The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 574 written by Various
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Various >> The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 574
THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
VOLUME XX, NO. 574.] SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1832. [PRICE 2d.
* * * * *
[Illustration: LYDFORD BRIDGE.]
LYDFORD BRIDGE.
This is an interesting scene from the wild and wonderful in Nature.
Its romantic luxuriance must win the attention of the artist, and the
admiration of the less wistful beholder; while the philosophic mind,
unaccustomed to vulgar wonder, may seek in its formation the cause of
some of the most important changes of the earth's surface. Our esteemed
friend and correspondent _Vyvyan_, is probably familiar with the
locality of Lydford: his fancy might people it with pixies, and group
its scenery into a kind of topographical romance; probably not unaided
by its proximity to Dartmoor.[1]
Lydford is situated about seven miles north of Tavistock. It is, in the
words of its topographers,[2] a poor decayed village, consisting of rude
cottages. It was formerly a place of importance: for in Domesday Book,
it is rated in the same manner and at the same time with London. Some
remains of its ancient importance may still be seen in a square tower,
or keep of a castle, which was formerly used as a court and a prison,
where those criminals were tried and confined, who offended against the
Stannary Laws. This building is alluded to by William Browne[3]--
They have a castle on a hill;
I took it for an old windmill,
The vane's blown off by weather;
To lie therein one night, its guest,
'Twere better to be ston'd and prest,
Or hang'd--now choose you whether.
The scenery round the village is singularly picturesque: one of its most
prominent objects, _The Bridge_ is represented in the Engraving.
It bears great analogy, in situation and character, to the celebrated
Devil's Bridge in Wales. It consists of one rude arch, thrown across a
narrow, rocky chasm, which sinks nearly eighty feet from the level of
the road. At the bottom of this channel the small river Lyd is heard
rattling through its contracted course. The singularity of this scene
is not perceived in merely passing over the bridge: to appreciate
its character, and comprehend its awfully impressive effects, it is
necessary to see the bridge, the chasm, and the roaring water, from
different projecting crags which impend over the river. At a little
distance below the bridge, "the fissure gradually spreads its rocky
jaws; the bottom opens; and, instead of the dark precipices which have
hitherto overhung and obscured the struggling river, it now emerges into
day, and rolls its murmuring current through a winding valley, confined
within magnificent banks, darkened with woods, which swell into bold
promontories, or fall back into sweeping recesses, till they are lost to
the eye in distance. Thickly shaded by trees, which shoot out from the
sides of the rent, the scene at Lydford Bridge is not so terrific as it
would have been, had a little more light been let in upon the abyss,
just sufficient to produce a _darkness visible_. As it is, however,
the chasm cannot be regarded without shuddering; nor will the stoutest
heart meditate unappalled upon the dreadful anecdotes connected with the
spot."[4]
Scenes of this description frequently give rise to marvellous stories;
and Lydford Bridge has furnished many themes for the gossip's tongue.
It is related, that a London rider was benighted on this road, in a
heavy storm, and, wishing to get to some place of shelter, spurred
his horse forward with more than common speed. The tempest had been
tremendous during the night; and in the morning the rider was informed
that Lydford Bridge had been swept away with the current. He shuddered
to reflect on his narrow escape; his horse having cleared the chasm by
a great sudden leap in the middle of his course, though the occasion of
his making it at the time was unknown.
Two or three persons have chosen this spot for self-destruction; and in
a moment of desperation, have dashed themselves from the bridge into the
murky chasm.
[1] Dartmoor appears the head-quarters of dreariness and desolation,
forming a mountain tract of nearly 80,000 acres in extent,
strewed with granite boulders and fragments of rocks, and
appearing to set cultivation at defiance.--_Brande's Outline
of Geology_.
[2] John Britton and E.W. Brayley: in the Beauties of England and
Wales, vol. iv.
[3] A poet of considerable eminence in his day, born at Tavistock,
in the year 1590. He was noticed by Selden, Drayton, Brooke,
Glanville, and Ben Jonson.
[4] Warner's Walk through the Western Counties.
* * * * *
_Libels on Poets._--Cicero tells us, Democritus and Plato said that
there could be no good poet without a tincture of madness; and Aristotle
calls poets madmen.--P.T.W.
