promenades, almost induced us to consider this as the most bewitching spot ever described, for fascinating elegance, and uncommon beauty. Such is the effect of exaggerating partiality. An account is given of the warm, tepid, and vapour baths, with long extracts from count Rumford, on the nature and utility of various warm applications to the surface of the body. From the statement given of the number of visitors, during twenty-two years, the celebrity of the place seems to be on the increase in 1780, No. 374-1790, 1100-1802, 2038. Though Cheltenham has scarcely one historical feature in it, yet the penetrating sagacity of our author has discovered enough matter to fill 126 octavo pages. The remaining part of the volume, its greatest portion, is taken up with an account of other places in the county, &c. The rides in the immediate vicinity are properly introduced; but we do not discover equal propriety in printing a long account of the city of Gloucester, containing fifty-four pages, the river Wye sixtyeight more, Worcester and Malvern twenty three, Cirencester eleven, &c. &c. These, however, Mr. Ruff properly terms excursions; and, if he had permitte excursive genius to expand a little fur he might, instead of an octavo v have given the history and descript Cheltenham; and, under the ami two quartos might have filled the v shelves of genteel libraries. Sixty-three pages are occupied concise display of the county of Glone but, as this is not a county histor must decline the task of notic part. It, however, ekes out the and, to those who have little op of reading more authentic docum may afford some information. pendix, occupying eight parts, in e from Cary's Itinerary, with a v rious advertisement, stating, the extracted by consent, with an ca. exclusive merits. Mr. Cary, weit one of the "many friends, hose cla half of Mr. Ruff " has not been. to mere informatien.” This description of Chelten far from being what it protones to be, may be useful to the loungers of a watering-place, s better employed, even in rese sense,. than in gambling, scanum. talizing honest tradesmer. ART. XVII. Picturesque Excursions in Devonshire and Cornwall. P. 1. F LIAMS, Plymouth. Part I. Devonshire. Royal Svo. pp. 118. THE interesting county of Devon, its romantic scenery, wild moors, beautiful vales, and picturesque cascades, are all peculiarly calculated to excite the admiration of the artist, and inspire the genius of the poet. These objects considered, we are not surprised to find. a volume expressly appropriated to display certain parts of the scenery of this county. We only wonder that so little has been done to illustrate its history, and develope its bold and charming features. Devonshire is distinguished in the annals of the fine arts as the native soil of a Hudson, a Northcote, an Humphrey, a Cosway, a Reynolds, and some other artists. Yet it does not appear that either of these, or indeed any of its natives, have ever exhibited to the public eye, any of those commanding and interesting scenes with which the county abounds. Had a Wilson or a Gainsborough witnessed some of these, they would have transmitted them to the canvas, and thereby have produced some admirable pictures. A common place maxim, founded on à common failing of man, will po count for this dereliction of ger. "We search for curiosities. ties abroad, at the same time r those of really greater attracti home." The author of " Pictu Excursions," &c. has endeavour. prove himself an exception to this Viewing the scenery of Dartmoor its environs, with the eye of an art felt the laudable ambition of conv. delineations of some of their featur distant parts of the island. In co tion, therefore, with another gent! of similar taste, they jointly publishe part of the present work in 1801, descriptive parts of which appear to been executed by Mr. J. H. Johns, the sketches by Mr. Williams. were engraved from the latter by a Anker Smith; but so extremely h that the young adventurers seem to h shrunk from, rather than courted, pul scrutiny. Mr. Williams, anxious to m good his claims to public patronage, avoid a similar imposition from and P aver, determined to prosecute the The latter necessary requisite we would recommend to Mr. Williams's attention; and, as he promises a continuation of the work, we wish him to examine particularly the beautiful etchings of Perelle and Sylvestre. His descriptions partake of that principle which prevails in his viewswant of effect. In writing, as in painting, the hero or leading subject should be kept prominent whatever is introduced to detract from the consequence of this, greatly injures the composition. To Mr. Williams, and all other tourists, we cannot too forcibly urge the necessity of uniting brevity with perspicuity in language, and interest with accuracy in em bellishments. .XVIII. Architectural Notices, in Reference to the Cathedral Church of Ely. 8vo. PP. 24. E magnificent and highly interestathedral of Ely displays an imporbject for the exercise of the pen pencil; but, unless these implements irected by the hand of taste, and reed by judgment and knowledge, are more likely to depreciate than ify the subject. Mr. Bentham has Ay published a large quarto voon the history and description of structure; has accumulated a numof curious and satisfactory