition of 1757 is the third; and the author, who in that edition first announced himself, says, in a short advertisement, that the two former editions have been some time out of print.

.

It is inserted in Dodsley's Collec tion, vol. IV. p. 275, but without a

name.

The author of the "Letters on Taste" speaks of it "as an old Song, which," (says he) "I dare venture to pronounce, has more genuine poetry, easy turn of thought, elegance of diction, delicacy of sentiment, tenderness of heart, and natural taste for happiness, than all the compositions of this sort, I ever read in any language." This eulogium seems to indicate, that the author of the "Letters on Taste," was not the writer of the Song, as we can scarcely suppose that any one would thus compliment himself; but yet this is no proof to the contrary. Let me add, from actual knowledge, that when a boy (now, Mr. Urban, near threescore years ago) I well remember a respectable Welch Clergyman repeating it with such spirit and pathos, till it brought tears in his eyes. He then asserted, that it was written by a native of Wales. To this opinion, the name of Winifreda may give some countenance. Yours, &c.

-CK.

Mr. URBAN, Coventry, June 10,
Na country where Liberality and

Candour are so much boasted of, especially, where Religious opinions are concerned, it is to me a matter of astonishment that there should subsist any publication of a miscellaneous and general nature, in which any narrow-minded, or bigoted

invectives could find admission! And
yet I am sorry to say, that such some-
times obtrude themselves in the Gen-
tleman's Magazine, which I wish to
see always meriting the title it assumes,
as it is the most respectable and truly
excellent of all the monthly publica-
tions. I am induced to make these
and the following observations, from
a Letter of "Clericus Buckingham-
iensis," p. 314. It is much to be la
mented, that Religion, which is in
tended to soften, humanize, and har-
monize the soul, should ever be made
a bone of contention! But it is more
owing to the real want of it in those
who make a matter of contention of
it and it is particularly to be re-
gretted, that any such should exist
among Protestants. I am one of
those who are called Protestant Dis-
senters; but let me ask, Mr. Urban,
does Dissent imply Enmity, Ill-will,
or Hostile Conduct towards our Bre-
thren of the Establishment? Certainly
not! As Brother Protestants, are we
not united against all who are Enemies
to the common cause? What are the
differences between us,that they should
excite of
either side jealousies and mis-
trust? If the people of the Church
.of England, in general, hold such
gloomy and suspicious ideas of Dis-
senters as present themselves in the
Letter before me,, it is without cause,
as I hope now to make apparent to
every cool and unprejudiced mind who
- dares think for itself. Again let me
ask, Have not the Dissenters upon all
occasions evinced the most friendly in-
clinations to assist them in the study
and examination of the Word of God;
in recommending the Religion of
Christ; in exhorting to all manner of
Christian virtues ? Do we refuse to
acknowledge every worthy man of
the Establishment as our brother and
our friend, equally with any of our-
selves? And why then should we be
considered by them in the light
of Aliens, and unworthy of being ad-
mitted into the common intercourses of
Society with them, agreeably to what
Clericus Buckinghamiensis says, when
he speaks of his having the misfortune
to live in a parish where there are so
many Sectaries, or Dissenters, as he
calls them. His peevish and repining
remarks put me in mind of two lines
of Swift; who, in his" Baucis and Phi-
lemon," speaking of an High-flying
Parson, says,

