A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies - A Private Tutor for Little Masters and Misses

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Title: A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies - A Private Tutor for Little Masters and Misses
Author: Unknown, - To be updated
Language: English
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LADIES***

Transcriber's Notes:

* This 15th edition of A MUSEUM FOR YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES was
published ca. 1799.

* There is an HTML version of this text, with the original
illustrations. Certain characters that do not appear in the
text can also be found there.

* Each page repeats the first word of the next page at the bottom
right--this has not been reproduced in this text version.

* The book uses the long 's' (ſ) in non-final positions--this has
not been reproduced in this text version, as it would make the
text less easily searchable--except in the HTML version of the
title-page. A non-final double 's' is sometimes written with
two long 's's, and sometimes with a long 's' followed by a short
(or final) 's' (somewhat like the ß of German).

* 'st' and 'ct' are usually written with a ligature--this has not
been preserved in the text; 'ae' and 'oe' ligatures have been
preserved, however.

* Colons, semicolons, question marks, and brackets are usually
surrounded by spaces--in this text, the modern convention has
been followed.

* The book consistently uses '&c.' where we today use 'etc.'--
this has been preserved.

* The dimensions of the book are approx. 13½ cm. by 9 cm., so each
line contains 8-9 words on average. This means that the layout
of the following text does not usually match that of the book.

* Compound words like "every body" are often written with a space
in the middle--this has been preserved where it appears.

* Page numbers have been omitted.

* '[sic]' has been inserted at many places in the text to let the
reader know that the preceding word or phrase appeared as such
in the original. These appear in blue in the HTML version.

* A number of names are spelled differently from present-day
usage, e.g. Anna Bullen (Anne Boleyn)--in most cases, these
have not been marked.

* On one page, a letter is corrupted, and on the following line
letters appear to be missing--these have been marked with a
comment in square brackets.

* Certain characters in the book, e.g. signs of the zodiac, will
not appear in this text, as they are not available in all type
fonts--these will be indicated at the appropriate places in the
text. The proper character can be found in the HTML version.

* One major point of confusion should be mentioned: In the
section on the Seven Wonders of the World, what is usually
described as the Lighthouse of Pharos appears to have been
merged with the so-called Egyptian Labyrinth (described by
Herodotus)--see the title and the description in the text. In
the next section (the Pyramids of Egypt), there is a reference
to a black marble head on the third pyramid--perhaps this
represents some confusion with the Sphynx.

[Illustration: Title page]

[Illustration: Obverse of title page. It contains this line only:
_Printed by B.C. COLLINS, Canal, Saliſbury._]

[Illustration: Owner's handwriting]

A
MUSEUM
FOR
YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES
Private Tutor
FOR LITTLE MASTERS AND MISSES.
_Containing a Variety of uſeful Subjects_;
AND, IN PARTICULAR,

I. Directions for Reading with V. Table of Weights and
Elegance and Propriety. Meaſures.

II. The ancient and preſent State of VI. The Seven Wonders of
Great Britain; with a compendious the World.
hiſtory of England.

III. An Account of the Solar Syſtem. VII. Proſpect and Deſcription
of the burning Mountains.

IV. Hiſtorical and Geographical VIII. Dying Words and Behaviour
Deſcription of the ſeveral of great Men, when juſt
Countries in the World; with the quitting the Stage of
Manners, Cuſtoms and Habits of the Life; with many uſeful
People. Particulars, all in a
plain familiar way for
Youth of both Sexes.

_With Letters, Tales and Fables, for amuſement and Inſtruction._
ILLUSTRATED WITH CUTS.
THE FIFTEENTH EDITION,
WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS.

London:

Printed for DARTON and HARVEY, Gracechurch-ſtreet, CROSBY and
LETTERMAN, Stationers-Court, and E. NEWBERY, St. Paul's
Church-yard; and B.C. COLLINS, Saliſbury.

MUSEUM
FOR
YOUNG GENTLEMEN AND LADIES.

NOTES AND POINTS

USED IN
_Writing and Printing._

Before I begin to lay down rules for reading, it will be necessary
to take notice of the several points or marks used in printing or
writing, for resting or stopping the voice, which are four in
number, called

1. The Comma (,) 3. Colon (:)
2. Semicolon (;) 4. Period (.)

These points are to give a proper time for breathing when you read,
and to prevent confusion of sense in joining words together in a
sentence. The _Comma_ stops the reader's voice till he can tell
_one_, and divides the lesser parts of a sentence. The _Semicolon_
divides the greater parts of a sentence, and requires the reader to
pause while he can count _two_. The _Colon_ is used where the sense
is complete, and not the sentence, and rests the voice of the reader
till he can count _three_. The _Period_ is put when the sentence
is ended, and requires a pause while he can tell _four_.

But we must here remark, that the _Colon_ and _Semicolon_ are
frequently used promiscuously, especially in our bibles.

There are two other points, which may be called marks of affection;
the one of which is termed an _Interrogation_, which signifies a
question being asked, and expressed thus (?); the other called an
_Admiration_ or _Exclamation_, and marked thus (!). These two
points require a pause as long as a period.

We have twelve other marks to be met with in reading, namely,

1. Apostrophe (’) 7. Section (§ )
2. Hyphen (-) 8. Ellipsis (--)
3. Parenthesis ( ) 9. Index ( [index] )
[hand pointing rightwards]
4. Brackets [ ] 10. Asterisk (*)
5. Paragraph ( ) 11. Obelisk (†)
6. Quotation (") 12. Caret (^)

_Apostrophe_ is set over a word where some letter is wanting, as in
_lov'd_. Hyphen joins syllables and words together, as in
_pan-cake_. _Parenthesis_ includes something not necessary to the
sense, as, _I know that in me_ (that is in my flesh) _liveth_, &c.
_Brackets_ include a word or words mentioned as a matter of
discourse, as, _The little word_ [man] _makes a great noise_, &c.
They are also used to enclose a cited sentence, or what is to be
explained, and sometimes the explanation itself. _Brackets_ and
_Parenthesis_ are often used for each other without distinction.
_Paragraph_ is chiefly used in the bible, and denotes the beginning
of a new subject. _Quotation_ is used to distinguish what is taken
from an author in his own words. _Section_ shews the division of a
chapter. _Ellipsis_ is used when part of a word or sentence is
omitted, as p--ce. _Index_ denotes some remarkable passage.
_Asterisk_ refers to some note in the margin, or remarks at the
bottom of the page; and when many stand together, thus ***, they
imply that something is wanting, or not fit to be read, in the
author. The _Obelisk_ or _Dagger_, and also parallel lines
marked thus (||), refer to something in the margin. The _Caret_,
marked thus (^), is made use of in writing, when any line or word is
left out, and wrote over where it is to come in, as thus,

_had_
_A certain man two sons:_
^

Here the word _had_ was left out, wrote over, and marked by the
_Caret_ where to come in.

It may also in this place be proper to mention the crooked lines or
_Braces_, which couple two or three words or lines together that
tend to the same thing; for instance,

/ \
| a long |
The vowel _a_ has < a short > Sound
| a broad |
\ /

This is often used in poetry, where three lines have the same rhyme.

The other marks relate to single words, as _Dialysis_ or _Diæresis_,
placed over vowels to shew they must be pronounced in distinct
syllables, as _Raphaël_. The _Circumflex_ is set over a vowel to
carry a long sound, as _Euphrâtes_. An _Accent_ is marked thus
(á), to shew where the emphasis must be placed, as _negléct_; or
to shew that the consonant following must be pronounced double, as
_hómage_. To these may be added the long (¯) and short (˘) marks,
which denote the quantity of syllables, as wātĕr.

RULES FOR READING.

When you have gained a perfect knowledge of the sounds of the
letters, never guess at a word on sight, lest you get a habit of
reading falsely. Pronounce every word distinctly. Let the tone of
your voice be the same in reading as in speaking. Never read in a
hurry, lest you learn to stammer. Read no louder than to be heard
by those about you. Observe to make your pauses regular, and make
not any where the sense will admit of none. Suit your voice to the
subject. Be attentive to those who read well, and remember to
imitate their pronunciation. Read often before good judges, and
thank them for correcting you. Consider well the place of emphasis,
and pronounce it accordingly: For the stress of voice is the same
with regard to sentences as in words. The emphasis or force of
voice is for the most part laid upon the accented syllable; but if
there is a particular opposition between two words in a sentence,
one whereof differs from the other in parts, the accent must be
removed from its place: for instance, _The sun shines upon the just
and upon the unjust_. Here the emphasis is laid upon the first
syllable in _unjust_, because it is opposed to _just_ in the same
sentence, without which opposition it would lie in its proper place,
that is, on the last syllable, as _we must not imitate the unjust
practices of others_.

The general rule for knowing which is the emphatical word in a
sentence, is, _to consider the design of the whole_; for particular
directions cannot be easily given, excepting only where words
evidently oppose one another in a sentence, and those are always
_emphatical_. So frequently is the word that asks a question, as,
_who, what, when,_ &c. but not always. Nor must the emphasis be
always laid upon the same words in the same sentence, but varied
according to the principal meaning of the speaker. Thus, suppose I
enquire, _Did my father walk abroad yesterday?_ If I lay the
emphasis on the word _father_, it is evident I want to know whether
it was _he_, or _somebody else_. If I lay it upon _walk_, the
person I speak to will know, that I want to be informed whether he
went on _foot_ or rode on _horseback_. If I put the emphasis upon
_yesterday_, it denotes, that I am satisfied that my father went
abroad, and on foot, though I want to be informed whether it was
_yesterday_, or some time before.

RULES TO READ VERSE.

There are two ways of writing on a subject, namely, in _prose_ and
_verse_. _Prose_ is the common way of writing, without being
confined to a certain number of syllables, or having the trouble of
disposing of the words in any particular form. _Verse_ requires
words to be ranged so, as the accents may naturally fall on
particular syllables, and make a sort of harmony to the ear: This
is termed _metre_ or _measure_, to which rhyme is generally added,
that is, to make two or more verses, near to each other, and with
the same sound; but this practice is not absolutely necessary; for
that which has no rhyme is called _blank verse_.

In metre the words must be so disposed, as that the accent may fall
on every _second_, _fourth_, and _sixth_ syllable, and also on the
_eighth_, _tenth_, and _twelfth_, if the lines run to that length.
The following verse of ten syllables may serve for an example:

_The mónarch spóke, and stráit a múrmur róse._

But _English_ poetry allows of frequent variations from this rule,
especially in the first and second syllables in the line, as in the
verse which rhymes with the former, where the accent is laid upon
the first syllable.

_Lóud as the súrges, whén the témpest blóws._

But there are two sorts of metre, which vary from this rule; one of
which is when the verse contains but seven syllables, and the accent
lies upon the _first_, _third_, _fifth_, and _seventh_, as below:

_Cóuld we, whích we néver cán,
Strétch our líves beyónd their spán;
Beáuty líke a shádow flíes,
Ánd our yóuth befóre us díes._

The other sort has a hasty sound, and requires an accent upon every
third syllable; as,

_'Tis the vóice of the slúggard, I heár him compláin,
You have wák'd me too soón, I must slúmber agáin._

You must always observe to pronounce a verse as you do prose, giving
each word and syllable its natural accent, with these two
restrictions: _First_, If there is no point at the end of the line,
make a short pause before you begin the next. _Secondly_, If any
word in a line has two sounds, give it that which agrees best with
the rhyme and metre; for example the word _glittering_ must
sometimes be pronounced as of three syllables, and sometimes
_glitt'ring_, as of two.

_The_ USE _of_ CAPITALS, _and the different_ LETTERS _used in_ PRINTING.

The names of the letters made use of in printed books are
distinguished thus: The round, full, and upright, are called
_Roman_; the long, leaning, narrow letters are called _Italic_; and
the ancient black character is called _English_. You have a
specimen as follows, viz.

[Illustration: the word Angel in "Roman", Italic, and Fraktur
(which they call "Old English")]

The _Old English_ is seldom used but in acts of parliament,
proclamations, &c. The _Roman_ is chiefly in vogue for books and
pamphlets, intermixed with _Italic_, to distinguish proper names,
chapters, arguments, words in any foreign language, texts of
scripture, citations from authors, speeches or sayings of any
person, emphatical words, and whatever is strongly significant.

The use of capitals, or great letters, is to begin every name of the
Supreme Being, as God, Lord, Almighty, Father, Son, &c. All proper
names of men and things, titles of distinction, as King, Duke, Lord,
Knight, &c. must also begin with a capital. So ought every book,
chapter, verse, paragraph, and sentence after a period. A saying,
or quotation from any author, should begin with a capital; as ought
every line in a poem. I and O, when they stand single, must always
be capitals; any words, particularly names or substantives, may
begin with a capital; but the common way of beginning every
substantive with a capital is not commendable, and is now much
disused.

Capitals are likewise often used for ornament, as in the title of
books; and also to express numbers, and abbreviations.

[Illustration: Woodcut of Ancient Britons]

A CONCISE
_ACCOUNT OF ANCIENT BRITAIN._
CHAP. I.

ENGLAND and Scotland, though but one island, are two kingdoms, viz.
the kingdom of England and the kingdom of Scotland; which two
kingdoms being united, were in the reign of James I. called
Great-Britain. The shape of it is triangular, as thus [triangle],
and 'tis surrounded by the seas. Its utmost extent or length is 812
miles, its breadth is 320, and its circumference 1836; and it is
reckoned one of the finest islands in Europe. The whole island was
anciently called Albion, which seems to have been softened from
Alpion; because the word alp, in some of the original western
languages, generally signifies very high lands, or hills; as this
isle appears to those who approach it from the Continent. It was
likewise called Olbion, which in the Greek signifies happy; but of
those times there is no certainty in history, more than that it had
the denomination, and was very little known by the rest of the
world.

The people that first lived in this island, according to the best
historians, were the Gauls, and afterwards the Britons. These
Britons were tall, well made, and yellow haired, and lived
frequently a hundred and twenty years, owing to their sobriety and
temperance, and the wholesomeness of the air. The use of clothes
was scarce known among them. Some of them that inhabited the
southern parts covered their nakedness with the skins of wild beasts
carelessly thrown over them, not so much to defend themselves
against the cold as to avoid giving offence to strangers that came
to traffic among them. By way of ornament they used to cut the
shape of flowers, and trees, and animals, on their skin, and
afterwards painted it of a sky colour, with the juice of woad, that
never wore out. They lived in woods, in huts covered with skins,
boughs, or turfs. Their towns and villages were a confused parcel
of huts, placed at a little distance from each other, without any
order or distinction of streets. They were generally in the middle
of a wood, defended with ramparts, or mounds of earth thrown up.
Ten or a dozen of them, friends and brothers, lived together, and
had their wives in common. Their food was milk and flesh got by
hunting, their woods and plains being well stocked with game. Fish
and tame fowls, which they kept for pleasure, they were forbid by
their religion to eat.

The chief commerce was with the the Phœnician merchants, who, after
the discovery of the island, exported every year great quantities of
tin, with which they drove a very gainful trade with distant
nations.

In this situation were the Ancient Britons when Julius Cæsar, the
first Emperor of Rome, and a great conqueror, formed a design of
invading their island, which the Britons hearing of, they
endeavoured to divert him from his purpose by sending ambassadors
with offers of obedience to him, which he refused, and in the 55th
year before the coming of our Saviour upon earth, he embarked in
Gaul (that is France) a great many soldiers on board eighty ships.

At his arrival on the coast of Britain he saw the hills and cliffs
that ran out into the sea covered with troops, that could easily
prevent his landing, on which he sailed two leagues farther to a
plain and open shore, which the Britons perceiving sent their
chariots and horse that way, whilst the rest of their army advanced
to support them. The largeness of Cæsar's vessels hindered them
from coming near the shore, so that the Roman soldiers saw
themselves under a necessity of leaping into the sea, armed as they
were, in order to attack their enemies, who stood ready to receive
them on the dry ground. Cæsar perceiving that his soldiers did not
exert their usual bravery, ordered some small ships to get as near
the shore as possible, which they did, and with their slings,
engines, and arrows so pelted the Britons, that their courage began
to abate. But the Romans were unwilling to throw themselves into
the water, till one of the standard-bearers leaped in first with his
colours in his hand, crying out aloud, _Follow me, fellow soldiers,
unless you will betray the Roman Eagle into the hands of the enemy.
For my part I am resolved to discharge my duty to Caesar and the
Commonwealth._ Whereupon all the soldiers followed him, and began
to fight. But their resolution was not able to compel the Britons
to give ground; nay, it was feared they would have been repelled,
had not Cæsar caused armed boats to supply them with recruits,
which made the enemy fall back a little. The Romans improving this
advantage advanced, and getting firm footing on land, pressed the
Britons so vigorously that they put them to the rout. The Britons,
astonished at the Roman valour, and fearing a more obstinate
resistance would but expose them to greater mischiefs, sent to sue
for peace and offer hostages, which Cæsar accepted, and a peace was
concluded four days after their landing. Thus having given an
account of Ancient Britain, and Cæsar's invasion, we shall proceed
to the History of England, and the several Kings by whom it has been
governed.

A COMPENDIOUS
_HISTORY OF ENGLAND._
CHAP. II.

AS England was long governed by Kings who were natives of the
country, so it may not be improper to distinguish that tract of time
by the name of the British Period. Those Kings were afterwards
subdued by the Romans, and the time that warlike people retained
their conquest we shall call the Roman Period. When the Saxons
brought this country under their subjection, we shall denominate the
time of their sway the Saxon Period. Lastly, when the Danes invaded
England, and conquered it, we shall term the series of years they
possessed it the Danish Period.

This country was originally called Albion; but one Brutus, a Grecian
hero, having landed here about 1100 years before Christ, changed the
ancient name to Britannia; from which time, to the arrival of Julius
Cæsar here, there had reigned sixty-nine Kings, all natives of
England.

In respect to the Roman Period we may observe, that Julius Cæsar
first landed in Britain from Gallia, and made it tributary to the
Romans; but soon after the birth of Christ the Emperor Claudius
brought this country entirely under his subjection, and the Emperor
Adrian built the long wall between England and Scotland.

In the beginning of the second century the Christian religion was
planted in England; and in the fifth century the Britons, finding
themselves overpowered by the Scots, called over the Saxons to their
assistance, who were so charmed with the country that they
determined to continue here, and subdue it.

The most remarkable occurrences in the Saxon Period are, that such
of them who embarked for England had been particularly distinguished
by the name of Angles, and from them the name of Britannia was
changed to that of Anglia. The Saxons also divided the country
among themselves into seven kingdoms, known by the name of the Saxon
Heptarchy, viz. 1. Kent, 2. Essex, 3. Sussex, 4. Wessex, 5. East
Anglia, 6. Mercia, 7. Northumberland. But at length Wessex
over-powering the rest, formed them all into one monarchy.

One of those West-Saxon Kings, called Ina, made many good laws, some
of which are still extant: he also was the first that granted
Peter's pence to the Pope.

In regard to the Danish Period we shall only remark, that the Danes
had for a long time acted as pirates or sea robbers upon the English
coasts, and made several incursions into the country, when their
King Canute possessed himself of the crown of England; however their
government did not continue long.

Canute reigned eighteen years, and left three sons, Harold, Canute,
and Sueno; to the first he gave England, to the second Denmark, and
to the third Norway.

Harold reigned five years, and was succeeded by his half-brother
Hardi-Canute, who died two years after, and with him ended the
tyrannical government of the Danes in England.

THE
_INTERMEDIATE HISTORY OF ENGLAND._
CHAP. III.

WE shall divide this part of our history into four periods; 1. The
Kings of the Norman Line; 2. Those of the House of Anjou; 3. Of the
House of Lancaster; 4. Of the House of York.

_The_ NORMAN KINGS.

WILLIAM I. sirnamed [sic] the Conqueror, gained a signal victory
over King Harold, by which means he procured the crown of England.
This Prince was the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, by one of his
mistresses called Harlotte, from whom some think the word harlot is
derived; however, as this amour seems odd, we shall entertain the
reader with an account of it. The Duke riding one day to take the
air passed by a company of country girls, who were dancing, and was
so taken with the graceful carriage of one of them, named Harlotte,
a skinner's daughter, that he prevailed on her to cohabit with him,
and she was ten months after delivered of William, who, having
reigned 21 years, died at Rouen, in September, 1087.

WILLIAM II. sirnamed Rufus, succeeded his father; he built
Westminster-hall, rebuilt London-bridge, and made a new wall round
the Tower of London. In his time the sea overflowed a great part of
the estate belonging to Earl Goodwin, in Kent, which is at this day
called the Goodwin Sands. The King was killed accidentally by an
arrow in the New Forest, and left no issue. He reigned fourteen
years, and was buried in Winchester Cathedral.

HENRY I. youngest son of William the Conqueror, succeeded his
brother William II. in 1100. He reduced Normandy, and made his son
Duke thereof. This Prince died in Normandy of a surfeit, by eating
lampreys after hunting, having reigned 35 years.

STEPHEN, sirnamed of Blois, succeeded his uncle Henry I. in 1135;
but being continually harassed by the Scotch and Welsh, and having
reigned 19 years in an uninterrupted series of troubles, he died at
Dover in 1154, and was buried in the Abbey at Feversham, which he
had erected for the burial place of himself and family.

HENRY II. son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou, succeeded
Stephen in 1154. In him the Norman and Saxon blood was united, and
with him began the race of the Plantagenets, which ended with
Richard III. In this King's reign Thomas à Becket, son to a
tradesman in London, being made Lord High Chancellor, and afterwards
Archbishop of Canterbury, affected on all occasions to oppose and to
be independent of the court. The King hearing of his misbehaviour,
complained that he had not one to revenge him on a wretched priest
for the many insults he had put upon him. Hereupon four of his
domestics, in hopes to gain favour, set out immediately for
Canterbury, and beat out Thomas's brains with clubs, as he was
saying vespers in his own cathedral, in so cruel a manner, that the
altar was covered with blood. King Henry subdued Ireland, and died
there in 1189, in the 34th year of his reign.

RICHARD I. succeeded his father Henry II. and was no sooner crowned
than he took upon him the cross, and went with Philip, King of
France, to the Holy Land in 1192. On his return he was detained by
the Emperor Henry VI. and was obliged to pay 100,000 marks for his
ransom. In a war which succeeded between England and France,
Richard fought personally in the field, and gained a complete
victory over the enemy, but was afterwards shot by an arrow at the
siege of the Castle of Chalus, and died of the wound April 6, 1199.

JOHN, the fourth son of Henry II. took possession of the crown on
Richard's decease, though his nephew Arthur of Bretagne, son of his
elder brother Geoffrey Plantagenet, had an undoubted title to it.

His encroachments on the privileges of his people called forth the
opposition of the spirited and potent Barons of that day: John was
reduced to great straits; and Pope Innocent III. with the usual
policy of the Holy Fathers, sided with John's disaffected subjects,
and fulminated the thunders of the church against him, till he had
brought him to his own terms: the King surrendered his crown at the
feet of the Pope's Legate, who returned it to him on his
acknowledging that he held it as the vassal of the Holy See, and
binding himself and successors to pay an annual tribute thereto.
The Barons and their cause were to be sacrificed to the Pope's
interest, and the Legate commanded them to lay down their arms; they
were however bold enough to make head against this powerful league,
and by their steady opposition to the King, and their moderate
demands when their efforts were crowned with success, immortalized
their names: John was obliged to sign out two famous charters--the
first called Magna Charta, or the Charter of Liberties; the second
the Charter of Forests; which two charters have since been the
foundation of the liberties of this nation. Some time after, having
thrown himself into a fever by eating peaches, he died at Newark
October 28, 1216.

