54

66

ley, the leader of the rebels at the battle of Blackheath, in 1497. The King's journey into Devonshire,* and his measures to suppress the rebellion in favour of Perkin Warbeck, in the autumn of that year, receive particular illustration. On the 4th Oct. Henry arrived at Taunton; and on the following day came Perkin Werbek;" an entry which corrects the statement of Lord Bacon that Perkin was not taken until after the King's arrival at Exeter. Each of the places visited by the King is named; the marriages and burials of several members of the royal family are mentioned; and in a word, these accounts corroborate and add to that which was previously known; they bring many new facts, some of them of importance, and all of interest, to light; and, what is scarcely of less value, they fix the precise dates of most historical events of the time. We shall conclude these remarks by show ing, in the editor's own words, the impression these private records create of Henry's personal character:

"There is not a single entry which justifies the generally received opinion, that he was miserly or avaricious; that he lived on terms of unkindness with his wife; or that he was a harsh and vindictive sovereign. On the contrary, many payments show that he was merciful, considerate, and liberal. His taste for literature, and patronage of its professors, was displayed in numerous rewards bestowed on persons for writing and presenting books to him, and more particularly on poets; who are said by Warton to have swarmed about his Court, and one of whom appears to have been attached to most of the members of his family. The King moreover supported several scholars at the University; and, as well as the Queen, maintained children, who had been given to them. The printers at Westminster, including by name Richard Pynson, are mentioned, as well as the purchase of several books for his library, the care of which was confided to a person called Quintin Paulet. Pictures were also objects of his attention; and his predilection for architecture would seem, from the large sums laid out in his palaces at Shene, Woodstock, and Langley, on St. George's Chapel, and on his Chapel at Westminster, to have amounted almost to a passion. Gratuities were frequently given to astronomers and physicians; and musicians were paid for composing masses and carols."

[Jan.

In Bacon's History of Henry the Seventh, it is stated that the King "had, though he were no good scoleman, the honour to convert a heretick by dispute at Canterbury." It is remarkable that under the date of April 20, 1498 (at which time the King was in that city), occurs the entry To the herytik at

Canterbury, 6s. 8d. ;" and we are inclined to regard this as a confirmation of Bacon's story. It may be thought, that, as when a certain corporeal malady was submitted to a Royal physician, or as with the Jew conversions of our own day, the 6s. 8d. was a main instrument in effecting the cure.

Under the 25th of May in the same year, we find," For a rewarde yeven at the paper mylne, 16s. 8d." This is particularly remarkable, because it has been generally asserted that the first Paper Mill in England was erected half a century later, in the reign of Elizabeth.

We thus find that an account-book of the private expenses of one of our ancient monarchs may even illustrate the history of science; and, to that of geographical discovery, various notices of the first intercourse with Newfoundland are not without their value. It was on March 5, 1495-6, that Henry granted letters patent to Sebastian Cabot, and his two sons, authorising them to sail under his banners with countries, and to plant the said banfive ships, for the discovery of new ners on, and to take possession of, whatever lands they might discover. (Fœdera, vol. xii.) We shall conclude our notices from these accounts, by placing together the several entries regarding the New-found-land. It is first mentioned

"1497. Aug. 10. To hym that founde the new Isle, 107.

"1498. March 22. To Lanslot Thirkill of London, upon a prest [a levy of ready money] for his shipp going towards the new Ilande, 201.

1831.]

that found Thisle, 51. [Holinshed calls "Sebastian Gabato, a Genoas sonne, born in Bristow,' and they were Bristol ships which went the voyage-"This yeare (1502) were brought unto the King three men taken in the new found islands, by Sebastian Gabato. These men were clothed in beasts' skins, and eat raw flesh, but spake such a language that no man could understand them; of the which three men, two of them were seene in the King's court at Westminster two yeares after, clothed like Englishmen, and could not be discerned from Englishmen."]

"Sept. 30. To the merchants of Bristoll that have bene in the Newe-founde Launde,

201.

