cipal guard, while the yard would be partly converted into a public pound. Fortunately the absurd project of the fortifications of the city of Paris has put a check to all projects of building, and the refectory is allowed a respite for a few years longer.

It should be added that the sill of a door leading into a street from a back part of this building is an incised sepulchral slab of the 14th century, on which the word ANGLUS is the only one that can as yet be read; preparations are making for obtaining an accurate fac-simile of this stone, which there is reason to believe was the funeral memorial of the founder of the house.

The French Historical Committee of Arts and Monuments has had this building carefully surveyed, measured, drawn, and engraved :-this is such as it should be. Meanwhile, and ere it is destroyed, we recommend the British antiquary who visits Paris to find his way to the Rue de Pontoise, Quai St. Bernard, and to the Bernardins. Yours, &c. H. L. J.

Knowsthorpe, near Leeds, MR. URBAN, 28th April. YOU may reply to the inquiries of EBORACENSIS in the Gentleman's Magazine for February last, respecting Thomas Maude, that he was born in Downing-street, Westminster, in May 1718; that he was a surgeon in the Royal Navy, in which capacity he was on board of one of the squadron commanded by the unhappy Admiral Byng, in the Mediterranean, in 1757; that he died at Wensley in the North Riding, 23rd December, 1798, aged 81 his family is still in possession of an estate at Burley near Otley; and in Whitaker's History of Craven, you will find that his ancestors from 1554 to 1640, were the patrons of the living of Ilkley.

This information is furnished by a distant relation of his, who in early life was in the habit of visiting him at his retreat at Wensley, and who now subscribes himself,

Your obedient servant,
Wм. M. MAUDE.

*Another correspondent, who signs E. M. Moor House, states that Mr. Maude was born at Harewood in 1717.

MR. URBAN,

M-H-, Yorkshire,
Feb. 10.

THE gentleman, who, in the Minor Correspondence at p. 114 of your present volume, makes some inquiries respecting the late Thomas Maude, esq. is informed that he was many years steward to Harry Powlett, the sixth and last Duke of Bolton, who died in 1794, when the title became extinct. Mr. Maude resided chiefly at Bolton Hall, in Wensleydale, the seat of the Bolton Family in this county. He died, I believe, at Wensley, in the latter part of the year 1798, aged 80, and was buried in the churchyard at that place, where there is a tomb-stone with an inscription to his memory, of which I regret that I cannot now find a copy among my papers. Some notices of him, and specimens of his poetry, may be seen in your Magazine for 1799, pt. i. pp. 79, 163, and 191.

Of Mr. Maude's origin nothing is known; it is believed that he was not allied to any of the numerous, wealthy, and widely-branched families of that name in the north. He had been brought up to the medical profession, and, in 1755, he was surgeon on board the Barfleur, commanded by Captain Lord Harry Powlett, in Admiral Hawke's squadron. some disobedience of orders-or misunderstanding-or, what was shrewdly suspected, cowardice, Capt. Powlett was tried by a court-martial at Portsmouth, and in the course of that trial, Mr. Maude was said to have given such evidence as probably saved the captain's life.

For

a

In 1765, Charles Powlett, the fifth Duke of Bolton, died, s. p. 1. and his brother, the captain, succeeded him in his titles and estates. Then it was that the captain, now become wealthy Duke, had an opportunity of rewarding the important services of his faithful surgeon, by appointing him supreme agent over all his extensive and valuable estates in the North. Mr. Maude retained this agency till the death of his patron, the Duke; but he was displaced by the successor to that nobleman's estates, Thomas Orde, esq. of Northumberland, who married the natural daughter of Charles the fifth Duke, took the additional name of Powlett, and was created

Baron Bolton, of Bolton Castle, in 1797.

The following is supposed to be a pretty correct list of Mr. Maude's publications:*

1. Wensleydale, or Rural Contemplations, a poem ; 4to. 1772. See the Gent. Mag. for that year, p. 232.

2. Verbeia, or Wharfdale, a poem, descriptive and didactic; 4to. 1782.

[Here Mr. Maude had a handsome seat, Burley Hall, where he occasionally resided.]

3. Viator, a poem; with notes historical and topographical; 4to.

MR. URBAN, Petersham, Surrey. IN the Obituary of remarkable persons noticed in the 68th volume of your Magazine (1798, Part 1st. Page 447) was recorded the death of Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. It is there stated that he had then lately returned from a voyage round the world, an account of which was printed and published at the expense of the Board of Admiralty after his death. The following brief notice will perhaps prove acceptable to some of your numerous readers.