HENRY III. succeeded his father John in 1216, being but nine years
old. He reigned 56 years, during the greatest part of which he was
embroiled in a civil war. He founded the house of converts, and an
hospital, in Oxford, and died at St. Edmundsbury in 1272.

EDWARD I. though in the Holy Land when his father died, yet
succeeded him, and proved a warlike and successful Prince. He made
France fear him, and forced the King of Scotland to pay him homage.
He created his eldest son Prince of Wales, which title has been
enjoyed by the eldest son of all the Kings of England ever since.

In his last moments he exhorted his son to continue the war with
Scotland, and added, "Let my bones be carried before you, for I am
sure the rebels will never dare to stand the sight of them." He
died of a bloody flux at Burgh on the sands [sic], a small town in
Cumberland, July 7, 1337, having reigned 34 years, and lived 68.

EDWARD II. succeeded his father, but proved an unfortunate Prince,
being hated by his nobles, and slighted by the commons: he was first
debauched by Gaveston his favourite, and afterwards by the two
Spencers, father and son, whose oppressions he countenanced to the
hazard of his crown. But the Barons taking up arms against the
King, Gaveston was beheaded, the two Spencers hanged, and he himself
forced to to resign the crown to Prince Edward his son. Soon after
which he was barbarously murdered at Berkeley Castle, by means of
Mortimer, the Queen's favourite. He reigned twenty years, and was
buried at Gloucester.

EDWARD III. who succeeded his father on his resignation, claimed the
crown of France, and backed his claim by embarking a powerful army
for that country, where he made rapid conquests: the Scots favouring
the French, invaded Cumberland, but were defeated by Edward's Queen
Philippa, who took David Bruce, their King, prisoner. Edward's
eldest son, sirnamed the Black Prince, gained two surprizing [sic]
victories, one at Cressi, the other at Poitiers, in which he took
King John, with his youngest son Philip, prisoners. Thus England
had the glory to make two Kings prisoners in one year. This reign
is also memorable for the institution of the most noble Order of
the Garter, and for the title of Duke of Cornwall being first
conferred upon the Black Prince, and continued as a birthright to
the Prince Royal of England.

In this reign lived John Wickliff, who strenuously opposed the
errors of the Romish Church. Peter's Pence were now also denied to
the church of Rome; and the manufacture of cloth was first brought
into England.

Edward the Black Prince died in 1336, and his untimely end hastened
that of his father, who died soon after at Shene, in Surry, having
reigned thirty years, and was buried at Westminster.

RICHARD II. son to Edward the Black Prince, succeeded his
grandfather; but he had neither his wisdom nor good fortune. He
was born at Bourdeaux in France: his conduct in England made his
reign very uneasy to his subjects, and at last deprived him of his
crown. He raised a tax of 5d. per head, which caused an
insurrection by the influence of Wat Tyler, who being stabbed by
William Walworth, Mayor of London, the storm was quelled. The
smothering of the Duke of Gloucester, and the unjust seizure of the
Duke of Lancaster's effects, with an intent to banish his son, were
the two circumstances which completed the King's ruin.

For after this tyranny and cruelty, being forced to resign the
crown, he was confined in Pomfret Castle, in Yorkshire, where being
barbarously murdered, he was buried at Langley, having reigned
twenty-two years. In his time lived Chaucer, the famous poet.

_The House of Lancaster, called the_ RED ROSE.

HENRY IV. who succeeded his cousin Richard on his resignation in
1399, was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who was
fourth son of Edward III. In his turbulent reign, which lasted
thirteen years and a half, we find little remarkable, except the
act then passed for burning the Lollards or Wickliffites, who
separated from the church of Rome.

HENRY V. succeeded his father, and, though a loose Prince in his
youth, proved a wise, virtuous and magnificent King. He banished
all his lewd companions from court, and claimed the English title
to the crown of France in so heroic and effectual a manner, that
with 14,000 men he beat the French at Agincourt, though 140,000
strong. Hereupon Queen Katherine prevailed upon her husband
Charles VI. then King of France, to disinherit the Dauphin, and to
give Katherine his daughter to Henry, so that he was declared heir
to the crown of France, and regent during the King's life, which
measures were ratified and confirmed by the states of that kingdom,
though he did not live to sit on the throne. He reigned but ten
years, died at Vincennes, a royal palace near Paris, and was buried
at Westminster, in 1422, in the 39th year of his age.

HENRY VI. when only eight years old, succeeded his father, but was
no less unfortunate at home than abroad; and though he was crowned
at Paris King of France, in the year 1423, yet he lost all that his
predecessors had acquired in that kingdom, Calais only excepted.
The crown of England was disputed between him and the house of York;
which occasioned such civil wars in England as made her bleed for 84
years, when all the Princes of York and Lancaster were either
killed in battle or beheaded. The French laying hold of this
favourable opportunity, shook off the English yoke, and recovering
their liberty in five years, placed the young Dauphin upon the
throne, who was then Charles VII. The crown of England was now
settled by Parliament upon the House of York and their heirs, after
the death of King Henry, whose heirs were excluded for ever. This
Prince passed through various changes of life, and was at last
stabbed to the heart by Richard Duke of Gloucester, who had before
murdered Edward, the only son of this unfortunate King.

_The House of York, called the_ WHITE ROSE.

EDWARD IV. who had dispossessed Henry VI. in 1460, was the first
King of the line of York, and nobly maintained his right to the
crown by mere dint of arms; till at last subduing the party which
opposed him, he was crowned at Westminster June 28, 1461. In this
King's reign the ART OF PRINTING was first brought into England. At
this time also the King of Spain was presented with some Cotswold
sheep, from whose breed, 'tis said, came the fine Spanish wool, to
the prejudice of England. Edward reigned 22 years, and was buried
at Windsor in 1483.

EDWARD V. eldest son of Edward IV. succeeded his father when only
twelve years old; but his bloody uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester,
caused both him and his brother to be smothered in their beds in the
Tower of London, in the second month of his reign, and before his
coronation.

RICHARD III. having dispatched his two nephews, succeeded to the
crown, and was the last King of the House of York. He was an
usurper, and his cruelty had incensed the Duke of Buckingham, his
favourite, to such a degree, that he contrived his ruin, and offered
the crown to Henry Earl of Richmond, the only surviving Prince of
the House of Lancaster, then at the court of France, on condition
that he would marry Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. in
order to unite the Houses of York and Lancaster -- Richard being
informed of the affair, ordered the Duke to be instantly beheaded
without a trial. However, this did not discourage Henry, who had
accepted the offer. He came over with a small force, and landed in
Wales, where he was born, his army increasing as he advanced. At
length having collected a body of 5000 men, he attacked King Richard
in Bosworth field, in Leicestershire, in 1485. Richard fought
bravely till he was killed in the engagement, which made way for
Henry to the crown of England.

THE
_MODERN HISTORY OF ENGLAND._
CHAP. IV.

We shall divide this branch of English history into four periods,
namely: 1. The Kings of the House of Tudor. 2. The Kings of the
Stuart family. 3. King William of the House of Orange, and Queen
Anne. 4. The Kings of the House of Hanover.

_The House of_ TUDOR.

HENRY VII. succeeded Richard III. in 1485: he obtained the crown by
force of arms, tho' he pretended a tight to it by birth; being of
the House of Lancaster. The name of his father was Edmund Tudor,
Earl of Richmond; and he married Elizabeth, the daughter of King
Edward IV. by which marriage the Houses of York and Lancaster were
united. This Prince had great sagacity, but was very cruel and
unjust. Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, and the last Prince of
the House of York, was beheaded by him for attempting his escape,
after being imprisoned from nine years old; for which cruel act
Henry's name will be hated for ever. As he grew old, he grew
covetous, and to increase his treasure, he caused all penal laws to
be put in execution. His chief instruments herein were Empsom and
Dudley, who afterwards paid dear for their extortion. He built the
chapel at Westminster which is at this day called Henry the
Seventh's. The 48 gentlemen of the privy chamber, and the band of
gentlemen pensioners, were first settled in his reign. He died at
the palace of Richmond, which he built, and left in ready money to
his successor 1,800,000l. having reigned 24 years.

HENRY VIII. born at Greenwich, in 1491, the only surviving son of
Henry VII. came to the crown in the 18th year of his age, and in
1509. He reigned for some years with great applause; but being
vitiated by Cardinal Woolsey, luxury and cruelty obscured his
virtues, and stained his former glory. He had six wives, of whom he
divorced two, and caused two to be publicly beheaded. In his reign
began the reformation; and the King was by act of parliament,
declared supreme head of the church of England. Before he fell off
from the Pope, he wrote a book against Luther. On this account Pope
Leo honoured him with the title of defender of the faith; which the
parliament made hereditary to all succeeding Kings of England. His
government was more arbitrary and severe than that of any of his
predecessors since William the Conqueror. He reigned about 38
years, died Jan. 28, 1547, and was buried in Windsor chapel.

EDWARD VI. only son of Henry VIII. succeeded his father at ten years
old; and in the six years during which he reigned, he, by the
indefatigable zeal of Archbishop Cranmer, made a great progress in
the reformation. This good Prince founded our two famous hospitals,
called Christchurch and St. Thomas, one in the city of London, the
other in the suburbs. This reign is memorable for the discovery of
the north-east passage to Archangel, made by Richard Chalinour, till
then unknown, and since become the common passage from Asia into
Europe. Edward reigned but six years, and was buried at
Westminster.

MARY, eldest daughter of Henry VIII. by his first wife, succeeded
her half brother Edward VI. She restored the Roman Catholic
Bishops, and commenced a hot persecution against the protestants; in
which Archbishop Cranmer, and six other Bishops, were burnt alive.
In her reign, Calais was taken by the French, after it had been in
our possession 200 years; and the same year, which was 1558, she
died of grief for the loss of that city. With her life ended a
reign, begun, continued, finished in blood, and happy in nothing but
its short duration. She was buried at Westminster.

ELIZABETH, daughter of Henry VIII. by Anna Bullen, his second wife,
succeeded her half-sister Mary. She proved an excellent Queen, the
glory of her sex, and admiration of the age she lived in. She was
crowned at Westminster, Jan. 15, 1558. In her time the protestant
religion was again restored. She humbled the pride of Spain, both
in Europe and America. Memorable is the year 1588, for the Spanish
invasion attempted by King Philip, with his invincible armada; the
greatest part of which was destroyed by the English fireships and a
providential storm. The very names of our chief commanders, Howard,
Norris, Essex, Drake, and Raleigh, struck a terror in her enemies.
They took and burnt several places in Spain, particularly Cadiz and
the Groyne; intercepted their plate fleets, and reduced that haughty
monarch so low, that he has never since recovered it. This Queen
quelled the two rebellions of O'Neal and Tir-Owen in Ireland. She
protected the new republic of Holland, and the protestants of
France. She commanded the ocean, which spread her fame around the
globe, and made her name respected every where. With much
reluctance she signed the dead warrant [sic] for the execution of
Mary Queen of Scots, charged with high treason. She grieved much
for the death of the Earl of Essex, whose fall was owing to her
favour, and survived him only two years. In her reign the two
English inquisitions were erected, I mean the Star-Chamber, and the
High Commission Court, which grew oppressive, and the judges so
arbitrary, that they were suppressed by an act of Charles I. She
had a peculiar taste for learning, which flourished in her reign.
She spoke five or six different languages, translated several books
from the Greek and French, and took great pleasure in the study of
mathematics, geography, and history. She died in 1603, in the 45th
year of her reign, and the 70th year of her age, leaving her kinsman
James VI. of Scotland, her successor.

_The_ STUART FAMILY.

JAMES I. of England, arrived at London May 7, 1603, and the feast of
St. James following was fixed for his coronation. In 1604, Nov. 5,
the powder plot was discovered, the memory whereof has been hitherto
religiously observed. Among the remarkable things of this reign,
may be reckoned the two visits his Majesty received from Christian
IV. King of Denmark, whose sister Ann was King James's consort: the
creation of a new order called Baronets, next to a Baron, and made
hereditary: the fall of Lord Chancellor Bacon, and of Sir Walter
Raleigh, at the instigation of the Spanish Ambassador: the office of
the master of the ceremonies was first established. As to the
character of this Prince, it must be confessed, that he was too much
of a scholar, and too little of the soldier. Though he was brought
up in the Scotch presbytery, he thought episcopacy so necessary for
the support of his crown, that he often used to say, _No Bishop, No
King_. He died at Theobalds, March 27, 1625, in the 23rd year of
his reign, and 59th year of his age. Thus ended a peaceable but
inglorious, a plentiful but luxurious reign, to make room for
another more turbulent and tragical.

CHARLES I. the only son of King James, succeeded next: he was born
at Dumferling, in Scotland, 1600, and crowned at Westminster, 1625.
His crown may be called a crown of thorns, as his reign ended in
blood. He married Henrietta, daughter to Henry IV. King of France,
who was bigotted to the catholic religion, and gained the ascendancy
over him. His wonderful compliance with the Queen caused him to act
in many respects contrary to the laws of the kingdom, and his
unbounded favour to the Duke of Buckingham, incensed the people to
that degree, that this favourite was afterwards stabbed by Felton,
merely for the public good. These, and such like weaknesses, made
him continually at variance with the parliament, which at last broke
out into a civil war. Several battles were fought between the
royalists and republicans or rumps. The King was taken prisoner by
the Scots, who sold him to the parliament for 200,000l. Hereupon
the parliament erected a high court of justice, and gave them power
to try the King; and though the generality of the people were
against such arbitrary proceedings, yet they arraigned him of
high-treason. The King maintained his dignity, and refusing to
acknowledge the authority of these pretended judges, had sentence of
death passed upon him, and was accordingly beheaded on a scaffold
erected for that purpose, before the palace, Jan. 30, 1648. In this
reign two great ministers, viz. Archbishop Laud, and the Earl of
Strafford, were beheaded.

CROMWELL, one of the most considerable members of the high court who
condemned King Charles, was now sent to subdue Ireland. After which
he marched against the Scots, who had taken up arms in favour of the
late King. The Dutch also, who had sent a fleet to assist the King,
having met with many losses and disappointments, sued for peace,
which Cromwell sold them at an exorbitant price. Now Cromwell was
made Lord Protector to the British dominions, and acted with the
same authority as if he had been King. He was a terror both to
France and Spain, and died Sept. 3, 1658. His son indeed succeeded
to that high station, which his father filled with universal
applause; but having neither an equal share of ambition, nor a head
turned for government, modestly resigned to the right heir
CHARLES II. son of Charles I. succeeded his father, but was kept
from the crown above eleven years, during which time England was
reduced to a commonwealth. The King was at the Hague when his
father was beheaded. But on his yielding to some conditions imposed
on him by the kirk of Scotland, he was received by the Scots, and
being crowned at Scoon, they sent an army with him into England to
recover that kingdom; which being totally defeated at Worcester, he
wandered about for six weeks, and made his escape to France, then
to Spain, but without any hopes of restoration, till the death of
Oliver Cromwell: when a free parliament, having met in April 1660,
voted the return of King Charles II. as lawful heir to the crown.
The power of the Rump Parliament, by the conduct and courage of
General Monk, had been on the decline for some time, and the King's
interest greatly increased, especially in the city of London, where
he was proclaimed May 8. He landed at Dover, and made a most
magnificent entry, May 29, 1660, being his birthday; and the 23d
[sic] of April following, being St. George's day, he was crowned at
Westminster with great state and solemnity. Among the remarkable
things of this reign, we may reckon the parting with Dunkirk to
France for a paltry sum; the blowing up Tangier in the Streights,
after immense sums had been expended to repair and keep it; the
shutting up the Exchequer when full of loans, to the ruin of
numerous families; the two Dutch wars, which ended with no advantage
on either side, but served only to promote the French interest; the
great plague with which this nation was visited during the first
Dutch war; the fire of London that happened soon after; and the
Popish plot, for which many suffered death. On the 2d of Feb. 1684,
the King fell sick of an apoplexy; he died four days after, in the
37th year of his reign, and was privately buried at Westminster.

JAMES II. succeeded his brother Charles, but proved very unfortunate
to himself and his people, on account of his zeal for the Romish
religion. He invaded the rights of the universities, and made
Magdalen College in Oxford a prey to his violence. He sent seven
bishops as criminals to the tower, who upon trial were honourably
acquitted. Father Peters, a Jesuit, and several Popish Lords, sat
in the Privy Council, and some Popish Judges on the bench. The
Pope sent a Nuncio from Rome, who was suffered to make his public
entry in defiance of our constitution. These barefaced practices
made the Protestant party think it high time to check the growth of
popery. Hereupon the Prince of Orange was requested to vindicate
his consort's right, and that of the three nations. In the
beginning of this reign the Duke of Monmouth was proclaimed King in
the West, in opposition to King James; but his party being defeated,
he was beheaded July 15, 1685. Judge Jeffries was afterwards sent
by the King to try those who had assisted the Duke, of whom he
hanged no less than 600, glorying in his cruelty, and affirming,
that he had hanged more than all the Judges since William the
Conqueror. The Chevalier St. George was born July 10, 1688, two
days after the bishops were imprisoned. The Prince of Orange landed
at Torbay Nov. 5, and King James abdicated the crown, and went over
to France, Dec. 23. Hereupon an interregnum ensued till the 13th of
February, 1688-9, when William and Mary, Prince and Princess of
Orange, were offered the Crown, and accepted it.

_The House of_ ORANGE.

WILLIAM III. and MARY II. succeeded James II. upon the vote of the
Convention. The day after their arrival in London, which was Feb.
13, 1688-9, they were seated under a canopy of state in the
Banqueting-house, and both Houses of Convocation waited upon them,
proffering them the crown in the names of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and the Commons, assembled at Westminster: Accordingly
they were proclaimed King and Queen of Great-Britain the following
day, and solemnly crowned at the Abbey on the 21st of April.
Several plots were formed against the King, but all of them proved
abortive. He carried out a war with France, and with King James's
party in Ireland, for nine years successively, till at last France
was obliged to acknowledge him lawful King of Great-Britain, in the
peace of Ryswic, 1697. He died March 8, 1701, aged 51, after he had
survived his consort Mary Stuart, daughter to James II. five years,
who died Dec. 21, 1696, and whose funeral was performed with great
elegance and solemnity. July 2, 1700, William Duke of Gloucester,
the only surviving issue of Princess Anne of Denmark, departed this
life at Windsor, aged twelve years. And King James died at St.
Germains in Sept. 1721.

ANNE, second daughter to James II. succeeded King William, whose
death was joy to France, but a great misfortune to England. Anne
was born Feb. 6, 1664, and married George Prince of Denmark, who was
High Admiral of England, and a happy assistant to her in steering
the ship of state. She was crowned Queen of Great-Britain April 23,
1702. On the 4th of May following war was proclaimed at London,
Vienna, and the Hague, against France and Spain. The success of
this war is worthy admiration [sic], and almost incredible. The
conquest of the Spanish Guelderland, the Electorate of Cologn [sic],
and the Bishopric of Liege; the prodigious victory over the French
and Bavarians at Blenheim, under the surprising conduct of the Duke
of Marlborough; the retaking of Landau; the conquering all the
estates of the Duke of Bavaria in Germany; the forcing the French
and Bavarians out of their lines in Brabant, which was deemed a
thing impracticable; the battle of Ramillies; the victory at
Oudenard; the taking of Lisle and Tournay; the defeat of the French
army at Blarenies; the reducing of Mons, &c. &c. are such events as
will render her Majesty's reign famous to all posterity. If we look
towards Spain, how bold and successful was our attempt upon Vigo,
where we took and destroyed their whole plate fleet, both men of war
and others, to the amount of 38 sail, of which not one escaped: Did
we not also take Gibraltar with a small force in one morning, and
keep possession of it against the joint strength of France and
Spain? Barcelona likewise being taken by the English and Dutch,
under the conduct of the Earl of Peterborough, was soon after
besieged by King Philip with a great army, which was soon forced to
a shameful retreat into France. Hereupon Catalonia, Arragon,
Valencia, and other provinces, submitted to Charles III. by the
influence of her Majesty's arms. Who could have expected the dismal
turn of the affairs of France and Italy, which happened in 1707, by
the powerful interest of England? A numerous army of French and
Spaniards were destroyed before the walls of Turin, by the Duke of
Savoy and Prince Eugene. Thus Piedmont was abandoned, the Mantuan,
the Milanese, the Modenese, Parmasan, and Montferrat, yielded up.
This Queen also brought about the strict union between England and
Scotland, after sundry fruitless attempts of the same kind for a
century past. In short, the successes of her reign justly
denominate her one of the most triumphant Monarchs of former ages,
and her piety and virtue will ever be acknowledged by the British
nation. The four last years of Queen Anne's reign were attended with
much perplexity, which was owing to her Ministers, who prevailed
upon her to consent to the peace of Utrecht; and, 'tis said, her
death was occasioned by her ill conduct, which she laid too much to
heart. She died Aug. 1, 1714; and in her the succession of the
Stuart line ended.

_The House of_ HANOVER.

GEORGE I. who was heir-apparent to the crown of Great-Britain on the
death of Queen Anne, and which had been confirmed to him some years
before by various Acts of Parliament, and by a special article in
the peace of Utrecht, was born 1666, and proclaimed King the very
day Queen Anne expired. He landed at Greenwich Sept. 18, 1714, and
was crowned Oct. 20. A thorough change in the ministry was made on
his accession, wherein he distinguished his friends from his
enemies. Among the latter the chief were the Duke of Ormond, the
Earl of Oxford, and the Viscount Bolingbroke, who were deemed to be
firmly attached to the interest of the Pretender. In 1715 a plot
was supposed to be brooding in the West, where several gentlemen
were suspected of having a design to bring in the Pretender, and to
place him on the throne of his ancestors. He had already been
proclaimed King of Scotland, by the Earl of Mar, against whom the
Duke of Argyle marched. On the 13th of November they came to a
decisive battle near Dumblain, where the rebels were defeated, and
put to flight. At the same time a body of 5000 rebels assembled at
Preston in Lancashire, headed by the Earl of Derwentwater, of whom
General Wills, who commanded some of his Majesty's troops on the
borders of Scotland, being informed, he marched directly against
them, and obliged them to surrender prisoners of war. They were
afterwards sent up to London, and many of the ringleaders tried and
condemned. Among these were the Earls of Derwentwater and Kenmure,
who were beheaded on Tower-Hill; several others were executed at
Tyburn, and the remainder pardoned. Some other conspiracies were
formed against the King's person; but, by timely discovery,
prevented from being carried into execution. Aug. 2, 1718, the
quadruple alliance was signed between their Imperial, Christian, and
Britannic Majesties; and the Spanish fleet was destroyed in the
Mediterranean by the English. In 1720 Spain acceded to the
quadruple alliance, and a fleet was sent into the Baltic in favour
of Sweden. This year was also remarkable for the South-Sea scheme,
by which many families were deluded and entirely ruined; and the
government was obliged to interpose, to prevent the ill consequences
of the people's despair. On enquiry into the affair it appeared,
that besides stock-jobbers and directors some persons of distinction
were concerned in it. This fatal stroke to the British trade was in
some measure remedied by the assiento contract, concluded at Madrid
in 1722. In the same year, the funeral of the Duke of Marlborough,
who, since the accession of King George, had been restored to the
honours he so justly deserved, was solemnized with great pomp. In
1723, a conspiracy for raising an insurrection was discovered;
hereupon the Duke of Norfolk, Lord North and Grey, the Bishop of
Rochester, and Counsellor Layer, were taken into custody; after a
long trial the Bishop was banished, and Layer was hanged. In 1724,
the Ostend East-India Company was established. In 1725 the Hanover
treaty was agreed to, between France, Great-Britain, and Prussia.
June 11, 1727, George I. died at Osnaburgh, in the very chamber
where he was born, in the 67th year of his age, and the 13th year of
his reign.

