1814.] Blasphemy of Joanna Southcote. people; and that it is in the neighbour hood of Belfast where commerce and the cotton and linen manufactures have stimulated, that the improved state of the country is observable.". Now, Mr. Editor, if I wanted any proof of Mr. Wakefield's inaccuracy, this quotation would be sufficient; for although in some of the mountainous tracts of the north of Ireland, the people are not so com fortable in their manner of living as in the plains, and are guilty of the barba, rous crime of speaking their native language, I will take upon me to say, that if Mr. Wakefield had ventured among these barbarians, he would have found more comfort, and full as much civilization, as in the mountains of Wales or Westmoreland, and more hospitality, and not one house in which the English language was not spoken; which is more than he could say of the Welsh mountaineers. But really nothing can be more preposterous than his assertion that the inhabitants of these mountains are unbenefited by the linen business; unless the inhabitants of a tract of country can remain unbenefited, by a manufacture fully established amongst them, that affords employment to the father and the mother of the family, and to all the branches of it, at an early age; except another assertion which closely follows, that in the neighbourhood of Belfast alone the advantages of the linen trade are conspicuous. Upon this point, I shall beg leave to ask Mr. Wakefield a question:-Pray, sir, in your statistical pursuits, did you ever travel from Belturbet, in the county of Cavan, (to go no farther,) through the counties of Monaghan, Tyrone, Armagh, Down, and Antrim, 67 Irish miles, to Belfast? because, sir, if you did, your eyes must have been shut, either naturally or artificially, (for none are so blind as those who will not see,) or you could not have helped perceiving what comfort and opulence pervade the whole line of road, on each side of which is seated the principal scene of the linen trade, though 30 much of that route is so distant from Belfast. Why, sir, it is not the town of Belfast that has made the country,it is the country that has made Belfast: it is the industry of the inhabitants in the lineo trade that has made it. From Belfast, the cotton trade certainly did emanate; but then, it was ingrossed in the linen trade. Surely, as a statistical writer, Mr. Wakefield ought to have known, that it is from the superfluities of one country, and from the wants of 103 another, that commerce is produced, which produces merchants, who are only the factors in the Exchange; and that unless a country is so rich in com imodities, as to have a considerable quan tity to spare, to exchange for what it does not produce, persons of this de scription could have no existence: therefore it is from the internal riches of a country that they spring, and not the riches of the country from them. But Mr. Wakefield has not entered into the spirit of our country, he has only seen the surface of things; and because that surface is not so inviting, nor so well polished as the surface of England, he torns from it, and looks no further, but satisfies himself with a species of general and dictatorial condemnation. It is from men of talents, like Mr. ARTHUR YOUNG, that Ireland is to look for justice; and I will take it upon me to say, that his account of that kingdom, though written near forty years ago, with some little allowance for the improvements of the intervening period, is a better picture of Ireland at this moment than the la boured work now under discussion. If, Mr. Editor, you think the above worthy of your attention, it is at your service; and at some future period I shall furnish you with further observations, for which there is ample room. I am, Sir, &c. CLERICUS DROMORIENSIS. July 23, 1814. On the BLASPHEMY of JOANNA SOUTH COTE. To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine. SIR, I was greatly shocked at reading in the Morning Chronicle of this day, the de scription of a cot or cradle provided, as it is there said, by the orders of a noble lady, for the expected offspring of Joanna Southcote, whose lying oracles have amused the public for ten or twelve years past. This artful old beldam seems now to have reached the acme of extravagance, fraud, and blasphemy; but I dare not defile my paper or your pages with the horrible particulars of her present impudent asseveration to an intercourse with the divinity. I can hardly help thinking that this is part of a plot to bring the Christian religion into contempt; but whether it is the effect of such a design or not, no doubt can be entertained of its having that tendency. It will make infidels laugh, confirm libertines in their wickedness, and increase the number of those sectaries who have 104 Inquiry concerning a Remedy for Worms. [Sept. 1, already so far approximated to Islamism informed, if any effectual means have as to call themselves believers, while they reject the most important part of the gospel history, and the fundamental articles of our faith But supposing that we have an unlimited toleration, is that a reason, Mr. Editor, why the laws against blasphemy should be suffered to lie dormant? Shall any lying strumpet and strolling outcast shelter themselves under this broad banner of indulgence, and take advantage of it, to insult not only the national establishment, but the most sacred doctrines of our common Christianity? If a ballad-singer was to entertain a gaping crowd with one of those libellous songs which are only sold in secret to the filthy-minded, would not he be taken up and committed to a house of correction for his audacity? and shall this most shameless of all impostors be suffered to insult religion,-to trample upon the laws, and violate good manners with unpun ty? In the name of all that is decent and honourable in society, what are our magistrates and the guar dians of the public morals about, that no step is taken to put an end to this abominable nuisance?