* E. M. describes Mr. Maude's works as follows, stating that they form a quarto volume, dates 1780 and 1782, illustrated with plates.

The volume contains Wensley Dale, dedicated to the Duchess of Bolton. Wharfdale, dedicated to Edwin Lascelles, Esq. Viator, dedicated to Sir George Saville. Account of Ilkley Church. Of the Cowthorp Oak 1774. Life of Sir Isaac Newton, with an engraving of his house at Woolsthorpe. Sketch of Francis Grose, Esq. Parallel of Wharfdale and Wensleydale. On Longevity. Order of the House at Denton by Thomas Lord Fairfax. Descent of the Lord Perciyes (in verse) by Me Wm. Peeris, clarke, and Preiste to Henry, 5th Earl of Northumberland. A few minor Poems; and a few Dissertations in prose.

he

After Vancouver's return from his long and persevering Voyage of Discovery, he resided frequently at the old Star and Garter on Richmond Hill, a spot for which, as well as for its immediate neighbourhood, always expressed a marked preference. For some years before his death he occupied a cottage in the village of Petersham, where he employed himself in preparing for the press the account of his voyages. It was during this period that he was grossly insulted in the streets of London by the late Lord Camelford. His lordship had been an officer on board Captain Vancouver's ship, was notorious for his violence, if not insanity, and was afterwards killed by Mr. Best in a duel, the particulars of which were fully detailed in your Magazine for March 1804. In consequence of his aggression against Vancouver, the latter thought proper to apply to the then Lord Chancellor, Loughborough, for his protection. The Chancellor having in consequence directed a note to be sent to Lord Camelford, requesting him to call upon him at his house in Bedford-square, he accordingly went, and apparently in a very excited state. He was shewn into the library, where Lord Loughborough was alone. Lady Loughborough, however, hearing of this visit, became somewhat nervous and alarmed, and requested a friend of the family, who was then in the house, to watch carefully at the door of the library, and if he should hear any noise, or angry words, to enter the room without ceremony, and pounce upon the hostile visitor! The meeting, however, proved a pacific one; and the result was that Lord Camelford was bound over in a large sum to keep the peace, his relative the late Lord Grenville becoming his security.

Captain Vancouver did not live to see his "Voyages of Discovery," &c. published, which were afterwards completed, from his manuscripts, by his brother. He died at Petersham when forty years of age, and was buried in the churchyard of that parish, a humble and almost unnoted headstone marking the place of his interment with the simple inscription of

This circumstance having been noticed to the Hudson's Bay Company, whose extensive commercial pursuits throughout the interior of the Indian countries of North America have been pushed beyond the Rocky Mountains into those regions of which Vancouver was the discoverer, a tablet has been recently placed to his memory in the Church of Petersham with the following inscription:

IN THE CEMETERY ADJOINING THIS CHURCH WERE INTERRED, IN THE YEAR 1798, THE MORTAL REMAINS OF CAPTAIN GEORGE VANCOUVER, R.N. WHOSE VALUABLE AND ENTERPRISING VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

TO THE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN,

AND

ROUND THE WORLD,

DURING FIVE YEARS OF LABORIOUS SURVEY,
GREATLY ADDED

TO THE GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWKEDGE
OF HIS COUNTRYMEN.

TO THE MEMORY

OF THAT CELEBRATED NAVIGATOR THIS MONUMENTAL TABLET

IS ERECTED BY

THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.

MR. URBAN,

Yours, &c.

Cork, April 13. IN reply to the enquiry of R. M. transmitted by you, as to the authority on which it is stated in page 371 of your Magazine for February, that, "in 1804, on the threatened invasion of England by Bonaparte, our Ministers, and more especially Mr. Pitt, seriously contemplated the fortification of London," I must express my surprise that your correspondent did not notice the reference to Mr. Alison's History of Europe, volume v.I am glad, however, of the opportunity to be more precise on the subject, for it was in 1803, not 1804, that the parliamentary discussion occurred, when "Colonel Crawford urged, says Mr. Alison, (p. 160) the great danger of the capital, and Mr. Pitt added the great weight of his authority on the same side.. "It is in vain to say, observed he, that you should not fortify London, because our ancestors did not fortify it, unless you can show that they were in the same situation that we are. If the fortification of the capital can add to the security of the country, I think it ought to be done, &c." The Secretary at War (Rt. Hon. Charles Yorke,) said, that