GEORGE II. was proclaimed as soon as as the news of his father's
death came to London, and his coronation was solemnized in October
following. The new Parliament met on the 2d of January, and chose
for their Speaker Arthur Onslow, Esq. and loyal and affectionate
addresses were presented to the King by both houses. The land
forces were fixed at 22,950 men, and the number of seamen at
15,000. An enquiry was made into the state of the public gaols,
and from this it appeared that great cruelties and oppressions had
been exercised on the prisoners, particularly on Sir William Rich,
Baronet, who was found in the fleet prison loaded with irons, by
order of the Warden. For these and the like barbarities, Thomas
Bambridge, the Warden, and several of his accomplices, were
committed to Newgate. In May, 1729, his Majesty declared his
intentions of visiting his German dominions, and leaving the Queen
as Regent. His design in going to Germany was to compromise some
differences that had lately arisen between the Regency of Hanover
and the King of Prussia; and about this time the Duke of
Mecklenburgh was deposed by the Emperor, for his cruelty, tyranny,
and oppression. By the fall of Emperors and Kings it is that we
learn the Omnipotence of the Almighty, whose arm strengthens and
supports the crown of the righteous and takes away the kingdom from
unjust Princes. About this time great licentiousness prevailed
among all ranks of people, particularly among those of the lower
class, who indulged themselves in every kind of wickedness; and
among other methods of injuring their fellow subjects, circulated
incendiary letters, demanding sums of money of certain individuals,
on pain of reducing their houses to ashes; this species of villainy
had never been known before in England. In the course of the summer
seven Indian Chiefs were brought over to England. In 1731 a duel
was fought in the Green Park, between Sir William Pulteney and Lord
Hervey, on account of a remarkable political pamphlet. Lord Hervey
was wounded, and narrowly escaped with his life. The Latin tongue
was abolished in all law proceedings, which were ordered for the
future to be in English. Rich. Norton, Esq. of Southwick, in
Hampshire, left his estate of 600l. per annum, and a personal estate
of 60,000l. to be disposed of in charitable uses by the Parliament.
One Smith, a book-binder, and his wife, being reduced to extreme
poverty, hanged themselves at the same time, and by common consent,
after having made away with their only child.

On the 27th of April, 1736, his Royal Highness Frederic, Prince of
Wales, espoused Augusta, sister to the Duke of Saxe Gotha. In the
course of this year a remarkable riot happened at Edinburgh,
occasioned by the execution of one Wilson, a smuggler. Porteus,
captain of the city guard, a man of a brutal disposition, and
abandoned morals, being provoked by the insults of the mob,
commanded his soldiers to fire upon the crowd, by which precipitate
orders several innocent persons were killed; Porteus was tried and
condemned to die, but obtained a reprieve from the Queen, who was
then Regent. The mob, however, were [sic] determined to execute the
sentence; they accordingly rose in a tumultuous manner, forced open
the prison doors, dragged forth Porteus, and hanged him on a dyer's
pole; after which they quietly dispersed. On the 24th of May,
1738, the Princess of Wales was delivered of a Prince, who was
christened by the name of George, now our most gracious Sovereign.
One Buchanan, a sailor, who had been condemned for murder, was cut
down from the gallows by his companions, who actually brought him to
life, and carried him off in triumph.

War was declared in form against Spain, at London and Westminster,
Oct. 23, 1739. The same year Admiral Vernon destroyed Porto Bello,
and the March following demolished Fort Chagre. In 1740 there was a
severe and lasting frost, which extended all over Europe, and
occasioned a fair to be kept on the River Thames. In 1741 Admiral
Vernon, with a strong fleet, joined with General Wentworth, who had
a considerable number of forces under his command, made an
unsuccessful attempt on Carthagena [sic]; the greater part of the
land forces being either killed or cut off by an epidemical
distemper. In 1742, Captain Middleton made a fruitless attempt to
discover the North West passage into the South Seas. The year
following the battle of Dettingen was fought. There was also this
year a bloody engagement before Toulon, between the English fleet
and that of the French and Spaniards; when that brave commander
Captain Cornwall was killed in the Marlborough, after a most
resolute and surprising resistance. Commodore Anson returned to
England, having made a voyage round the globe; and war was mutually
declared between England and France.

In 1745 the battle of Fontenoy was fought, in which the French had
the advantage, which was followed by the taking of Tournay. A
rebellion broke out in Scotland; the rebels defeated Sir John Cope,
at Preston Pans, came forward into England, took Carlisle, and
marched to Derby, from whence they were obliged to make a
precipitate retreat, being closely pursued by the Duke of
Cumberland, who retook Carlisle. When the rebels were returned
into Scotland, they defeated the King's forces under General Hawley,
near Falkirk, and laid siege to Stirling, but raised it on the
Duke's approach. This year Cape-Breton was taken by Admiral
Warren. In 1746 the memorable battle of Culloden, in Scotland, was
fought, wherein the rebels were totally destroyed: The Earls of
Balmerino and Kilmarnock, with Mr. Ratcliff, brother to the late
Earl of Derwentwater, were taken prisoners, and beheaded on
Tower-Hill; as was Lord Lovat in the year following. Now also the
French took all Dutch Flanders, and there was a battle between them
and part of the allied army, after which the latter retreated under
the cannon of Maestricht. Admirals Anson and Warren, after a hot
engagement, took several French men of war in the Mediterranean,
among which was the ship in which their Admiral sailed. In 1748 a
Congress was held at Aix-la-Chapelle for a general pacification, and
the articles of peace therein agreed to were signed in April.
A Bill was passed for the encouragement of the British herring
fishery; and a proclamation issued for inciting disbanded soldiers
and sailors to settle in Nova Scotia. Mr. Pelham now lowered the
interest of money in the funds, first to three and a half per cent.
afterwards to three. The importation of iron from America was
allowed; and the African trade laid open.

In the year 1752, the French spirited up the Indians against our
colonies of Nova Scotia, and built a chain of forts on the back of
our American settlements. This occasioned a new war, carried on
with great cruelty in those parts. Monckton drove the French from
their encroachments in Nova Scotia; and General Johnson gave them a
defeat; but Braddock, through his own rashness, was defeated and
slain. The English took many ships from the enemy, without
declaring war.

In 1756, the Hessians and Hanoverians were brought over, to the
number of ten thousand. Presently after Minorca was taken by the
French; and Admiral Byng was shot at Portsmouth for not having
relieved it. On the 17th of May, war was declared in form, and the
King entered into a treaty with the Empress of Russia for the
security of Hanover; and afterwards into an alliance with Prussia.
This was followed by an unnatural [sic] treaty between France and
the Queen of Hungary, to which the Empress of Russia acceded. And a
war was kindled by the intrigues of France between Prussia and
Sweden; while the Elector of Saxony favoured the Austrians. The
King of Prussia therefore entered Saxony, and obliged the Saxon
troops at Pirna to surrender prisoners of war. He invaded Bohemia,
defeated the Austrian General, and gained another victory near
Prague. But attacking the Austrians at a disadvantage near Kolin,
he was defeated, and obliged to raise the siege of Prague.
The French now passed the Weser, and drove the Hanoverians before
them. They made a stand however at Hastenbeck, under the Duke of
Cumberland, where they were attacked, and forced to retreat towards
Stade, and laid down their arms in consequence of the treaty of
Closterseven.

In the East-Indies we were also successful; for, by Colonel Clive's
vigilance and courage, the province of Arcot was cleared of the
enemy, the French general taken prisoner, and the favourite Nabob,
whom we supported, was reinstated in his government. But some
months after, the Viceroy of Bengal declared against the English,
and took Calcutta by assault. Here one hundred and forty-six
persons were crowded into a narrow prison, called the Black-Hole,
where they were suffocated for want of air, only twenty-three
surviving; several of whom died by putrid fevers, after they were
set free.

The Dutch at Batavia now dispatched seven armed ships to Bengal,
having eleven hundred land forces, with orders strongly to fortify
their settlement at Chincura, and secure the salt-petre trade to
themselves. But the ships were all taken by three English
East-India ships, which were in the river, and their troops were
totally defeated at land by Colonel Ford.

Colonel Coote also took the city of Wandewash, reduced the fortress
of Carangoly, and defeated Lally. This was followed by the
surrender of the city of Arcot. Pondicherry now sustained a siege
in turn, and the French therein were reduced to feed on dogs and
cats. Eight crowns were given for the flesh of a dog. At length
the English took possession of the place. And this conquest
terminated the power of France in India.

Mr. Pitt was at the head of the English Ministry, when Louisbourg in
Cape Breton was besieged by General Amherst, and surrendered by
capitulation. The French lost a fine navy in the harbour. Fort Du
Quesne also was taken. But the operations against Crown Point and
Ticonderoga miscarried.

The year 1759 was remarkable for the conquest of Canada. The French
deserted Crown Point and Ticonderoga, which were possessed by
General Amherst. Sir William Johnson defeated them, and became
master of the Fort of Niagara. And the Admirals Saunders, Holmes,
and Durel, sailed for Quebec, attended by a land army, under General
Wolfe. In the battle which ensued, both Wolfe and Montcalm, the
chief commanders on each side, were slain, and Quebec surrendered.
In 1760 the French forces endeavoured to recover Quebec, but the
place was relieved by an English fleet under Lord Colvill.
Montreal submitted to General Amherst, and that extensive country
fell totally under the power of Great Britain; a larger territory
than ever was subject to the Roman empire. The prodigious march of
Amherst, on this occasion, can be compared only to that of Jenghiz
Can, or Tamerlane, who over-ran all Asia with their Tartars.

In Europe the operations of war were astonishing, and the great
efforts of the King of Prussia secured his safety beyond all human
expectation. Almost the whole power of the Continent was united
against him. The King of Great Britain, his only ally, seemed
inclined to forsake him. In this terrible situation he relied on
his natural subjects, and still adhered to his fortitude. Yet he
expostulated warmly, and his expostulations at last succeeded.

The French forces, and those of the Imperialists, had made a
successful campaign in the summer; yet seemed determined that the
rigour of the winter should not interrupt their proceedings. In the
depth of it, they laid siege to Leipsic, and were confident of
carrying that important city. This greatly alarmed his Prussian
Majesty. He contrived his measures so artfully, as to appear before
the place when he was least expected. Vanquished as he was, the
terror of his arms raised the siege. The French army, though
greatly superior in number, rose and retreated with precipitation.

His Prussian Majesty, not satisfied with having raised the siege of
Leipsic, followed the French army, whose fears, he imagined, would
befriend him. He came up with them near a little village, called
Rosbach. An action came on, and he obtained one of the most signal
victories recorded in history. Had not the night saved them, their
whole army had been devoted to destruction.

In another part of the empire the Austrians were again victorious,
and took the Prince of Bevern, the King of Prussia's Generalissimo,
prisoner. The King himself, in the depth of winter, made a march of
two hundred miles, and engaged the enemy in the neighbourhood of
Breslau, the capital of Silesia. He was much inferior in strength,
but his forces were disposed with such admirable judgment [sic],
that he gained a compleat [sic] victory, in which he took fifteen
thousand prisoners. Breslau itself, after the battle, surrendered
to the Conqueror, tho' it had a garrison of ten thousand men. These
successes disheartened his enemies, and raised the spirit of his
friends.

The magnanimous King of Prussia now began to fight with his enemies
upon more equal terms. He attacked them every where, was attended
for the most part with remarkable success, and rarely met with any
considerable disadvantage. He carried on the campaign throughout
the winter, escaped many dangers, was exhausted by no fatigues, nor
terrified by any numbers.

England is so happily situated, that she has little need to concern
herself with the disturbances on the Continent. Yet the people in
general at this time seemed in a disposition to encourage and assist
the German subjects of their King.

At the meeting of the Parliament, the reasonableness of engaging in
a war upon the Continent was taken into consideration, and
admitted. Liberal supplies were granted, to enable the army, now
collected in the King's Hanoverian dominions, to act with vigour, in
conjunction with the King of Prussia. Supplies were also granted to
his Prussian Majesty.

A spirit of enterprise now seemed to animate all ranks of people. A
body of British forces was sent into Germany, under the command of
the Duke of Marlborough, to assist Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick and
the Hanoverians; and who afterwards behaved with great bravery.
The English fleet in the mean time invaded France, and burnt the
French shipping at St. Malo's. It then moved towards Cherburgh, but
was obliged by the weather to return home.

On the 1st of August, 1758, the fleet under Commodore Howe, with the
transports, again set sail for Cherburgh. They landed with little
opposition from the French, and entered the town. Immense sums had
been there laid out upon the fortifications, and the harbour was one
of the strongest in Europe. The work of all this labour and expence
[sic] was now totally destroyed by the English, who found more
difficulty in demolishing than in conquering the place. All the
ships in the harbour were burnt, and a contribution raised upon the
town.

On the 16th of August, the British fleet and army having remained in
France unmolested for ten days, set sail for Cherburgh, and carried
off all the brass cannon and mortars taken there.

The English troops landed again in the Bay of St. Lunar, in the
neighbourhood of St. Malo, but found it impracticable to make any
impression upon the place. While the troops were ashore the
Commodore found himself obliged, from the danger of the coast, to
move up to the Bay of St. Cas, about three leagues to the westward;
while the army marched over land to the same place, where they all
embarked, except the last division, consisting of the grenadiers of
the army, and the first regiment of guards. These were attacked by
the Duke d'Aiguillon, Governor of Brittany, at the head of twelve
battalions, and six squadrons of regulars, besides two regiments of
militia, against whom, though they made a most gallant resistance,
about six hundred of them were killed, and four hundred taken
prisoners, not being able to reach the boats.

The English had already made themselves masters of Senegal and
Goree, in Africa; and though they had now lost Minorca, yet they
remained victorious in the Mediterranean, and continued to ruin the
French marine.

Towards the end of the year, a squadron of nine ships of the line,
with sixty transports, containing six regiments of foot, was fitting
out for the conquest of Martinico. But tho' a conquest of that
island was judged, after a slight attempt, to be impracticable, they
achieved the more important reduction of Guadaloupe.

On the 28th of July, the Hereditary Prince was detached with six
thousand men to cut off the enemy's communication with Paderborn.
And on the 29th, Prince Ferdinand advanced from his camp on the
Weser, leaving a body of troops under Wangenheim, on the borders of
that river.

The next day was fought the battle of Minden, as glorious to the
English, as those of Cressy and Agincourt had been to their
ancestors. The centre of the French was entirely composed of horse,
who attacked six English regiments, supported by two battalions of
Hanoverian guards. These sustained the whole shock of the battle,
and, to the amazement of the German General himself, obtained a
compleat victory. The French lost seven thousand men, and the
English twelve hundred.

The French were greatly disappointed in their views by sea this
year. Thurot, a marine freebooter, with three ships and a
considerable body of land forces, landed in Ireland, and alarmed the
people of Carrickfergus. Putting to sea again, he was met by three
British frigates, of a force inferior to his own, and after a severe
encounter he was killed, and his ships led in triumph by the English
commanders to the Isle of Man.

A grand fleet was intended to invade England, under Marshal Conflans
and the Duke d'Aiguillon; but this fleet was ruined by Admiral Hawke
on the 20th of November.

In the year 1760, Lord George Sackville was tried by a court-martial
for his conduct in the battle of Minden, and declared incapable of
serving his Majesty for the future in any military capacity
whatever; he was however afterwards raised to the highest civil
employments, being secretary of state to George III. and having a
considerable share in those unfortunate councils, which severed for
ever thirteen provinces from the crown of England. On the 5th of
May, Lawrence Shirley, Earl Ferrers, was hanged at Tyburn for the
murder of Mr. Johnson, his steward. On the 25th of October, between
seven and eight o'clock in the morning, died King George II. in the
77th year of his age, and the 34th of his reign. He had risen at
his usual hour, called his page, drunk his chocolate, and inquired
about the wind, as if anxious for the arrival of foreign mails; soon
after which he fell speechless on the ground, and being laid on his
bed, expired in a few minutes.

GEORGE III. grandson of George II. and eldest son of the late
Frederick Prince of Wales, succeeded to the throne, and was
proclaimed King on the day after the death of his grand father. He
was married on the 8th of September, 1761, to his Queen, Charlotte,
Princess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, and they were solemnly crowned
together on the 22d of the same month.

The war was still carried on betwixt France and England, in Germany,
when Augsburgh was pitched upon by both parties as a proper place to
negociate [sic] a peace in; and, with respect to the disputes in
America, Mr. Bussey was named by the French Court to repair to
London, as Mr. Stanley was by the English to treat at Paris.
The former of these offers a memorial to the British minister,
importing that the King of Spain apprehended a new war, unless the
British court would make satisfaction to Spain for ships taken under
Spanish colours; permit the claim of Spain to a share in the
Newfoundland fishery; and destroy the English fortifications in the
bay of Honduras. This put an end to the negociation.

The French and Spanish courts now entered into a Family Compact, in
which the two Sicilies were included; the most extraordinary treaty
which this age can produce; it being a consolidation of the rights
and interests of the two crowns and their subjects in all respects,
but those relating to the Spanish American commerce.

Mr. Pitt, the British minster, gained intelligence of the family
compact, and made strong remonstrances at the council-board for an
immediate declaration of war against Spain, which were not
relished. On this Mr. Pitt resigned.

The flota arrived in the bay of Cadiz, and the Spaniards resolved on
a war with England.

January 2, 1762, his Britannic Majesty's proclamation of war against
Spain was published in London. And the King of Spain proclaimed war
against England on the 16th of the same month.

The French and Spaniards insisted upon the King of Portugal's taking
part in the war against England. He declined the invitation, and
vindicated his alliance with England.

The Spanish army marched towards the frontiers of Portugal, and all
commerce between the two kingdoms was prohibited. And war was
declared by the King of Spain against that kingdom on the 15th of
June.

Many English officers repaired to the assistance of the King of
Portugal, and were followed by large supplies of troops, artillery,
arms, provisions, and money.

A small army of English and Portuguese take the field. Count La
Lippe is sent over to command them. Brigadier Burgoyne surprizes
[sic] Valenca d'Alcantara in Spain, and destroys one of their best
regiments there. A sejeant [sic] and six men only engage a Spanish
subaltern with twenty-five dragoons, unbroken, kill six of their
men, and bring in the rest prisoners, with every horse of the
party. Soon after Brigadier Burgoyne and Colonel Lee surprize the
Spanish camp at Villa Vehla; and the Spaniards are obliged to leave
Portugal, and to make winter quarters in their own country.
On the 12th of August, his Royal Highness George Augustus-Frederick,
Prince of Wales, was born.

The English take Martinico and Granada from the French, and the city
of Havannah, in the island of Cuba, from the Spaniards. This
induces both powers to think of peace, for which a negociation was
set on foot; and the negociators on all sides having adjusted the
points in dispute between Great Britain and Portugal on the one
side, and France and Spain on the other, a definitive treaty was
signed at Paris on the 10th of Feb. 1763; by which peace was once
more restored to Europe.

By this glorious war, England acquired the large and extensive
province of Canada, East and West Florida, in America, together with
several large and valuable islands in the West Indies; among which
is the island of Granada, one of the most extensive and important
colonies belonging to the empire. This island, which produces
pine-apples, oranges, citrons, and all the most delicious tropical
fruits, is beautifully interspersed with an infinite variety of
rivers, which, with the warmth and salubrity of the climate, render
it the most pleasing situation between the tropics; it is the
residence of a number of rich planters and merchants, who have
acquired large fortunes therein, and live in the greatest splendour
and hospitality. It is not improperly called the Princess of the
isles of the Western world.

From the year 1763 to 1774, England felt all the blessings of
peace; agriculture and commerce were improved and extended; the
polite arts, such as painting and sculpture, were patronized by his
Majesty, and a royal academy instituted for the purpose, in the year
1768. We might call this the Augustine age; and Great-Britain
promised to its posterity universal empire. But the colonies of
North America revolted from their allegiance to Great-Britain in the
year 1775, and formed a congress, under the title _The Congress of
the Thirteen United Provinces_, which assumed all the powers of
government; in the following year it declared the States of America
independent of the crown and parliament of Great-Britain. The
government of France assisted them against the forces of this nation
both by sea and land; and Spain also declared war against this
country, as a diversion to its arms in favour of America. Holland
also became a party in the cause, to humble a nation which had
arrived to such a pitch of greatness; and the general struggle at
last terminated in the peace of 1783, in which the government of
Great-Britain acknowledged the Americans to be independent; in
consequence, the provinces of Canada and Nova Scotia only remain to
us, of all our immense possessions on the continent of America.

This country, in the year 1787, began to arm in favour of the Prince
Stadtholder of the Seven United Provinces, who had been driven from
his palace by a French party; but that business was terminated by
their submission to the Duke of Brunswick, who entered Holland, and
restored the former government. The Spaniards dispossessing our
settlers at Nootka Sound, in 1790, was made the pretext for
equipping a formidable armament; and though the difference with the
Spaniards was speedily settled by negociation [sic], the jealousy
entertained of the French Anarchists occasioned our Government to
keep the country in armed preparation; till the indignation
universally excited by the decapitation of the unfortunate French
King, and the invasion of Holland by the armies of the French
Republic, caused us to enter into that war, whose wide-extended
fluence has deluged the continent of Europe with blood, tumbled the
papal throne in ruins, dethroned the Kings of Naples and Sardinia,
the former of whom is however yet struggling for his rights,
annihilated the ancient Republics of Venice, Genoa, &c. &c.
extinguished the authority of the House of Orange in Holland,
endangered the very existence of the House of Austria and the
Germanic Empire, and by the invasion of the Egypt and Syria, has
even alarmed the Sultan of the Turks for the safety of his capital,
whilst the hardy bands of Russia have been called forth into action
both to defend her former inveterate foes, and to wrest the classic
ground of Italy from the gripe [sic] of the modern Vandals, the
French! Yet amid all this carnage, the horrors of the war, if we
except the enormous expenditure attending it, have scarcely been
felt in this country; two attempts of invasion by the enemy have
been frustrated; the captured fleets of France, Spain, and Holland,
have been triumphantly brought into our harbours; our own Colonies
and distant settlements have been secured, many of the most
important of those of the enemy have been taken; and the India
Company has established its power, by the complete conquest of the
kingdom of Mysore, Tippoo Sultaun having fallen in defending hispalace at
Seringapatam. But it is a remarkable feature in this war,
that after so sanguinary a contest for seven years, Peace appears,
at the close of the year 1799, more distant than it did at its
commencement.

THE HISTORY
OF THE
_PRESENT STATE OF ENGLAND._

_Its Situation._

SOUTH-BRITAIN, that is, properly speaking, ENGLAND and WALES, is
situate in the Atlantic Ocean, between two degrees east, and six
degrees odd minutes western longitude, and between 49 degrees 55
minutes, and 55 degrees 55 minutes north latitude; and being of a
triangular figure, is bounded by Scotland on the north; the German
sea, which separates it from Germany and the Netherlands, on the
east; by the English Channel, which divides it from France, on the
south; and by St. George's Channel, which separates it from Ireland,
on the west. It is 525 statute miles in length on its west side,
345 on its east side, and 340 on its south side, nearly in straight
lines; and about 100 only across the north.

_Its Air_.] Is much warmer here than in the Netherlands and
Germany, tho' under the same parallel; and, unless in the fens and
marshy grounds, it is for the most part very healthy.

There are very few mountains; the highest hills, however, are in
Wales, and in the west and north of England. The rest of the
country consists of moderate hills and vallies [sic], woodlands,
pasture and meadow grounds; extensive corn fields, and plains which
feed numberless flocks of sheep, horses, and other cattle. Though
the largest oxen, horses, and sheep, are to be met with in
Lincolnshire and Leicestershire; yet the finest breed of horses for
running and hunting are produced in Yorkshire. And besides there
are a great number of royal forests, chaces, and parks, which afford
plenty of deer and other game.

