5. Tabhar dhim an mugh ar naràn limbhail,‡ 5. Tabhar dhuin aniugh ar naràn laeanıhail, Give us this day, &c. 6. Agus mai dhuine ar fiack, amhail mear marhmhid ar fiecha,§ And forgive us our trespasses, &c. 7. Na leig sin ambharibh ; Leave us not in temptation, 8. Ach soarsa shin on olc.|| But deliver us from evil. 9. Or 'sleatsa rioghta, comhta, agus gloir gn sibhri.¶ For thine is the kingdom, &c. The General then observes, that the old British and Cornish are supposed to be genuine remains of the old Celtic, and he gives the Oratio Dominica, in each of those dialects, from the same author (Chamberlayne). They differ toto cœlo from the Irish, and he adds, "the ingenious and accurate translator of Mallet has collected specimens of the PaterNoster in all the Celtic and Gothic dialects." After many observations on them, he acknowledges, that he cannot think the Irish and Welsh equally de-, rived from one Celtic stock, at least not in the same manner as any two branches of the Gothic. Scarce any resemblance 6. Agus maith (pron. mai) dhùine ar fiach, amhail mar maithmhidne ar fiacha. 7. Na leig sin am bhuaribh, 8. Acht saorsa sin on olc. 9. Or is leatsa rioghacta, cumhacta, agus gloir gan siorraidhe. appears between them, (says he) so that if the learned will have them to be streams from one cominon fountain, it must be allowed, that one or both have been greatly polluted." This similarity, or rather identity, between the Lord's prayer, in the language of the above-mentioned Coti, adds the General, is not less strong, than the similarity of the theology and mythology of certain sects of the Irish Coti, and of the ancient Persians, and Brahmins of India. (Essay, p. 73.) From a very ancient vellum MSS. now in Trinity College, the General makes the following extract: "The colony of the Dedanites, named Tuatha Dedan, or the Haruspices of Dedan, in Irish history, descended from Cush, the son of Ham, and arrived in Ireland, A. M. 3303 or 705, before the birth of Christ." According to Bochart, Dedan the son of Rhegma, the son of Cush, settled in or about Oman, whence this colony in Irish history is sometimes named Fir d'Omhan, or men of Oman. To this succeeds a list of the deities and sub-deities introduced into Ireland by these Dedanites. As iat so sios Maihe Tuatha-Dedan; i. e. there follows a list of the Maih (or sub-deities) of the Tuatha-Dedan. 1. Mogh nua dhat, airgid lamh ; i. e. the Magus of the new law, the silverhanded, that is, Zordust the first (Zoroaster) Dile Ruaid, Noah's flood (Shaw's Gaelic Dict. &c.) Easar Ruaid, the cataract of Ruad, the name of the great water-fall at Ballyshannon-Ruadh boine, floodwater (idem.)-boine in Irish, and bin aster) whose name in Persian implies, gold or silver-handed. 2. Lugh, Lu-lamh-fada ; i. e. Lu, the tall Lama or priest. The office of Lama was common to all the Southern Scythians: it is now written luamh, and translated in Arabic, signifies a tract of abbot, by the Irish lexicouists.-More country and in the Chaldæan 877, Ruda, Tibetanorum Lou est Lo, presbyter, nomen angeli pluviis et irrigationi_tersacerdos, princeps, summus. Lamam ita ra præfecti (Buxtorf).-Essay, p. 25. habeas supremum Chatava. Lama Reimboiche, Tibetanorum pontifex maximus. (Georgius Alpab. Tibet. p. 689.) 3. Eo cad, ill dathac, Dia Teibith, i. e. Penis sanctus variorum colorum, Deus Naturæ. Pasupati vocant Nepallenses phallum seu Lingam, quadriformem; flavi, rubri, viridis, albique coloris. (Georgius Alp. Tib. p. 152.) 4. Budh dearg; i. e. ruddy Budh Many lamas or priests of Budh, says Sir William Jones, have been found settled in Siberia; but it can hardly be doubted, that lamas had travelled from Tibet, whence it is more probable, that the religion of Budha was imported into Southern Chinese Tartary; since we know that rolls of Tibetian writing have been brought even from the borders of the Caspian. The complexion of Budha himself, which, according to the Hindus, was between white and ruddy, would perhaps have convinced Mons. Bailly, had he known the Indian tradition, that the last great legislator, and god of the East, was a Tartar. 5. Seaccha so, craobh dearg; i. e. Seaccha the good, of the ruddy branch or family. According to Georgius and La Croze, Seaccha was the same as Budha. Xacam eundem esse ac Buddum, La Croze aliique non dubitant. Xacæ nominis origo a Saca Babiloniorum, Persa rum numine repetenda, (Georg. p. 21.) 