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to take the said oath, having scriptural authority for enforcing his example, in the When thou art converted thyself, strengthen thy brother!' 2. From Dr. Du Moulin, after the restoration, laying on the Jesuits the blame of Charles the First's decapitation, and tracing it to secret machinanations for the restoration of Popery. The doctor, it was observed, was forbidden by Charles II. to write more, on the understanding that as English was not his native language, he might mar the cause he meant to aid by writing what he would not." The doctor had already written a book defending Protestantism from a charge of disaffection to monarchy. 3. From James, Duke of Courland, in Livonia, offering Sir William Morice ten thousand florins, by way of a bribe for his services in the Privy Council, in the management of a West India matter affecting the interest of the Duke. May 19. H. Gurney, esq. V. P. in the chair.

A curious paper, on the ancient history of Hats, communicated by J. A. Repton, esq. was read. It was accompanied by eight sheets of drawings of hats and caps, in an infinity of shapes and fashions, from the time of Richard II. up to 1784. He observed, the name hat was derived from a Saxon word meaning a covering for the head, in which general sense it had been used by early authors, and applied to helmets of steel. Hats and caps were anciently made of felt, woollen, silk, straw, and various other materials, and were as diversified in their colours. In the time of Elizabeth the common people generally wore woollen caps; and some acts were passed in her reign to encourage the manufacture of them. The broad brims were introduced by the cardinals to their scarlet hats, and followed by the clergy. The inconvenience of the broad brim all round caused the turning of one side up; then two sides were turned up; and at last turning up three sides introduced the cocked hat, The high-crowned hat was first worn in the time of Elizabeth, and declined in the reign of Charles II. Mr. Repton then noticed the ornaments of hats, such as feathers, broaches, and bands. Henry VIII, is described on his entry into Calais as wearing feathers from India, four feet long; and men wore feathers in their hats as late as the reign of Queen Anne. Yew is mentioned as placed in the hat to denote mourning for a deceased relative or friend. The paper contained numerous curious and amusing quotations on the subject from a great variety of authors.

On account of Whitsun week, the meetings were adjourned to the 2d of June.

* In the West of England, in dressing the houses with holly and other evergreens at Christmas, we have observed the picture of a deceased relative adorned with the yew alone.

OFFERTORY DISHES.

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At the meeting of the Hull Literary and Philosophical Society, April 22, Mr. Wm. Bell read a paper on 66 Offertory Dishes," illustrative of three in Hull, one presented to the society by Mr. Joseph Eglin, another belonging to Mr. Cobb, curator of the Exchange, and a third from the museum of Mr. Wallis-which, in deference to Dr. Nash and other English antiquaries, who have accidentally met with them, he called Offertory Dishes, though amongst the continental literati they are more generally named Taufbecken, or Baptismal Dishes. Mr. B. then read the opinions of Dr. Nash in his History of Worcestershire, of Thos. Hearne in his preface to Leland's Collectanea, and of sundry anonymous contributors to the Gentleman's Magazine, respecting the meaning of the inscriptions which surround the dishes, as well as the conjectures of various German literati concerning them: of the latter, Von Hammer, the famed Orientalist of Vienna, and formerly secretary to the Austrian Internuncio at Constantinople, was the most important, both from the weight due to his opinion and the peculiarity of his views; having considered them as deeply connected with the gnosticism and ophitism which he fancied to have discovered in the tenets and doctrines of the Knights Templars before the forced subversion of their order. Mr. Bell, too, was enabled, by his researches abroad, to exhibit drawings of similar dishes found in Iceland, in various parts of Germany, France, and Italy. He also read a letter from Mr. Holmes, F.S.A. of Retford, describing one exactly similar to that in possession of Mr. Wallis, and which again was identical with one fixed to the door-post of a very old church at Valle or Valte in Iceland. Mr. Bell differed in his reading of the various inscriptions from all the authorities adduced, and found in them either simple invocations to Christ and Maria, as the immaculate virgin, either in old German or Latin of a very early age-or in other instances short pithy sentences of morality. The age of them could not be traced by any appearance of a date, but the style of letters (which were evidently sunk by a die), on a comparison with the great seal of the Realm, seemed to be fixed at, or some time succeeding, the accession of Edw. III. 1327, to which they most approximate. One was noticed as existing at Aldborough near Boroughbridge, differing in the inscription from any other, of which a copy exists in Gough's Camden's Britannia, vol. iii. but too imperfect to ascertain its meaning.