"Against Dissenters would repine, And stood up firm for Right Divine." If any have a right to complain, it is those who suffer but when do you ever hear us murmur in a resolute tumultuous manner (as is the case with some) on account of the disabilities we labour under? Do we ever refuse, or object to the payment of lithes to support your Ministers ? No, sir! Do we ask any of you to subscribe to the support of our Ministers? What answer would you make us if we did? When any of your Churches are shut up for repair, or pulled down to be rebuilt; have we not upon all such occasions admitted your people to as semble for Divine Worship in our Chapels! But when was it ever heard that a Clergyman offered his Church for a Congregation of Dissenters to worship GoD in, in such an exigence ? By the Test-act we are cut off from all offices of profit in the State; though allowed to hold those by which we get nothing but trouble, and which take up much of our time. But do we denand with violence a repeal of this Act; and even threaten the Government and Nation at large with the consequences upon a refusal? Though we feel acutely the indignity thereby cast very unjustly upon us; yet we wait with patience till the good sense of the people may see the unjustness of it themselves, as well as the inutility of Tests, which let through persons of no Conscience and Religion, and keep out only those who, on account of their worth, integrity, and abilities, would afford the most important services to the State. But there is no evil without its concomitant good: many of us cheerfully avail ourselves of some advantages flowing from it. If we have not the profits, we have not the evils attending so much mixing with the world. Our Families are more attended to in the articles of Religion and Sobriety. But, after all, it is the Clergyman who is the most aggrieved person: He experiences a much greater hardship, in being obliged to prostitute the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, as you call it, in your Communion Service, to those he knows to be the vilest of sinners; and upon an occasion of the vilest nature, the admission to some paltry office. What can be more foreign to the institution of this Holy Ordinance than this, when the sole send for which

Christ

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Christ himself ordered us to eat bread and drink wine, in a sacred and religious manner, was to commemorate his dying love to mankind!

of his). We are Sectaries and Schismaticks;" but let your Correspondent ask his Clerical Brethren, who were called "Sectaries and Schismaticks," about the time the Church of England was emerging from Popery? In the eyes of Ro man Catholicks, we all, Churchmen and Dissenters, are "Sectaries and Schismaticks" alike, The Buckinghamshire Clergyman and his bre thren ought, therefore, to be a little ashamed of such language; which ought, full as much, to be applied to himself as to us! I shail take up no more of your time than to ob serve, that the Reverend Gentleman, by these terms, "Sectaries and Dis

Once more, do we not cheerfully jou you and all our Brother Protes tants against the Maintainers and Friends of Popery? At times when the Church of England has been in real danger, has she not, sud sponte, adopted our ideas and sentiments, asserted the right of private judgment, and regard to the word of God, in opposition to the pretended Infallibihly of the Church of Rome, and their requiring the people to give up their own opinions to the Priests thereof? And have we not at such times stood by and supported the Church of Eng-senters," seems, though very er land? And should the time ever come again (which, in the opinion of many wise and judicious persons, from the great increase of Papists, and the encouragement they meet with among persons of high consequence, is far from being improbable) when Popery will make great strides to overcome the Protestant Religion, and establish itself upon the ruins of the Church of England; to whom will she turn her Janguid eyes for succour and assistance? Will she not turn them to the Dissenters, those firm and unshaken Bulwarks of the Protestant Cause? But, lastly, have we not, as a Body, been always strongly attached to the Principles of the Constitution, as established at the glorious Revolution? Were we not at that time, to a man, declared Enemies to James, and all his adherents, and to those Principles, which were, and have been ever since, called Jacobite and Tory Principles, though at the same time Friends to a Kingly Government limited according to the Law? And are we not the same now?

Were not our ancestors among those who brought in the House of Hanover, and have we not always stood firm in our allegiance to that House? This, the Great Grandfather and the Grandfather of his present Majesty over acknowledged. But, notwithstanding all this, we are to be squinted at, as a parcel of dangerous people," "Enemies to Religion, its duties, and obligations." We are "gloomy Fanatieks" (though, in my opinion, not so "gloomy" as this Buckinghamshire Clergyman shews himself to be, in this Letter

roneously, to include every one who does not join in Communion with the Church of England; not only those properly called Dissenters, but Roman Catholicks, Methodists, Quakers, &c. &c. Now, I wish him to know, that we Dissenters reckon none of our body, but those called "Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists;" therefore, in respect to whatever relates to Roman Catholicks, Methodists, or Quakers, we do not consider ourselves as implicated.

A PROTESTANT DISSENTER. ***We omit our Correspondent's illiberal Postscript, on his own principle. The very reason which should exclude the Letters he alludes to, if carried to its full extent, would operate against himself "in a Magazine peculiarly devoted to the Church of England." But, glorying in that attachment, we also glory in our Impartiality; and ask in return, what Dissenting Publication would so readily admit a simailar vindication of the Church?

