Translation of—“ Las FLEURS."-in page 103. PLOWERS. Ye beauteous flowers! that flourish in our fields In one short day how oft your glory yields, How rarely in your transient destinies, The Sun, three morus continued splendour sees. Yet, charming buds! despite of life's brief span, Your lot how favoured, when compared with man! Your time's short date no vain regrets consume, But flourish happily, the while you bloom: And though your painted pride in earth decay, And all your flowrets cease to greet the day, Although your leaves are dead, and blossoms sear, Ye spring again, and bloom another year: Cold in the grave, forgotten soon he lies. Falmouth, June 10th, 1827. BIRTHS IN JUNE. E. T: At Camborne, Mrs. J. Budge of a daughter At St. Austell, Mrs. H. Vivian of a son At St, Austell, Mrs. W. Petberick of male twius At St. Austell, Mrs. Sambe of a son At Tregthas House, Mrs. John Ellis of a son At Marazion, Mrs. W. Cornish of a son At Bude, Mrs. E Rundell of a daughter At Falmouth, wife of Lieut. Rusden of a son -wife of Mr Barrett, of Marlborough Packet of a son MARRIAGES IN MAY. At Truro, Mr. J. Carter to Miss Bargus On 22nd the Rev. John Lakes, to Miss C. Arthur At St. Minver, W. Rundle, Esqr. to Miss E. Barnard At Germoe, Mr. Ede to Miss Truscott At Wendron, Mr. T. Rowe to Miss Glasson MARRIAGES IN JUNE. At St. Martin, Mr. W. Knight to Miss R. Walkam At Stithiaus, Captain John Wyun, R. N. to Miss E. Symonds At Madron, Mr. T Stewart to Miss M. Glayas At Quethiock, Mr. A. Vosper to Miss E. Vosper At Anthony, Mr. T. Marks aged 73 to Miss Payne aged 40 At Maristow, G. D. Johns, Esqr. to Miss J. At Budock, Mr. R. Hoskin to Miss P. Cory At St. Clement, Mr. R. Floyd to Miss A. Scott At Launceston, Mr. Patey to Miss Howell DEATHS IN MAY. At Bodmin, Lieut. Watson At Helston, Mr. S. Penhale aged 83 At Reen, in the Parish of Perranzabuloe Mrs. At Truro, Mr. J. Kneebone aged 60 At Falmouth, Mrs. Plane aged 81 At Gwennap. Mr P. Michell At St Day, Mrs. Lobb At Helland, Mr. J. Martin aged 77 At St. Austell, Mr. W. Arthur At St. Mevan, Mr. T. Ruudle aged 60 At St. Erth, Mr. W. Hodge At Fowey, Mrs. Collum At Carines, Mr. J. Furnis At Truro, George eldest son of Mr. Huddy DEATHS IN JUNE. At Small Hill, Mr. W. Noise aged 72 At Lewkin near Fowey, Mr. Colliver At Barnstaple, Mrs. Hellier At Penzance, G. W. Ligarwood At Duuveth, Mrs. Williams aged 87 At Whitehall, the infant daughter of Mr. Jones At Liskeard, Miss Leigh, principal Actress of Mr. Dawson's Company At Falmouth, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Mr. Pearce, Royal Hotel Printed and Published by J. PHILP Falmouth, and sold by most Booksellers in the County. The Selector. "WE CULL THE CHOICEST." No. 20] AUGUST, 1827. SKETCHES OF CORNWALL. To the Editor of the Selector. SIR, THE little tour to the Lizard-Point occupied a small space in your last No. and any person incited thereby to make the trip will certainly find it to exceed his expectations, for the details of many interesting objects were omitted to maintain your good plan of having a pleasing melange for the varied tastes of your numerous readers. In a previous Selector the Land's end having been described, it will be instructive and pleasing to pursue a tour by CAPE-CORNWALL & ST. JUST. Behold Peden-maen-due Point beset with frowning rocks lashed by the heavy surge, then the fine extensive sweep of Whit-sand Bay extending northward to Cape-Cornwall and St. Just in Penwith. The Church-Town is about 5 miles from the Land's-end and 7 from Penzance, and the valued Borlase was born at Pendeen Farm the ancient family residence. It is stated by Hals, that there is in this parish a large flat stone on which (if tradition be credited) Seven Saxon kings dined at one time when they came on a visit; the kings' names even are given and the date of A D. 600 !