The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 17, No. 487, April 30, 1831

Can any of the readers of the Mirror throw additional light on the subject of coincident traditions?—Can any of its contributors show the connexion which subsists between oriental mythology, allegory, and legendary lore, with that of the Scandinavian nations? This Sir Walter Scott has omitted to do;—but this might afford, even formed of the materials to be gleaned from various desultory sources, another volume upon “Demonology and Witchcraft.”

M.L.B.

FINE ARTS

COLONEL BATTY’S VIEWS OF EUROPEAN CITIES.—NO. IV

Edinburgh

“The Queen of the North” has contributed five majestic views to Colonel Batty’s important Series. Each of them is engraved “in the first style of art,” as a prospectus would say, and there is no falling off in points of interest from the Parts of this work which have already been laudatorily noticed in the Mirror.

The Vignette of this Part is Edinburgh Castle, from the Grass Market, in which the fine old fortress is seen towering in all its picturesqueness and romantic beauty. Here and there it has some of the indistinctness of hoar antiquity: its fadings away are beautifully characteristic. The houses in the Grass Market are boldly contrasted with the Castle, and the “spirit” inscriptions on the Stablers are as distinct as the most panting soul could wish them. The Engraver is R. Brandard.

Edinburgh, from the Calton Hill, is the first view. This is, as observed in the letter-press, “the most comprehensive view of Edinburgh, and we may add, one of the grandest and most remarkable scenes in any city of Europe.” From this point of view, “both the New and Old Cities, with their communications, come at once under our observation; the neat and handsome modern edifices of the New Town on the right hand, contrast with the old grey piles of building on the left. The bold slopes of the Pentland hills bound the distance on the left, while the more gently indulated Corstorphine hills close the horizon on the right.” This description is correct in its shades. The murkiness and smoking chimneys of the Old Town are admirably relieved by the splendid vistas of Princes-street and the New Town. Upwards of twenty public buildings, most of them of great beauty, may be distinctly counted in this scene. It is engraved in the best style of Mr. George Cooke, one of the best view engravers of the day.

The Calton Hill forms the second plate, showing those splendid tributes of Scottish patriotism—the National Monument, Playfair’s Monument, and Nelson’s Monument. Would that we had some such site in or near our metropolis, whereon we might offer up our tributes to departed genius. What an honourable testimony of national gratitude is the monument to Nelson! and how emblematic of “the Modern Athens” are the fine classic columns of the National Monument. Playfair and the Observatory Entrance remind us of Scotland’s meteor-like pride in modern science; and the beetling brows of Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags over the lower portion of the Old City in the valley below are well contrasted with these stately embellishments of art. The plate is well engraved by J.H. Kernot.

The New Royal High School, the third plate, is a superb building, and merits especial notice, in association with the intellectual character of the city. The Temple of Theseus, at Athens, has furnished models for its beautiful columns. “The Regent Road, forming the new and noble entrance to Edinburgh, serves as a terrace in its front.” Here again the indistinctness of the Old Town aids the fine effect of the new buildings. This plate is for the most part brilliantly executed by E. Goodall.

Edinburgh, from St. Anthony’s Chapel, is the fourth plate, and certainly not the least striking of the whole, although its chief merit is in the distance, which, for distinctness and delicacy, is admirable. Holyrood and its decaying Chapel, seen from this point, are beautifully made out, and the picturesque but massy form of the Castle fades away in the extreme distance. The foreground is bold and bright, but the distant details of the view are the charm of the picture. The engraver is W.I. Cooke. “The view of Edinburgh from this point will give a correct idea of the relative situations of the Castle and Calton Hill at opposite extremities of the city.”

Edinburgh from the ascent to Anthony’s Seat is the fifth plate. Here we scarcely know which to admire most, the beautiful work and etchy spirit of the mountainous foreground, the minuteness and delicacy of the distant city, or the actual brightness of the Firth of Forth broken by the “noble breast-work of Salisbury Crags and the point of the Cat’s nick.” The Crags, it will be recollected, are about 550 feet above the level of the Firth of Forth: a few sheep lie scattered about them, and the part of Arthur’s Seat on the left; the straggling pedestrians in the path to the Cat Nick are of emmet-like proportions. This plate is by W.R. Smith.