_Its Soil_.] Is either clay, or gravel, or sand; the clays produce
excellent wheat and beans; the gravel and sand, rye, barley, peas,
and oats; and of late years the light lands have been improved, and
rendered as valuable as the clays, by sowing them with turnips,
clover, saintfoin, &c. but more particularly in wet years; a wet
season, however, by no means agrees with the clay. In such years,
for the most part, there is a great scarcity of wheat; but then, to
compensate for that deficiency, there is a plenty of pasture and
other grain.

_Its Trees_.] The timber that grows in England is oak, ash, elm,
beech, and hornbeam. The walnut-tree is particularly used in
cabinets, and other curiosities of the like nature. But besides
these, there are a great number of other trees, which, though they
do not fall, indeed, under the denomination of timber, serve for
shade, ornament, and inferior uses.

In Kent there are extensive orchards, the trees whereof produce
abundance of cherries. In Devonshire and Herefordshire likewise are
vast quantities of apple-trees, the produce whereof makes far better
cider than any other county whatever can boast of.

_Its Plantations_.] In Kent, as well as Worcestershire, Surrey,
&c. are large plantations of hops; and in divers other counties, of
flax and hemp.

In Essex and Cambridgeshire are large plantations of saffron; and in
Bedfordshire there are large fields of woad or wad, for the use of
dyers.

_Its Rivers_.] Its principal rivers are, 1. The Thames, 2. The
Medway. 3. The Trent. And, 4. The Severn.

The Thames, on which the two cities of London and Oxford stand, runs
generally from west to east. This river is navigable for ships as
high as London, which is one of the largest ports in the world.
The Medway unites with the Thames near its mouth, and receives the
largest men of war as high as Chatham; where, if we except our own
arsenals at Portsmouth and Plymouth, are the finest docks, yards,
and magazines of naval stores, in Europe.

The Trent runs from the south-west to the north-east across England,
and divides it into north and south. When united with other streams
near its mouth, it is called the Humber, which discharges itself
into the German ocean.

The Severn rises from North Wales, and, running for the most part
south, falls into the Irish sea. On this river stand the two cities
of Worcester and Gloucester.

_Its Contents_.] In England and Wales there are 52 counties, 2
archbishoprics, 24 bishoprics, 2 universities, 29 cities, upwards of
800 towns, and near 10,000 parishes; in which are about seven
millions of people.

There are scarce any manufactures in Europe which are not brought to
great perfection in England.

_Its Constitution_.] England is a limited monarchy; the power of
making and altering laws, and raising taxes, being lodged in the
King, Lords, and Commons.

_Its Administration of Justice_.] This is the business of the
courts in Westminster-hall, viz. the Court of Chancery, the Courts
of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer; the courts of the
respective corporations, the sheriffs, and other inferior courts;
the last resort, in all civil cases, being to the House of Peers.

_Its Ecclesiastical Government_.] Is in the archbishops and
bishops, who administer justice in their respective courts by their
chancellors, officials, archdeacons, and other officers.

_Of the Convocation_.] Whenever a parliament is called, the King
always convokes a national synod of the clergy, to consider of the
state of the church.

The clergy of the province of Canterbury, of the generality,
assemble in St. Paul's cathedral, in London, and from thence adjourn
to the chapter-house, or Westminster.

In this province there are two houses, the upper and the lower; the
former consists of 22 bishops, of whom the archbishop is president;
the latter consists of all the deans, archdeacons, the proctors of
every chapter, and two proctors for the clergy of each diocese; in
all 166.

The archbishop of York may hold a convocation of his clergy at the
same time; but neither the one nor the other has been suffered to
enter upon business for many years, though they are always regularly
summoned to meet with every parliament, being looked upon as an
essential part of the constitution.

_Of the Parliament_.] Every parliament is summoned by the King's
writs to meet forty-eight days before they assemble. A writ is
directed to every particular lord, spiritual and temporal,
commanding him to appear at a certain time and place, to treat and
advise of certain weighty affairs relating both to church and state.
Writs also are sent to the sheriff of every county to summon those
who have a right to vote for representatives, to elect two knights
for each county, two citizens for each city, and one or two
burgesses for each borough.

Every candidate for a county ought to be possessed of an estate of
600l. per annum; and every candidate for a city, or corporation, of
300l. per annum.

The Lord Chancellor, or keeper for the time being, is always Speaker
in the House of Peers; but the Commons elect their Speaker, who must
be approved by the King.

No Roman Catholic can sit in either house; nor any member vote till
he has taken the oaths to the government.

_The ancient_ STATE _of_ ENGLAND.

Having thus given our young readers a transient idea of the present
state of South-Britain; we shall now proceed to give a succinct
account of the ancient state of England, which, in regard to its
constitution, was originally a monarchy, under the primitive
Britons; after that, a province, subordinate to the Romans; then an
heptarchical government under the Saxons; then again a kingdom in
subjection to the Danes; next after them, under the power and
dominion of the Normans; but at present, (after all the
before-mentioned revolutions,) a monarchy again under the English;
of all which we shall treat, as briefly as possible, in their proper
order.

The whole island was anciently called Albion, which seems to have
been softened from the word Alpion; because the word Alp, in some of
the original western languages, generally signifies high lands, or
hills, as this isle appears to those who approach it from the
Continent. It was likewise called Olbion, which, in the Greek
language, signifies happy; but of those times there is no certainty
in history, more than that it had the denomination, and was very
little known by the rest of the world.

As the name of Britain, however, excepting that of Albion, or
Olbion, just before mentioned, has been liable to as many
derivations as the origin of the Britons; we shall content ourselves
(for brevity's sake) with the following extract from Camden, who has
given (in our humble opinion at least) the best and most natural
derivation of the term.

"The ancient Britons (says he) painted their naked bodies and small
shields with woad of an azure-blue colour, which by them was called
Brith; on this account the inhabitants received the common
appellation from the strangers who came into the island to traffic
from the coasts of Gaul, or Germany; to which the Greeks, by adding
the word tania, or country, formed the word Britannia, or the
country of the painted men, and the Romans afterwards called it
Britannia."

Here it may be observed, that the Romans were extremely fond of
giving their own terminations to many uncivilized countries, and of
forming easy and pleasant sounds out of the harshest and most
offensive, to such elegant tongues and ears as their own.

_Their_ GOVERNMENT.

Their government, like that of the ancient Gauls, consisted of
several small nations, under divers petty Princes, apparently the
original governments of the world, deduced from the natural force
and right of paternal dominion; such were the hords [sic] among the
Goths, the clans in Scotland, and the septs in Ireland: but whether
these small British principalities descended by succession, or were
elected according to merit, is uncertain.

Their language and customs were, for the most part, the same with
those of the Gauls before the Roman conquests in that province; but
they were entirely governed in their religion and laws by their
Druids, Bards, and Eubates.

Their Druids were held in such high veneration by the people, that
their authority was almost absolute. No public affairs were
transacted without their approbation; nor could any malefactor
(though his crimes were ever so heinous) be put to death without
their consent.

Their Bardi, or Bards, were priests of an inferior order of their
Druids; their principal business being to celebrate the praises of
their heroes in verses and songs, which were set to music and sung
to their harps.

Their Eubates were a third sort of priests, who applied themselves
to the study of philosophy.

Each order of these priests led very simple and innocent lives, and
resided either in woods, caverns, or hollow trees. Their food
consisted of acorns, berries, or other mast; and their drink was
nothing but water. By this abstemious course of life, however, they
procured an universal esteem, not only for their superior knowledge,
but their generous contempt of all those enjoyments of life which
all others so highly valued, and so industriously pursued.

_The most remarkable_ TENETS _of their_ DRUIDS.

1. Every thing derives its origin from heaven.
2. Great care is to be taken in the education of children.
3. Souls are immortal.
4. The souls of men after death go into other bodies.
5. If ever the world should happen to be destroyed, it will be
either by fire or water.
6. All commerce with strangers should be prohibited.
7. He who comes last to the Assembly of the states ought to be
punished with death.
8. Children should be brought up apart from their parents, till
they are fourteen years of age.
9. There is another world; and they who kill themselves to
accompany their friends thither will live with them there.
10. All masters of families are kings in their own houses; and have
a power of life and death over their wives, children, and
slaves.

_Their_ ANCIENT STATES.

STATES. COUNTIES.
1. _Danmonii_, _Cornwall_ and _Devon_.
2. _Durotriges_, _Dorset_.
3. _Belgæ_, _Somerset_, _Wilts_, and the north part
of _Hants_.
4. _Attrebatii_, _Berks_.
5. _Regni_, _Surrey_, _Sussex_, and the south part
of _Hants_.
6. _Cantii_, _Kent_.
7. _Trinobantes_, _Middlesex_, _Hertfordshire_, & _Essex_.
8. _Iceni_, _Suffolk_, _Norfolk_, _Cambridge_, and
_Huntingdon_.
9. _Catieuchlani_, _Bucks_ and _Bedford_.
10. _Dobuni_, _Gloucester_ and _Oxford_.
11. _Silures_, _Hereford_, _Monmouth_, _Radnor_,
_Brecon_, & _Glamorgan_.
12. _Dimetæ_, _Carmarthen_, _Pembroke_, and
_Cardigan_.
13. _Ordovices_, _Flint_, _Denbigh_, _Merioneth_,
_Montgomery_, & _Carnarvon_.
14. _Cornavii_, _Chester_, _Salop_, _Stafford_,
_Warwick_, and _Worcester_.
15. _Coritani_, _Lincoln_, _Nottingham_, _Derby_,
_Leicester_, _Rutland_, and
_Northampton_.
16. _Brigantes_, _York_, _Lancaster_, _Westmoreland_,
_Cumberland_, & _Durham_.
17. _Ottadini_, _Northumberland_.

_Their general_ CHARACTER.

They were a great and glorious people, fond of liberty and property;
but peculiarly remarkable for their rigid virtue, and their
readiness to die with pleasure for the good of their country. They
long lived in a perfect state of peace and tranquility till the year
of the world 3950, at which time its monarchy, by the boundless envy
and ambition of Julius Cæsar, (when Rome was in the meridian of all
her glory) was totally subverted, and Britannia became a province
subordinatte [sic] to the Romans.

_The_ ROMAN GOVERNMENT.

Cæsar, at his first landing on the island, found it not under a sole
monarchy, but divided into divers provinces, or petty kingdoms.
Soon after having defeated Cassibelan, and taken several British
provinces, he left the island, and the Romans entirely abandoned it
for ninety years and upwards.

However, in the year of our Lord 42, Claudius Cæsar, the 5th Emperor
of Rome, sent his General Plautius, with great force, into Britain,
and following him soon after in person, subdued a great part of the
island, by which means he procured the title of Britannicus.

In the year 50, London is supposed to have been built by the Romans.
In this year Ostorius, the Roman general, defeated Caractacus, the
chief of the British Princes, and having taken him prisoner, carried
him to Rome.

The Christian religion, about this time, was first planted in
Britain.

In the year 61, the Britons, under the conduct of Boadicea, a
British Queen, destroyed 70,000 Romans.

The next year Suetonius, the Roman general, defeated the Britons,
and killed 80,000 of them upon the spot; whereupon Boadicea poisoned
herself.

In the year 63, the gospel was first preached in Britain by Joseph
of Arimathea, and eleven of St. Philip's disciples.

_The_ PERSECUTIONS _against the_ CHRISTIANS
_consequent thereupon_.

1. First persecution was begun by Nero, soon after he had burnt
the city of Rome, which was in the year 65.
2. The second, by Flavius Domitian, in the year 83.
3. The third, by Ulpius Trajan, in the year 111.
4. In the year 162, the fourth was raised by Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus, and his associate Lucius Verus.
5. The fifth was begun by Septimus Severus, in the year 193.
6. In 235, the sixth was raised by Maximinus.
7. Trajanus began the seventh in the year 253.
8. In 255, the eighth was raised by Valerianus.
9. Valerianus Aurelianus began the ninth in the year 272. And
10. Dioclesian [sic] and Maximianus carried on the tenth with the
utmost severity.

After the Romans, however, had been in the possession of Britain for
near 500 years, they left it to its ancient inhabitants again, who
being at that time sunk into the lowest state of degeneracy, were
soon after invaded by the Scots and the Picts; and trembling at the
approaching storm, they were prevailed on by Vortigern, their chief
monarch, about the year 447, to send a deputation to the Saxons, who
were the only persons (as he insinuated) capable of giving them that
aid and assistance which the unhappy situation of their affairs
immediately required. This plausible pretence of that Prince
succeeded, and one and all concurred in his opinion; and by the
resolution which they then took thereupon, they brought on the total
destruction of their country.

Ambassadors from the Britons were accordingly sent to Witigisel, the
then Saxon general, who immediately summoned an assembly to hear
what the Britons had to propose. The latter (like men in absolute
despair) offered to submit to any terms that their said assembly
should think proper, provided they did but protect and stand by them
so far in their pressing necessities, as to enable them to drive
their enemies out of their country. The proposal was approved of,
and the negociation [sic] accordingly concluded.

The terms were, that the Saxons should send 9000 men into Britain,
who were to be put into possession of the Isle of Thanet, and to be
paid and maintained likewise at the expence [sic] of the Britons.
Hengist and Horsa, both sons of the Saxon General Witigisel, who
were brave and resolute men, fit for, and fond of such an
expedition, were appointed, in the year 450, to command the Saxon
troops intended for the relief of Britain.

Tho' these two heroes arrived at Ebbesfleet, in the island of
Thanet, with 1500 men only, instead of 9000, yet they were received
with the utmost respect by Vortigern, who put them immediately,
according to promise, in full possession of that island.

As the Picts and Scots, at that time, were advancing their forces
against the Britons, Hengist joined Vortigern, and inspiring the
British troops with new courage, a battle was fought near Stamford,
in Lincolnshire, wherein the Picts and Scots were so absolutely
defeated, that they were obliged to abandon their conquests, and
retire into their own country.

Hengist had a beautiful daughter, named Rowena, with whom Vortigern
fell deeply in love, and demanded her in marriage of her father,
who, ever attentive to enlarge his dominions, refused his consent,
unless the amorous Briton would put him in possession of the whole
county of Kent. The terms were readily accepted, and the match
concluded. In short, this love-sick passion, this seemingly trivial
circumstance, occasioned the greatest revolution that had ever been
felt in Britain.

_The_ SAXON HEPTARCHY.

We shall now take a transient view of the Saxon Heptarchy,
consequent thereupon.

I. _The Kingdom of Kent_.

The first was the kingdom of Kent, founded by Hengist, in 453, and
contained only that county; being inhabited by the Jutes. It
continued 368 years, and ended in 823, having been governed by ten
of its own Kings, and seven doubtful or foreign Princes; of whom
four were Pagans and three Christians. Its principal places were
Canterbury, Dover, Rochester, Sandwich, Deal, Folkstone, and
Reculver.

II. _The Kingdom of the South Saxons_.

The second was the kingdom of the South Saxons, founded by Ella in
491, and contained the counties of Sussex and Surrey, whose
principal city was Chichester. It continued about 109 years, and
ended about the year 600; having only five monarchs, of whom two
were Pagans, and three Christians: it was mostly under the power of
the Kings of Kent, and the West Saxons.

III. _The Kingdom of the West Saxons_.

The third was the kingdom of the West Saxons, founded by Cerdic in
419; and contained Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Wiltshire,
Somersetshire, and Hampshire, with the Isle of Wight and Berkshire,
though the remains of the Britons likewise inhabited Cornwall: the
principal places were Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth,
Salisbury, Dorchester, Sherborne, and Exeter: it continued till the
Norman Conquest, being 547 years, and ended in 1066, having been
governed by 17 monarchs, during the heptarchy, of whom five were
Pagans, and 12 Christians: the last of whom was Egbert, who, in 829,
became sole monarch of England.

IV. _The Kingdom of the East Saxons_.

The fourth was the kingdom of the East Saxons, and contained
Middlesex, Essex, and part of Hertforshire; where the principal
places were London and Colchester: it was founded in 527, by
Erkenwin, and continued 220 years, ending in 747; having been
governed by 12 monarchs, of whom two were Pagans, and the rest
Christians.

V. _The Kingdom of Northumberland_.

The fifth was the kingdom of Northumberland, founded by Ina, in 547,
and contained Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, Cumberland,
Westmoreland, Northumberland, and part of Scotland, as far as
Edinburgh Frith: the principal places being York, Durham, Carlisle,
Hexham, and Lancaster: it continued 245 years, and ended in 792;
having been governed by 20 Princes, of whom four were Pagans, and
the rest Christians, whose subjects were Angles, and called the
Northumbrian Angles.

VI. _The Kingdom of the East Angles_.

The sixth was the kingdom of the East Angles, which contained
Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, with the Isle of Ely; where
the principal places were Norwich, Thetford, Ely, and Cambridge. It
was founded by Uffa in 575, and continued 218 years, ending in 792,
when it was united to the kingdom of the Mercians.

VII. _The Kingdom of the Mercians_.

The seventh and last was the kingdom of the Mercians, or the Middle
Angles, founded by Cridda in 582; and contained Gloucestershire,
Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire,
Rutlandshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Huntingdonshire,
Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, part of Berkshire, Oxfordshire,
Staffordshire, Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, and Cheshire; the
principal places being Lincoln, Nottingham, Warwick, Leicester,
Coventry, Litchfield, Northampton, Worcester, Gloucester, Derby,
Chester, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Oxford, and Bristol: it continued 292
years, and ended in 874; having been governed by 18 monarchs, of
whom four were Pagans, and the rest Christians.

_Egbert the Great, first King of England_.

In the year 829, Egbert, the 17th King of the West Saxons, became
sole monarch of all the seven kingdoms, and was crowned at
Winchester, in Hampshire, by the unanimous consent both of the
clergy and laity, King of England; and immediately afterwards a
proclamation was published, whereby it was ordered, that no future
distinctions should be kept up among the Saxon kingdoms; but that
they should all pass under the common name of England.

Though Egbert was a wise and fortunate Prince, and though the
English were a brave and numerous people, after the expulsion of the
Picts and Scots; yet no sooner was he well established on the
throne, but this island was exposed to new invasions.

In 832, the Danes, having made two descents before, landed a third
time with great force at the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent; and in some
few months afterwards at Charmouth, in Dorsetshire, with 18,000 men.
In 835, they landed again in Cornwall; but Egbert was then prepared
for them, and gave them a total defeat. They renewed their
depredations, however, in 836, but were again repulsed. Soon after
which, this Prince having reigned King of the West Saxons 36 years,
and sole monarch of England upwards of eight, died as great as he
lived, and was buried at Winchester, where he was crowned. He was
the father, in short, of the English monarchy, and therefore justly
entitled to the name of Egbert the Great.

_Ethelwulf, the Second King of England_.

Ethelwulf, the elder surviving son of Egbert, succeeded his father
in 836. Till he became a King, he had been only a priest, or, at
most, only bishop of Winchester. He obtained, however, a
dispensation from Pope Gregory IV. and assumed a secular life.
In the first year of his reign, the Danes landed at Southampton, in
Hampshire, but were routed with great slaughter. In 837, however,
they made a second descent upon Portland, in Dorsetshire, and
succeeded in their attempt.

In 838, they made another descent about Romney, in Kent, with such
success, and great slaughter, that they over-ran the country.
In short, they made fresh visits for several years afterwards
successively, for the sake of plunder only, without the least
intention of making a settlement in the kingdom.

Ethelwulf, however, in 852, assembled a numerous army, with the
assistance of his brother Athelstan, met them at Okely, in Surry
[sic]; and there, after a desperate engagement, proved so
victorious, that the slaughter of their enemies was almost
incredible.

In 855, Ethelwulf went to Rome, in order to pay a visit to the Pope
in person; and, on receiving his benediction, he not only gratified
the vanity of the papal see by his devotion, but satisfied likewise
its most avaricious expectations by his royal bounty.

In 857, after having reigned one and twenty years, he divided his
kingdom between his two eldest sons, Ethelbald and Ethelbert, and
soon after died, and was buried at Winchester.

III. [sic] _Ethelbald and Ethelbert, joint Kings of England_.

Ethelbald, whose reign was but short, and no ways remarkable, died
in 800, and was buried at Sherborne, in Dorsetshire.

_Ethelbert, the fourth King of England_.

Though Ethelbert bore an excellent character, yet he was no
favourite of fortune; for from his coronation in 860, to his death
in 866, he had one continued conflict with the Danes. He was
interred at Sherborne, near his brother.

_Ethelred, the fifth King of England_.

In 866, Ethelred, third son of Ethelwulf, succeeded to the crown: in
whose reign the Danes committed great ravages through the kingdom.
Notwithstanding, in 868, a great famine and plague happened in
England, yet those merciless and blood-thirsty Pagans the Danes, in
869, through their aversion to Christianity, set fire to the
religious houses in the city of York, murdered the monks, ravished
the nuns, and made a sacrifice of Edmund, titular King of the East
Angles, by first shooting his body full of arrows, and afterwards
cutting off his head. He was soon after interred at St.
Edmundsbury, in the county of Suffolk, from whom it has ever since
been distinguished by that name, as the manner of that Prince's
death entitled him to the honour of martyrdom.

Ethelred, after having reigned six years, was buried at Winbourn, in
the county of Dorset.

_Alfred the Great, sixth King of England_.

In the year 872, Alfred the Great (the fourth son of Ethelwulf)
succeeded his brother Ethelred, whose moral virtues endeared him so
far to his subjects, that they honoured him with the appellation of
the Father of the English Constitution. He was crowned at
Winchester.

In the year 878, the Danes settled themselves in divers parts of
England, with whom Alfred fought many battles, with various success;
but at length gave them a total overthrow at Eddington, in
Somersetshire, and not only obliged their leader Guthrun, the chiefs
of their army, and the main body of their people, to be baptized,
but afterwards to retire out of the kingdom.

This illustrious Prince, in 882, rebuilt the city of London, which
had been burnt and destroyed by the Danes in 839.

As he was an excellent scholar himself, he founded, or at least
greatly augmented, the University of Oxford.

In 893, the Danes, with 300 ships, under one Hastings, invaded
England again, but were defeated by Alfred's army, at Farnham, Surry
[sic].

In 897, a plague happened, and raged throughout the land for three
years successively.

In the year 900, Alfred died of a contraction of the nerves, after
he had lived 51 years, and reigned 29.

_Edward the Elder, seventh King of England_.

On his decease, Edward the Elder (so called to distinguish him from
Edward the Martyr, and Edward the Confessor) succeeded his father,
and was crowned at Kingston upon Thames.

This Prince was a brave warrior, and tho' invaded by the Danes, in
the year 905, he defeated them in Kent.

In the year 911, he improved the University of Cambridge, much after
the same manner as Alfred his father had augmented Oxford.

In 921, he was in the height of his glory, all the Princes in
Britain either submitting to his allegiance, or courting his favour.
He died in the 24th year of his reign, at Farringdon, in Berkshire,
and was buried at Winchester.

Tho' he had three wives, and several children, yet Ethelstan, his
son by one Egwinna, a shepherd's daughter, succeeded to his kingdom.

_Ethelstan, eighth King of England_.

He was crowned in the 13th year of his age, at Kingston upon Thames,
in the year 924.

In the year, 938, he defeated both the Danes and Scots, and made the
Princes of Wales pay him a tribute of 20 pounds of gold, 300 pounds
of silver, and 25,000 head of cattle.

The same year he caused the Bible to be translated into the Saxon,
which was then the mother tongue.