"1508. Nov. 17. To one that brought haukes from the Newfounded Island, 14. "1504. April 8. To a preste [priest] that goeth to the new Ilande, 21.

"1505. Aug. 25. To Clays goying to Richemount with wylde catts and popyngays of the Newfound Island for his costs, 18s.4d."

The next article is the will of the celebrated citizen of London, Sir William Walworth, dated 1385. His bequests in money to the church and ecclesiastics amounted to about 3901.-a sum exceeding by 120/. that left to his family and kindred. To the poor he left about 65/; for his funeral expenses 401.; to his apprentices, servants, and friends, about 1621. He left books of divinity to three several religious communities; and some law-books to his brother. He had previously founded a College for a Master and nine Chaplains, in the church of St. Michael, Crooked-lane.

Next follow a high-spirited letter of James of Douglas, the Scottish Warden of the Marches, to King Richard the Second, in 1384; and a petition of Thomas Haseley to Henry the Sixth, for a reward for capturing Thomas Payn, one of the Lollards, who, it is stated, intended to have released the King of Scots from his prison in the castle of Windsor. It appears that his services were duly appreciated; and that he was liberally pensioned.

A list of New-year's gifts presented by King Henry VI. in 1437, to his principal relations and nobility, affords a curious description of various articles of jewellery; and a grant of the same reign by which an incumbent whose parsonage had been blown down in a storm, was allowed to keep 201. which had been found among the crevices of the old building, shows how vigilantly the King's interests were watched, when such a windfall was claimed as

55

"treasure trove." The place was "Noenstoke "-i. e. Meon Stoke, in Hampshire.

The next is an elaborate genealogical essay on the family of Swinford, the issue by her first husband of Katherine, first the concubine, and afterwards the third Duchess, of John of Gaunt. In consequence of her known intercourse with the Duke of Lancaster, the legitimacy of her son Sir Thomas Swinford was doubted; and was therefore certified by letters patent of 13 Henry IV. which are here printed. The epitaph stated by Weever to have been placed over the grave of her father in St. Paul's cathedral, appears to have been overlooked. His words are "Near Sir John Beauchamp's tomb (commonly called Duke Humphrey's), upon a faire marble stone inlaid all over with brass (of all which nothing but the heads of a few brazen nails are at this day visible), and engraven with the representation and coat-arms of the party defunct, thus much of a mangled inscription was of late time to be read: Hicjacet Paganus Roet, miles, Guyenne Rex Armorum, pater Catherine Ducisse Lancastrie He adds,

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that the name of Sir Payn's second daughter was Anne, who was married to Geffrey Chaucer, our famous English poet,"-not Philippa, as elsewhere stated (see Excerpta, p. 155).

Next follow some contemporary verses on the state of political parties temp. Henry VI.; and in the Third Part is another piece of the same description. The Standards borne temp. Henry VIII. are continued in both Parts.

The Second and Third Parts are divided in a very curious series of papers relative to the Tournament between Lord Scales and the Bastard of Burgundy in 1467, and some minor feats of chivalry which took place at the same time. These articles are very elaborately compiled from a variety of authorities;* and are succeeded by two other papers illustrative of the reign of King Edward the Fourth: the Marriage of the Princess Margaret to the Duke of Burgundy in 1468, and the Will of Anthony Earl Ryvers, 1483.

Among a variety of shorter articles which compose the remainder of the

* In p. 213 "horribiliter" should surely be "honorabiliter "—a mistake arising from a contraction in the original.

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Third Part, are most conspicuous, an account of Riots at Norwich, during which the Cathedral was consumed, in 1272; some documents relative to the Crusade taken by Edward the First in 1269, and his attempted assassination at Acre; and the Will and Funeneral of Queen Anna of Cleves.