WILLIAM CANYNGES.

April 28. A very interesting paper was read at the Bristol Institution, on the 28th April, on "the Life and Times of William Canynges, founder of St. Mary Redcliff church." It was written by the Rev. James Dallaway, F.S.A., and very amply illustrated.

FRANCE.

The King of France has undertaken a tour through the Provinces, and appears to be every where enthusiastically received. At St. Germain, Poissy, Nantes, Dieppe, &c., his Majesty reviewed different bodies of the National Guards, amid the acclamatious of the populace, who, it is added, from St. Cloud to the limits of the department of the Seine and Oize, formed a line on each side of the high road, with banners, tri-coloured flags, and branches of trees. A medal was lately decreed to be struck and given to those who most distinguished themselves in July last. In carrying this decree into execution, the present Ministry designated it as "given by the King," instead of the "Nation," and required an oath to King Philip and the Charter. Out of 1528 persons to whom the medal was assigned, upwards of 1000 refused to accept it on these terms.

PORTUGAL.

A British squadron, consisting of a 74-gun ship, two frigates, four corvettes, and three brigs, lately arrived in the Tagus, and, on the 25th of April, demanded a categorical answer to the demands of the British Government, all negociations on the subject being expressly prohibited. The demands were compensation for English vessels captured at Terceira, with demurrage and all expences up to the date of such compensation; the dismissal of the captain of the Portuguese frigate Diana, by whom these captures were made; the disinissal of three judges who had sentenced to imprisonment the clerks of English merchants; and compensation to such clerks for the injuries by them sustained, and an ample apology for the insult offered their employers. These demands to be published in the Liston Gazette; and if no redress were given within three days, the English consul to go on board the squadron, and the capture of all Portuguese vessels immediately to take place. The Portuguese Government, terrified by the appearance of the squadron, promptly acceeded to every demand. A French fleet had proceeded to the Tagus for the bombardment of Lisbon, and three American frigates had also arrived, the latter to demand satisfaction for the insults offered to the United States; several American citizens having been sent from St. Michael's and the adjacent islands in irons. The demand made on Don Miguel by the French Government was the revocation of the sentence pronounced against Sauvinet and Bonhomine, two French subjects, who had been sentenced to corporal punishment

[May,

and imprisonment for alleged political offences; the destitution of the judges who condemned them; and damages of 500,000 francs to be paid to the two prisoners; the satisfaction to be inserted in the Lisbon Gazelle.

RUSSIA AND POLAND.

In our last we detailed the successes of the Poles over the corps of Generals Geismar and Rosen, and the consequent retreat of the Russian forces. On the 10th of head-quarters to Siedlec, fifty-five miles April General Diebitsch transferred his east of Warsaw, where he was some time held in check by the Polish troops. The Russian commander at length determined on coming to an engagement; but Skrzynecki thought it most prudent to decline it. As soon as the first movement from Siedlec denoted an intention on the part of the Russiaus to advance, he dispatched couriers to Warsaw, to prepare them for a retreat of the army, and to desire that the place might be put in a condition to sustain a siege, in case the fortune of war should be against the cause in a general engagement. The retreat, in the mean time, continued, the Poles every where carrying with them the inhabitants of the country, and every description of provision which could serve as subsistence for the enemy. Upon the 27th, Skrzynecki had reached the capital, and fixed his head-quarters there; the bulk of his army was at Milosna, a dozen miles distant. In their retreat they appear to have been greatly harassed by the Russiaus, and at Minsk an action took place. Arrived at Dembe-Wielki, the Russians found that they could not procure "even a little straw for their horses," and the Fieid-Marshal had, therefore, no alternative but again to sound a retreat, in which he has been pursued by the Poles beyond Siedlec. On the 29th of April, the whole Polish army had again advanced, and resumed its former positions at Kostrzyn, and beyond Siennica. On the 30th, the Polish army advanced, and the vanguard was in the morning at Kaluszyn.

The Polish General has published a Proclamation, wherein he states that the Polish army, which did not at the first amount to more than 30,000, had taken 16,000 prisoners, caused the Russians a loss of 50,000 men in all, captured 11 standards, 15 or 16,000 stand of arms, 30 cannon, &c.