-Also in the parish are the remains of an ancient chapel about 14 feet long and 10 broad, having a window in the East and door on the South, and several moor-stone VOL. 2 I [Price 3d. steps in a state of decay: this antique stands on a singular tumulus of Carnes and is called Chapel Carn-træ; there are not many bolder carnes to be found in the County. On the plain near CapeCornwall are the remains of another old ruin called Parken-Chapel, 45 feet by 12, with a Chapel-yard; Borlase also speaks of another called Breh, which in his time was a dwelling-house. The same author relates that a curious stream of Tin was discovered A. D, 1738, the ore was pulverized and from 12 to 18 inches in depth; where first found it had a black stratum on it of about 2 feet, the stream went on and entered the rising ground having all Douran-hill about 40 feet perpendicular upon it the stream pursuing an hori zontal direction:-how this heap of rubbish came thereon, is not easy to decide, but our Antiquary supposes that the hill was originally impregnated with Tin, then by a deluge, perhaps of NOAH, was washed from its original position and thrown down and scattered on the floor beneath. In the vicinity of St. Just is BOTALLACK once a seat of the Ustickes, now a Farm belonging to the Earl of Falmouth: on the estate is the celebrated Tin and Copper Mine called by that name; it is a wonder to our occular orbs and mental musings; the Mine has been driven above 80 fathoms under the Ocean, and the commencing shaft is about 250 feet, from the craggy mountain-top. Descending from this height to the opening of the nine you behold a combination of the powers of art with the wild sublimity of nature which it would be difficult to parellel; the effect of the whole being not a little heightened by the hollow roar of the raging billows which are perpetually lashing the cliff. In looking upwards are seen troops of mules laden with sacks of coals for the supply of the Steam-engine, their ride's fearlessly trotting down the winding path which one trembles at in descending even on foot. On approaching the engine the cliff is almost perpendicular, so the ore from the mine is drawn up an inclined plane by a horse-engine placed on the extreme verge of the overhanging rocks and to the spectator below seems as if suspended in mid air! The ore of this mine is the grey and yellow sulphuret of copper mixed with oxide of Tin. A great variety of minerals have been collected, among which are several varieties of-jasper, arborescent native copper,-jaspery iron ore,-urseniate of iron,-sulphuret of bismuth imbedded in jasper,-beautiful specular iron ore,-lamatic iron,-and the hydrous ovide of iron in prisms terminated by pyramids. or light for ships on the little peninsula, and the pier is sore choked with sands, as is the whole coast from St. Ives to St. Carantokes.” A market and 2 fairs were granted by Edward I. A. D 1295. and the same by other Charters. The town has sent 2 members to Parliament ever since Phil p and Mary-In 1639 a charter of incorporation of Mayor and Burgesses was obtained from (harles [. (afterwards extended by James II ) and Sir Francis Basset of Tehidy gave the new Corporation a drinking cup, thus inscribed, "If any discord twixt my friends arise Francis Fassett A. D.1640. A new and commodious Pier was constructed in 1770 by Smeaton the great engineer-St. Ives enjoys the Pilchard fishery and export of ore from the mines, &c. the business is chiefly transacted at Hayle which is distant 8 miles but within the Port. This mine has often received in its deep recesses those Tourists who from curiosity or a desire to obtain knowledge, would habit themselves in the costume (which is there ready.) of a flannel jacket and trowsers, a cap and thick hat, and holding a lighted candle descend the shaft, pursue the narrow ways and extensive lodes, regarding not the fatigue and heat in several hours inspection. The next place on the coast is Sr. Ives about 10 miles from the above; many old shafs of mines are seen which render a journey by day-light most desirable; the moor stone lies around in massy blocks, huge enough for another Stonehenge; the villages of Morvah, Zennor &c. are past and then the fine bay, harbour and town are seen. St. Ives is called in ancient records Porth-la; It is said by Leland that, "most part of the houses in the peninsula be sore opressed with sands that the stormy winds cast up, and this hath continued little above 20 years." Norden and Carew speak of the annoyance by the sands. In Holinshed's Mount-Sion, 1st August, 1827. Chronicle is an account of" a Pharos The church is very ancient near the Sea-shore, in which is a curious Font, they say also it contains the body of SAINTE LA, who patronized the place and raised the church.