We have reserved to be mentioned last, an article of general interest, as Queen Anne Boleyn is one of the characters in English history whose sex and misfortunes obtain almost universal sympathy. It is the letter of a Portuguese gentleman who witnessed her execution; and which has remained, unknown to English readers, in the archives of the monastery of Alcobaça, in Portugal, whence it is now extracted through the favour of Lord Viscount Strangford. The very penitent speech of Lord Rochford is given at considerable length; and the last moments of the Queen are then described as follows:

"After this, on the next Friday, which was the 19th of the same month, the Queen was beheaded according to the manner and custom of Paris, that is to say, with a sword, which thing had not before been seen in this land of England. And a scaffold, having four or five steps, was then and there set up. And the unhappy Queen, assisted by the Captain of the Tower, came forth, together with the four ladies who accompanied her; and she was wholly habited in a robe of black damask, made in such guise that the cape, which was white, did fall on the outer side thereof. And then she besought the Captain of the Tower that he would in no wise hasten the minute of her death, until she should have spoken that which she had in mind to say; which he consenting to, she said as followeth :

"Good friends, I am not come here to excuse or to justify myself, forasmuch as I know full well that aught that I could say in my defence doth not appertain unto you, and that I could draw no hope of life from the same. But I come here only to die, and thus to yield myself humbly to the will of the King my Lord. And if in my life I did ever offend the King's Grace, surely with my death I do now atone for the same. And I blame not my judges, nor any other manner of person, nor any thing save the cruel law of the land by which I die. But be this, and be my faults as they may, I beseech you all, good friends, to pray for the life of the King my Sovereign Lord and yours, who is one of the best princes on the face of the earth, and who hath always

treated me so well that better could not be ; wherefore I submit to death with a good will, humbly asking pardon of all the world."

(Jan.

"Then, with her own hands, she took her coifs from her head, and delivered them to one of her ladies, and then putting on a little cap of linen to cover her hair withal, she said, Alas, poor head! in a very brief space thou wilt roll in the dust on this scaffold; and as in life thou didst not merit to wear the crown of a queen, so in death thou deservest not a better doom than this. And ye, my damsels, who, whilst I lived ever showed yourselves so diligent in my service, and who are now to be present at my last hour and mortal agony, as in good fortune ye were faithful to me, so even at this my miserable death ye do not forsake me. And as I cannot reward you for your true service to me, I pray you take comfort for my loss; how beit, forget me not; and be always faithful to the King's Grace, and to her whom with happier fortune ye may have as your Queen and Mistress. And esteem your honour far beyond your life; and in your prayers to the Lord Jesu, forget not to pray for my soul.' And being minded to say no more, she knelt down upon both kuees, and one of her ladies covered her eyes with a bandage, and when they withdrew themselves some little space, and knelt down over against the scaffold, bewailing bitterly and shedding many tears. thus, without more to say or do, was her head stricken off; she making no confession of her fault, and only saying, 'O Lord God, have pity on my soul;' and one of her Ladies then took up her head, and the others the body, and covering them with a sheet did put them into a chest which there stood ready, and carried them to the church which is within the Tower, where, they say, she lieth buried with the others.

And

"The Council then declared that the Queen's daughter was the child of her brother; and that as the child of a private per son, the child be forthwith removed from that place; and that the King should again receive that Princess who was the daughter of the former and the true Queen, as his own and real daughter, and as being his successor in the kingdom. And the King did so receive her with the utmost graciousness."

The Scottish Gaël; or Celtick Manners, as preserved among the Highlanders; being an Historical and Descriptive Account of the Inhabitants, Antiquities, and National Peculiarities of Scotland, more particularly of the Northern or Gaelic Parts of the Country, where the singular habits of the Aboriginal Cells are most tenaciously retained. By James Logan, F.S.A. Edin. 2 vols. 8vo. Plates.