* * * * *
THOU WERT THE RAINBOW OF MY DREAMS.
Thou wert the rainbow of my dreams,
To whom the eyes of Hope might turn,
And bid her sacred flame arise
Like incense from the festal urn;
But as the thunder clouds conspire
To wreck the lovely summer sky,
So Death destroyed the liquid fire
Which shone so brightly in thine eye!
The cypress weeps upon thy tomb:
But when the stars unfold their leaves
Amid their bow'rs of purple gloom,
More fervently my spirit grieves;
And as the rainbow sheds its light
In fairy hues upon the sea,
So this cold world appears more bright
When pensive Memory thinks of thee!
G.R.C.
* * * * *
LORD BYRON.
Translation of a letter written by Lord Byron, in Greek and Italian, to
the Pacha of Patras.[5]
Highness.--A vessel containing several of my friends and servants,
having been captured and conducted by a Turkish frigate to your
fortresses, was released by your highness' command. I return you thanks,
not for releasing a vessel bearing a neutral flag, and which being under
British protection, no one had a right to detain; but for having treated
my friends with great courtesy while at your disposal. Hoping it may not
be unacceptable to your highness, I have requested the Greek Governor of
this place to grant me four Turkish prisoners; which has been readily
conceded. I send them therefore, free, to your highness, in order to
return your courtesy as far as is in my power. They are sent without
conditions, but if the affair is worthy of your remembrance, I would
merely beseech your highness to treat with humanity such Greeks as are
in your power, or may chance to fall into the hands of the Musselmen,
since the horrors of war are sufficient in themselves, without adding
on either side cruelties in cold blood.
I have the honour to be, &c.
NOEL BYRON, Peer of England.
_Missolonghi, Jan. 23, 1824._
[5] From a correspondent (E.), who believes that no English version of
this letter has hitherto appeared in print.
* * * * *
WHEN WILT THOU RETURN?
When wilt thou return?
The silver clouds are closing
Like billows o'er the fairy path
Of sunset there reposing;
The sapphire fields of heaven,
With its golden splendour burn,
And purple is the mountain peak,--
But when wilt thou return?
When wilt thou return?
The woods are bright with summer,
And the violet's bower is grac'd
With the rose--a queenly comer;
The stars, that in the air
Like ethereal spirits burn,
Seem watching for thy steps,--
Oh I when wilt thou return?
When wilt thou return?
The sheathless sword is idle,
And each warrior from his steed
Has thrown aside the bridle.
Hark!--'tis the trumpet's call!
With hope our bosoms burn;
Its echo wakes the distant hills,
Announcing thy return!
G.R.C.
* * * * *
ANECDOTE GALLERY.
* * * * *
RECORDS OF MY LIFE.
BY THE AUTHOR OF "MONSIEUR TONSON."
_Angelica Kauffman._
The person of this lady, by all accounts, was highly interesting, and
her manners and accomplishments were peculiarly attractive. It is said
that Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was thoroughly acquainted with human
nature, and never likely to be deceived in his estimate of individuals,
was so much attached to her that he solicited her hand. It appeared,
however, that she refused him as she was attached to the late Sir
Nathaniel Holland, then Mr. Dance, an eminent painter, whose portrait
of Garrick in the character of Richard the Third is the best and most
spirited representation of that unrivalled actor that ever appeared,
though all the most distinguished artists of the time employed
themselves on the same admirable subject. The correspondence that had
taken place between Mrs. Kauffman and Mr. Dance became known, and was
thought to be of a very interesting description, insomuch that his
Majesty George the Third, who generally heard of anything worthy of
attention, requested Mr. Dance would permit him to peruse the letters
that had passed between them during their courtship. What put a period
to an intercourse which, being founded upon mutual attachment, held
forth so favourable a prospect of mutual happiness, has never been
developed, and is only matter of conjecture. Mrs. Kauffman, after
the termination of this promising courtship, went abroad, and was
unfortunately deluded into a marriage with a common footman, in Germany,
who had assumed a title and appeared to be a person of high rank and
affluence. Mrs. Kauffman, it is said, by the intervention of friends
had recourse to legal authorities, was enabled to separate from the
impostor, but did not return to this country, and died a few years
after, having never recovered her spirits after the shock of so
degrading an alliance. It is not a little surprising that a lady so
intelligent and accomplished should have been the victim of such a
deception.