Much about this time the renowned Guy, Earl of Warwick, is said to
have encountered Colebrand, the famous Danish giant, and, after a
sharp contest, to have killed him on the spot at Winchester.

AN ACCOUNT
OF THE
SOLAR SYSTEM,
_Adapted to the Capacities of Children_.

[In the HTML version, the symbols for the planets can be seen
next to their names, except for Georgium Sidus, whose name was
later changed to Uranus.]

THE SUN, which is the fountain of light and heat, is placed in the
centre of the universe; and the several planets, namely, Luna,
(the moon); Mercury; Venus; the Earth; Mars; Jupiter; Saturn; and
Georgium Sidus; move around him in their several orbs, and borrow
from him their light and influence: on the surface of the sun are
seen certain dark spots, but what they are is not known. They
often change their place, number, and magnitude; and if they are
really in the sun's body, as to all appearance they are, we must
suppose that he moves around his axis in about twenty-five days and
six hours; otherwise those various changes and alterations cannot
be accounted for on the principles of reason and philosophy. The
daily motion of the sun from east to west is not real; for, as I
have observed before, the sun is fixed in the centre, and can have
no motion but upon its own axis, that is, of turning round in the
same space. The apparent motion, therefore, from east to west,
must arise from the true and real motion of the earth on which we
live, as I shall prove by and by. The body of the sun is so
immensely large, that his diameter or thickness is computed to be
822,145 English miles, and a million of times larger than the globe
of our earth; stupendous and amazing magnitude! which is supposed
to be all fire, and by whose beams of light the whole system of
beings about it is made visible.

The fixed stars which enamel and bespangle the concave expanse, or
canopy of heaven, by numbers and lustre, make the night beauteous
and delightful, which would otherwise be dark and horrible. The
UNIVERSE has no determinate form or figure at all; for it is every
way infinite and unlimited, and is called the MUNDANE SPACE, in
which all worlds have their place and being.

The MOON, which is the next planet, or body, we are to consider, is,
as to matter and form, not unlike our earth; for her body is uneven
and spherical. The bright portions we see in her are the more
prominent and illuminated parts of the land, as mountains, islands,
promontories, &c. to which we are obliged for the light that is
reflected to us; for the dark parts, which are supposed to be seas,
lakes, vales, &c. are incapable of reflecting any light at all.
Some of our philosopers [sic] assert, that there is an atmosphere
of air about her; and, if so, then is she subject to the wind,
clouds, rain, thunder, lightning, and other meteors, as well as the
earth, and of consequence may be inhabited by men and animals. The
diameter or thickness of the moon, is about 2175 English miles. The
moon revolves round the earth in about 27 days, 7 hours, and 43
minutes. According to the different position of the moon in her
orb, with respect to the sun and earth, she puts on different
aspects or phases, as new, horned, full, &c. And since, at the same
distance from the sun, she never appears of a different face, it is
evident that she has a diurnal motion round her own axis, which is
completed in the same time as her periodical revolution is about the
earth. So that the Lunarians, or people of the moon, (if there are
such) have their days and months perpetually of equal length.

The other planets, i.e. Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, and the Georgium Sidus,* all revolve in the same manner
about the sun as the centre of the system; and in the order from the
sun as they are named in the following figure of the UNIVERSE.

* The Georgium Sidus is a later discovery, having two moons;
without the orb of Saturn, and not represented in the following
scheme, for want of room.

[Illustration: woodcut of the Universe, as understood at that time]

The real motion of them all is from west to east, though sometimes
they appear to move from east to west; and at other times seem not
to move at all. And hence they are said to be direct, retrograde,
and stationary. The Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn, are often eclipsed
by the interposition of their respective moons, or satellites,
between the sun and themselves; and these eclipses are sometimes
partial, sometimes total, and sometimes central. The orbit of the
earth (or the circle which the sun seems to describe round the
earth), is called the ecliptic, which is divided into twelve equal
parts, called signs, and are distinguished by the following names
and marks, [again, the symbols for the signs can be seen in the
HTML version] viz. Aries, the Ram; Taurus, the Bull; Gemini, the
Twins; Cancer, the Crab; Leo, the Lion; Virgo, the Virgin; Libra,
the Balance; Scorpio, the Scorpion; Sagittarius, the Archer;
Capricornus, the Goat; Aquarius, the Water-bearer; Pisces, the
Fishes.

There are many other things peculiar to the planets; but as they
are not within the compass of my design, I shall pass them over, in
order to speak more particularly of the earth.

_Of the_ EARTH, _considered as a_ PLANET.

THE Earth, by its revolution about the sun in 365 days, 5 hours,
and 49 minutes, makes that space of time which we call a year.

The line, which the centre of the earth describes in its annual
revolution about the sun, is called the Ecliptic.

The annual motion of the earth about the sun, is in the order of
the signs of the zodiac; that is, from west to east.

Besides its annual revolution about the sun in the ecliptic, the
earth turns round also on its own axis in 24 hours.

The turning of the earth on its own axis every 24 hours, whilst it
moves round the sun in a year, we may conceive by the rolling of a
bowl on a bowling-green; in which not only the centre of the bowl
hath a progressive motion on the green, but the bowl, in going
forward, turns round about its own axis.

The turning of the earth on its own axis makes the differences of
day and night; it being day in those parts of the earth which are
turned towards the sun; and night in those parts which are in the
shade, or turned from the sun.

The annual revolution of the earth in the ecliptic is the cause of
the different seasons, and of the several lengths of days and
nights, in every part of the world, in the course of the year.
If the diameter of the sun be to the diameter of the earth as 48 to
1, (as by some it is computed), the disk of the sun is above 2000
times bigger than the disk of the earth; and the globe of the sun is
about 100,000 times bigger than the globe of the earth.

The distance of the earth's orbit from the sun is above 20,000
semidiameters of the earth; so that if a cannon ball should come
from the sun with the same velocity it hath when discharged from the
mouth of a cannon, it would be 25 years in coming to the earth.

We shall now consider the earth in another sense, and speak of the
several divisions made by geographers.

OF THE CIRCLES,
_Which are used by_ GEOGRAPHERS _to explain_
_the Properties of the_ NATURAL GLOBE.
You may suppose the following figure to be a globe or sphere,
representing the earth. The outermost circle, marked with the
letters A, D, B, C, is called the meridian; and on this circle the
latitude is reckoned, either from C towards A or B, or else from D
towards A and B.

The equator is the line C, D, which upon the globe is a circle, and
is sometimes called the equinoctial: Upon this circle the degrees
of longitude are reckoned, beginning at C, and counting all round
the globe till you come to C again; and O is the middle of the world
between A and B, which are the two poles thereof: A representing the
North Pole, B the South Pole.

The circles E F, and G H, are called the Tropics, beyond which the
sun never moves.

[Illustration: Woodcut showing Tropics, Ecliptic, Poles, etc.,
marked with the letters A-I, K, L, M, O]

The line G F, which upon the globe is a circle, is termed the
Ecliptic, in which the sun is perpetually moving from G to F, and F
to G again. When the sun is in O, he is then in the Equinoctial,
and the days and nights are of equal length to all the world, except
under the Poles. When he is at F, which is called the Tropic of
Cancer, days are at the longest to all those who dwell under the
North side of the Equator. When the sun is at G, which is called
the Tropic of Capricorn, days are at the longest to all those
dwelling on the South side of the Equator, and at the shortest to
those on the North side.

The circles LM and I K are called the Polar Circles, because to
those inhabitants who dwell under these circles, the longest day is
24 hours; so that the sun sets not, but moves quite round their
horizon. Thus much may suffice for the circles of the sphere; only
note this, that every circle, whether great or small, is divided
into 360 equal parts or degrees; so that a degree is no certain
measure, but only the three hundred and sixtieth part of the circle;
and these degrees are again supposed to be divided into sixty equal
parts, which are called minutes. Now, therefore, if a circle which
will reach round the earth be divided into 360 parts, then one of
those parts is equal to a degree, which was looked upon by the
ancients to be equal to sixty miles, and thus one mile was exactly
equal to a minute.

_Of the_ ZONES.

The Zones are certain tracts of land, whose boundaries are made by
the circles before described, and are five in number, namely, the
Torrid Zone; the Northern Temperate Zone; the Southern Temperate
Zone; the Northern Frigid Zone; the Southern Frigid Zone. 1. The
Torrid Zone contains all that space of land which lies between the
circles E F and G H; for to those inhabitants who dwell betwixt the
said limits, the sun, at some time of the year, becomes vertical,
i.e. right over their heads. 2. The Northern Temperate Zone is all
that space betwixt the circle E F, named the Tropic of Cancer, and
the line L M, called the Northern Polar Circle; and to all the
inhabitants within this compass, the sun, when in their several
meridians, casteth their shadows directly north. 3. The Southern
Temperate Zone is that tract of land which lies between the circular
line G H, called the Tropic of Capricorn, and the Southern Polar
Circle I K. To all the inhabitants within this space, the sun, when
in their meridian, casteth their shadows full south. 4. The
Northern Frigid Zone, is that part of the earth which lies between
the Northern Polar Circle L M, and the North Pole at A; to all
these inhabitants the sun, at a certain season, and when in the
Tropic of Cancer, does not set, but moves in view quite round the
horizon, casting their shadows every way. 5. The Southern Frigid
Zone is that part of the earth which lies between the Southern Polar
Circle I K, and the South Pole at B. To all the inhabitants within
these limits, the sun, when in the Tropic of Capricorn, sets not,
but moves in sight as before, casting their shadows also every way.

_Of the_ CLIMATES.

The Climates are reckoned from the Equator to the Poles; under the
Equator the day is always 12 hours long, and under the Polar Circles
the longest day is 24 hours. Geographers make 24 climates between
the Equator and each of the Polar Circles, because there are 24 half
hours difference between the length of day under the Equator, and
the longest day under the Polar Circle; so that any place where the
longest day in that place is half an hour longer or shorter than
that of another place, is of a different climate. The first climate
begins at the Equator; the second where the longest day is 12 hours
and a half; the third where it is 13 hours, and so on. There are in
all 48 climates of hours, that is, four [sic] from the Equator to
the Polar Circle, either Northward or Southward. Besides the
aforesaid 48 climates of hours, there are 12 more, called climates
of months, that is, six from each of the Polar Circles to the
Poles. They are called climates of months, because the longest day
in the end of the first climate is one whole month, the longest day
at the end of the second two whole months, and so on.

_Of_ LAND _and_ WATER.

The whole globe of the earth is called terraqueous, consisting of
two bodies, namely, Land and Water, which may be divided in the
following manner, viz.

LAND into Continents, Islands, Peninsulas, Isthmuses, Promontories,
Mountains.

1. A Continent is a large tract of land, comprehending divers
countries, kingdoms, and states, joining altogether, without any
separation of its parts by water, of which we have four, viz.
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.

2. An Island is a part of land encompassed round with water.

3. A Peninsula, called also Chersonesus, is a piece of dry land
every where environed with water, save only a narrow neck of land
adjoining the same to the Continent.

4. An Isthmus is that narrow neck of land which joins the
Peninsula to the Continent, by which people go from one to the
other.

5. A Promontory is a high piece of land, stretching out into the
sea, the extremity whereof is commonly called a Cape.

6. A Mountain is a rising part of dry land, overtopping the adjacent
country, and appearing the first at a distance.

WATER is divided into Oceans, Seas, Gulfs, Straits, Lakes, and
Rivers.

7. Ocean is a vast collection of water, environing a considerable
part of the Continent.

8. The Sea is a smaller body of water, intermixed with Islands, and
for the most part environed with land.

9. A Gulf is a part of the Sea, every where encompassed with land,
except only one passage, whereby it communicates with the main
ocean.

10. A Strait is a narrow passage, either joining a Gulf to the
neighbouring Sea or Ocean, or one part of the Sea or Ocean to
another.

11. A Lake is a small collection of deep standing water, surrounded
by land, and having no visible communication with the Sea.

12. A River is a considerable stream of fresh water, rising out of
one, or various fountains, continually gliding along in one or more
currents, till it empties itself into the sea or ocean.

OF THE
FOUR QUARTERS OF THE WORLD,
AND FIRST OF EUROPE.

_A Swedish Man and Woman in their proper_
_Dresses_.

[Illustration: Woodcut of Swedish couple]

_An Historical and Geographical Account of_
SWEDEN, DENMARK, _and_ NORWAY.

SWEDEN is one of the Northern Kingdoms, great and populous; is
bounded on the North by Lapland, Norway, and the Frozen Sea; on the
East by Muscovy; on the South by the Baltic Sea; on the West by
Denmark and Norway. It is divided into six parts, contains
seventeen cities, the capital is Stockholm; the air is cold, but
wholesome; it abounds with all the necessaries of life; the
inhabitants are long-lived; they trade in brass, lead, iron,
steel, copper, skins, furs, deals, oak, pitch, and tar: They are
civil, and so industrious that a beggar is not to be seen among
them; good soldiers, strong and healthy. It was formerly elective,
but now hereditary. It is governed by a King and the States, which
consist of the nobility, clergy, and the merchants; their religion
is Lutheranism, and dialect Teutonic and German.

_An Account of_ DENMARK.

DENMARK lies to the North of England, is but a small kingdom,
Copenhagen is the metropolis. The King of Denmark is also Sovereign
of Norway, Greenland, Fero, &c. The air is very cold, the country
fruitful; there is store of deer, elks, horses, cattle, &c. also
fish, especially herrings; their commodities are chiefly tallow,
timber, hides, and rigging for ships: The crown is hereditary, the
government entirely in the power of the King, and their religion the
same as in Sweden.

_An Account of_ NORWAY.

NORWAY is a kingdom on the North-West shore of Europe, belongs to
the King of Denmark, is separated from Sweden by a ridge of
mountains always covered with snow; the chief town is Drontheim. It
is mountainous, barren, and extremely cold, therefore but thinly
peopled; they are a plain people, of the same religion as those of
Denmark. The produce of the country is good for timber, oak, pitch,
tar, copper, and iron; and their seas abound with fish, which the
inhabitants dry upon the rocks without salt, and sell them to most
nations in Europe, to victual their ships in long voyages. They
have very little corn grown in the country; and the inhabitants feed
on the flesh of bears, wolves, and foxes; and the poorer sort make
bread of dried fish ground to powder, while the better sort exchange
the commodities above-mentioned for corn, fruits, wine, and other
necessaries. Their longest day in the northern parts is two months,
and shortest in the southern about eight hours.

_A Moscovite, or Russian Man and Woman in_
_their proper Dresses_.

[Illustration: Woodcut of Russian couple]

_An account of_ MOSCOVY, _or_ RUSSIA.

MOSCOVY is the largest country in Europe, and which comprehends all
that vast country which obeys the Czar, or Czarina. It is bounded
by the Northern Ocean on the North; the rivers Oby and Tanais on the
East; the Little Tanais, the rivers Desna and Sosa, with Lesser
Tartary, on the South; Narva, Poland, Sweden, and Norway on the
West: It contains about forty provinces; is a marshy country, not
well inhabited, full of forests and rivers; the winter is long, and
very cold; they sow only rye before winter, and the other corn in
May, though their harvest is in July and August. They have plenty
of fruit, melons, fowl, and fish; and their commodities are salt,
brimstone, pitch, tar, hemp, flax, iron, steel, copper, and Russian
leather, much valued in England. They wear long beards, short hair,
and gowns down to their heels; are a mistrustful and cruel people,
cunning in trading, and deceive with impunity, it being counted
industry; naturally lazy and drunken, and lie on the ground or
benches, all excent [sic] the gentry. Until Czar Peter the Great
(who polished the people, as well as enriched and improved the
country), they were barbarous and savage; but he setting up
printing-houses and schools in his dominions, banished ignorance,
and introduced the liberal arts. Their government is hereditary and
absolute, their religion is that of the Greek church. They have a
number of clergy, and divers monasteries for friars and nuns. The
Emperor of Moscovy is called the Czar, and Empress the Czarina.

_A French Man and Woman in their proper Dresses_.

[Illustration: woodcut of French couple]

_An Historical and Geographical Account of_ FRANCE.

FRANCE is one of the finest and largest countries in Europe, lies in
the middle of the Temperate Zone, is washed by the ocean to the
west, by the Mediterranean Sea to the South, joins to the Low
Countries to the North, Germany and Italy lie to the East, and Spain
to the South. Its length and breadth is about 225 leagues each.
Its chief city is Paris; there are ten universities, and many very
stately palaces, the chief of which is that at Versailles, about
eleven miles from Paris, where their Kings used to reside. It
abounds with all the necessaries of life, which made the Emperor
Maximilian say, "That if it were possible he himself were God, his
eldest son should succeed him, and the second should be King of
France." The common people were reckoned industrious, and the
better sort very polite, well bred, extremely gay in dress, and
civil to strangers, till their late wonderful revolution destroyed
all distinctions, and involved them in a contest with the rest of
Europe; which seems to have reversed their manners, and renders it
impossible to say what will in future be the distinguishing traits
of the national character, when they shall again cultivate the arts
of peace. Their commodities are brandy, wine, salt, silks, linen
and woollen, hemp, canvas, paper, soap, almonds, olives, &c. To
take a view of the country, their fields are long and open,
intermixed with corn and vines, and every hedge so beset with choice
fruits, that eyes can hardly have fairer objects.

'Twas in this country that Master Tommy Courtly and his sister, who
went over with their papa, learnt all that good manners and genteel
behaviour, which made every body love and admire them so much at
their return home; which had such an effect on their brother Jack,
(who was a rude, ill-natured, slovenly boy), that he soon grew
better; and to prevent himself being utterly despised, and turned
out of doors, by his papa and mamma, for his undutiful behaviour, he
immediately mended his manners, and in a very little time was
beloved and admired, almost equally with his brother Tommy. It has
now, however, ceased to be the school of Europe; and as the late
extraordinary events, which brought their Monarch to the block, and
occasioned the people to declare for a Republican government, have
been attended with a total loss of trade, and the destruction of the
arts, it must be many years before travellers can again visit this
country with hope of similar advantages.

_Germans in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of German couple]

_An Account of_ GERMANY.

GERMANY is a large, fruitful, and pleasant country, which has the
title of an Empire. It is bounded on the North by the Baltic Sea,
Denmark, and the German Ocean; on the East by Hungary, Prussia, and
Poland; on the South by the Alps; on the West by the Netherlands,
Lorrain, and French Compte. It is divided into higher and lower;
its whole length is about 840 Italian miles, and breadth about 740;
the soil is very fertile, and furnishes every thing necessary; the
chief rivers are the Danube, the Rhine, Elbe, Oder, and Weser.
Tacitus, speaking of the Ancient Germans, says, "They sung [sic]
when they marched to fight, and judged of the success by the shouts
and huzzas at the onset. Their wives, as martial as themselves,
accompanied them to the war to dress their wounds, and provide them
with necessaries. They esteemed nothing so infamous as to throw
away or lose their shield. They buried the bodies of their noblemen
on a funeral pile, with their arms and horse." The Germans of our
age are laborious, simple, and brave, but ready to serve for money,
constant in their religion, true friends, open enemies.

The inventions of printing, gunpowder, and fire-arms are attributed
to them. There are above three hundred different Sovereignties in
Germany, most of which are subject to the supreme head, the Emperor,
who is chosen by the nine Electors, viz. the Archbishops of Mentz,
Triers, and Cologn; the King of Bohemia; the Duke of Bavaria; the
Duke of Saxony; the Marquis of Brandenburgh, (King of Prussia); the
Prince Palatine of the Rhine; and the Elector of Hanover, (King of
England). The Electors are the principal members of the Empire, and
absolute Sovereigns in their own dominions. Their religion, for the
greatest part, is Popery; but in several states and cities,
particularly Prussia, the Protestant prevails. The chief city is
Vienna, in the Dukedom of Austria, which is the seat of the Emperor.

_A Dutch Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Dutch couple]

HOLLAND and FLANDERS, which are called the Seven Provinces, and the
Netherlands, are inhabited by the Dutch.

This country is also in Germany, though mostly independent of the
Empire; the greatest part belongs to the Dutch, part to the French,
and part to the Emperor: Its capital city is Amsterdam, a place of
vast trade and riches. The air is moist and foggy; the country,
lying low, is naturally wet and fenny, and employed chiefly in
grazing of cattle; little corn grows there, but they import
abundance from other countries; the soil is fertile, the natural
produce is chiefly butter and cheese, in which their trade has been
great, but that of herrings the most considerable; and they had
manufactures of various kinds, carrying on a prodigious trade to
most parts of the world. They are a plain and frugal people, and
very laborious. Their form of government was very peculiar; but
their independence having been absorbed in the vortex of the French
revolution, it is uncertain what form it may assume in a short
period. Their language is a dialect of the German. The reformed
religion, according to the doctrines of Calvin, is the established
one, though all are tolerated.

_A Spanish Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Spanish couple]

_An Account of_ SPAIN.

SPAIN is separated from France by the Pyrenean Hills, and on all
other sides is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Straits of
Gibraltar, and the Atlantic Ocean. The King has the most lands of
any Prince in the world, on which account some of their predecessors
have boasted, "That the sun never sets in their dominions, as having
possessions in all the four parts of the world." He is stiled [sic]
his Catholic Majesty. His Court is different from all others, he
gives audience but one day in a week, and the rest he is shut up in
his palace, the courts of which are full of merchants' shops, and
resemble the cloisters of religious houses. The air of Spain is
pure and dry, but very hot; the soil is sandy, and mostly barren,
though where fertile not well cultivated, through the pride and
laziness of the people, to which they are much addicted; though what
they want in corn is made up in a variety of excellent fruits and
wines, of which they have great plenty. Their chief commodities are
wine, oil, fruits of various sorts, wool, lamb-skins, honey, cork,
&c. The people are grave and majestic, faithful to their Monarch,
delicate in point of honour, jealous, lascivious, and tyrants over a
vanquished enemy; look upon husbandry and the mechanical arts with
the greatest contempt. Their government is an absolute Monarchy,
and their crown hereditary as well to females as to males. Their
religion is Roman Catholic, nor is any other tolerated. Madrid is
their capital city, which stands near the middle of the country, on
top of a hill, by the little river Manzanares.

_A Portuguese Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Portuguese couple]

_An Account of_ PORTUGAL.

PORTUGAL joins to Spain, and to the East is bounded by Spanish
provinces; the capital city is Lisbon, a place of great trade and
riches, with an excellent harbour: The soil of this country is poor,
and produces but little, except wine and fruit. The nobility and
gentry are magnificent and hospitable, but the common people much
addicted to thieving. It is governed by its own King, who is by
much the richest crowned head in Europe. His government is
absolute, and crown hereditary. The established religion is Popery,
though others are tolerated, but are under a necessity of being very
reserved and cautious, for fear of the inquisition, which is a court
or tribunal for the examination and punishment of offenders, whom
they torture in the most cruel manner.

Lisbon, the capital city, as before-mentioned, is about six miles in
length, built on seven hills, surrounded with a wall, on which are
77 towers, and 36 gates; is reckoned to contain 30,000 houses, and
150,000 inhabitants, (whose foreign trade is equal to any city in
Europe, except London and Amsterdam.) There is a cathedral, 37
parish churches, 23 cloisters, several handsome squares, and
sumptuous buildings, the largest of which is the King's palace.
Such was the state of this opulent city till the 1st of November,
1755, when the greatest part of it was reduced to a heap of ruins by
a most tremendous earthquake, which was followed by a terrible
fire. A gentleman who was present, giving an account of the
calamity to his friend in England, says, "It is not to be expressed
by human tongue, how dreadful and awful it was to enter the city
after the disaster; in looking upwards one was struck with terror,
in beholding frightful ruined fronts of houses, some leaning one
way, some another; then, on the contrary, one was struck with horror
in beholding dead bodies, by six or seven in a heap, crushed to
death, half buried, half burnt; and if one went through the broad
squares, nothing to be met with but people bewailing their
misfortunes, wringing their hands, and crying _the world was at an
end_: In short, 'twas the most lamentable scene that eyes could
behold."