By the way, what a delightful Series will be these views of European cities for the walls of a cheerful breakfast parlour, or to alternate with well-filled cases of books. How pleasant it will be to sit in one’s arm-chair, and look around upon “the principal cities of Europe.” We say “for the walls,” since these Prints are too valuable to be hid in folios, or pasted in albums. Frame-work, we know, is an expensive affair; but Colonel Batty’s Views are worthy of oak and gold; and a good plan is to put them in one broad oak or maple frame, with gold moulding, dividing the views by bar-work. They will be then both elegant and intellectual furniture.

THE SELECTOR; AND LITERARY NOTICES OF NEW WORKS

ANGLO-SAXON HISTORY

It appears that the Family Library, as well as the Cabinet Cyclopædia, is to have its own History of England; since the 21st “Family” volume is the first of such a History, and comprises the Anglo-Saxon period, from the pen of that distinguished antiquarian scholar, Francis Palgrave, Esq. F.R.S. &c. The portion before us, as our readers may imagine, is extremely interesting: it is well studded or sprinkled with origins and antiquities popularly illustrated, and has little or none of the dryness of an antiquarian pen. We quote two such passages, and especially direct the attention of the reader to our third extract, relative to the early influence of Christianity:—

Stonehenge.

The temples in which the Britons worshipped their Deities, were composed of large, rough stones, disposed in circles; for they had not sufficient skill to execute any finished edifices. Some of these circles are yet existing; such is Stonehenge, near Salisbury: the huge masses of rock may still be seen there, grey with age; and the structure is yet sufficiently perfect to enable us to understand how the whole pile was anciently arranged. Stonehenge possesses a stern and savage magnificence. The masses of which it is composed are so large, that the structure seems to have been raised by more than human power. Hence, Choir-gaur11 was fabled to have been built by giants, or otherwise constructed by magic art. All around you in the plain, you will see mounds of earth or “tumuli,” beneath which the Britons buried their dead. Antiquaries have sometimes opened these mounds, and there they have discovered vases, containing the ashes and the bones of the primeval Britons, together with their swords and hatchets, and arrow-heads of flint or of bronze, and beads of glass and amber; for the Britons probably believed, that the dead yet delighted in those things which had pleased them when they were alive, and that the disembodied spirit retained the inclinations and affections of mortality.

London in the Seventeenth Century.

London was quite unlike the great metropolis which we now inhabit. Its extent was confined to what is now termed “the city,” then surrounded by a wall, built, as it is supposed, about the age of Constantine, and of which a few fragments are existing. All around was open country. Towards the north-east a deep marsh,—the name is yet preserved in Moorfields,—extended to the foot of the Roman ramparts. On the western side of the city, and at the distance of nearly two miles, the branches of a small river which fell into the Thames formed an island, so overgrown with thickets and brushwood, that the Saxons called it “Thorney,” or the “Isle of Thorns.” The river surrounding Thorney crept sullenly along the plashy soil; and the spot was so wild and desolate, that it is described as a fearful and terrible place, which no one could approach after nightfall without great danger. In this island there had been an ancient Roman temple, consecrated to Apollo. And Sebert, perhaps on account of the seclusion which Thorney afforded, resolved to build a church on the site, and he dedicated the fabric to St. Peter the Apostle. This church is now Westminster Abbey; the busy city of Westminster is old Thorney Island, that seat of desolation; and the bones of Sebert yet rest in the structure which he founded. Another great church was built by Sebert, in the city of London, upon the ruins of the heathen temple of Diana. This church is now St. Paul’s Cathedral; and Mellitus being appointed the first Bishop by Ethelbert and Sebert, the succession has continued to the present day.

Influence of Christianity.

Before a century had elapsed, Christianity was firmly and sincerely believed throughout Anglo-Saxon Britain; and, in the state of society which then prevailed, the establishment of the true religion became the means of conferring the greatest temporal advantages upon the community. A large proportion of the population consisted either of slaves or of churls or of villains, who were compelled to till the ground for the benefit of their masters. These classes immediately gained the comfort of rest, one day in seven; and they whose labour had hitherto been unremitted, without any pause, except when fainting nature sunk under incessant toil, could now expect the Sabbath of the Lord, as a day of holiness and of repose. So strictly did the temporal laws protect the observance of the seventh day, the right and privilege of the poor, that the master who compelled his slave to work on the Sunday, was deprived of the means of abusing his power,—the slave obtained his freedom.

A tenth part of the produce of the land was set apart for the maintenance of the clergy, and the support of the destitute. Charity, when resulting from the unaided impulses of humanity, has no permanence. Bestowed merely to relieve ourselves from the painful sight of misery, the virtue blesses neither the giver nor the receiver. But proceeding from the love of God, it is steady and uniform in its operation, not wayward, not lukewarm, not affected by starts and fancies, and ministering to more than the bodily wants of those who are in need.