_Highwaymen.--Jemmy Maclaine._
Mr. Donaldson told me that once having betted twenty pounds on a horse
at Newmarket, he won, but at the end of the race could not find the
person who had lost. Returning to London the next day, his post-chaise
was stopped by a highwayman, whom he immediately recognised as the loser
of the day before. He addressed the highwayman as follows: "Sir, I will
give you all I have about me if you will pay me the twenty pounds which
I won of you yesterday at Newmarket." The man instantly spurred his
horse, and was off in a moment. It is somewhat strange that, soon after
Mr. Donaldson landed in Jamaica, he saw the same man in a coffee-house.
He approached him, and in a whisper reminded him of his loss at
Newmarket; the man rushed out of the room, and, according to report
went to the Blue Mountains, and was never heard of again.
Mr. Donaldson was in real danger from another highwayman, who was
celebrated in his day, and known as a fashionable man by the name
of Maclaine. This man came from Ireland, and made a splendid figure
for some time, but as his means of support were not known, he was
generally considered as a doubtful character. He was by all accounts
a tall, showy, good-looking man, and a frequent visitor at Button's
Coffee-house, founded, as is well known, by Addison, in favour of an old
servant of the Warwick family, but never visited by him, when driven
from his home by the ill-humour of his wife; he then resorted to Will's,
on the opposite side of the same street, that he might not be reminded
of domestic anxieties. Button's was on the south side of Russell-street,
Covent-garden; and Will's in the same street, at the corner of
Bow-street. Button's became a private house, and Mrs. Inchbald lodged
there. Mr. Donaldson, observing that Maclaine paid particular attention
to the bar-maid, the daughter of the landlord, gave a hint to the father
of Maclaine's dubious character. The father cautioned his daughter
against the addresses of Maclaine, and imprudently told her by whose
advice he put her on her guard; she as imprudently told Maclaine. The
next time Donaldson visited the coffee-room, and was sitting in one of
the boxes, Maclaine entered, and in a loud tone said, "Mr. Donaldson,
I wish to _spake_ to you in a private room." Mr. Donaldson being
unarmed, and naturally afraid of being alone with such a man, said in
answer, that as nothing could pass between them that he did not wish the
whole world to know, he begged leave to decline the invitation. "Very
well," said Maclaine, as he left the room, "we shall _mate_ again."
A day or two after, as Mr. Donaldson was walking near Richmond in the
evening, he saw Maclaine on horseback, who on perceiving him spurred
the animal and was rapidly approaching him; fortunately, at that moment
a gentleman's carriage appeared in view, when Maclaine immediately
turned his horse towards the carriage, and Donaldson hurried into the
protection of Richmond as fast as possible. But for the appearance of
the carriage, which presented better prey, it is probable that Maclaine
would have shot Mr. Donaldson immediately. Maclaine a short time after
committed a highway robbery, was tried, found guilty, and hanged at
Tyburn.
_Extraordinary Story._
What the religious principles of Mr. Donaldson were, I never knew,
but I am sure he had too manly a mind to give way to superstition.
The following circumstance, however, he told me as a fact in which he
placed full confidence, on account of the character of the gentleman
who related it. The latter was a particular friend of his, and a member
of Parliament. In order to attend the House of Commons, he had taken
apartments in St. Anne's Churchyard, Westminster. On the evening when
he took possession, he was struck with something that appeared to him
mysterious in the manner of the maid-servant, who looked like a man
disguised; and he felt a very unpleasant emotion. This feeling was
strengthened by a similar deportment in the mistress of the house, who
soon after entered his room, and asked him if he wanted anything before
he retired to rest: disliking her manner, he soon dismissed her, and went
to bed, but the disagreeable impression made on his mind by the maid
and mistress, kept him long awake; at length, however, he fell asleep.
During his sleep he dreamed that the corpse of a gentleman, who had
been murdered, was deposited in the cellar of the house. This dream
co-operating with the unfavourable, or rather repulsive countenances and
demeanour of the two women, precluded all hopes of renewed sleep, and
it being the summer season, he arose about five o'clock in the morning,
took his hat, and resolved to quit a house of such alarm and terror.