In other respects the Poles have suffered materially. On the 21st of April Skrzynecki sent a report to the Government of Warsaw, stating that a corps of 6,000 men,

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under General Sierawski, had been defeated by the Russians under General Kreutz, consisting of 24,000 men, whom he had imprudently attacked. The Poles were compelled to cross the Vistula precipitately, with a loss of 2,000 men, and two Lieutenant-Colonels, one of whom was drowned. -The gallant Dwernicki who, with all the boldness though without the fortune of a Scipio, had carried war into Volhynia, the invader's own territory, found himself, after a series of successful exploits, overwhelmed by the accumulated masses brought to bear against him. General Roth, after the defeat of Sierawski, was enabled to effect a junction with General Rudiger, while on the other side a formidable Russian force was brought up from Moldavia to the scene of action. Thus assailed from all quarters, Dwernicki retreated across the Galician frontier near Zlarasz. The Russians having pursued, and a conflict having commenced, the Austrian troops interposed between the combatants, and demanded that respect should be had to the neutrality of their territory. The Russians consequently drew off, and the whole of Dwernicki's corps, diminished by repeated contests to about 5,000 men, surrendered their arms the Austrians, and have been sent across Transylvania into Hungary.

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The Russian Autocrat has fulminated an angry denunciation against the revolted nobles and people of Lithuania. All those who offer any armed resistance to the Russian authorities are to be tried by a courtmartial according to military laws, and to be instantly shot. Persons of inferior rank, taken with arms in their hands, are to be draughted into the Siberian regiments, and to suffer all the evils of exile. The Polish

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Government, with a view to counteract the effect of this severe edict, in pursuance of which several Polish prisoners had been shot at Wilna, had sent a notification to the Russian Government, that reprisals would be made by the Poles upon any prisoners who might fall into their hands.

TURKEY.

The accounts from Turkey present a very menacing aspect, as respects the public tranquillity in the East. An extended insurrection had broken out, fomented, as it would appear, by agents from Russia. It is stated that the insurgents were masters of Sophia, and it supposed that they would shortly reach Constantinople. The Divan were active in endeavouring to resist the rebels. The grand objection taken by the revolters, is to the measures of the Grand Signior, who, in introducing the military innovatious of Europe, has offended the Mussulmans.

The Pacha of Scutari, whose army amounts to 40,000 men, has issued a proclamation in which he announces his plan to restore the ancient order of things, and the occasion of it-exhorts those under him to observe the strictest order and good conduct towards those who take no part in the affairs of the war, and especially recommends them to respect property.

The revolt is daily spreading. Farasciscade Ali Bey, one of the principal Albanese Chiefs, entered Sophia with 8,000 men on the 20th April, and established his headquarters there.

Letters from Belgrade, of May 1, say that the Grand Vizier, who was invested in Bitoglia by the insurgents, had been obliged to surrender for want of provisions.

IRELAND.

The Irish papers present, in a long catalogue of outrages, a frightful picture of the state of society in the counties of Clare and Limerick ; and we are sorry to find that the Committee which had been formed at Ennis for the purpose of endeavouring to restore tranquillity, have, in the utter hopelessness of being able to effect that object, dissolved themselves. This Committee, of which all the Roman Catholic Priests were members, have published Resolutions, declaring that no effort within the power of the well-disposed part of the inhabitants can restrain or put an end to the continual system of outrage and insurbordination which disgraces the county of Clare.

The Lord Lieutenant's Proclamation to the people of Clare, calling upon them to to resign their arms by the 10th April, not

having been complied with, a proclamation has been issued laying the entire county of Clare under the Insurrection Act.

In a speech delivered at a recent reform meeting in the county of Roscommon, by Sir John Lillie, he expressed his surprise that in that county, and in other parts of Ireland, lands were let to the poor at 91. and 107. per acre, which was a higher rent than what was exacted during the war! added, "the poor cannot pay it, and is it to be wondered at that, sooner than starve, they have recourse to violence in opposing

the exaction?"