-the very public notice of which, in our journals, reflects equal disgrace upon the country, and upon the executive government. Before I have done, I shall add one word upon this infamous cheat, knowing, as I do, the whole of her history. An hypochondriac she is not, for she was a pestilent meddler in the affairs of other people, and an arrogant pretender to superior sanctity, when she lived at Exeter, where she was continually tormenting a very worthy clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Pometill he was obliged to treat her with a roughness, which was quite opposite to his character. On her settling in London, where she found fools enough to hearken to her tales, and to pay her well for them, she troubled that gentleman with numerous letters, in which she vented against him the most scurrilous invectives, for which, if he had been so inclined, he might have punished her with great severity. roy, Aug. 2, 1814. I am, Sir, &c. CURSITOR. REMEDY for WORMS. To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine. HAVING observed the success with which enquiries, made through your work, have been attended, I am induced to avail myself of the information and talent of your numerous readers, to be been yet discovered for the extirpation of those worms, commonly denominated ascarides, so troublesome and disagreeable an annoyance to some constitutions. Common remedies of purges, &c. producing temporary relief, have been in vain tried, by many of my friends; but I strongly suspect, that there exists some practical remedy,-some old woman's recipe likely to prove effectual. A communication upon this subject, from any of your numerous readers, will afford high gratification to A CONSTANT READER, July 28, 1814., On the MANUSCRIPTS of the late MR. TWEDdell. WITH mingled emotions of regret and indignation, I have extracted from Dr. Clarke's recent volume of Travels in Greece, his interesting but affecting account of the accomplished Mr. Tweddell, whose remains are entombed among the ruins of Athens, where he died of a fever just as he was about to turn his face towards his native land. As this biogra phical sketch furnishes matter for some painful reflections, you will excuse me for wishing that it may take the precedence of what I have to offer on a subject which, when made fully public, cannot fail to produce a general sensation among all who have at heart the honour of our country, and the general interests of literature. JOHN TWEDDELL, the eldest son of [the late] Francis Tweddell, esq. of Threepwood, in the county of Northum berland, was born on the 1st of June, 1769, and, after passing through the usual course of preparatory education, was entered at Trinity college, Cambridge, where he distinguished himself by such proofs of original genius as are, perhaps, without example, even in the records of that learned society. As a candidate for university honours, his "Prolusiones Academice" attest bis success to have This work appeared in 1793, with the following title," Prolusiones Juveniles Præmiis Academicis Dignatæ. Auctore Joanne Tweddell, A. B. Trin. Coll. Cant. Soc. 8vo." It is remarkable, that of the thirteen compositions contained in the vo lume, seven were honoured with public aça demical, and three with private collegiate prizes; and that two others were also written in consequence of prizes adjudged to the author, all within the short space of four 1814.] Account of the late Mr. John Tweddell. been equally brilliant and extraordinary, and supersede the necessity of particular illustration. Mr. Tweddell was elected a fellow of Trinity college in 1792, and Soon afterwards entered himself a student of Lincoln's inn, where he kept his terms, and continued to reside, until the year 1795, when he left England to commence his travels on the continent of Europe, and met with that untimely fate which has mixed his ashes with those of the sages and philosophers of Greece. He visited Switzerland, Germany, most parts of the Russian empire, and particularly the Crimea, where his intercourse with professor Pallas was of the most intimate kind, and had so endeared him to that amiable scholar, that the admiration with which he spoke of him partook of the tenderness and affection of a father. From the borders of the Euxine, where his researches were both diligent and productive, be proceeded to Constantinople, and, after spending some part of the summer of 1798 under the hospitable roof of Spencer Smith, esq. the English minister, he took his departure for the Grecian islands; and having traversed the provinces of Macedonia and Thessaly, arrived at Athens, where, after a residence of several months, he reached the period of all his learned labours, on the 25th of July, 1799. Mr. Tweddell, independent of the advantages which his own merit secured for him in the countries which he visited, possessed recommendations and facilities of a superior kind for conducting his learned pursuits; and his industry keeping pace with his talents and opportunities, his collections and manuscripts are known to bave been extensive and singularly valuable. Perhaps, no traveller, of modern times, has enjoyed, in an equal degree, the means of investigating the antiquities of Greece. That the literary property, therefore, of this gentleman, after being in the undisputed custody of the British ambassador at Constantinople, should absolutely have disappeared in toto, and