6. Phearaman, mac Budh dearg; i. e. Pearaman, son of ruddy Budh. This was Paraman, the founder of the Bramins, "Jai remarqué que les Brames aimaient à etre appellès Paramanes, par respect pour la memoire de leur ancestres qui portoient ce nom (Bailly, Lettr. sur les Sciences," p. 202). "Pausanias nous dit, que Mercure, le même que Butta ou Budha un des fondateurs de la doctrine des Paramenes ou Brames, est appellè Parummon." (Gebelin, Hist. Cal. Pref.) 7. Ill breac Easa Ruaid; i.e. the ever blessed Ruad of torrents and cataracts. It appears that Ruad was the presiding deity over waters The great flood of Noah, they say was perfected by Ruad. To this I must add, that the General in another place shews that Budha, or Butta, had his temple in Ireland, named Butta-fan, the temple of Butta, now Butta-vant, in the county of Cork. These examples, and many others, Mr. Editor, which would be too long for insertion in your valuable Magazine, appear to me to form such a mass of evidence, in favour of the general's system, of these western islands being peopled by Indo-Scythians, mixed with a body of Chaldæans, which (to use the words of Agricola) it will not be easy to overthrow. Why so learned a work, so new in its principles and discoveries, should be confined to Ireland, and esteemed contraband in England, I cannot imagine. Certain I am, that the more it is communicated, the more it will be admired, and will make it appear more than probable, that the Hindus had a knowledge of this part of the globe, of which Mr. Wilford seems so positive. I beg leave to conclude with an extract from that gentleman's last publication, and hope I shall not trespass on your patience. In the last volume of the Asiatic Researches, Mr. Wilford resumes the subject of the sacred isles in the west. "I have (says he,) omitted no endeavour to render this work as free from imperfections as my abilities would allow; but the subject is so novel, and the source of information so remote from the learned in Europe, that I must confess I feel no small degree of uneasiness on that account. "The grand outline, and principal feature of this Essay, are also well known to pandits and learned men in India. A few passages, anecdotes, and circumstances may be, perhaps, unknown to many of them; but these are perfectly immaterial; and whether allowed to remain or not, neither my foundation nor superstructure can be affected. "The sacred isles in the west, of which Swita-dwipa, or the white island, is the principal and the most famous, are in fact the Holy Land of the Hindus. There the fundamental fundamental and mysterious transactions of the history of their religion, in its rise and progress, took place. The White Island, this holy island in the west, is so intimately connected with their religion and mythology, that they cannot be separated: and of course, divines in India are necessarily acquainted with it, as distant Mussulmans are with Arabia. "This I conceive to be a most favourable circumstance; as, in the present case, the learned have little more to do, than to ascertain wnether the White Island be England, and the sacred isles of the Hindus, the British Isles. After having maturely considered the subject, I think they are. "It will appear in the course of this work, that the language of the followers of Brahma, their geographical knowledge, their history and mythology, have extended through a range, or belt, about forty degrees broad, across the old Continent in a south-east, and north-west direction, from the eastern shores of the Malayan Peninsula, to the western extremities of the British isles. "The principal object I have in view in this Essay, is to prove that the sacred isles of the Hindus, if not the British isles, are at least some remote country to the North-west of the old Continent; for I cannot conceive that they are altogether utopian, or imaginary. But, a is also to prove that the secondary one, greatest part of the legends, which formerly obtained all over the western parts of the world from India, to the British isles, were originally the same with those found in the mythology of the Hindus." That these legends and mythologies of the Hindus did extend to the western part of the world, General Vallancey's writings fully prove a circumstance very rationally accounted for by the General, who traces the emigrations of the IndoScythians, to the Caspian and Euxine, from thence to Spain, and lastly to the British isles. Cheapside, April 16, 1809. Your's, &c. HORTENSIS. lected book, "The Elements of SpeechLondon, printed for E. and C. Dilly, 1773;" or, if no such memoir be extant, who could furnish any particulars relative to him, and to his public lectures in particular; and also to any Correspondent who could supply any particulars relative to Mr. Cockin, author of the Art of delivering written Language. Lond. Dodsley, 1775." A still greater obligation would be conferred by any authentic particulars' relative to Mr, Joshua Steele, author of the invaluable, but, till of late years, unaccountably neglected, "Prosodia Rationalis, or Essay on the Measure and Melody of Speech-Payne 1779." Such infor- mation would, I believe (ultimately, at least), be found to gratify a numerous class of readers, as well as in particu Your's, &c. J. T. lar. Bedford-Place, April 17, 1809. For the Monthly Magazine. ACCOUNT of THOMAS MAJOR'S CONFINEMENT in the CASTLE of the BASTILLE, in the YEAR 1746, interspersed with several ANECDOTES of POPISH BIGOTRY, in a LETTER to THOMAS HOLLIS, ESQ. of LINCOLN'S INN, F.R.S. and S.A.S. 1772, REVISED and PUBLISHED by his GRANDSON, THOMAS WILSON. * To THOMAS