Paupers, such as we now see, then rarely existed. Bad as it was, the system of slavery had given a house and a home to the great mass of the lowest orders. And the laws, which placed the middling classes under the protection, and at the same time under the control of the more powerful, prevented all such as really belonged to society, from experiencing any severe privations in those years when the people were not visited by any particular misfortunes. But mankind were then subjected to many calamities, which have been moderated in our times. If crops failed, and the earth did not bring forth her fruit, vessels arrived not from distant parts, laden with corn. Hunger wasted the land. Sickness and pestilence followed, and thinned the remnant who had been left. Families were broken up, and the survivors became helpless outcasts; for the people of each country raised only as much grain as was sufficient for their own use, and could not supply their neighbours. War often produced still greater miseries. In all these distresses, the spirit of Christianity constantly urged those who were influenced by this enduring spring of action, to exert themselves in affording relief;—to clothe the naked and feed the hungry,—to visit the sick—and bury the corpses of the departed.

The higher or ruling orders saw, in the plain letter of the Bible, the means of amending the rude and savage laws which had governed their forefathers; and religion also afforded the means of improving the whole fabric of the state. In addition to their piety, the clergy were the depositaries of all the learning of the age. All the knowledge which distinguishes civilization from savage life was entrusted to them. Admitted into the supreme councils of the realm, they became an order, possessing acknowledged rights which could not be lawfully assailed. And though they may occasionally have attempted to extend their privileges beyond their proper bounds, yet, in a monarchy, the existence of any one rank or order invested with franchises which the king must not assail, is in itself a strong and direct protection to the privileges of all other ranks of the community. Powerful as the nobles may have been, it is doubtful whether they could have maintained their ground, had they been deprived of the support which they derived from the Bishops and Abbots, who stood foremost in the ranks, amongst the peers of the monarchy. Many a blow which would have cleft the helmet, turned off without harm from the mitre; and the crozier kept many an enemy at bay, who would have rushed without apprehension upon the spear.

To the successors of the Anglo-Saxon prelates, we mainly owe the preservation of the forms and spirit of a free government, defended, not by force, but by law; and the altar may be considered as the corner-stone of the ancient constitution of the realm.

THE GATHERER

A snapper up of unconsidered trifles.SHAKSPEARE

SERMONS

Mr. Northcote tells us, that a clergyman, a friend of Mr. Opie’s declared to him, that he once delivered one of Sir J. Reynolds’s discourses to the Royal Academy, from the pulpit, as a sermon, with no other alteration but in such words as made it applicable to morals instead of the fine arts.

SANCTUARY

What an eccentricity of wickedness was it to appoint any place where a murderer should get shelter—a church too! but such were, and are (abroad) called sanctuaries. Lancaster Church was reserved by Henry VIII. as a sanctuary, after the abolition of that dangerous privilege in the rest of England.

CHINESE INGENUITY

In making toys, the Chinese are exceedingly expert: out of a solid ball of ivory, with a hole in it, not larger than half an inch in diameter, they will cut from nine to fifteen distinct hollow globes, one within another, all loose, and capable of being turned round in every direction, and each of them carved full of the same kind of open-work that appears on the fans; a very small sum of money is the price of one of these difficult trifles.

LOUIS XI. AND THE VIRGIN MARY

A fool of Louis XI. to whom he did not attend, as not thinking him capable of making observations, overheard him making this pleasant proposal to our lady of Cleri, at the great altar, when nobody else was in the church. “Ah! my dear lady, my little mistress, my best friend, my only comforter, I beg you to be my advocate, and to importune God to pardon me the death of my brother, whom I poisoned by the hands of that rascal, the Abbot of St. John. I confess this to you as to my good patroness and mistress; I know it is hard, but it will be the more glorious for you if you obtain it, and I know what present I will make you beside.” (See Brantome’s Life of Charles III.)

The fool repeated all, word for word, when the king was at dinner, before the whole court.

LOYAL BEQUEST

Col. Windham, who assisted Charles II. in his escape, is said to have told the king, that Sir Thomas, his father, in the year 1636, a few days before his death, called to him his five sons:—“My children,” said he, “we have hitherto seen serene and quiet times under our three last sovereigns; but I must now warn you to prepare for clouds and storms. Factions arise on every side, and threaten the tranquillity of your native country. But, whatever happen, do you faithfully honour and obey your prince, and adhere to the crown. I charge you never to forsake the crown, though it should hang upon a bush.”