-There is a pyramid about a mile off, round which every years is a procession and dance and they sing the 100th, Psalm, in conformity to the will of J. Knill Esqr. who left some land for the purpose. The preceding Tour will both amuse and instruct those who are induced to make this little trip to the western coast of Cornwall, for besides this short notice of some of the objects of nature and art, an intelligent traveller will readily find many others to arrest his attention and gratify his mind. I remain, yours &c. J. No. 20. SYRIA. (From the Modern Traveller,) TYRE. Turs once magnificent capital, "the joyous city, whose merchants were princes, whose traffickers were the honourable of the earth" *-exhibited, at the period of Mandrell's visit (1697,) and so late as the year 1797, a scene of most abject and melancholy desolation, "Standing in the sea upon a peninsula," says the above mentioned travelle,r it "promises at a distance something very magnificent. But when you come to it, you find no similitude of that glory for which it was so renowned in ancient times, and which the prophet Ezekiel describes in chapters xxvi. xxviii. On the north side it has an old Turkish ungarrisoned castle, besides which you see nothing but a mere Babel of broken walls, pillars, vaulis, &c. there being not so much as one entire house left. Its present inhabitants are only a few poor wretches, harbouring themselves in vaults and subsisting chiefly upon fishing, who seem to be preserved in this place by Divine Providence, as a visible argument her God has fulfilled his word concerning Tyre, Viz. that it should be as the top of a rock, a place for fishers to dry their nets on." Since then, however, it has once more arisen, in some measure, from its ruins; and the modern town of Soor, in which is preserved its original names is a mart that bids fair to regain some degree of importance.-Mr. Buckingham says, "At the present time, the town of Soor contains about 800 substantial stonebuilt dwellings, mostly having courts, wells, and various conveniences attached to them, besides other smaller habitations for the poor. There are within the walls, one Mosque, three Christian Churches, a bath, and three bazars. The inhabitants are, at the lowest computation. from 5 to 8000, three-fourths of which are Arab Catho Isaiah 28 7 8. lics and the remainder Arab Moslems and Turks In the fair season, that is, from April to October, the port is frequented by vessels from the Greek islands, the coast of Asia Minor, and Egypt; and the trade is considerable in all the productions of those parts, as Soor is one of the marts of supply from without for Damascus, for which its local situation is still, as formerly, extremely eligible. "The dress of the mercantile people here, who are chiefly christians resembles that of the same class in Cairo; full drawers, caftans, benishes and turbans. These last are invariably of blue muslin, sometimes fringed with silver, and having si ver thread worked knots at their ends: they were depressed behind and thrown up in numerous folds in front, so as to give an air of bolduess to the wearer. The lower orders both Christian and Mahommedans, wear the large Mamalouk trowsers, or sherwal, of blue cotton or of cloth, and short benishes, or outer coats of woollen striped in yellow, white and red, with an inverted pyramid of coloured figures descending from the neck between the shoulders, on the back. Their turbans are wound around the silken edge of a large red turboresh, or cap sufficiently to fall behind the bead, having its blue silk tassel touching the benish itself. All were armed, some with a pair, and others again with a dirk or a sword, but mostly with a long musket slung over the shoulder with a leathern strap. The women were habited partly after the Egyptian and partly after the Turkish fashion. Some wore black viels with openings for the eyes; others only covered the mouth and the lower part of the face, as at Smyrna; and others, again, wearing over their heads a square piece of white muslin, which fell low down on the back, had their faces totally concealed by a veil of coloured but transparent muslin. In the court of the house, where we lodged, I observed a female divested of these outer robes, and her garments then appeared to resemble those of the Jewish women in Turkey and Egypt; the face and bosom were exposed to view, and the waist was girt with a broad girdle, fastened by massy silver clasps. This woman who was a christian wore also on her head a hollow silver horn, rearing itself upwards obliquely from her forehead, being four or five inches in diameter at the root, and pointed at its extreme; and her ears, neck, and arms, were laden with rings, chains, and bracelets."'