HOLLIS, ESQ. DEAR SIR, TH HE desire you expressed that I should commit to paper the circumstances of my confinement in the Bastille, in the year 1746, is a sufficient motive for my endeavouring to satisfy a ideas, and love of humanity. An addicuriosity arising from your enlarged tional reason for my complying with your request, is the apprehension that the fact may hereafter be disputed, since though I had mentioned it in my work of the Antiquities of Pæstum, I have omitted it in the French edition, being unwilling to offend a nation, to which I had so many obligations for my improvement in the To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. arts. To them, the name of the Bastille I SIR, is accompanied with very disagreeable ideas. The horror which every citizen entertains of this state-prison, (since Cardinal Richelieu, and Louis XIV. con SHOULD be much obliged to any of your ingenious Correspondents, who could furnish, through the medium of your valuable miscellany, any intimation relative to any existing memoir of * Of 14, Cumberland-street, PortmanMr. John Herries, A. M. author of a neg square, fined so many unhappy wretches there). is so great, that its name alone is rendered terrible to them, and their posterity. This account is not merely matter of curiosity, but affords a very interesting and instructive contrast, between the horrors of a despotic power, and the mild and just administration of a free state; which I hope will ever give me a true relish and love for my country. "Here Liberty delightful goddess reigns, Here firmly seated may she ever smile, You will here find truth undisguised, and unadorned, by flowers of rhetoric; a plain simple narrative of mere matter of fact, related purely as the incidents arose. Trifling as they may be, to me they became of importance from ny situation. Those who jest at a scar, never felt a wound. Perhaps the singularity of this affair, and manner of relation, may cause a smile. If it afford you any entertainment, I shall think myself happy, as my greatest pleasure will be to acknowledge with gratitude, the honour you do me by your generous friendship, and the many civilities which I have received from you.t I am, dear Sir, Your obliged humble servant, Account of Thomas Major's confinement * It must be remarked and acknowledged, from long experience, that no state can exist, or be well governed with safety to the people, and security of their property, unless there be fit places to confine and check villainy. It was not the prison itself that was thus udious to the nation, but the cruel and arbitrary use of it, by profligate and corrupt ministers of state. Had this account been written immediately after my release, the various incidents, (from the acute feelings of human nature,) would have been painted in much stronger colours. The remembrance of past evils, however, is greatly lessened by time; it now almost appears like a dream, but with this satisfaction, that I feel a melancholy pleasure in retracing the past, and a gratitude o divine Providence for my deliverance. I left London on the 22d of October, 1745, in company with Mr. Hubert Gravelot, an artist, well known for his abilities, with whom I had been a pupil. We embarked in the packet at Harwich, for Helvoet-Sluys, and from thence went to the Hague, with a view of obtaining passports from the French ambassador, to proceed to Paris. Unluckily he had departed from thence, to settle some affairs at his court with the Dutch; for at that time the French had taken possession of part of Flanders. In this dilemma we applied to the EngLord Robert Trevor) but in vain, who lish ambassador, Mr. Hampden, (since finding we had left London at so-critical a juncture (the rebellion being in Scotdation to him, he thought proper to reland), and having no letter of recommenfuse us a passport. This delayed our journey til letters were dispatched to Paris, to get recommendations to Marshal Saxe; when these arrived, we went to Ghent, where the Marshal, very politely, (as artists) granted us the protection we by the common route, through Lisle, &c. wanted, and then we proceeded to Paris and arrived there the latter end of November, 1745. Here I cannot help re marking the strong contrast found between the French and the Dutch artists. As I was obliged to stay in Holland till our passports arrived, I was unwilling to lose my time, and therefore applied to Mr. Houbracken, the celebrated engraver, having a letter of recommendation to him from Mr. Paul Knapton, the bookseller, of whom he had taken large sums of money, for engraving the heads of the illustrious persons of Great Britain. I shewed him my juvenile performances, on which he was pleased to pay me some compliments, I offered to work with him without pay, purely for the sake of instruction, and to fill up my time, rather than spend it in idle curiosity. He said, he never employed any body in his house, and could be of no assistance to me. This was a convincing proof of the narrowness of his