docuts; but has failed in discriminating various styles of architecture which picuous in the building. Besides, plates are extremely unsatisfactory correct. The present work promerely to contain a few architectu; therefore it is not to be view45 a history, or a systematic essay on magnificent cathedral. Its notices, rever, are very concise, and very few; they may serve to furnish useful s to the curious traveller, when visit this place for the purpose of ocular nation. Some of its statements are Tvague, and some are erroneous; the writer (though anonymous) disthat knowledge of his subject, ch makes us regret that he was not more copious. At the end are some very judicious observations on the introduction and first use of transepts into English churches. To convey some idea of the plan, and of the author's style, we select the following short specimen: "Ely cathedral is, upon two accounts, particularly interesting to the curious stranger: first, because it contains specimens of our church architecture, during a period of more than four hundred years; and secondly, because the most authentic documents remain of the æra at which each of those specimens were erected. An accurate study, therefore, of this edifice, will be rewarded by the acquisition of a criterion of the utmost use, in enabling us to form a correct judgment on the age of other ancient buildings,-a criterion, not raised upon conjecture, but upon the authority of written records. With regard to those who may not be disposed to consider a cathedral as an object for serious attention, they yet perhaps will not be sorry at the expence of half an hour of their time, to trace with certainty the different periods of the construction of this venerable pile. It is a subject closely connected with the history of the arts, the progress in civilization, and, in some degree, with the state of religion, of our country, and therefore cannot fail of being interesting to every person of a cultivated mind." AT. XIX. Archaologia; or, Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of London. Vol. XIV. 4to. pp. $11. THE society, part of whose memoirs here presented to the public, has 100 long established to require any ant of it; and the nature of the intion is of too much public importe to require praise. The study and pursuits of antiquity, though by some held in very inferior estimation to many other departments of learning, is, when rightly considered, not only closely allied to the most important branches of erudition, but is illustrative of the most useful and elegant arts of life. It is capable of, and should embrace an inte restingly extensive field of investigation, and all dissertations on it should be the vehicles of the most solid and important information. The great objects of a national society, like this, should not be confined to the minutia of antiquity, but should laudably direct all its funds and knowledge to those important purposes which tend to exalt the English character and nation. Instead of sacrificing time, paper, and money, upon dissertations and illustrations of useless inscriptions, defaced coins, barbarous and unmeaning sculpture, or rather stone-cutting, and many other such trifling and completely insignificant objects, it would be more honourably noble to counteract vulgar prejudices, clear up and simplify the obscurities of history, call forth and foster indigent genius, and endeavour to elucidate every doubtful point which at present attaches to those historical antiquities, that are truly British, Anglo-Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English. As our antiquarian society is content to move in a more humble sphere, and is willing to be viewed as a small satellite, instead of being ranked as a primary planet in the western hemisphere; we will, therefore, contemplate it as it is, not finding it what it should be. In publishing its works, or "Miscel laneous Tracts," we think that the subjects should be arranged in some systematic order, and be judiciously selected. They should also be not only of utility to our own, but to foreign nations; not only of Europe, but to the world. A society of enlightened men, formed for such noble purposes as this, and in such a country as ours, the seat of the sciences, the favourite residence of knowledge, the "punctura saliens in vitello ovi,' as the great Linnæus termed it after traversing Europe, should consider that the national character is implicated in all they do, and her fame committed in all they publish. When a foreigner takes up a volume of a learned society in London, he instantly conceives himself in possession of a treat which his own country is unable to furnish; and he sits down with a view of contemplating the great nation which has produced it. If in this case he be disappointed, the consequence must be that he adopts an unjust opinion both of the country and the inhabitants. We mention this to shew the isperious necessity of paying stricter attention to publications of this kind than is usually done. We might say much more, but suppose a few well meant hints will be sufficient. In such cases much often rests with the editor; or, the instance of this society, with the rector: and in multifarious papers strictest attention should be paid to clea arrangement, as conducive to