The King, in his letter on the melancholy occasion to the King of
Spain, concludes thus: "I am without a house, in a tent, without
servants, without subjects, without money, and without bread."

_An Italian Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Italian couple]

_An Historical Description of_ ITALY.

ITALY in the scriptures is called Chittim, and Mesech. Pliny (an
ancient Latin writer) gives it this character: "Italy is the
nurse-mother of all nations, elected by the Gods to make the Heavens
more glorious, and unite the dispersed governments of the world."
&c. The situation is very advantageous, being towards the midst of
the Temperate Zone. It is bounded by the Alps on the North, which
separates it from Germany; on the East by the Adriatic Sea; on the
South by Mare Inferum, or the Sea of Tuscany; and on the West by a
part of the Alps, and the River Var, which are its bounds towards
France and Savoy. The air of this country is temperate and
healthful; the soil so fruitful, that there seems to be a continual
spring: It abounds with grain, fruits, and flowers, and a variety
of living creatures, as well for pleasure as profit; on which
account Italy is called the Garden of Europe. The people are
polite, dexterous [sic], prudent, and ingenious, extremely
revengeful, jealous, and great formalists; their genius lies much
for poetry, music, antiquities, &c. and, in short, all the liberal
arts. Their tongue is derived from the ancient Latin. The cities
are fair, well built, and magnificent; Rome is looked on as the
capital, and is called the _Holy_, Naples the _Noble_, Florence the
_Fair_, Genoa the _Proud_, Milan the _Great_, Venice the _Rich_,
Padua the _Learned_, and Bonia the _Fat_. There are 300
bishoprics in it, and many universities. It was governed of old by
Kings, then by Consuls, and last of all by Emperors, who raised it
to the highest pitch of glory. Only the Roman Catholic religion is
professed in Italy; neither are the Protestants suffered there,
though the Jews are permitted in some cities. This country affords
more entertainment to travellers than any other in the world, in
which may be seen many remains of the greatest, wisest, and bravest
people that ever lived, namely, the old Romans. The present people
are inured to slavery, harassed with tyrannies and impositions of
their priests. The country is but badly cultivated; its
commodities are wine, oil, corn, rice, velvets, silk, glass, &c.

_A Turkish Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Turkish couple]

_An Account of_ TURKEY.

TURKEY, or the Empire of the Turks, comprehends many provinces in
Europe, Asia, and Africa; so it is with reason the Sultan is called
Grand Signior. The empire is divided into 25 governments, of which
there are seven in Europe, seventeen in Asia, and Egypt makes one of
itself; two of the governments have what they call Beglerbergs at
the head of them, and the rest are governed by Bashaws. Most of
these countries are fruitful, but neglected through the laziness of
the Turks, and oppressions the Christians lie under, who chuse [sic]
rather to let the land lie untilled, than cultivate it for others.
It is thin of inhabitants, occasioned by frequent plagues and
continual wars, which carry off great numbers. They are very
temperate, robust, and good soldiers. Their religion, whereof
Mahomet was the author, comprehends six general precepts, viz.
circumcision, prayer, fasting, alms, pilgrimage, and abstinence from
wine. Friday is their most solemn day of the week, which they
distinguish only by being longer at prayer on that than other days.
They observe an extraordinary fast on the ninth month, which whoever
breaks is certainly punished with death: They keep it so strict,
that labourers ready to faint with thirst dare not taste a drop of
water. They have a sort of monks called Dervises [sic], who live a
very austere life, keeping a profound silence, go barefoot, with a
leather girdle round their bodies, full of sharp points to mortify
the flesh, and sometimes beat and burn themselves with hot irons:
they are very charitable, and spare nothing for the maintenance of
the poor. The government is monarchial; the Grand Signior, or
Sultan, is absolute master of the lives and fortunes of his
subjects; his orders are above the laws, which are but few. If his
ministers grow rich, they certainly suffer death, right or wrong,
their wealth (which goes to the Sultan) being esteemed a clear proof
of their guilt.

The customs and ways of the Turks are very different from ours: the
left is the upper hand with them; they bury in the dark, and carry
the dead head-foremost; their books are all manuscripts, for they
suffer no printing among them. Their commodities are chiefly raw
silks, oil, leather, cake-soap, honey, wax, and various fruits and
drugs. Constantinople, which was formerly Thrace, by the Turks
called Stamboul, is their capital, and seat of the Ottoman or
Turkish Emperor.

ASIA.

_A Man and Woman of Tartary in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Tartary couple]

_An Account of TARTARY_.

TARTARY, which is the same country as the ancient Scythia,
comprehends all the North of Europe, and almost a third part of
Asia. At present the Russians possess the North part and have given
it the name of Siberia. It is a cold barren country, generally
covered with snow, and very thinly inhabited.

Their wealth consists in cattle, and their employment in grazing.
They carry on neither manufacture nor trade, except in slaves and
horses, and rove about in herds or clans. The Emperor of Russia is
supreme Lord of the Western as well as North part of Tartary,
especially since the time of the late Czar Peter the Great, who
extended his conquests even to the Northern coast of the Caspian
Sea.

The Chinese are masters of the South and East parts of Tartary. The
Tartars are divided into four different nations, namely, the Tartars
properly so called, the Calmucks, and the Usbeck and Moguls. The
Calmuck Tartars acknowledge themselves subjects of Russia; the
Usbeck Tartars were once independent, but since subdued by Kouli
Khan, the late Sovereign of Persia, who took possession and
plundered their capital city Bochara, which was extremely populous
and wealthy. This country of Usbeck Tartary is situate in a very
happy climate and fruitful soil, and carries on a very brisk trade
to the East and West parts of Asia: it was the country of the
victorious Tamerlane, who subdued most of the kingdoms of Asia.

The Tartars, as to stature, are generally thick and short, having
flat square faces, little eyes, little round short noses, and an
olive complexion. They are reckoned the best archers in the world,
and eat all manner of flesh but hog's-flesh. They are very
hospitable, and take a pleasure in entertaining strangers. Their
religion is mostly Paganism, they worship the Sun, Moon, and Stars,
and a variety of images, but not in temples or churches, for they
worship in groves and on the tops of monntains [sic]; but those that
live near the Mahometan countries are mostly Mahometans. The
Southern provinces lie in a temperate climate, and would produce all
manner of corn and vegetables; but the inhabitants pay no regard to
it, and lead a rambling life, driving great herds of cattle before
them to such parts of the country where they can meet with the best
pasture, and here they pitch their tents, but seldom remain long
enough in a place to reap a crop of corn, even if they were to
plough the land and sow it.

_A Chinese Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Chinese couple]

_An Account of CHINA_.

THE Empire of China is a great and spacious country, on the East of
Asia, famed for its fruitfulness, wealth, beautifulness of towns,
and incredible number of inhabitants.

It is divided into seventeen kingdoms, which contain 160 large
cities, 240 lesser, and 1200 towns; the chief of all is Pekin. The
air is pure and serene, and the inhabitants live to a great age.
Their riches consist in gold and silver mines, pearls, porcelain or
China ware; japanned or varnished works; spices, musk, true
ambergris, camphire [sic], sugar, ginger, tea, linen, and silk; of
the latter there is such abundance, that they are able to furnish
all the world with it. Here are also mines of quicksilver,
vermillion, azure-stone, vitriol, &c. So much for the wealth: Now
as to the inhabitants, they are so numerous, that the great roads
may be compared to a perpetual fair, such numbers are continually
passing, which made a Portuguese, who went thither, ask, "If the
women had not nine or ten children at a birth?" Every inhabitant
is obliged to hang a writing over his door, signifying the number
and quality of the dwellers. The inside of their houses is very
magnificent. The men are civil, well-bred, very ingenious, polite,
and industrious, but extremely covetous, insomuch that they will not
scruple to sell their very children, or drown them, when they think
they have too many. This desire of wealth lets them never be idle,
and makes them have a great aversion to strangers that come to
settle among them. The men go neatly dressed, and carry a fan in
their hand, and when they salute each other (for they are very
courteous) they never put off their hat, but with their hands joined
before their breast bow their bodies. Here is no Nobility but what
depends on learning, without any regard to birth, except the Royal
Families; and the more learned any one is, the more he is advanced
in honour and government. The King, who is called the Tartar, keeps
a guard of forty thousand men. When he dies his body is buried on a
pile of paper, and with him all his jewels, and every thing else,
except living creatures, that he made use of in his life-time. His
Counsellor, Priest, and Concubines, that devoted themselves wholly
to his soul, sacrifice their lives as soon as he dies; but have the
liberty to chuse what kind of death they please, which is generally
beheading. In this country there is a stupendous wall, built to
prevent the incursions of the Tartars, which is at least 1700 miles
long, near 30 feet high, and broad enough for several horsemen to
travel on it abreast. Their established religion is what they call
the Religion of Nature, as explained by their celebrated Philosopher
Confucius; but the greatest part of them are Idolaters, and worship
the Idol Fo. The Mahometans have been long since tolerated, and
the Jews longer. Christianity had gained a considerable footing
here by the labour of the Jesuits, till the year 1726, when the
missionaries being suspected of a design against the Government,
were quite expelled.

_An Indian Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Indian couple]

_An Account of INDIA_.

INDIA, one of the greatest regions of Asia, is bounded on the East
by China, on the West by Persia, North by Great Tartary, and on the
South by the Indian Sea. It is divided into three parts, viz.
Indostan, or the Empire of the Great Mogul; India on this side the
Ganges, and India beyond; the cities of Deli [sic] and Agra are the
two chief, and, by turns, the residence of the Great Mogul, at each
of which he has a very splendid palace. The most noted city on the
coast is Surat, a place of great trade, where the English have a
factory. India on this side the Ganges contains many petty
kingdoms. On the coast are Goa, belonging to the Portuguese, which
is their staple for East-India goods; and Bombay, a little island
and town belonging to the English. On this coast are Pondicherry,
Fort St. David, and Fort St. George, which belong to the English,
who in fact possess the supreme dominion of the country, most of the
native princes being either dependent on them, or happy to enter
into alliance with them. India beyond the Ganges, is also divided
into various kingdoms, and contains a great number of large and
populous cities, of which we have no knowledge besides their names.
The people are for the most part tawny, strong, and big, but very
lazy. They eat on beds, or tapestry spread on the ground. They
burn most of their dead, and their wives glory in being thrown into
the funeral piles, and there consumed to ashes. The Great Mogul is
a Mahometan, and esteemed the richest King in the world in jewels;
one of his thrones is said to have cost five millions sterling.
Their commodities are silks, cottons, callicoes, muslins, sattins
[sic], carpets, gold, silver, diamonds, pearls, porcelain, rice,
ginger, rhubarb, aloes, amber, indigo, cinnamon, cocoa, &c. They
are mostly Pagans, and worship idols of various shapes, and the rest
are Mahometans, except a few Christians. Their monarch is absolute,
and so are all the petty Kings; who are so fond of titles that they
often take them from their jewels, furnitures, equipage, and
elephants, to make up a number. This country is so exceeding rich,
that it is thought by many to be the Land of Ophir, where Solomon
sent for gold.

_Of_ TURKEY _in_ ASIA.

THIS vast continent takes in Natolia, Arabia, Phœnicia, Judea, or
Palestine, and the Euphratian Provinces. The people are chiefly
Mahometans, though there are many Jews and Christians in some places
among them. There are various governments, but they are all subject
to the Grand Signior, who depopulates these fine countries, and
discourages industry; so that the Phœnicians, formerly famous for
commerce, are at present a poor despicable people; and Judea, the
land which heretofore flowed with milk and honey, is in general
still fruitful, abounding in corn, wine, and oil, where cultivated,
and might supply the neighbouring countries with all these, as they
anciently did, were the inhabitants equally industrious. The parts
above Jerusalem, its once famous capital, are mostly mountainous and
rocky; but they feed numerous herds and flocks, and yield plenty of
honey, wine, and oil, and the vallies [sic] abound with large crops
of corn.

_Shaw's Travels_.

AFRICA.

_An Egyptian Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Egyptian couple]

_An Account of_ EGYPT.

EGYPT, a country in Africa, is parted from Asia by the Red Sea, and
bounded on the north by the Mediterranean; on the east by Arabia
Petræa; on the south by Æthiopia and Nubia; and on the west by
Barbary. The air of this country is very unhealthy, occasioned by
the heat of the climate. The soil is made fruitful by the river
Nile, which overflows the country annually, from the middle of June
to September, and supplies the want of rain, of which there is very
seldom any. It abounds with corn, and does not want for rice,
sugar, dates, sena [sic], cassia, balm, leather, flax and linen
cloth, which they export. Diodorus Siculus relates, that there had
been formerly in Egypt, eighteen thousand great towns; the most
noted of which was Alexandria. In the eastern parts, beyond the
river Nile, is the famous country of Thebais, with its desarts
[sic], where St. Anthony, St. Paul, and other anchorets, had their
cells. Beyond the Red Sea there is another desart, where the
children of Israel lived forty years. The modern inhabitants are
fine swimmers, handy, pleasant, and ingenious, but lazy. This
kingdom was first governed by the Pharaohs; afterwards conquered by
Alexander the Great; and in the sixteenth century, Selim, the
Turkish Emperor, conquered the Mamulucks, or Saracens; for in the
year 1516, defeating and killing Camson, Soldan of Egypt, and
Tomumbey the next year after, Egypt was perfectly conquered by the
Ottomans or Turks, who have governed it ever since by their
Bashaws. The old religion of this country was idolatry, but now
Mahometanism prevails most, through there are some few Christians.

_An Account of_ BARBARY.

BARBARY is bounded by Egypt on the east, Mount Atlas on the south,
the Atlantic Ocean on the west, and the Mediterranean to the north.
Though this country be under the Torrid Zone, yet the mountains and
sea coasts, between the Straits of Gibraltar and Egypt, are more
cold than hot. The men of this country are allowed many wives
though they seldom are married to more than one. The women are
always veiled in the presence of men; so that a man knows no more of
the beauty of the woman he marries, than what he learns from her
parents, till they are actually married. The people are of a good
mild humour, and such as live abroad under tents, as the Arabians or
shepherds, are laborious, valiant, and liberal; but they who live in
cities are proud, covetous, and revengeful; and though they traffic
much, know but very little, and have neither banks nor bills of
exchange. Their commodities are beef, hides, linen, and cotton;
raisins, figs, and dates. It is a rich country, and governed, part
of it, as Fez and Morocco, by Kings; and the other, as Algiers,
Tunis, and Tripoli, by Bashaws from the Grand Seignior [sic]. As
for religion, they have the Christian, Jewish, and Mahometan, and
they who live in the mountains and fields with their flocke [sic],
which are a great number, have hardly any at all. When any one
dies, his friends have women that cry and scratch their faces, and
take on seemingly with great grief for the deceased. They live
mostly on rice, beef, veal, mutton; but wine is forbidden by
Mahomet's law.

_A Description of_ ZAARA, _or the Great Desarts
of_ AFRICA.

THE air of this country is very hot, so that the people are forced
to keep in their little huts, or seek refreshment in caverns, the
most part of the day; these desarts have a great number of lions,
tigers, and ostriches. The inhabitants are unpolished, savage, and
very bold, for they will stand and meet the fiercest lion or tiger.
They are divided into families or clans, each head of a family is
sovereign in his own canton, and the eldest is always head; they
follow the Mahometan religion, but are no strict observers of it.
The country is a mere desart, as the name imports, and so parched
for want of water, that the caravans from Morocco to Negroland are
obliged to carry both water and provisions, the province producing
hardly any thing for the support of life.

_A Negroe Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Negro couple]

_An Account of the Land of the_ NEGROES.

THIS country lies along the river Niger, on both sides of it,
between Zaara and Guinea. It contains fourteen kingdoms. The
inhabitants of the sea coast are somewhat civilized by their
commerce with the Portuguese; but those that dwell up higher in the
country are savage and brutal. They are continually at war with one
another, and all the prisoners they take in war they sell for
slaves. They sow neither wheat nor barley, but only millet; and
their chief food is roots and nuts, pease and beans. The country is
surrounded with woods, and abounds with elephants. They have no
wine, but a pleasant sort of liquor, which they get from a certain
sort of palm trees, in this manner--they give three or four
strokes with a hatchet on the trunk of a tree, and set vessels to
receive the distilling juice, which is very sweet, but in a few days
grows strong, yet will not keep long, for in fifteen days it grows
sour. One tree will yield near a gallon in twenty-four hours. The
commodities of this country are gold, ostrich feathers, amber, gums,
civit [sic], elephants teeth, and red-wood.

_An Account of_ ÆTHIOPIA.

ÆTHIOPIA is about one-half of Africa, and divided into the Upper and
Lower Æthiopia. This country is pretty full of mountains much
higher than the Alps or Pyrenees, but level, spacious, and well
inhabited, and fruitful on the top; the soil near the Nile is
fruitful, but at a distance chiefly sandy desarts. The people
comely and well shaped, though black or swarthy. Their cattle are
very large, their horses and camels courageous and stout. Their
kings sit at table alone. Their messes not being very neat or
costly, are served in black clay dishes, covered with straw caps
finely woven; they use neither knives nor forks, spoons nor
napkins, and think it beneath them to feed themselves, and so have
youths on purpose to put the meat in their mouths. They have no
towns, but live in tents, which are so very numerous where the King
is, that they resemble a great city; and they have also their
officers to prevent disorder, and things are so well managed, thatthey can
remove speedily on all occasions without confusion. Their
commodities are metals, gems, cattle, corn, sugar, canes, wine, and
flax. They are a mixture of Jews, Mahometans, Pagans, and
Christians. The government is subject to an Emperor, who is called
Prestor [sic] John. In Lower Æthiopia the commodities are silver,
gold, ivory, pearls, musk, ambergris, oil, lemons, citrons, rice,
millet, &c. The people have hitherto been esteemed barbarous and
savage; but if the relations of Bruce, the celebrated traveller, are
in the least to be depended on, we have done them great injustice in
this respect; and we are well assured that they are not generally
canibals [sic], as we have been accustomed to think them. The
Hottentots inhabit part of the country, who are the most odious of
all the human species, for they besmear their bodies with grease and
all manner of filth, and adorn themselves with hanging the guts of
bears about their arms, legs and necks.

_An Account of_ GUINEA.

GUINEA is a kingdom of Africa; the country is very extensive, and
the people of Europe drive a great trade in it. The French were the
first who discovered it, about the year 1346. The soil of this
country is fertile, but the heat insupportable by any but the
natives, who are counted the blackest of all the Negroes, and most
of them go quite naked. Ignorance and stuperstition [sic] reign
among them, and it is said that they offer human sacrifices. They
look on God to be a good being, and for that reason only are civil
to him; they worship the devil, and pray earnestly he may do them no
mischief. Their commodities are cotton, rice, sugar, canes,
elephants, peacocks, apes, and pearls. Several small Princes and
states in the inland country, who are generally at war, sell their
prisoners for slaves to the Europeans; others traffic to different
countries for purchasing slaves, or steal them, and bring them down
to the coast; and some will sell their children and nearest
relations, if they have an opportunity.

AMERICA.

[Illustration: woodcut of American couple]

_An American Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

AMERICA, the fourth and last quarter of the world, is divided into
North and South America. North America contains Mexico, (or New
Spain,) New Mexico, and California, Florida, Canada, (or New
France,) Nova Scotia, New England, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsilvania [sic], Maryland, Virginia, and Carolina. South America
contains Terra Firma, the land of the Amazons, Brazil, Peru, Chili
[sic], Paraguay, and Terra Magellanica.

_An Account of_ MEXICO, _or_ NEW SPAIN.

MEXICO is so called from its chief city; and New Spain since the
Spaniards settled there. It has the sea of Mexico on the east, its
gulph [sic], Florida, and New Mexico on the north, and the southern
sea on the west and south. The air is temperate and healthful, and
the soil fruitful, producing wheat, barley, pulse, and maize; and
variety of fruits, as citrons, lemons, oranges, pomegranates,
apples, pears, cherries, cocoa nuts, figs, &c. with great plenty of
roots, plants, and herbs. There are some rich mines of gold and
silver, in which about 4000 Spaniards continually work. The people
are civil, and excel in painting and music: they are subject to the
King of Spain: their religion is a mixture of Paganism and
Christianity.

_An Account of_ NEW MEXICO, _or_ GRANADA.

THIS part of the world is not fully discovered by the Europeans.
The soil is sandy and barren, the air healthful and temperate, but
not a little subject to hurricanes, thunder and lightning. There
are some silver mines, turquoise, emeralds, crystal, &c. The
natives are naturally good and civil, governed by a captain named
Casich, whom they choose themselves. They are given to idolatry,
and some adore the sun, others believe in a God, and some of them
have no religion at all.

_An Account of_ FLORIDA.

FLORIDA is a large and fruitful country in North America, bounded on
the north-east by Carolina, on the south, and some part of the west,
by New Galicia and some countries not yet discovered. The air is
very temperate, and soil extremely fertile, and produces grain,
herbs, and fruit in great abundance. Ferdinando Soto, after the
conquest of Peru, entered this country May 25, 1538, and gave it the
name Florida, because the flowers were then on the ground, but died
of grief, for being disappointed of the treasures which he
expected. The native inhabitants were extirpated by the Spaniards,
who disregarded every principle of humanity when the security of
their acquisitions in the New World was in question; but this fine
country was conquered from them by the English, to whom it was
confirmed by the peace of Paris; its importance was however never
sufficiently considered by them, and to gratify the jealousy of
Spain it was restored to her at the peace of 1783. It was divided
into East and West: St. Augustine and Pensacola are its chief towns;
and its commodities furs, pearls, and the most delicious fruits.
The Spaniards regard it as forming a desirable frontier between them
and the United States of America; but as the soil and climate are
inferior to none in the world, it will doubtless one day emerge from
its obscurity, become populous, and hold a high rank in the world.

_An Account of_ CANADA.

CANADA is the chief province now possessed by the English in
America; it is bounded by New Britain and Honduras Bay on the North
and East; by Nova Scotia, New England, and New York on the South;
and by some of the great lakes, the new settlements of the United
States, and the yet remaining possessions of the native Indians, on
the West. The soil and climate are not very different from those of
New England, though it has a much severer winter; but the air is
very clear, the summer hot and pleasant. The meadow grounds are
well watered, yield excellent grass, and breed vast numbers of
cattle.

This country was originally settled by the French; and in so doing
Louis XIV. seems to have formed the vast design of consolidating all
North America under his dominion: the English, under Wolf [sic],
Amherst, and Monkton [sic], conquered it in the years 1759 and 1760;
and it was confirmed to us at the peace of 1763. The inhabitants
were guaranteed in all their privileges; and the Roman Catholic
religion is yet the most prevalent, though all others are
tolerated. It has been lately divided into two provinces, Upper and
Lower Canada, each having its separate government and legislature.
Its trade and population are annually and rapidly increasing.

Quebec, its capital, is situated at the confluence of the rivers St.
Laurence and St. Charles, about 320 miles from the sea, and is very
strong both by nature and art; when taken by the immortal Wolfe it
was supposed to contain about 15,000 inhabitants, independent of the
garrison, and has since had considerable additions. The trade
between Canada and England, the greater part of which centers here,
is supposed to employ eight sail of shipping, and near 2000 seamen.

_An Account of_ TERRA FIRMA.