SHETLAND ISLES

Here, on the shortest—day, the sun rises 17-1/2 min. past 9 o’clock, and sets 42 min. past 2 o’clock. The nights begin to be very short early in May, and from the middle of that month to the end of July, darkness is absolutely unknown—the sun scarcely quits the horizon, and his short absence is supplied by a bright twilight. Nothing can surpass the calm serenity of a fine summer night in the Shetland Isles.

A SAFE WAY TO OPEN STALE OYSTERS

There is an old proverb, viz. “The Mayor of Northampton opens oisters with his dagger.” The meaning of which is, to keep them at a sufficient distance from his nose. For this town being eighty miles from the sea, fish may well be presumed stale therein. “Yet I have heard (says Dr. Fuller,) that oisters put up with care, and carried in the cool, were weekly brought fresh and good to Althrop, the seat of the Lord Spencer, at equal distance; and it is no wonder, for I myself have eaten, in Warwickshire, above eighty miles from London, oisters sent from that city, fresh and good, and they must have, been carried some miles before they came there.”

P.T.W.

Castellan, in his funeral sermon on the death of his patron, Francis I. modestly expressed his belief that the great prince was in paradise; this gave great offence to the Sorbonne, who complained of it to the court of France. Their remonstrance was coldly received, and Mendoze, who had been steward to Francis, told them, “that he knew the disposition of his old master better than they, that he never could bear to remain long in one place; and that if he had been in purgatory, he stopped there merely to take a little refreshment, and afterwards went on.”

J.G.B.

It is not perhaps generally known that there is a peculiar right in the family of the Campbell’s (Duke of Argyle) that when they marry any of their daughters, their vassals are obliged to pay their portions, and are taxed for such, according to the number of their cattle.

This right has not, however, been acted on for a century past.

G.K.

EXTRAORDINARY DISAPPEARANCE

Sir Thomas L—D sometimes, though rarely, lest his veracity should be doubted, mentions in society the following singular incident:—He once had upon his estate, rearing with great care and tenderness, a young nyl ghaut, an animal rare in England, and very elegant. One day it was taken from its stable, in order to be exhibited to some of Sir T.L.’s friends, when, escaping from its keeper, it leaped over the park palings, and was never beheld or heard of more. Horsemen were sent in search of it far and wide, and handsome rewards were, offered by advertisement for its recovery, but it had not, been seen by a single creature in the fields, or on the roads, or in the villages through which it must have passed; and of wood, and water there was not a sufficiency for some miles in the vicinity of – House, to conceal it, living or dead. So, after incessant, but fruitless efforts to obtain some intelligence respecting his beautiful and valuable favourite, Sir T.L. was at length obliged to desist in the prosecution of his inquiries altogether.—M.

POPULAR SCIENCE

This Day is published, price 5s.

ARCANA of SCIENCE, and ANNUAL REGISTER of the USEFUL ARTS for 1831.

“The Arcana of Art and Science is the fourth volume of a little work of the most useful and entertaining description. It is brimful of all the new facts that have shown themselves above ground in the course of the year. Every page is a volume, and many contain the results of whole years of ingenious labour and experiment. Every description of discovery, invention, experiment, receipt, observation, or memorandum of a remarkable occurrence in nature or art during the year, is here recorded, briefly, but clearly.—It, in fact, is the very essence or extract of the scientific pursuits of the whole world for one year. All this is to be had for five shillings. We recommend it to be laid in every place where a man may possibly lose five minutes for want of mental occupation.”—Spectator, April 23.

Printed for JOHN LIMBIRD, 143. Strand;—of whom may be had the Volumes for the three preceding years.

1

The Life of John Locke, with Extracts from his Correspondence, Journals, and Commonplace Books. By Lord King. New Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. 1830.

2

Literally translated.

3

Donnerworte.

4

Engelmild.

5

James the First.

6

Travelling Sketches in Russia and Sweden. By Sir Robert Ker Porter, 4to.

7

Vide Mirror, vol. ii. p. 157, for the story of “The Rosewood Trunk.”

8

Vide Mirror, vol. v. p. 93, for the story of “Mary M’Cleod.”

9

Vide Mirror, vol. viii. p. 90, for the story of “The Lady of Edenmere”—by the author of this article.

10

Vide Mirror, vol. xii. p. 267, for the “Ghost Story”—by M.G. Lewis.

11

The “Giant’s Dance“—the British name of Stonehenge.