perspica ity. Thus "miscellaneous tracts" doe not appear the most eligible mode of ushering into the world the collected communications of a learned body. We mean not to depreciate the labour of this respectable society; we feel a ve neration for the institution, and its mem bers; and it is with reluctance that we are sometimes obliged to point out omis sions, or rectify inaccuracies. Yet the work demands our attention, and cu readers are entitled to expect a candidac undisguised report. We will endeavo to gratify that expectation, but in doing it we must necessarily be rather cop ous. The present volume is the fourteenth of this kind since the society's incorpo ration in the year 1757; and though we consider it of superior value to anf of the preceding volumes, yet we are sorry to observe that many frivolous articles are admitted, and others of unimportant nature ostentatiously da played. The volume before us contains thirty four tracts, with an appendix, and fifty seven engravings, besides an additional plate intended to correct a bad one in former volume. These tracts and prints are so inexplicably arranged, that it would be doing injustice to the work ta follow them in their present order, as wel as prevent our giving an adequate analysis. We shall therefore, to enable the public to judge better of the value of the contents, view them in the following classes. Asiatic, or oriental antiquities; European, or western; historical and cr cal. In the first class, we have scarce. ly sufficient to admit of a subdivision; but in the second we have British, Ro man-British, Saxon, or Danish, with Norman and English: of these the lat ter very properly bear the greatest proportion. Under each of these heads we shall endeavour to give a fair, and we trust, satisfactory analysis, with such ebservations as will enable our readers to appreciate the merits of the volume, and the individual importance of its prin pal component parts. The first clas eastern, contains little that can either erest the mind, amuse the fancy, or rm the judgment. its Under this head, in article 10, page 55, are presented with an account of a ck, said to be brought from the site of ent Babylon, communicated by Naniel Hulme, M. D. F. R. S. and A. S. who reports, "That it was ely brought to Bombay, with some ers of the same kind, from the ruins he city of Babylon; but unluckily correspondent omits to inform me by om they were brought, or to give description of the place or situation ere they were found; but merely tions it as a fact known at Bombay they certainly came from the site of ent Babylon." If such logic as this generally admissible with the soit need not want plausible subjects pages, or adorn its museum. Hulme, it appears, has made a cheal analysis of this extraordinary cu, and informs us that it is comof "pure clay, with perhaps a litixture of sand, which is changed to ght colour by dint of age." Now out any pretensions to chemical wledge, every brickmaker could have us, without a perhaps, that bricks composed of clay and sand; and who have read at all, but know that sual mode of hardening brick among ancients was by compression and exre to the sun and air; a practice prevalent in the east, and has been ted by other nations. Its having changed into "a light stone colour int of age," is certainly a most inous and profound conjecture. A substance was observable adhering which the doctor pronounces to be the Greeks call agaros, the Latins nen, and which he supposes they instead of mortar. But what if should have been part of the origicomposition of the brick, and merely d out by long exposure? The Eans obliged the Israelites to make of stubble instead of straw to make, to burn brick, using it as plasterers do hair and other articles to give tity to more friable materials. Our trymen in India will not thank the or for his compliment of saying, they ve now acquired great knowledge e oriental languages," yet were unto explain the inscription upon this, other Babylonian bricks. wever, what our learned Anglo-In dians have been unable to do, we are told is satisfactorily done by the Rev. Samuel Henley, who in a subsequent part of this volume, art. 28, has given us much Greek and Hebrew, &c. about this "curious brick." This learned annotator considers the monument brought from the site of Persepolis, and the brick here alluded to, as allied. The latter is inscribed on one side with characters, and on the other with a lion and a man's head, according to Dr. Hulme; but according to Mr. Henley, with two rude figures of a dog barking, and the head of a water bird, accompanied by an inscription, or some marks like characters, which Mr. Henley makes, according to his interpretation, NY, a brick baked by the sun. Next follows a long dissertation, to prove that was once a name of the sun; but how will this prove the brick in question to be illustrative of Chaldean philosophy? And that this Babylonian brickmaker should devote one side of it for the purpose of informing us that it was baked by the sun, would lead us to conceive that it was a wonderful effort of human art, and this the first specimen. Now for the other side; Audi alteram partem; aye, there's the rub! the inscription has evidently alphabetic characters, and such as the Romans commonly used. But the alphabetic, says