He

INTELLIGENCE FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. By the Act of last Session it is directed that the census of the population should be taken throughout England on the 30th of

May. Persons refusing to answer, or giving false returns to the several questions, are liable to a penalty of from 40s. to 5l, and the returns must be made by the overseers or householders, upon oath or affirmation, according to the best of their knowledge and belief, at a time to be appointed by the Justices, between the 25th of June and the 21st of July.

A subterranean forest has been discovered in the coal formation near Glasgow. The trees are numerous; they occur many feet below the surface, and are vertically imbedded in the sandstone. The trunks of the trees are abruptly cut off by the superincumbent shale. The bark is converted into coal, but the woody structure, for a considerable space downwards, is of a shaly na

ture.

A naturalist, struck with the extraordinary appearance presented by this deposit, actually asserts that these trees are in situ !

Arrangements are now making for holding at York, in July next, a meeting of the cultivators of science from every part of the British Islands. The sittings will continue for a week. The Lord Mayor and the authorities at York have, as might have been expected, entered heartily into this plan, and the Philosophical Society of that city have kindly offered to charge themselves with any preliminary arrangements which may be necessary.

The Burning Cliff at Holworth, is now becoming an object of particular attention. Fissures have opened, discharging vapour at another part, about five hundred feet to the westward of the long line of apertures which have for some time been in active operation. Railways.-Engineers have recently been engaged in making a survey of the country between Gainsbro' and Grimsby, with the view to a railway contemplated between Manchester and the eastern coast.

This great measure was designed to connect Liverpool and Hull by way of Sheffield and Gainsbro'; but it is found that the country is so much more practicable in the line from Gainsbro' to Grimsby, that the intention is to make the latter town the eastern end of the railway, with branchways to Lincoln and other places at the nearest points of the line. At Liverpool, where three canals and one railway are already in operation, another line of railway is further determined on, to communicate with Wigan, Leigh, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, and Manchester.

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other railways are also under the consideration of Parliament, one to join with Sheffield and Liverpool, and the other to connect with the latter places, the important towns of Middleton, Rochdale, Littleborough, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Sowerby Bridge, and Halifax; with the ultimate object of joining Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Wakefield, and Leeds in the connection.A large and respectable meeting of the

[May,

8

gentlemen and tradesmen of Whitby, was lately held to consider the propriety of entering into a subscription to procure survey of the most practicable line or road for a railway from Whitby to join the Stockton and Darlington railway. After some discussion, a subscription was agreed upon; and immediately entered into.

A figure of Oceanus has lately been placed over the centre of the Marine Hospital at Hull. It is 12 feet in length, 5 feet high, and 2 feet nine inches thick, and was executed by Mr. T. Earle, from a miniature model of a statue at Antwerp. The figure is of Roche Abbey stone, weighs three tons, and was cut out of an immense block, from Lord Scarborough's estate, which weighed ten tons. The statue to the memory of the late Dr. Alderson, for the Hall of the Mechanics' Institute, by the same artist, is in a forward state.

April 27.-The foundation stone of a Light House to be erected on Whitby Pier was laid this day, which cannot fail to be of great utility to the mercantile and shipping interests. It will be formed of a rusticated base of 13 feet square and 10 feet high, upon which will be erected a Doric column of 44 feet shaft, surmounted by a capital of four feet and a half. The gallery at the top will be 13 feet square, the same as the base : the lanthorn above will be about eight feet high, surmounted by a circular dome, with a vane at the top. The whole is designed, and to be executed by Mr. Pickernell, engineer to the Commissioners of Whitby Harbour and Piers.

May 5.-The first stone for a series of buildings for a manufactory of rope and canvas from the Thormium Tenax, was laid in the new Ropery Ground on Grimsby Race Course. The main building will be eleven hundred and forty feet in length, and thirtythree feet broad, one end of which will contain a powerful steam engine, and the other will be appropriated as a storehouse for the raw material. The manufactory is designed on a scale of sufficient magnitude to employ two or three hundred workmen. In an address to the people assembled on this occasion, Captain Harris stated that he had taken out patents in France and Holland for the manufacture of the same article in those countries, and declared that he intended his principal station to be at Grimsby.

LONDON AND ITS VICINITY.

fire took place at the residence of Lord April 27. This morning a destructive Walsingham, No. 57, Upper Harley-street, Marylebone. Lady Walsingham jumped out of a window at the back of the house, and, from the dreadful injuries she received, soon after expired. Lord Walsingham was