he agreed perfectly with Colonel Crawford in most, but not all of his observations. "It would be a libel, continued the Minister, on the people of London to think of fortifying their metropolis, when we had a fleet containing 80,000 men, and such an army as never before was heard of in this country," &c. Ministers, therefore, it would appear, were not favourable to the plan; and for Ministers, in the article referred to by R. M. we should read, "many M.Ps.- and more especially Mr. Pitt, &c. The sentiments of this eminent man, which it was my chief object to indicate, and on which your correspondent also more particularly dwells, as assuredly would the French orators in their recent debates, had they been aware of them, are unequivocally expressed, it will be thus seen. On this occasion, however, the subject was more incidentally than directly introduced, as the immediate question agitated was the Military Service Bill, from the 18th to the 22d July, (1803); but, on the 2d August, Colonel Crawford brought it on more formally, in his motion relative to the Defence of the Country, embracing a much more extensive system of fortification. Scarcely, we may now regret, had the gallant officer proceeded beyond a few opening sentences, when Mr. Frankland moved the standing order of the House for the removal of strangers; and the gallery remained, in consequence, closed on the reporters; so that, with the exception of an ample speech by Sir Philip Francis, supplied no doubt, by himself, we have only a few words on the general topic, in the Parliamentary History. (Vol. 36, p. 1680, &c.) Finally, Colonel Crawford withdrew his motion; but I well recollect that, at the time, some of the Ministers were known not to be adverse to the plan of fortification as applied to the metropolis; though opposed by the majority. Had Mr. Pitt been just then in power, the result might have been different; but he did not resume the helm of government till the following May, (1804) when the alarm of invasion had considerably subsided, although the mighty host destined for that purpose, ostensibly at least, still presented its menacing front at Boulogne, and did not advance into Germany, to gather the

laurels of Austerlitz and Averstadt, for above twelve months after. Yet it was in the midst of these splendid triumphs, that the defeat of Trafalgar damped the spirits of the Conqueror, and terminated all prospects of invasion. The circumstance and impression are vividly depicted by his panegyrist, M. Bignon, (tome iv. p. 375, and p. 427.) "Jamais un si grand revers ne surprit un vainqueur au sein d'une si étonnante prospérité . . . Vaisseaux, colonies, commerce, tout ce que réclamaient ses vœux, disparaissent dans la grande calamité de Trafalgar. Sa douleur n'a rien d'égal que sa colère. C'est l'Angleterre qui le poursuit, qui l'obséde, qui vient troubler ses triomphes: c'est elle, en revanche, qu'il maudit, qu'il déteste."

Well, therefore, may Britain place her trust in her wooden walls, and now contemplate with derision the illusive defence of those Martello Towers, that studded our coasts, and respecting which, an old friend of mine, when questioned as to their destination, shrewdly replied that, doubtless, it was to puzzle posterity, like the Round Towers of Ireland, which still remain an unsolved and defiant problem to antiquaries. Plutarch (Συμπόσιον τῶν ἑπτὰ σοφῶν, 11, 5, ed. Henr. Steph. 1572) emphatically marks the little use of walls to brave men; and Florus, (lib. ii. 18,) describes Numantia, the " decus Hispania," as he characterises that noble city, without walls-" sine muris, sine turribus, quatuor millibus Celtiberorum quadraginta millium exercitus per annos quatuordecim sola sustinuit;" adding what is equally applicable to Napoleon's invasion--" non temere, si fateri licet, ullius causa belli injustior." Florus speaks feelingly; for he probably was of Spanish origin, as his family name, Annæus, the same as that of Seneca and Lucan, would indi

cate.

Mr. Alison, referring to the easy capture of the continental capitals and resulting effects, during the war, hesitates not to condemn the rejection of Colonel Crawford's project and Mr. Pitt's advice, confirmed, in his apprehension, by Napoleon's opinion in regard to Paris, Lyons, &c.; but the Emperor's views on the subject seem

to have occasionally varied, and have, consequently, been appealed to equally by the advocates and adversaries of the fortification question, on which, too, the high authority of Marshal Soult may be invoked on either side. The repeated possession of Madrid by the conflicting armies had, however, litle influence on the Kingdom at large; and the surrender of Moscow did not involve the subjugation of the Russian Empire: nor, we may trust, would the capitulation of London render torpid the patriotism of England; but Paris, from its absorbing concentration of the national thought, action, and feeling, may almost be said to represent, and be, France. Yours, &c. J. R.