TERRA FIRMA, or the Firm Land, is a large country of South America,
and contains eleven governments, subject to the King of Spain. The
air here is extremely hot, though wholesome, the soil very fertile,
when well manured. The natives are tawney [sic], robust, healthful,
long lived, and go naked about the middle. The commodities are
gold, silver, and other metals; balsam, rosin, gum, long pepper,
emeralds, sapphire, jasper, &c. Here is one Spanish archbishopric
and four bishoprics; but the natives are idolaters.

_An Account of_ PERU.

PERU is in South America, a large country, divided into six
provinces. The air in some parts is very hot, in others sharp and
piercing. The soil is the richest of all the Spanish plantations,
abounding with exceeding high mountains and large pleasant vallies.
The commodities are vast quantities of gold and silver, valuable
pearls, medicinal drugs, cochineal, tobacco, abundance of cotton,
&c. The natives are of a copper colour, tall and well made; but are
so depressed by the Spaniards, it is impossible to form any judgment
of their genius, virtues, or vices.

_Of the Land of the_ AMAZONS.

THIS country is very little known, but as far as discovered the air
is temperate, and the soil fertile. There are on the banks of the
river Amazon about fifty nations of fierce savage people, said to
eat human flesh. The commodities are gold, silver, sugar, ebony,
cocoa, tobacco, &c. Their religion is Paganism, and language
unknown.

_An Account of_ BRAZIL.

BRAZIL is in the east of South America, bounded on the east by the
Atlantic Ocean, on the west by some undiscovered countries between
it and the mountains called Andes, on the north by Guiana, and on
the south by Paraguay. It was discovered by the Portuguese in 1501,
and is still in great part subject to them. The air is very
temperate and wholesome, though under the torrid zone; the soil
fertile, and the country produces red or Brazil wood, sugar, amber,
rosin, balm, tobacco, train oil, confectionary, &c. The natives are
reckoned cruel, but ingenious; have faint notions of religion, and
speak several different languages, though they cannot pronounce
either of the three letters L, F, R. They are all naked, and
neither sow nor reap, but live by hunting and by the fruits which
the land produces of its own accord.

_An Account of_ CHILI.

CHILI is also a great country of South America, 400 leagues in
length from north to south, is divided into three governments, and
subject to the King of Spain. In summer the air of this country is
very warm, but in winter so extremely cold that it often kills man
and beast. The mountainous parts are generally dry and barren, but
the vallies exceedingly fertile in maize, wheat, and other grain.
The people are white, tall, courageous, an warlike, but very gross
Idolaters, the chief object of their worship being the devil, whom
they call Eponamon, i.e. powerful. The country is enriched with
several mines of gold, and great quarries of jaspar [sic]. The
commodities are gold, silver, maize, corn, honey, ostriches, and
metals. Most of them use the Spanish tongue, but some their ancient
jargon.

_A Persian Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.

[Illustration: woodcut of Persian couple]

_An Account of_ PERSIA.

PERSIA is a famous kingdom of Asia, called by the inhabitants
Farsistan, and the Empire of the Sophy. It is bounded by the
Caspian Sea, India, Persian Gulph, and Arabia Deserta. The air of
this country is temperate towards the north, but very hot in the
summer towards the south. Their grain is barley, millet, lentil,
pease, beans, and oats; and all their provinces produce cotton,
which grows upon bushes; their fruits are excellent, and they have
vines in abundance, but in obedience to Mahomet's commands drink no
wine, but sell it all to the Arminians [sic]. They are suffered to
make a syrup of sweet wine, to which they add an acid, and it serves
them for their common drink. They have a great number of mulberry
trees for silk worms, silk being the principal manufacture in this
country. The people are of a middle stature, well set and thick,
and of a tawny complexion; are neat and sharp, have good judgment,
are civil to strangers, and very free of their compliments. Thus
a Persian that desires his friend to come to his house usually says,
"I entreat you to honour my house with your presence: I so devote
myself to your desires, that the apple of my eye shall be a path to
your feet," &c. They are just in their dealings; and their
commodities are rich silks, carpets, tissues, gold, silver, seal
skins, goat skins, alabaster, metals, myrrh, fruits, &c. Their
religion is Mahometanism, and their language has a great tincture of
the Arabic. Ispahan is the capital city. The kingdom is
hereditary, and government so despotic, that the Sophy, or King,
makes his will his law, and disposes as he pleases both of the lives
and estates of his subjects, who are very obedient, and never speak
of their sovereign but with extraordinary respect.

_An Account of_ DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS, _and_
YEARS.

THE day is either natural or artificial; the natural day is the
space of twenty-four hours, (including both the dark and light part)
in which time the sun is carried by the first mover from the east
into the west, and so round the world into the east again. The
artificial day consists of twelve hours, i.e. from the sun's rising
to its setting; and the artificial night is from the sun's setting
to its rising. The day is accounted with us for payment of money
between the sun's rising and setting; but for indictment for murder
the day is accounted from midnight to midnight, and so likewise are
fasting days.

The Hebrews and Chaldeans begin their days at sun rising, and end at
the next rising.

The Jews and Italians from sun-set to sun-set. The Romans at
midnight. The Egyptians from noon to noon, which account astronomers
follow.

A week consists of seven mornings, or seven days, which the Gentiles
call by the names of the seven planets (which they worshipped as
Gods); the first day of the sun; the second day of the moon, &c. In
a week God made the world, _i.e._ in six days, and rested the
seventh. All civilized nations observe one day in seven, as a
stated time of worship; the Turks and Mahometans keep the sixth day
of the week, or Friday; the Jews the seventh, or Saturday; the
Christians the first, or Sunday.

Of months there are various kinds; a solar month is the space of
thirty days, in which time the sun runneth through one sign of the
zodiac.

A lunar month is that interval of time which the moon spendeth in
wandering from the sun, in her oval circuit, through the twelve
signs, until she returns to him again, (being sometimes nearer,
sometimes farther from the earth) _i.e._ from the first day of her
appearing next after her change, to the last day of her being
visible, before her next change, which may be greater or lesser,
according to her motion.

The usual or common months are those set down in our almanacks,
containing some 30, some 31, and February but 28 days, according to
these verses:

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
February twenty-eight alone,
All the rest have thirty-one;
But when leap-year comes, that time
Has February twenty-nine.

A year is the space of time in which the sun runs through all the 12
signs of the zodiac: containing 12 solar months, 13 lunar months,
52 weeks, 365 days, and six hours, which six hours, in four years
time, being added together, make one day, which day on every fourth
year is added to February, making that month 29 days, which at other
times is but 28, and this year with the additional day is called
leap-year.

_To find the Leap-Year_.

Divide the year of our Lord by 4, and if there be no remainder, it
is leap-year; but if there remains 1, 2, or 3, then that denotes the
first, second, or third after leap-year.

TABLES OF
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

_Troy Weight_. _Char._

24 Grains --- 1 Pennyweight dwt.
20 Pennyweights 1 Ounce --- oz.
12 Ounces --- 1 Pound lb.

By this weight are weighed jewels, gold, silver, corn, and all
liquors.

_Avoirdupois Weight_.

16 Drams --- 1 Ounce --- oz.
16 Ounces --- 1 Pound --- lb.
28 Pounds --- 1 Quar. of a hun. qr.
20 Hundreds -- 1 Ton --- ton.

By this weight, which is now generally used in England, are weighed
butter, cheese, groceries, &c.

N.B. One pound avoirdupois is equal to 14 oz. 11 dwts. 15½ grains
troy; and one ounce troy is equal to 1 oz. 1 dram, and something
above an half, avoirdupois.

_Apothecaries' Weight_. _Char_.

[In the HTML version, the following table shows symbols for the 4
units]

20 Grains 1 Scruple --- [scruple]
3 Scruples --- 1 Dram --- [dram]
8 Drams ---- 1 Ounce --- [ounce]
12 Ounces --- 1 Pound --- [pound]

By this weight apothecaries compound their medicines; but buy and
sell their drugs by avoirdupois weight.

_Wine Measure_. _In short_.

2 Pints --- 1 Quart qrt.
4 Quarts --- 1 Gallon --- gall.
63 Gallons --- 1 Hogshead --- hhd.
2 Hogsheads --- 1 Pipe --- pipe.
2 Pipes --- 1 Tun --- tun.

_Beer Measure_.

2 Pints --- 1 Quart --- qrt.
4 Quarts --- 1 Gallon --- gall.
9 Gallons --- 1 Firkin --- firk.
2 Firkins --- 1 Kilderkin --- kild.
2 Kilderkins -- 1 Barrel --- bar.
1½ Barrel --- 1 Hogshead -- hhd.
3 Barrels, or 2 hhds.
1 Butt --- butt.

N.B. Eight gallons make a firkin of ale.

_Cloth Measure_. _In short_.

4 Nails --- 1 Quarter --- qr.
4 Quarters -- 1 Yard --- yd.

Note, An ell English is 5 quarters of a yard, and an ell Flemish is
3 quarters.

_Time_.

60 Seconds --- 1 Minute
60 Minutes --- 1 Hour
24 Hours --- 1 Natural Day
7 Days 1 Week
4 Weeks 1 Month
13 Months, 1 day, and 6 hours, is / One
52 Weeks, 1 day, and 6 hours, is < Julian
365 Days, and 6 hours, is \ Year.
8766 Hours, is

_Note_, An exact solar year is equal to 365 days, 5 hours, 48
minutes, 48 seconds, 57 thirds: and one lunar month is equal to 29
days, 12 hours, and 45 minutes.

_Dry Measure_. _In short_.

8 Pints --- 1 Gallon --- gall.
2 Gallons --- 1 Peck --- peck.
4 Pecks --- 1 Bushel --- bush.
4 Bushels --- 1 Coomb -- coomb.
2 Coombs -- 1 Quarter -- qr.
5 Quarters -- 1 Wey ---- wey.
2 Weys --- 1 Last --- last.

_Land Measure_.

40 Square Perches --- 1 Rood
4 Roods ---- 1 Acre

Note, 5 feet is a geometrical pace, and 1056 geometrical paces 1
English mile.

_Long Measure_.

12 Inches ---- 1 Foot
3 Feet --- 1 Yard
5 Yards and ½ --- 1 Pole or perch
40 Poles --- --- 1 Furlong
8 Furlongs or 1760 yards 1 English mile

_A MULTIPLICATION TABLE_.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27
4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54
7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63
8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72
9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81

THE use of this table is to find how many any one figure multiplied
by another will make: suppose I wanted to know, how many seven
times eight is, I look into the table for 7 in the first rank of
figures on the left hand, and for 8 in the top line; then carrying
my finger strait from 7 in the first rank of figures, till I come
to that which has the figure 8 on the top of it, I there find 56,
which is the exact number of 7 times 8, or 8 multiplied by 7. So
in all other instances look for the first figure in the left-hand
rank or column, and for the figure you want to multiply by in the
first or top line, and which ever square these two meet in, there is
the amount.

_The_ PENCE TABLE.

20 Pence is 1 shilling and 8 pence
30 --- 2 ---- 6
40 --- 3 ---- 4
50 --- 4 ---- 2
60 --- 5 ---- ---

70 --- 5 ---- 10
80 --- 6 ---- 8
90 --- 7 ---- 6
100 --- 8 ---- 4
110 --- 9 ---- 2
120 --- 10 ---- ---
130 --- 10 ---- 10
140 --- 11 ---- 8
150 --- 12 ---- 6
160 --- 13 ---- 4
170 --- 14 ---- 2
180 --- 15 ---- ---
190 --- 15 ---- 10
200 --- 16 ---- 8
210 --- 17 ---- 6
220 --- 18 ---- 4
230 --- 19 ---- 2
240 --- 20 ---- ---

The above table shews how many shillings are contained in any number
of pence from 20 to 240, and likewise how many pence there are in
any number of shillings from 1 to 20; which will be found a great
use in reckoning ma[letter corrupted]ll money, and ought to be
learned by heart, os [so as? (letters apparently dropped)] to be
ready on all occasions.

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE
_SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD_.

THO' the Pagans were grossly ignorant of the most important truths,
with respect to God and religion; yet the virtuosi of this and
preceding ages have been forced to acknowledge, that their tastes
were elegant, sublime, and well-formed, with respect to works of
sculpture, statuary, and architecture. As a proof of this, in
behalf of the ancients, 'tis only requisite we should take a cursory
view of those noble and magnificent productions of art, commonly
called THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD.

_The_ TEMPLE _of_ EPHESUS.

[Illustration: woodcut of Temple of Ephesus]

THE first of these Seven Wonders was the Temple of Ephesus, founded
by Ctesiphon, consecrated to Diana, and, (according to the
conjectures of natural philosophers) situated in a marshy soil, for
no other reason than that it might not be exposed to the violent
shocks of earthquakes and volcanos. This noble structure, which
was 425 feet long, and 220 feet broad, had not its bulk alone to
raise it above the most stately monuments of art, since it was
adorned with 127 lofty and well proportioned pillars of Parian
marble, each of which had an opulent monarch for its erector and
finisher; and so high did the spirit of emulation run in this point,
that each succeeding potentate endeavoured to outstrip his
predecessor in the richness, grandeur, and magnificence of his
respective pillar. As it is impossible for a modern to form a just
and adequate idea of such a stupendous piece of art, 'tis sufficient
to inform him, that the rearing of the Temple of Ephesus employed
several thousands of the finest workmen of the times for 200 years:
but as no building is proof against the shocks of time, and the
injuries of the weather, so the Temple of Ephesus falling into
decay, was, by the command of Alexander the Great, rebuilt by
Dinocrates, his own engineer, the finest architect then alive.

_The_ WALLS _of_ BABYLON.

[Illustration: woodcut of Walls of Babylon]

THE works of the cruel, though ingenious and enterprising Semiramis,
next command our wonder and admiration. These consisted of the
walls erected about Babylon, and the pleasant gardens formed for her
own delight. This immense, or rather inconceivable profusion of art
and expence [sic], employed 30,000 men for many years successively,
so that we need not wonder when we are told by historians, that
these walls were 300 or 350 stadia in circumference (which amount to
22 English miles), fifty cubits high, and so broad that they could
afford room for two or three coaches a-breast without any danger.
Though ancient records give us no particular accounts of the
gardens, yet we may reasonably presume, that if so much time and
treasure were laid out upon the walls, the gardens must not have
remained without their peculiar beauties: thus 'tis more than
probable that the gardens of Semiramis charmed the wondering eye
with unbounded prospect, consisting of regular vistas, agreeable
avenues, fine parterres, cool grottos and alcoves, formed for the
delicious purposes of love, philosophy, retirement, or the
gratification of any other passion, to which great and good minds
are subject.

_The_ TOMB _of_ PHAROS.

[Illustration: woodcut of Tomb of Pharos]

WE shall next take a view of the splendid and sumptuous Tomb of
Pharos, commonly called the Egyptian Labyrinth [sic]. This
structure, though designed for the interment of the dead, had
nevertheless the pomp of a palace designed for a monarch, who
thought he was to live for ever; since it contained sixteen
magnificent apartments, corresponding to the sixteen provinces of
Egypt; and it so struck the fancy of the celebrated Dedalus, that
from it he took the model of that renowned labyrinth which he built
in Crete, and which has eternized [sic] his name, for one of the
finest artists in the world.

_Of the_ PYRAMIDS _of_ EGYPT.

[Illustration: woodcut of Pyramid of Egypt]

IF the amazing bulk, the regular form, and the almost inconceivable
duration of public or monumental buildings call for surprize [sic]
and astonishment, we have certainly just reason to give the Pyramids
of Egypt a place among the Seven Wonders. These buildings remain
almost as strong and beautiful as ever, 'till this very time. There
are three of them; the largest of which was erected by Chemnis, one
of the Kings of Egypt, as a monument of his power when alive, and
for a receptacle of his body when dead. It was situated about 16
English miles from Memphis, now known by the name of Grand Cairo,
and was about 1440 feet in height, and about 143 feet long, on each
side of the square basis. It was built of hard Arabian stones, each
of which is about 30 feet long. The building of it is said to have
employed 600,000 men for twenty years. Chemnis however was not
interred in this lofty monument, but was barbarously torn to pieces
in a mutiny of his people. Cephas, his brother, succeeding him,
discovered an equally culpable vanity, and erected another, though a
less magnificent pyramid. The third was built by King Mycernius
according to some, but, according to others, by the celebrated
courtesan Rhodope. This structure is rendered still more
surprising, by having placed upon its top a head of black marble,
102 feet round the temples, and about 60 feet from the chin to the
crown of the head.

_The_ TOMB _of_ MAUSOLUS.

[Illustration: woodcut of Tomb of Mausolus]

THE next is the celebrated monument of conjugal love, known by the
name of the Mausoleum, and erected by Artemesia, Queen of Caria, in
honour of her husband Mausolus, whom she loved so tenderly, that,
after his death, she ordered his body to be burnt, and put his ashes
in a cup of wine, and drank it, that she might lodge the remains of
her husband as near to her heart as she possibly could. This
structure she enriched with such a profusion of art and expence,
that it was justly looked upon as one of the greatest wonders of the
world, and ever since magnificent funeral monuments are called
Mausoleums.

It stood in Halicarnassus, capital of the kingdom of Caria, between
the King's Palace and the Temple of Venus. Its breadth from N. to
S. was 63 feet, and in circumference 411, and about 120 feet high.
Pyrrhus raised a pyramid on the top of it, and placed thereon a
marble chariot drawn by four horses. The whole was admired by all
that saw it, except the philosopher Anaxagoras, who, at the sight of
it, cried, "There is a great deal of money changed into stone."

_The_ COLOSSUS _of the_ SUN.

[Illustration: woodcut of Colossus of Rhodes]

THE Colossus of Rhodes, is justly accounted the sixth Wonder; a
statue of so prodigious a bulk, that it could not have been
believed, had it not been recorded by the best historians. It was
made of brass by one Chares of Asia Minor, who consumed twelve years
in finishing it. It was erected over the entry of the harbour
of the city, with the right foot on one side, and the left on
the other. The largest ships could pass between the legs
without lowering their masts. It is said to have cost 44,000l.
English money. It was 800 feet in height, and all its members
proportionable; so that when it was thrown down by an earthquake,
after having stood 50 years, few men were able to embrace its little
finger. When the Saracens, who in 684 conquered the island, had
broken this immense statue to pieces, they are said to have loaded
above 900 camels with the brass of it.

_The_ IMAGE _of_ Jupiter.

[Illustration: woodcut of Image of Jupiter]

THE last, most elegant, and curious of all these works, known by the
name of the Seven Wonders, was the incomparable statue of Jupiter
Olympus, erected by the Elians, a people of Greece, and placed in a
magnificent temple consecrated to Jupiter. This statue represented
Jupiter sitting in a chair, with his upper part naked, but covered
down from the girdle, in his right hand holding an eagle, and in his
left a sceptre. This statue was made by the celebrated Phidias, and
was 150 cubits high. The body is said to have been of brass, and
the head of pure gold. Caligula endeavoured to get it transported
to Rome, but the persons employed in that attempt were frightened
from their purpose by some unlucky accident.

_Thus having given an Account of the Seven Wonders of the World,
let us take a View of the Burning Mountains, or Volcanos, called
Mount Vesuvius and Mount Ætna; than which there is, perhaps,
nothing in the whole Course of Nature more worthy our Notice
[sic], or so capable of raising our Admiration; and which, when
considered in a religious sense, may, with Justice, be said to be
one of the wonderful Works of_ GOD.

MOUNT VESUVIUS stands about six miles from the city of Naples, and
on the side of the Bay towards the East. The plains round it form a
beautiful prospect, and on one side are seen fruitful trees of
different kinds, and vineyards that produce the most excellent wine;
but when one ascends higher, on the side which looks to the South,
the face of things is entirely changed, and one sees a tract of
ground, which presents only images of horror, viz. a desolate
country covered with ashes, pumice-stones, and cinders; together
with rocks burned up with the fire, and split into dreadful
precipices. It is reckoned four miles high, and the top of it is a
wide naked plain, smoking with sulphur in many places; in the midst
of which plain stands another high hill, in the shape of a
sugar-loaf, on the top of which is a vast mouth or cavity, that goes
shelving down on all sides about a hundred yards deep, and about
four hundred over; from whence proceeds a continual smoke, and
sometimes those astonishing and dreadful eruptions of flame, ashes,
and burning matter, that fill the inhabitants around with
consternation, and bear down and destroy all before it. Among the
many eruptions which it has had, at different times, we need
instance only one, which happened on the fifth of June, 1717, and is
thus related by Mr. Edward Berkley, who was present at the time, in
his letter to Dr. Arbuthnot in England, viz. That he with much
difficulty, reached the top of Vesuvius on the 17th of April, 1717,
where says he, I saw a vast aperture full of smoke, and heard within
that horrid gulph certain odd sounds, as it were murmuring, sighing,
throbbing, churning, dashing of waves; and, between while, a noise
like that of thunder or cannon, attended constantly, from the belly
of the mountain, with a clattering like that of tiles falling from
the tops of houses into a street. After an hour's stay, the smoke
being moved by the wind, I could discern two furnaces, almost
contiguous; one on the left, which seemed to be about three yards
diameter, glowed with red flames, and threw up red hot stones with a
hideous noise, which, as they fell back, caused the fore-mentioned
clattering.

On May 8, ascending to the top of Vesuvius, I had a full prospect of
the crater, which appeared to be about a mile in circumference, and
a hundred yards deep, with a conical mount in the middle of the
bottom, made of stones thrown up and fallen back again into the
crater: And the left-hand furnace, mentioned before, threw up every
three or four minutes, with a dreadful bellowing, a vast number of
red hot stones, sometimes more than a 1000, but never less than 300
feet higher than my head, as I stood upon the brink, which fell back
perpendicularly into the crater, there being no wind. This furnace
or mouth was in the vortex of the hill, which it had formed round
it. The other mouth was lower, in the side of the same new-formed
hill, and filled with such red hot liquid matter as we see in a
glass-house furnace, which raged and wrought as the waves in the
sea, causing a short abrupt noise, like what may be imagined from a
sea of quicksilver dashing among uneven rocks. This stuff would
sometimes spew over, and run down the convex side of the conical
hill, and appearing at first red hot, it changed colour, and
hardened as it cooled, shewing the first rudiments of an eruption,
or an eruption in miniature: All which I could exactly survey by
the favour of the wind, for the space of an hour and a half; during
which it was very observable, that all the vollies [sic] of smoke,
flame, and burning stone, came only out of the hole to our left,
while the liquid stuff in the other mouth worked and overflowed.

On June 5, after a horrid noise, the mountain was seen, at Naples,
to spew a little out of the crater, and so continued till about two
hours before night on the 7th, when it made hideous bellowing, which
continued all that night, and the next day till noon, causing all
the windows, and, as some affirm, the very houses in Naples (about
six miles distant) to shake. From that time it spewed vast
quantities of melted stuff to the South, which streamed down the
side of the mountain, like a pot boiling over.

On the 9th, at night, a column of fire shot at intervals out of its
summit.

On the 10th, the mountain grew very outrageous again, roaring and
groaning most dreadfully, sounding like a noise made up of a raging
tempest, the murmur of a troubled sea, and the roaring of thunder
and artillery, confused altogether. This moved my curiosity to
approach the mountain. Three or four of us were carried in a boat,
and landed at Torre del Greco, a town situate at the foot of
Vesuvius to the S.W. whence we rode between four and five miles
before we came to the burning river, which was about midnight; and
as we approached, the roaring of the volcano grew exceeding loud and
terrible. I observed a mixture of colours in the cloud over the
crater, green, yellow, red, and blue. There was likewise a ruddy
dismal light in the air, over the tract of land where the burning
river flowed; ashes continually showering on us all the way from the
sea-coast, which horrid scene grew still more extraordinary, as we
came nearer the stream. Imagine a vast torrent of liquid fire
rolling from the top down the side of the mountain, and with
irresistible fury bearing down and consuming vines, olives,
fig-trees, houses, and, in a word, every thing that stood in its
way.