To his surprise, as he was leaving it, he met the mistress in the
entry, dressed, as if she had never gone to bed. She seemed to be
much agitated, and inquired his reason for wishing to go out so early
in the morning. He hesitated a moment with increased alarm, and then
told her that he expected a friend, who was to arrive by a stage in
Bishopsgate-street, and that he was going to meet him. He was suffered
to go out of the house, and when revived by the open air, he felt, as
he afterwards declared, as if relieved from impending destruction. He
stated that in a few hours after, he returned with a friend to whom
he had told his dream, and the impression made on him by the maid and
the mistress; he, however, only laughed at him for his superstitious
terrors, but on entering the house, they found that it was deserted, and
calling in a gentleman who was accidentally passing, they all descended
to the cellar, and actually found a corpse in the state which the
gentleman's dream had represented.
_Drawing an Inference._
Dr. Monsey, with two or three old members of the university, in the
course of an evening walk, differed about a proper definition of man.
While they were severally offering their notions on the subject,
they came to a wall where an itinerant artist had drawn various
representations of animals, ships, &c. After complimenting him on
his skill, one of the gentlemen asked him if he could _draw an
inference_. "No," said the artist, "I never saw one." Logic then gave
way to jocularity, and a man coming by with a fine team of horses, they
stopped him, spoke highly of the condition of his horses, particularly
admiring the first. "That horse, carter," said another of the gentlemen,
"seems to be a very strong one, I suppose he could draw a butt," The man
assented. "Do you think he could _draw an inference?"_--"Why," said
the man, "he can draw anything _in reason_." "There," said Monsey,
"what becomes of your definition, when you met a man that could _not
draw an inference_ and a _horse that could?_"
_Disposal of the body for Dissection._
Dr. Monsey had the utmost contempt for funeral ceremonies, and exacted
a promise from his daughter, that she would not interfere with the
arrangement which he had made with Mr. Thompson Forster, the surgeon,
for the disposal of his body, conceiving that whenever it was dissected
by that gentleman, something might occur for the illustration and
advancement of anatomy. "What can it signify to me," said he, "whether
my carcass is cut up by the knife of a surgeon, or the tooth of a worm?"
He had a large box in his chambers at Chelsea, full of air-holes, for
the purpose of carrying his body to Mr. Forster, in case he should be
in a trance when supposed to be dead. It was provided with poles, like
a sedan-chair.
_Voltaire._
Mentioning Voltaire, I may as well relate in this place a circumstance
communicated to me by Monsey, upon what he deemed good authority, that
Voltaire being invited to dine with a lady of quality while he was in
London, to meet some persons of distinction, waited upon the lady an
hour or two earlier than the time appointed. The lady apologized for the
necessity of leaving him, as she had visits to pay, but begged he would
amuse himself with the books in the room, promising to return very soon.
After the party broke up, having occasion to refer to her escrutoire,
she evidently found that it had been opened in her absence, and though
nothing had been taken away, her papers were obviously not in the same
order as when she left them. She inquired anxiously who had been in the
room, and was assured nobody but Voltaire, who had remained there till
she returned home. As Voltaire was destitute of all religious principles
it is not wonderful that he was equally devoid of all moral delicacy.
A severe account of his conduct towards the great King of Prussia, while
he was at the court of that monarch, is given in "The Reverie," a work
before referred to.
Voltaire once dined in company with Pope, Lord Bolingkroke, and several
of the most distinguished characters in London, and said it was "the
proudest day he had ever enjoyed."
* * * * *
THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.
* * * * *
THE CINQUE PORTS--THEIR PAST AND PRESENT STATE.