Mr. Henley," occur on no other Babylonish bricks, yet the monogrammic occurs on them all; yet Dr. Heber, who has professedly written on the subject, passes this topic unnoticed,” Here Mr. Henley leaves us very abrupt ly, to deliberate on the subject of his dissertation, and we cannot help thinking that the brick is of Roman workmanship, and that the characters are rather notations, than narratives. A small stone, with very similar shape and markings, is engraved in Horsley; but that, as well as Dr. Hulme's print, is so il drawn, that we cannot safely make conclusions from such representations. The perusal of Mr. Henley's and Dr. Hulme's very learned dissertations on an unauthenticated subject, forcibly reminded us of a story related of king Charles the Second. This witty monarch having observed that the mem. bers of the royal society mispent their time, and misemployed their learning, in debating about trifles, proposed to them the following question, "Why is a dead salmon heavier than a living one?" When the day arrived on which the question was to be solved, the king attended to hear the arguments. A learn ed dissertation was read, in which much physical, and more metaphysical, reasoning was displayed to account for the well-known phenomenon. But equal ingenuity was exerted to invalidate those arguments, and establish another hypothesis in place of the first. This was again refuted in its turn, and the debate became warm, without any indications being given that they were ever likely to come to a conclusion. At length a grave member, who had hitherto taken no share in the dispute, arose, and addressed the president with these words: "Sir, I beg leave humbly to doubt the fact; and therefore I move that all further arguments on this head be suspended, until the fact shall be proved to the satisfaction of this society, by the undoubted evidence of clear and satisfactory experiment." Aye," said the king, smiling, "had you begun with this, you might have saved yourselves a great deal of trouble; but at the same time you would have deprived me of a luxurious entertainment." 66 If the antiquarian society acci in such arguments, we cannot; i require something more than vague jecture. Besides we do not feel ir on such evidence, to admit the ap tion of the coin, the exposition characters, or that Tyre, either new, was called Arza, aratha tr situation. After the dispersion lies, and division of lands, whe divine appointment or otherwise, t colonists usually gave the names leader to the first city they built. was part of the lot of the tribe c jamin. hyny, or Anathoth, w son of Bechir and the grandson t jamin, 1 Chron. vii. 8, who pr built Tyre, which, according Greek mode of softening and accr dating Eastern terms to the g their language, would be called A confirmation occurs in Jerem where the prophet is said to Anathoth, in the land of Be And Tyre was not only one of ancient cities of Phoenicia, but t ancient than Mr. Weston makes t sephus says it was built 420 years Article 20 contains an explanation of the temple of Solomon, (not :an unpublished Phoenician coin, by Ste- stated by Mr. Weston); and the phen Weston, B. D. F. R. S and F.A.S. was built, according to the best c Mr. Weston says that the engraved coin logists, 1004 previous to the ti on plate 10 represents "the head of Christ, vid. Bochart. The cr Hercules on one side, with a club behind of this anachronism will bring the head; and on the other a sea-horse, the period in which Anathoth with Phoenician letters under the horse, for we find 1856 before Christ, S an aleph, a nun, and a thau, making to- the son of Anath recorded as gether the word anath." "N. B. Behind ful warrior against the Philisties. the horse are three globuli, signifying far we have remarked, suppo the golden apples of Hesperides, or the coin to he Phenician, and wish three heads of Geryon, which Hercules prevent the circulation of error, cut off." This is the very acme of anti-mistatements of Mr. Wester, an quarian sagacity; and as Mr. Weston equally great men, are not single can so easily transform what he sees into such names are a legion; and · "golden apples," &c. we presume that cipiis is as necessary in history, s he possesses a self-made philosopher's rals. But suppose the coin s stone. In writing about this coin, Mr. be Phoenician. We are sensible! Weston supposes that he has discovered horse was often on the reverse ct the era and country to which it belonged. phoenician coins, and we find t From the characters beneath the horse, emblems in the coins of the Seit by him called N or aleph, nun, and But the three dots behind the thau, he concludes the word to mean an head being the three golden aff habitation on a rock; and as Tyre was the Hesperide, and the head on t so situated, he infers that the coin was verse side being that of Hercule. struck there. The horse is made em- quires much credulous faith to blematic of the maritime situation of and the representation on the plat that ancient city. Further to confirm not hear us out even in conjectur, these conjectures, he finds that the his horse was a very common num torian of Alexander, Arrian, as quoted emblem. Many British coins beat by Stephanus Byzantinus, called Tyre and the present coin is hot very Avata some we have seen of Cunobeline. |