eluded the most diligent inquiries of his family and friends, presents a subject for the deepest regret, and is a circumstance, in itself, of the most unaccountable nature: upon this point, however, the author refrains from saying all that he might, in the expectation of seeing this strange mystery unfolded by a kindred hand, which may justly aspire to the best information. He will, therefore, years: an instanc- of individual merit and success which has rarely occurred in that or any other university. -105 close this imperfect sketch of his accomplished friend with briefly observing, that the endowments of the scholar, in this instance, were, in a singular degree, associated with those polished but unaffected manners which gave them peculiar lustre, and recommended yet more substantially by the addition of the most amiable and engaging virtues. consolatory expectation, he believes he may venture to add, that the friends of Mr. Tweddell have a prospect of being gratified with a selection of his correspondence." As a Such is the brief memoir which Dr. Clarke has inserted in his valuable work, and from the same volume it will be proper to add the account which is there given of the grave of Tweddell, and of the honours rendered to his memory. "We accompanied Signor Lusieri to the THESEUM; and having obtained admission to the interior of the temple, paid a melancholy visit to the grave of that accomplished scholar whose name we had found inscribed upon the pillars of SUNIUM, the exemplary and lamented TWEDDELL. It was simply a small ohlong heap of earth, like to those over the common graves in all our English churchyards, without stone, or inscription of any kind. The body, too, had been carelessly interred: we were told that it did not lie more than three or four feet beneath the surface. The part of the temple where it has been buried is now converted into a Greek church, dedicated to St. George; but as it is left open during particular times of the year, and is always liable to be entered by foraging animals, who creep into such retreats, we thought it probable that the body would be disturbed, unless further precaution were used; and at any rate it was proper that some ton should be laid upon the spot. Having, therefore, obtained permission to take up the coffin, and Lusieri promising to superintend the work, we sat about providing a proper covering for the grave; promising to send an inscription worthy of the name it was destined to commemorate. Large blocks of Penteliçan marble, from the Parthenon, which had been sawed from bas-reliefs intended for our ambassador, were then lying in the Acropolis ready for the purpose: we, therefore, begged for one of these; and before we left Athens every thing had been settled, and seemed likely to proceed according to our wishes." Here our author thinks proper to add what follows in a note. 106 Lost MSS. of Mr. Tweddell. "A curious sort of contest has, how ever, since impeded the work. Other English travellers arrived in Athens; and a dispute arose, fomented by the feuds and jealousies of rival artists and opposite parties in politics, both as to the mature of the inscription, and the persons, who should be allowed to accomplish the work. At length, it is said, that, owing to the exertions of Lord Byron, and another most enterprising traveller, Mr. John Fiott, of St. John's College, Cambridge; the stone has been laid; and the following beautiful epitaph, composed by Mr. Walpole, in 1805, has been inscribed thereon. Εὕδεις ἐν φθιμένοι· μάτην Σοφίης ποτ' εύρεψας Ανθεα, και σε νέον τους εφίλησε μάτην. ̓Αλλὰ μόνον τοι σῶμα τὸ γέινον ἀμφικαλύπτει. Τύμβος τὴν ψυχὴν ἔρανος αἰπὺς ἔχει. Ἡμῖν θ' οι σε φιλοί, φίλον ως κατὰ δακρυ χέοντες, Μνήμα φιλοφροσύνης, χλωρον, οδυρόμεθα, Ηδύ γ' όμως καί τιςπνόν έχειν τοῦτ' εστιν, ΑΘΗΝΑΙΣ Ως συ, Βρεταννος έων, κείσεαι ἐν σποδίη." To these extracts from the elegant volume of our larued countryman, suffer me now to aid a few observations, serving to illustrate, in some degree, the obscurity which shades the narrative, and calculated, it may be, to elicit some farther information concerning the hidden (for I cannot bring myself to call them the lost) treasures gathered by the indefatigable industry and exquisite taste of him who was not permitted to enjoy the delight of imparting them in person to the learned world, of which he was so bright an ornament. It is certain that the journals of Mr. Tweddell amounted to, at least, six folio volumes of manuscript, fairly written, and that his drawings of antiquities, scenery, and remarkable objects were consider ably more than two hundred. As the former did not consist of trifling remarks, or mere amusing descriptions, such as are too commonly found in the relations of modern travellers, but were the ripe fruits of patient research and of the most refined judgment, so the latter were selected with the keen and penetrating eye of one whose classical mind was above pandering to the frivolity of fashion, and intent only upon enlarging the sphere of science. The question naturally to be asked is, what can have become of these inestimable reliques, and how happens it that what was evidently designed for the benefit of literature should be withheld, even from the family of the person who died a martyr to his zeal for knowledge? Though treading upon tender ground, [Sept. 1, yet, having proceeded thus far, it would be absolute cowardice to retreat.. The truth, then, is, that all proper care was taken of these collections at Athens, and that they were conveyed to the Factory at Constantinople to be sent by the first ship of war that should sail for England or Gibraltar. From the Chancery, as it is called, belonging to the Factory, they