* Ancient Tyre, probably consisted of the fortified city, which commanded a considerable territory on the coast, and of the port which was "strong in the sea." "On that side it had little to fear from invaders, as the Tyrians were lords of the sea; and accordingly it does not appear that "its chaldean conqueror ventured upon a maritime assault. Josephus, indeed, states that Salmaneser, king of Assyria, made war against the Tyrians with a fleet of sixty ships, manned by 800 rowers The Tyrians had but twelve ships, yet they obtained the victory, dispersing the Assyrian fleet, and taking 500 prisoners. Salmaneser then returned to Ninevet leaving his land forces before Tyre, where they remained for five years but were unable to take the city. This expedition is supposed to have taken place in the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, about A. M. 3287, or 717 B. C. It must have been about this period, or a few years earlier, that Isaiah delivered, his oracle against Tyre, in which he specifically declared, that it should be destroyed, not by the power which then threatened it, but by the chaldeans a people" formerly of no account." The army of Nebuchadnezzar is said to have lain before Tyre thirteen years and it was not taken till the fifteenth year after the captivity, B. C. 573 more than 17 hundred years, according to Josephus after its foundation. Old Tyre, the continental city, remained in rains, up to the period of the Macedonian invasion. Insular Tyre had then risen to be a city of very considerable wealth and political importance; and by sea, her fleets were tri * Buckinghams' Travels,-The use of this singular ornament for the head, Mr. B. remarks, may illustrate some expressions in the scriptures. See 1 Sam. ii- i. umphant. It was the rubbish of Old Tyre, 30 furlongs off, that supplied materials for the gigantic mole constructed by Alexander, of 200 feet in breadth, extending all the way from the continent to the island, a distance of three quarters of a mile. The sea that formerly separated them, was shallow near the shore, but towards the island, it is said to have been three fathoms deep. Tyre was taken by the Macedonian conquerors, after a seige of eight months. Though now subjugated, it was not, however, totally destroyed, since, only thirty years after, it was an object of contention to Alexanders' successors. The fleet of Antigonus invested and blockaded it for thirteen months, when it was compelled to surrender received a garrison of his troops for its defence. About three years after, it was invested by Ptolemy in person, and owing to a mutiny in the garrison, fell into his hands. Its history is now identified with that of Syria. In the Apostolic age, it seems to have regained some measure of its ancient character as a trading town; and St. Paul, in touching here on one occasion, in his way back from Macedonia, found a number of christian believers, with whom he spent a week; so that the Gospel must have been preached to the Tyrians. In ecclesiastical history, it is distinguished as the first archbishopric under the patriarchate of Jerusalem. Williams of Tyre, the well known historian, an Englishman, was the first archbishop. We have seen what was its state of desolation towards the close of the seventeenth century, when the Jewish prophets' predictions seemed a second time to bave been realized. In 1766, it was taken by the Motoualies, who repaired the port, and enclosed it, on the land side, with a wall twenty-five feet high. In 1784 Volney says it was a miserable village, its exports consisted of a few sacks of cord and cotton. It is only within the past five and twenty years that it has once more begun to lift up its head from the dust. |