Death, _in a thousand forms, destructive frown'd,_
_And_ Woe, Despair, _and_ Horror _rag'd around_.

Æneid II. by Pitt.

The largest stream of fire seemed half a mile broad at least, and
five miles long. During our return, at about three o'clock in the
morning, we constantly heard the murmur and groaning of the
mountain, which sometimes burst out into louder peals, throwing up
huge spouts of fire, and burning stones, which, falling down again,
resembled stars in our rockets. Sometimes I observed two, and at
others three distinct columns of flames, and sometimes one vast one,
that seemed to fill the whole crater; which burning columns, and the
fiery stones, seemed to be shot 1000 feet perpendicular above the
summit of the volcano.

On the 11th, at night, I observed it from a terrace, at Naples, to
throw up incessantly a vast body of fire, and great stones, to a
surprising height.

On the 12th, in the morning, it darkened the sun with smoke and
ashes, causing a sort of an eclipse. Horrid bellowings, on this and
the foregoing day, were heard at Naples, whither part of the ashes
also reached.

On the 13th we saw a pillar of black smoke shoot upright to a
prodigious height.

On the 15th, in the morning, the court and walls of our house in
Naples were covered with ashes. In the evening a flame appeared in
the mountain through the clouds.

On the 17th, the smoke appeared much diminished, fat, and greasy.
And

On the 18th, the whole appearance ended, the mountain remaining
perfectly quiet.

To this memorable account it cannot be amiss to add, that the first
notice we have of this volcano's casting out flames, was in the
reign of the Emperor Titus. At which first eruption, we are
informed, that it flowed with that vehemence, that it entirely
overwhelmed and destroyed the two great cities Herculaneum and
Pompeia, and very much damaged Naples itself, with its stones and
ashes.

In 471, if we may credit tradition, this mountain broke out again so
furiously, that its cinders and liquid fire were carried as far as
Constantinople; which prodigy was thought, by superstitious minds,
to presage the destruction of the empire, that happened immediately
after, by that inundation of Goths, which spread itself all over
Europe.

There are several other eruptions recorded, but not so considerable
as the former, until 1631, when the earth shook so much as to
endanger the total destruction of Naples and Benevento. This did
inestimable damage to the neighbouring places; and it is computed
near 10,000 lost their lives in the flames and ruins.

The air was infected with such noxious vapours that it caused a
plague, which lasted a long time, and spread as far as the
neighbourhood of Rome. Since which time, the most memorable are the
eruptions in 1701, (of which Mr. Addison, who saw it, has left us a
good description), and in 1717, as described above, by a curious
spectator.

There have been eight eruptions within the last 30 years; of some of
which Sir Wm. Hamilton has favoured the world with very particular
and interesting accounts.

_What tongue the dreadful slaughter could disclose;
Or, oh! what tears could answer half their woes?_

_Explanation of the Cut of Mount Vesuvius_.

1. The Southern Summit, out of which the fire proceeds.
2. The Northern Summit.
3. The Rocks on the North.
4. The Valley between the two Summits.
5. The Opening on the Side where the fiery Torrent broke out.
6. The first Opening, called the Plain.
7. The Course which the last fiery Torrent took.
8. The Chapel of St. Januarius.

[Illustration: woodcut of Vesuvius]

HAVING been so particular in describing Vesuvius, we need say the
less concerning ÆTNA, which is the greatest mountain in Sicily,
eight miles high, and sixty in compass. There are many of its
furious eruptions recorded in history, some of which have proved
very fatal to the neighbourhood; we shall instance only one, that
began the 11th of March, 1669, and is thus described in the
Philosophical Transactions, viz.

It broke out towards the evening, on the south-east side of the
mountain, about twenty miles from the old mouth, and ten from the
city of Catanea. The bellowing noise of the eruption was heard a
hundred miles off, to which distance the ashes were also carried.
The matter thrown out was a stream of metal and minerals, rendered
liquid by the fierceness of the fire, which boiled up at the mouth
like water at the head of a great river; and having run a little
way, the extremity thereof began to crust and cruddle, turning into
large porous stones, resembling cakes of burning sea-coal. These
came rolling and tumbling one over another, bearing down any common
building by their weight, and burning whatever was combustible. At
first the progress of this inundation was at the pace of three miles
in 24 hours, but afterwards scarcely a furlong in a day. It thus
continued for fifteen or sixteen days together, running into the sea
close by the walls of Catanea, and at length over the walls into the
city, where it did no considerable damage, except to a convent,
which it almost destroyed.

In its course it overwhelmed fourteen towns and villages, containing
three or four thousand inhabitants; and it is very remarkable, that
(during the whole time of this eruption, which was fifty-four days),
neither sun nor stars appeared.

But though Catanea had at this time the good fortune to escape the
threatened destruction, it was almost totally ruined in 1692 by an
earthquake, one of the most terrible in all history. This was not
only felt all over Sicily, but likewise in Naples and Malta. The
shock was so violent, that the people could not stand on their legs,
and those that lay on the ground were tossed from side to side, as
if upon a rolling billow. The earth opened in several places,
throwing up large quantities of water, and great numbers perished in
their houses by the fall of rocks, rent from the mountains. The
sea was violently agitated, and roared dreadfully. Mount Ætna threw
up vast spires of flame, and the shock was attended with a noise
exceeding the loudest claps of thunder. Fifty-four cities and
towns, with an incredible number of villages, were destroyed, or
greatly damaged; and it was computed, that near 60,000 people
perished in different parts of the island, very few escaping the
general and sudden destruction.

There have been ten other eruptions, one of which, subsequent to the
preceding in 1753, was a very large one. Mr. Brydone, in his tour
of Sicily and Malta, has given many ingenious particulars concerning
it.

_Explanation of_ NUMBERS _expressed by Letters_.

[In what follows, a D may also be expressed using an I followed by a
backwards C; and an M by a C, followed by an I, followed by a
backwards C--these can be seen in the HTML version]

C. - - - One Hundred - 100
CC. - - - Two Hundred - 200
CCCC. - - - Three Hundred - 300
CCCC. - - - Four Hundred - 400
D. - - - Five Hundred - 500
DC. - - - Six Hundred - 600
DCC. - - - Seven Hundred - 700
DCCC. - - - Eight Hundred - 800
DCCCC. - - - Nine Hundred - 900
M. - - - One Thousand - 1000
/ One Thousand
MDCCXXXIX. - - < Seven Hundred 1739
\ and Thirty-nine
MDCCC. - - - / One Thousand - 1800
\ Eight Hundred

_N.B._ A less Numerical Letter, set before a greater, takes away
from the greater so many as the letter stands for; but being set
after the greater, adds so many to it as the letter stands for.
For example, V stands for five alone, but put I before it, thus IV,
and it stands for four; and put I on the other side, thus VI, and
it stands for six. So X alone stands for ten, but put I before it,
thus IX, and it stands for nine; and put I to it on the other side,
thus XI, and it becomes eleven. So L stands for fifty; put X before
it, thus XL, and it stands for forty, but put the X on the other
side, thus LX, and it is sixty. So C stands for one hundred, place
X before it, thus XC, and it is but ninety; again, put the X on the
other side, thus CX, and it is one hundred and ten. So in all other
cases.

LETTERS, TALES AND FABLES,
FOR
AMUSEMENT AND INSTRUCTION.

_A Letter from Master_ JACKY CURIOUS, _in London, to his Mamma in_
_the Country, giving a Description of the Tower, Monument, and St._
_Paul's Church_.

Honoured Madam,

AT my departure, I remember you ordered me to send you accounts of
every thing I saw remarkable in London; I will obey your commands as
well as I can; but pray excuse my defects, and let my will plead for
my inability, to entertain my absent friends.

I am just now come from seeing the tower, monument and St. Paul's
cathedral, (places which I remember to have heard much talk of in
the country, and which scarce any body that comes to London omits
seeing). The tower, which stands by the Thames, is a large strong
building, surrounded with a high wall, about a mile in compass, and
a broad ditch supplied with water out of the River Thames. Round
the outward wall are guns planted, which on extraordinary occasions
are fired. At the entrance, the first thing we saw was a collection
of wild beasts, viz. lions, panthers, tygers [sic], &c. also eagles
and vultures: These are of no sort of use, and kept only for
curiosity and shew. We next went to the mint, (which is in the
tower observe) where we saw the manner of coining money, which is
past my art, especially in the compass of a letter, to describe.
From thence we went to the jewel room, and saw the crown of England,
and other regalia, which are well worth seeing, and gave me a great
deal of pleasure. The next is the horse armory, a grand sight
indeed; here are fifteen of our English monarchs on horseback, all
dressed in rich armour, and attended by their guards; but I think it
not so beautiful as the next thing we saw, which was the small
armory: This consists of pikes, muskets, swords, halberts [sic],
and pistols, sufficient, as they told us, for three-score thousand
men; and are all placed in such different figures, representing the
sun, star and garter, half moons, and such like, that I was greatly
delighted with it; and they being all kept clean and scowered, made
a most brilliant appearance. Hence we went and saw the train of
artillery, in the grand storehouse, as they call it, which is filled
with cannon and mortars, all extremely fine: Here is also a
diving-bell, with other curiosities too tedious to mention; which
having examined, we came away and went to the monument, which was
built in remembrance of the fire of London: It is a curious lofty
pillar, 200 feet high, and on the top a gallery, to which we went by
tedious winding stairs in the inside: from this gallery we had a
survey of the whole city: And here having feasted our eyes with the
tops of houses, ships, and multitude of boats on the River Thames,
we came down and went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is a most
magnificent pile, and stands on high ground, near the centre of the
city. This noble building struck me with surprise, and is admired
by the whole world, as well for its beautiful architecture as height
and magnitude; it has a grand awful choir, chapel, a dome finely
painted by that masterly hand Sir J. Thornhill, a whispering
gallery, and other curiosities, with which I conclude my first
letter, and am,

Madam,
Your very dutiful son,
JOHN CURIOUS.

LETTER II.

Honoured Madam,

I NOW proceed to acquaint you with my next excursion, in search of
the curiosities of this famous city; which was to Westminster
Abbey. This is really a magnificent ancient building; but what most
surprised me, was the vast number of beautiful monuments and figures
with which the inside is adorned. Among such as were pointed out to
me, as being remarkable either for their costliness or beauty, I
remember were those of the Duke of Newcastle, a magnificent and
expensive piece, Sir Isaac Newton, General Stanhope, the Earl of
Chatham, General Wolf, and that exquisite statue of Shakepeare,
which, I am told, is inimitable. When I had for some time enjoyed
the pleasure of gazing at these, I was conducted into that part of
the church where the Royal monuments are placed. These, I thought,
were exceeding grand. But nothing surprised and delighted me so
much as King Henry the Seventh's chapel, which, for beauty and
magnificence, I am told, far surpasses any thing of that kind in
Europe. Here too I saw the chair in which the Kings of England are
crowned, which, I believe, is more regarded for its antiquity, and
the honourable use it is assigned to, than for any great beauty it
has, at least that I could discover.

The next sight that entertained me, was the effigies of King William
and Queen Mary in wax, as large as the life, standing in their
coronation robes; they are said to be very well done, and to bear a
great resemblance to the life. Queen Anne, the Duchess of Richmond,
the Duke of Buckingham, &c. all of the same composition, and richly
dressed, are there also. In short, there are so many curiosities
contained in this venerable repository, that, to describe one half
of them would as far exceed the compass of a letter, as of my
abilities to do justice to them: However, I shall just mention some
which appeared to me most worthy of notice. But these must be the
subject of a future letter, from,

Honoured Madam,
Your, &c.

LETTER III.

Honoured Madam,

AS I have the pleasure to find that my letters, however mean in
themselves, are agreeable to my dear parent, I shall continue my
account of some of those many curiosities which I saw in
Westminster-Abbey. Among the monuments of our ancient Kings is that
of Henry V. whose effigy has lost its head, which being of silver, I
am told, was stolen in the civil wars.

Here are two coffins covered with velvet, in which are said to be
the bodies of two Ambassadors, detained here for debt; but what were
their names, or what Princes they served, I could not learn.
Our guide next showed us the body of King Henry the Fifth's Queen,
Catherine, in an open coffin, who is said to have been a very
beautiful Princess; but whose shrivelled skin, much resembling
discoloured parchment, may now serve as a powerful antidote to that
vanity with which frail beauty is apt to inspire its possessors.

Among the waxen effigies, I had almost forgot to mention King
Charles II. and his faithful servant General Monk, whose furious
aspect has something terrible in it.

Not far from these is the figure of a lady, one of the Maids of
Honour to Queen Elizabeth, who is said to have bled to death by only
pricking her finger with a needle.

I must now return to those monuments, which are in the open part of
the church, and free to every one's sight; for those I have been
speaking of are inclosed [sic], and not to be seen without a small
gratuity to the conductor.

Among these, then, on the north side, stands a magnificent monument
erected to Lady Carteret, for whose death some reports assign a
cause something odd, viz. the late French King Louis the XIV.'s
saying, That a lady (whom one of his Nobles compared to Lady
Carteret) was handsomer than she.

Near this stands a grand monument of Lord De Courcy, with an
inscription, signifying that one of his ancestors had obtained a
privilege of wearing his hat before the King.

Next these follow a groupe [sic] of Statesmen, Warriors, Musicians,
&c. among whom is Col. Bingfield, who lost his head by a cannon
ball, as he was remounting the Duke of Marlborough, whose horse had
been shot under him.

The famous musicians Purcell, Gibbons, Blow, and Crofts, have here
their respective monuments and inscriptions; as has also that
eminent painter Sir Godfrey Kneller, with an elegant epitaph by Mr.
Pope. As you enter the west door of the church, on the right hand
stands a monument with a curious figure of Secretary Craggs, on whom
likewise Mr. Pope has bestowed a beautiful epitaph. On the south
side is a costly monument, erected by Queen Anne to the memory of
that brave Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel, who was shipwrecked on the
rocks of Scilly. In the same aisle, and nearly opposite to this, is
a beautiful monument of white marble, to the memory of Thomas
Thynne, of Long-Leat, in the county of Wilts, Esq. who was shot in
his coach, on Sunday the 12th of February, 1682: In the front is
cut the figure of him in his coach, with those of the three
assassins who murdered him. At the end of this aisle, and on one
side of what is called the Poets' Row, lies covered with a handsome
monument, and his effigy a large as the life, the very famous Dr.
Busby, Master of Westminster School, whose strict discipline and
severity are every where so much talked of.

I must now take notice of the Poets, whose monuments stand mostly
contiguous. Here are the ancient monuments of Chaucer and Spencer,
with those of Ben Johnson, Drayton, Milton, and Butler; also of the
great Dryden, the ingenious Phillips, the divine Cowley, the
harmonious Prior, and the inimitable Shakespeare, of whose curious
effigy I have spoken before: nor must I omit the gentle Mr. John
Gay, to whose memory his Grace the Duke of Queensberry has erected a
noble monument, which Mr. Pope has adorned with a very elegant
inscription in verse. I must here end my remarks, but cannot take
leave of this venerable place, without observing, that it has many
curious painted windows, a noble choir, a fine organ, and a
magnificent altar-piece.

I am, Honoured Madam, &c.

_A memorable Saying of the_ Duke de ORLEANS, _at the Surrender of_
_Gravelling, with a generous Action of that Prince_.

WHEN Gravelling was surrendered to the Duke of Orleans, just as he
entered into town he was heard to say these words: "Let us
endeavour, by generous actions, to win the hearts of all men; so we
may hope for a daily victory. Let the French learn from me this new
way of conquest, to subdue men by mercy and clemency."

With what a matchless virtue did this Prince dismiss a gentleman
that was hired to murder him! This assassin was suffered to pass
into the Duke's bedchamber one morning early, pretending business of
grave moment from the Queen. As soon as the Duke cast his eyes on
him, he spoke thus: "I know thy business, friend: thou art sent to
take away my life. What hurt have I done thee? It is now in my
power, with a word, to have thee cut in pieces before my face. But
I pardon thee; go thy way, and see my face no more."

The gentleman, stung with his own guilt, and astonished at the
excellent nature of this Prince, fell on his knees, confessed his
design, and who employed him; and having promised eternal gratitude
for his Royal favour, departed without any other notice taken of
him; and fearing to tarry in France, entered himself into the
service of the Spanish King. It was his fortune afterwards to
encounter the Duke of Orleans in a battle in Flanders. The Duke, at
that instant, was oppressed with a crowd of Germans, who surrounded
him; and, in the conflict, he lost his sword; which this gentleman
perceiving, nimbly stept to him, and delivered one into the Duke's
hand, saying withal, "Now reap the fruit of thy former clemency.
Thou gavest me my life, now I put thee in a capacity to defend thy
own." The Duke by this means at length escaped the danger he was
in; and that day the fortune of war was on his side. The French had
a considerable victory.

You see by this, that heroic actions have something divine in them,
and attract the favours of Heaven. No man was a loser by good
works; for though he be not presently rewarded, yet, in length of
time, some happy emergency arises to convince him, "That virtuous
men are the darlings of Providence."

_The remarkable Story of_ GIOTTO, _an Italian Painter, and his_
_Crucifix_.

IT was a cruel and inhuman caprice of an Italian Painter (I think
his name was Giotto), who designing to draw a crucifix to the life,
wheedled a poor man to suffer himself to be bound to the cross an
hour, at the end of which he should be released again, and receive a
considerable gratuity for his pains. But instead of this, as soon
as he had him fast on the cross, he stabbed him dead, and then fell
to drawing. He was esteemed the greatest master in all Italy at
that time; and having this advantage of a dead man hanging on a
cross before him, there is no question but he made a matchless piece
of work on't.

As soon as he had finished his picture he carried it to the Pope,
who was astonished, as at a progidy [sic] of art, highly extolling
the exquisiteness of the features and limbs, the languishing pale
deadness of the face, the unaffected sinking of the head: In a
word, he had drawn to the life not only that privation of sense and
motion which we call death, but also the very want of the least
vital symptom.

This is better understood than expressed. Every body knows that it
is a master-piece to represent a passion or a thought well and
natural. Much greater is it to describe the total absence of these
interior facilities, so as to dis tinguish the figure of a dead man
from one that is only asleep.

Yet all this, and much more, could the Pope discern in the admirable
draught which Giotto presented him. And he liked it so well, that
he resolved to place it over the altar of his own chapel. Giotto
told him, since he liked the copy so well he would shew him the
original, if he pleased.

What dost thou mean by the original, said the Pope? Wilt thou shew
me Jesus Christ on the cross in his own person? No, replied Giotto,
but I'll shew your Holiness the original from whence I drew this, if
you will absolve me from all punishment. The good old father
suspecting something extraordinary from the painter's thus
capitulating with him, promised, on his word, to pardon him, which
Giotto believing, immediately told him where it was; and attending
him to the place, as soon as they were entered, he drew a curtain
back which hung before the dead man on the cross, and told the Pope
what he had done.

The Holy Father, extremely troubled at so inhuman and barbarous an
action, repealed his promise, and told the painter he should surely
be put to an exemplary death.

Giotto seemed resigned to the sentence pronounced upon him, and only
begged leave to finish the picture before he died, which was granted
him. In the mean while a guard was set upon him to prevent his
escape. As soon as the Pope had caused the picture to be delivered
into his hands, he takes a brush, and dipping it into a sort of
stuff he had ready for that purpose, daubs the picture all over with
it, so that nothing now could be seen of the crucifix, for it was
quite effaced in all outward appearance.

This made the Pope stark mad; he stamped, foamed, and raved like one
in a phrenzy: he swore the painter should suffer the most cruel
death that could be invented, unless he drew another full as good as
the former, for if but the least grace was missing, he would not
pardon him; but if he would produce an exact parallel he should not
only give him life, but an ample reward in money.

The painter, as he had reason, desired this under the Pope's signet,
that he might not be in danger of a second repeal; which was granted
him; and then he took a wet sponge, and wiped off the varnish he had
daubed on the picture, and the crucifix appeared the same in all
respects as it was before.

The Pope, who looked upon this as a great secret, being ignorant of
the arts which the painters use, was ravished at the strange
metamorphosis. And to reward the painter's triple ingenuity, he
absolved him from all his sins, and the punishment due them;
ordering moreover his steward to cover the picture with gold, as a
farther gratuity for the painter. And, they say, this crucifix is
the original, by which the most famous crucifixes in Europe are
drawn.

FABLE _of the_ HARE _and many_ FRIENDS.
By Mr. GAY.

[Illustration: woodcut of Hare and friends]

FRIENDSHIP, like love, is but a name,
Unless to one you stint the flame,
The child whom many fathers share,
Hath seldom known a father's care;
'Tis thus in friendship; who depend
On many, rarely find a friend.
A hare, who, in a civil way,
Complied with ev'ry thing, like _Gay_,
Was known by all the bestial train
Who haunt the wood, or graze the plain;
Her care was, never to offend,
And ev'ry creature was her friend.
As forth she went at early dawn,
To taste the dew-besprinkled lawn,
Behind she hears the hunter's cries,
And from the deep-mouth'd thunder flies;
She starts, she stops, she pants for breath;
She hears the near advance of death;
She doubles to mislead the hound,
And measures back her mazy round;
'Till, fainting in the public way,
Half dead with fear she gasping lay.
What transports in her bosom grew,
When first the horse appear'd in view!
Let me, says she, your back ascend,
And owe my safety to a friend;
You know my feet betray my flight,
To friendship every burden's light.
The horse replied, poor honest puss,
It grieves my heart to see thee thus;
Be comforted, relief is near,
For all your friends are in the rear.
She next the stately bull implor'd,
And thus replied the mighty lord;
Since every beast alive can tell
That I sincerely wish you well,
I may, without offence, pretend
To take the freedom of a friend;
Love calls me hence; a fav'rite cow
Expects me near yon barley mow;
And when a lady's in the case,
You know all other things give place.

To leave you thus might seem unkind,
But see, the goat is just behind.
The goat remark'd her pulse was high,
Her languid head, her heavy eye;
My back, says he, may do you harm;
The sheep's at hand, and wool is warm.
The sheep was feeble, and complain'd
His sides a load of wool sustain'd,
Said he was slow, confest his fears;
For hounds eat sheep as well as hares.
She now the trotting calf addrest,
To save from death a friend distrest.
Shall I, says he, of tender age,
In this important care engage?
Older and abler past you by;
How strong are those! how weak am I!
Should I presume to bear you hence,
Those friends of mine may take offence:
Excuse me then. You know my heart,
But dearest friends, alas, must part!
How shall we all lament: Adieu!
For see the hounds are just in view.

_The dying Words and Behaviour of three great
Men, when just quitting the Stage of Life_.

SIR Francis Walsingham, towards the end of his life, grew very
melancholy, and writ to the Lord Burleigh to this purpose: "We have
lived long enough to our country, to our fortunes, and to our
Sovereign; it is high time we begin to live to ourselves, and to
our God."

Sir Henry Wotton, who had gone on several embassies, and was
intimate with the greatest Princes, chose to retire from all,
saying, The utmost happiness a man could attain to, was to be at
leisure to _be_, and to _do_ good; never reflecting on his former
years, but with tears, he would say, "How much time have I to repent
of! and how little to do it in!"

Philip III. King of Spain, seriously reflecting upon the life he had
led in the world, cried out upon his death-bed, How happy were I,
had I spent those twenty-three years that I have held my kingdom,
_in a retirement!_ saying to his confessor, "My concern is for my
soul, not my body."

_FINIS_.

SALISBURY: Printed by B.C. COLLINS.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies - A Private Tutor for Little Masters and Misses" ***

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