Mr. URBAN,

EDIT.

July 22.

HAVE been often a Correspondent with your Magazine. I feel astonishment that Mr. Fox's classic attainments should be disputed in it.

It is true there is a mistake in his idea, that the song of the Nightingale is not represented as melancholy in the Odyssey. But what is more admirable by far than the discovery of this mistake, is to observe the affeetion of this great and excellent man for that delightful poem; more original, more full of character and manners, and far more interesting to the heart, than the Iliad itself: often as sublime, and ten thousand times more pleasing.

It is a great mistake to suppose, that Mr. Fox was late in his classic acquirements (opsimathes *), as your Correspondent, p. 480, chuses to hint. With his quickness and vivacity of genius, and energy of mind, it was very unlikely that he should. And educated at Eton, and under Dr. Barnard; even were we to say nothing of his domestic advantages. That he stood eminent, even in that school, a Greek and a Latin Exercise, in the Muse Etonenses, particularly attest. And the latter as much witnesses to the goodness of his keart, as to his facility of composition, and unaffected beauty of style in Latin verse.

a son, and the world such an example.

His classic Literature was a most becoming ornament of a mind like his. It was more than an ornament. Its effect in him did honour to its utility, as well as beauty. It nurtured, in a congenial spirit, generous counsels and exertions, worthy. of the best. days of Antiquity. It graced and animated his earliest youth; and, to the end of life, devoted as he was to public duty, he never forsook it. For the honour' of that Literature, no less than of Mr. Fox, this peculiarity in his cha racter and habits, compared with most Why, in such a man, after his other public men, and the happy redeath, are we to be told of his dis-sult of it, merits to be remembered. sipations; as if they were the remarkable and memorable part of his character; and as if it were not much more worthy of notice, that even, notwithstanding his dissipations, his love of Literature, his love of regulated and constitutional Freedom, the energy and the benevolence of his mind, were not overpowered. His dissipations had ceased; and the remembrance of them, while his coun try and the world suffers from the yet recent loss of such a man, ought not to be invidiously revived. But how much of the great and good can never be too strongly, or too much remembered.

Those who shall think of him as the Friend of Peace and of Humanity; as accomplishing, while he lingered under the sufferings and de pression of his last illness, the Abolition of the Slave Trude, by a magnanimous exertion: those who recollect, that though noble by birth,' and the idol of the best part of the Aristocracy, as well as of the People, he soared above the confined interests of rank and station, and thought and felt as a man, for the welfare of his country and of mankind; who cherish the merory of his wise and beneficent exertions for this our country, for the rights of Americà and of ireland; and his sublime perseverance, under all discouragements, in the endeavour that Peace, Justice, and humanwelfare might every where flourish; will be too sensible of such excellence not to feel their hearts warmed with honest `exultation, that England had such

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I have not the advantages of speaking from personal intimacy; but I am confirmed by those who had, in what was sufficiently evident to ge neral observation.

But whenever I thought poetical merit, hidden in obscurity, had a claim to be brought forward, I have repeatedly, and at distant periods, written to Mr. Fox; from my observation of the excellence of his taste, and the goodness of his heart.

I have had short, as might be ex-* pected, but kind answers. I have rarely, and my correspondence has been large, found an instance of such simplicity of manner, such ingenuous candour, even in private life, and among familiar acquaintances, as from Mr. Fox, to whom I was little known. But it was not materiał whether a friend or almost a stranger were the occasion of his being made acquainted with a work of genius.

Such was Mr. Fox; in the tumult of politicks; in dark and disastrous times, which his genius would have enlightened, had due attention beca given to his warnings; and which his benevolent wisdom would have rescued from continued calamity, and the extremity of peril-of wantonlyincurred peril, perniciously to ourselves and to other nations. Such he was, regardless of calumniators and libellers; and preserving his unaffected and mild character uncorrupted by that enthusiasm of ap plause, which he was born to excite. if he is to be attacked as an Historian, I believe nothing will be gained by a change as to the point of attack; but that rather, his classic and his

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