MR. URBAN,

Shiplake, Henley on Thames, April 8. AS you have permitted your correspondents to address you on the controversy respecting the identity of the celebrated Herne's Oak, alluded to in Shakespear's Merry Wives of Windsor, I beg to offer to your notice some observations on the subject which I was induced to write in consequence of Mr. Jesse's erroneous statement in his "Gleanings in Natural History," being myself in possession of facts which bear very strongly on the question.

In the year 1788 I became a resident at Windsor, and in that year I made a drawing of what was then generally believed to be the real Herne's Oak. Mr. Francis Nicholson, the celebrated artist, made a copy of that drawing in 1820, and had a lithographic print taken from it. There certainly were two opinions respecting the identity of the tree; but I have no hesitation in asserting that the best informed persons were decidedly satisfied that the tree I allude to was that described by Shakespear. I can mention two whom I consider to be high authorities on the subject,-the late Bishop of Salisbury and Mr. West, the President of the Royal Academy. The late Bishop of Salisbury, (Dr. Fisher) then a Canon of Windsor, pointed out the tree to me, who had recently become a resident at Windsor. Having been several years a preceptor in the Royal Family, he was of course in the best society, and likely to obtain the most

correct information on the subject, to which his peculiar taste and talents naturally directed his attention. Mr. West was at that time a resident at Windsor, and it may readily be imagined that his professional pursuits and his well-known abilities and judgment would be particularly given to the consideration of the subject, and induce him to make such investigations as would satisfy his mind upon it. I often heard him speak with great interest on the question, upon which he certainly entertained no doubt whatever. When the tree was felled by order of George the Third, he was so much concerned that so great a curiosity should be removed, that he requested a fragment of the wood might be given to him, that he might preserve it as a relic of the celebrated tree alluded to by Shakespear, which must have been so ancient and so singular in its appearance long before Queen Elizabeth's time* as to have occasioned a romantic story.

Whilst I was making my sketch, H. R. H. the Princess Mary, accompanied by a lady with whom I was acquainted, was walking in Queen Elizabeth's avenue. They came up to me, and H. R. H. looked at my sketch. It was not to be supposed that H. R. H. was a critical reader of Shakespear at that early period of her life, but it was not improbable that she had heard the general opinion as to the identity of the tree from the conversation of others, and had H. R. H. perceived that I was in error, it would certainly have been made known to me.

Mr. Jesse, in his Gleanings," describes the situation of the tree, which he supposes to be Herne's Oak, as being near the foot-path which leads from the Windsor Road to Queen Adelaide's Lodge in the Little Park ;" and adds that this path "is stated to have passed in former times close to Herne's Oak.” He admits that at present it is" at a little distance from it." But he is quite mistaken on this point. There was no path in that direction when I made my drawing in 1788. It is comparatively modern. At the time I allude to, the path from Windsor Town to Datchet went be

66

tween the Castle and the Queen's lodge, under the South Terrace, (as Mr. C. Knight observes in his Pictorial edition of Shakspere) and entered the Little Park near the south east tower of the Castle, passing from thence to the descent called Mother Dodd's Hill, to the left of the cottage, since called Queen Adelaide's Lodge. When the great alterations were made in the Castle a few years since by George the Fourth, and the Queen's Lodge was pulled down, this path was entirely closed, and a new foot-path was then made from Windsor Town to Datchet, entering the Park from the London Road not far distant from the Long Walk, and passing to the right of Queen Adelaide's Lodge. This is the path Mr. Jesse alludes to, which never was nearer the tree than it now is, and had no connexion whatever with the real Herne's Oak.

It is very true that a foot-path which led across the park did pass close to Herne's Oak. But it was not the modern path to which Mr. Jesse alludes, nor the old path which I have mentioned as entering the park near the south-east tower of the castle, and leading to Datchet, but another path which entered the park at the same gate, and led to the Ranger's Lodge near Frogmore, passing close by the real Herne's Oak just where it crossed the avenue called Queen Elizabeth's Walk (now called by some King William the Third's Avenue).

In a letter I have seen, in which Mr. Jesse attempts to justify the statement in his "Gleanings," he says

66

away from

'the tree which was felled stood near the Castle, away from the foot-path, having no pit near it." In all this he is completely mistaken. The tree which was felled was not " near the Castle," but as distant from it as Mr. Jesse's tree-it was not the foot-path," for the path which I have described above, leading from the Castle to the Ranger's Lodge, came close by it-and so far from "having no pit near it," it actually stood upon the very edge of the pit, as my drawing will shew, though Mr. Nicholson, when he copied the sketch, thought proper to omit it, as he did also the

4 H