mind, and of his close disposition; even though it were to his own advantage, he was unwilling to forward a young man in his studies. Such was Dutch benevolence. In the latter end of October, 1746, I was then studying under the celebrated Monsieur I. P. Le Bas, and was constantly employed in drawing drawing from the life, in the Royal Aca demy of Painting. I lodged and boarded with Monsieur Dennis, in St. James'sstreet, opposite St. Bennet's church. When I came home to dinner one day, my landlord told me that a gentleman, very superbly drest, had been enquiring for me, who would neither leave his name nor business, but said he would call again. The same night about eleven o'clock, as I was in my shirt just stepping into bed, my landlord rapt at my door, desiring me to open it; upon hear ing his voice I did so, and a person entered very gaily drest, with several attendants, one of whom was in black. After the first salutations customary in France, (wondering what could bring me such a visitor so late at night), he asked nie if my name was Major, whether I came from London, and was a protestant, to which I answered in the affirma tive. He told me that he had an order to take me before the Lieutenant-Civile, (the chief magistrate of Paris). This was only a deception, that it should not be known where he was going to carry me ; I replied, that it was a very late hour to go before such a person, and that I would be ready to attend him any time in the morning. He said his orders were for my going with him then. Whilst I was putting on my cloaths, they went into the adjoining chamber, except one of them, who staid with me, (I suppose) lest I should make an escape. This was La Mouche, or spy. As he was sitting, I perceived he held a bag with something in it; I was afterwards informed that it contained the gown of the gentleman in black, who was the commissary, or civil magistrate, whose attendance on these occasions upon the exempt, or king's messenger, (for such was my fine gentleman), is merely to keep up the appear ance and specious form of liberty, for his refusal would subject him to a like execrable instrument, as that which I af terwards found they had provided for me, (in gentler language, a Lettre de Cachet). It is said, that these Lettres de Cachet make more havock in France, in one year, than the inquisition in Spain and Turkish cruelty do in ten. The mi nister has always a number of these war. rants ready to use, upon every occasion, Mark'd with a secretary's seal, In bloody letters the Bastille." Churchill. Before I was quite drest, they returned to my room. As I was going, I knew not where, nor on what account, and money being at all times a necessary article, I unlocked my box to take some with me. The gentleman hearing it chink, told me, I should have no occasion for money where I was going-1 little dreamt that I was to be entertained and lodged at the king's expence. I was then about to put on my sword; he said, I had no need of one, I must leave it, they would take great care of me. On this occasion the whole house was alarmed and in terror, all its inhabitants left their beds, peeping through their windows, not daring to appear, but secretly enquiring who were the objects of such a visit, and of what crimes they were guilty. My ingenious friend and countryman, Mr. Joseph Wilton, sculptor, lodged in the same house, above stairs, with a Mr. Vammeck, a Flanderkin, who informed him of my being seized by an exempt. Mr. Wilton, conscious of his coming to France in time of war as a Fleming, and passing as such to all, except his master, Mr. Pigal (under whom he was studying) and a few friends, was. fearful a discovery had been made. With this idea, he very prudently took a little excursion over the tops of the houses, to elude their pursuit, believing they might also be in search of him; and notwithstanding our intimacy and friendship, he had no inclination to accompany me in such an expedition, which would certainly have been the case, had they known he was an Englishman. When the coast was clear, Mr. Vammeck gave him the signal; he returned, but without rest that night. The dread of sharing the same fate made him apply early in the morning to Mr. Pigal, who procured him a protection, by which his fears vanished, and he pursued his studies in safety. As I had no guilt upon my mind, I had no suspicion of harm, and therefore I did not even desire my landlord to acconapany me. Had I shewn a difficulty, or made any resistance, the commissary would have put on his magisterial robe, to have shewn his function and authority. Law is but a poor defence where humanity is lost, and conscience lulled asleep. But a stronger and more irresistible method of commanding obedience on such occasions, is the military force attending upon the exempt, to strike the greater terror to delinquents, and to keep those who are of too volatile spirits (in which this country abounds) in subjection. At that time all the artists of the Royal Academy wore swords. |