IT is observed by Du Cange, that where we cannot explain ancient manners and customs by reference to the Classics, we must ascribe them (at least in Gaul and Britain) to a Celtic

58

Such are our opinions. We mean not to controvert those of others, but we believe in the statement made, viz. that by the giants of the Septuagint, the Titans and Cyclopes of mythology (i. e. Homer's Cyclopes), and the nations expelled by Joshua, we are to understand the earliest known ancestors of the Celta. We also believe that there was an emigration which caused the occupation of the west of Europe, and might have been headed by a son of that terrific savage Polyphemus, an idea not more monstrous than that the bugbear of children Boh, was derived from a relative of Odin so denominated. Mr. Logan very properly observes (i. 3), that

"To derive the term Celta from hills,' or woods,' or waters,' or from western or northern position, when the people so designated occupied all parts of an extensive continent, and filled its islands, is manifestly absurd. It has been supposed that the Greeks applied the term to denote the milky whiteness of the skin; but in this point the difference between the two people seems insufficient to give rise to a designation which the Celts retained as their own proper name." Now we as much believe that there might have been a man named Celtes, as one named Romulus; and we know that it was an ancient custom to name places from persons, and to invest them with a mythological history, like popish saints with a legend,

The word Celts certainly ascends to that period when the " Geographie Mythologique," as it is called by Ravaut de S. Etienne and the French antiquaries, prevailed to such an extent, that in the name of a place we could find the imaginary founder, as in France, Francus son of Antenor; in Thoulouse, Tolus ; in Nismes, Nemausus, and so forth. Mythological as this may be, it is the real origin of the most ancient names of places.

In Chapter II. Mr. Logan treats of Britain, and the origin of its ancient inhabitants. He will not admit, that the Scilly Islands were the Cassiterides of the ancients. Major Renuel is of opinion, that the term Cassiterides ought to be extended to Cornwall at least; and Herodotus certainly knew the British Islands in part, as being the place from whence the Phenicians, and from them the Greeks, had their tin, without which they could not harden their copper so as to make it answer the purposes of iron, in weapons or in armour. Diodorus Siculus (L.

[Jan.

v. c. 2) has some curious particulars respecting an island near the British coast, to which carriages laden with tin came at low water, in order to its being embarked on vessels for the Continent (Rennel's Geogr. of Herodotus, i. 4). Dr. Withering, in his Memoirs, mentions discoveries of axes, &c. made in the Cornish mines, which clearly prove that they were worked in the early periods alluded to; and we think that there has been a time when carriages could pass at low water from the main land to St. Michael's Mount. The word "Brettannia," says Mr. Logan (i. 39), is first mentioned by Aristotle; and Borlase asserts, that no British word begins with B as a radical (p. 40). Now, we who have more respect for our old friend Sammes, than our brother antiquaries are willing to allow him, do think that the term was taken from the Phenician BARATANAC OF BRATANAC, significant of the tin and lead found in these islands. (See Sammes, p. i.)

As to Albion, a preceding Greek appellation, it ascends to the æra of the mentioned; for there was a giant Al"Mythological Geography" before bion, who was with Hercules when he was beat at the foot of the Alps. Cassiterides, according to Sammes (p. 2), also signified the same, as Bratanack, the Tin Islands. Of the Celts and Cymri, we have spoken in our review of Major Rennel's Geography of Herodotus. Eratosthenes first gave a rude idea of the form of Britain, but was ignorant of the existence of Ireland; and Major Rennel suspects, that it was time of their independence. Strabo unknown to the Greeks during the knew of it, but has greatly erred in the situation of it; and the first writer who approximates to correctness in that particular is Pliny. Rennel, ub. sup. i. 53, 54.

Pausanias has (Attic. p. 32, ed. Sylb.) νησον Ὠκεανος έχει των Βρεττανων. But in Arcadic. (273) Bpittavia. Britannia was not therefore the original word.

CHAPTER III. relates to the Aboriginal forests, and mentions some curious discoveries of their remains now submerged under the sea.

CHAPTER IV. is devoted to the Population, Person, Dispositions, Military Education, and Institutions, &c. of the Celts. This is a very interesting Chapter.