were, contrary to, usage, and even in spite of particular remonstrance, transferred to the house of the English envoy, after which they are said to have been shipped on board a transport vessel, which on her passage was obliged to go to Egypt. Whether this is so or not, certain it is, that the precious cargo never reached the proper place of destination; for the afflicted relatives of the amiable author never saw any of his papers or his drawings, upon which they might have gazed with the mournful satisfaction, at least, of knowing that before his disso lution, he had prepared a proper monument, as a perpetual record of his matured talents and useful virtues. What serves to perplex this business the more, is the circumstance that the vessel on which these remains were said to have been transmitted, did actually arrive in the River Thames, without any accident that might have occasioned the loss of them: yet the captain is positive, that no such package was ever committed to his care, in which declaration he is confirmed by his mate, who are both persons of the most respectable character in their station and connexions. Something more must be added; for if the manuscript collections were actually sent in the manner here stated, none of them could afterwards have been seen either in Turkey or in Italy: yet, it is a fact, that some of the drawings were not only in the hands of Englishmen of rank, at or near Leghorn, but were there copied by artists employed for the purpose, which copies are now in this country. Where, then, it may be asked, are the originals?-and what reason can there be for depriving the commonwealth of letters, to say nothing of the family of the deceased, of its just claims? Probably the high diplomatic characters, who, about that period, were the guardians of their country's honour, at the Porte, can render some effectual aid towards clearing up this dark mystery; and as one in particular is distinguished for his love of the arts, and is laudably ambitious of being esteemed the patron of ingenious men, no doubt can be en 1814.] Inscriptions on Mrs. Pope and Mrs. Bury. tertained of his prompt exertions in so ALIQUIS. REMARKS on MONUMENTAL INSCRIP- To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine. 107 Who mourns the best of wives and friends combin'd, Where female sweetness met the accomplish'd mind, Mourns, but not murmurs,-sighs, but not despairs, Feels as a man, but as a Christian bears. On Mrs. Anne Bury, in Brading church- Forgive, blest shade, the tributary tear, Forgive the wish that would have kept thee And stayed thy progress to the realms of No more confin'd to grovelling scenes of night, And trace thy journey to the realms of day. VIEW. To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine. SIR, IT must be allowed, not only that religious ruins awaken that reverential awe, which the thoughts of their original destination must always command; but that places of sepulture excite ideas equally applicable to all ranks and opinions, from the monarch to the beggar, whether believers or sceptics; it being impossible to walk over a spot of grouad, OBSERVATIONS on the EDINBURGH REevery yard of which covers the remains of a human being, once like ourselves, without the awful memento, that we must soon occupy a like narrow tenenement of clay, a consideration which will for a moment overcloud the most cheerful temper, and abstract from trifing pursuits, at least for a while, persons of the most dissipated turn, and oblige them to bestow some thoughts on that inevitable inoment when they are to depart hence. To examine the inscriptions in most church-yards is entertaining, and in all may be rendered a profitable amusement; but it is greatly to be lamented, that so many absurd and senseless inscriptions should be admitted which only excite the laugh of the vulgar, and ridicule of the profane. The two following, however, form happy exceptions, the latter has been immortalized by the music of the celebrated Dr. Callcott, and may not be unknown to some of your readers. Allow me, to thank you for the amusement and information I have derived from a perusal of the numbers of your excellent miscellany, and wishing it every possible success, I am, Sir, Yours, July 11, 1814. VECTUS. For the I THINK you would render an acceptable service to the public in occasionally laying open the mischievous conduct and dangerous tendency of those periodical works which, by their very nature, have a constant influence upon a large portion of society, and are secured from the scrutiny of criticism by certain laws which confine the regu lar reviews to distinct publications only. Yet the evil produced by bad books and ephemeral pamphlets is comparatively trifling when weighed against the poison perpetually spread over the empire and in every part of the world by some of our most popular journals. present I shall restrict my observations to the Edinburgh Review, the last number of which presents a curious picture of versatility and incorrigible malignity, of a servile ductility to popular feeling, and an eager desire to harden into violence and insolence. The first article is a laboured declamation" on the State and Prospects of Europe," as the editor chooses to designate an inflated harangue, in which there is a little affectation of joy at the recent great changes mixed with so much of the spirit of falsehood and discontent, as to render the whole a most disgusting caricature, while it professes to be a faithful repre sentation of the political world. I shall take not the least notice of the flowery style of this composition, and the gorgeous epithets with which it is broidered to cover the beggarly poverty and rotten |