(_Abridged from the United Service Journal._)
The precise time when the Cinque Ports were first incorporated by
charter is unknown, but it was at a very early period of our history;
the institution being formed on that adopted by the Romans, while
masters of Britain, for the defence of the coasts against the northern
pirates. The difference between them consists in the number of the
stations incorporated, the Roman being nine, under the governance of an
officer whose title was, Comes littoris Saxonici; and the Saxon
consisting of five, under the superintendence of a chief, whose title
is, Lord Warden and Admiral of the Cinque Ports. There is no charter
extant of the ports prior to Edward I.; and as they are not mentioned
collectively in Domesday, many persons have been led to conclude, I
think erroneously, that they did not exist as a corporation at the time
when that ancient record was taken. Dover, Sandwich, and Romney are
named as privileged ports, from which it may be inferred, that the
corporation flourished at that time,--and for this reason,--Hastings has
always been considered the first port in precedency, which would not
probably have been the case, if it had been one of the latest
privileged. The charter of Edward I. mentions immunities granted to the
Cinque Ports by William the Conqueror; and, what is still more to the
purpose, because it carries back their origin to the Saxon times, is,
that King John, in his charter, says, that the Barons of the Cinque
Ports had in their possession, charters of most of the preceding kings,
back to Edward the Confessor, _which he had seen_. So, having
traced them up to a Saxon origin, I must leave to some future antiquary
the task of settling the precise date of their first incorporation.
The five incorporated ports are, Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, Romney,
and Hythe. Attached to each port are several limbs or members, the
inhabitants of which participate in their privileges, and bear a share
of their expenses. Rye and Winchelsea were united to Hastings about the
first year of the reign of King John, under the denomination of the two
ancient towns, and they appear to have obtained the superiority which
they now hold over the other limbs, at a very early period, a charter
of the year 1247 styling them, by way of eminence,_nobiliora membra
Quinque Portuum._ The limbs are first mentioned in the Red-Book
of the Exchequer, a miscellaneous collection of treatises, written
before and after the Conquest, and collected together by Alexander
de Swereford, Archdeacon of Shrewsbury, an officer of the Exchequer,
who died in 1246: and also in the Domesday of the Ports, an ancient
manuscript, formerly kept in Dover castle, but now unfortunately lost;
but they do not occur in any charter till that of Edward IV. By what
means or for what purpose these limbs became united to the five head
ports, is now matter of speculation.
The duties which the Ports were bound to perform were incessant and of
the most arduous character, particularly during the early years of the
institution, when the narrow seas were constantly infested by numerous
hordes of fierce, adventurous, and reckless pirates. Exonerated from all
other services, they were bound to exert their own naval force for the
protection of the realm, for the maintenance of the free navigation of
the Channel, for the prevention of piracies, and all impediments and
interruptions whatsoever. Effectually to perform these services,
dangerous and difficult it must be allowed, they were obliged to furnish
among them fifty-seven ships, each manned with twenty men and one boy,
at their own cost, for fifteen days, and for as long a period afterwards
as the king pleased to appoint; but they were then entitled to receive
pay for their services. The sums granted to them by the crown were by no
means a remuneration for the expenses attendant on the large naval force
they wore obliged to keep up at all times for the service of the
kingdom, and often did not cover a third part of the necessary
expenditure. The ships of the Cinque Ports, therefore, were the navy of
the realm, and in almost every reign the pages of history show with how
great honour and reputation the Ports discharged the sacred trust
reposed in their valour, skill and bravery, by their confiding country.
We sometimes find them fitting out double the number of ships specified
in their charters; and when larger ones were thought necessary, they
have equipped a smaller number, at an expense equivalent to that which
their service by tenure demanded. In the reign of Elizabeth they had
five ships, of one hundred and sixty tons each, at sea for five months,
entirely at their own charge; and in the reign of Charles the First,
they fitted out two large ships, which served for two months, and cost
them more than eighteen hundred pounds.
The honours and privileges granted to the Cinque Ports, in consideration
of these services, were great and numerous. They were each to send two
barons to represent them in parliament; they were, by their deputies,
to hear the canopy over the king's head at his coronation, and to dine
at the uppermost table, on his right hand, in the great hall; they were
exempted from subsidies and other aids; their heirs were free from
personal wardship, notwithstanding any tenure; they were to be impleaded
in their own towns, and nowhere else; they were to hold pleas and
actions real and personal; to have conusance of fines; and the power
of enfranchising villeins; they were exempt from tolls, and had full
liberty of buying and selling, with many other privileges of less
importance.
To direct the energies, to enforce the due performance of the important
services, and to protect the extraordinary privileges of the Ports, an
officer was created, and styled Lord Warden, Chancellor, and Admiral of
the Cinque Ports, an officer of such high dignity and honour, that it
has been sometimes executed by the heirs-apparent to the crown, often by
princes of the blood royal, and always by persons of the first rank in
the kingdom.