numents are the spacious church in which they once worshipped, and a large and very picturesque yew-tree, the girth of which is full twenty feet. On an old upright stone on the outside of the south-east corner of the south aile this epitaph is in good preservation : "Here lyeth the body of Robt. Scott, of ys parish, yeoman, and Mary his wife, and 6 children. He departed this life the 24th Dec. 1677, aged 70 years; and she departed this life the 24th Dec. 1681, aged 47 years." Near the north-east corner of the chancel is an upright stone "In memory of William White, of this Parish, Yeoman, who was on Sunday evening, the 11 Dec. 1808, most barbarously murdered in the bosom of his afflicted family, by a gun discharged at him thro' a window, whilst sitting by his fireside. The perpetrator of this horrid deed is not yet discovered, but there is one "Who is about our path and about our bed, and who spieth out all our ways,' who will sometime bring it to light. He lived esteemed by all who knew him, and his sad end is universally regretted. He left issue 6 sons and 5 daughters to bewail his loss, and died at the age of 58 years. This stone was erected June the 24th, 1809. By whose assassinating hand I fell, Rests yet conceal'd, and none but God can tell ; The victim of this village tragedy is generally supposed to have been killed by his own son; but nothing was ever proved against the young man, who afterwards died in New South Wales, to which settlement he had been transported. There is a very handsome modern tomb, surmounted by an urn, and presenting slabs inscribed as follows: "THE FAMILY VAULT OF MR. RICHARD EVERIST, 1830. "Mr. Richard Everist died 27 Jan. 1831, aged 74 years, leaving a widow, six sons and eight daughters, to lament the loss of a kind husband and indulgent father. He lived and died a pattern to all men. "Mrs. Elizabeth Everist his wife, died 9 Nov. 1837, aged 65. "A loving mother and a virtuous wife, Faithful and just in every part of life. "Mary Ann, wife of Mr. Henry Everist, of this parish, died 4 May 1836, aged 45. "Mr. Philip Tomlin, of this parish, died 29 Sept. 1834, aged 54." J. G. N. MR. URBAN, YOUR correspondent CHARTULARIUS, in his first letter, (Gent. Mag. for March, p. 245) complained of a grievance, and proposed a remedy. The grievance stated was, that a gentleIman who has had access to the documents in the State Paper Office, and has published some of them, has done so inaccurately. In verification of that assertion your correspondent gave us no evidence of his own, but borrowed, from a review, a statement of certain alleged errors in documents published by the same gentleman from the British Museum. We are now told that the proof might have been carried further, and that instances of inaccuracy in transcribing from the State Paper Office might have been superadded. If so, they ought to have been produced. It is scarcely just to ask the public to give credence to charges of inaccuracy of a specific kind simply upon the assertion of an anonymous correspondent, of the competency of whose judgment, and whose means of information we are totally ignorant. But let that pass. Few collections of ancient documents-those who know the difficulties of the subject would, perhaps, agree with me were I to say that no collection of ancient documents can be believed to be faultless, and we may therefore agree that some imperfections may be found in the book in question; but-the remedy? CHARTULARIUS proposed the publication of catalogues of the contents of the State Paper Office, and "when documents are desired at length, access to them might be granted with any due restrictions, or office copies furnished to applicants under certain regulations." CHARTULARIUS now says that by " access with any due restrictions, he meant that, as far as the nature of the establishment might admit, the same facility of admission should be allowed to the MSS. in the State Paper Office as may be had to those in the British Museum," and that "in the mention of due restrictions he had in view that very proper regulation by the trustees of the Museum, that no entire transcript of a MS. should be made with out special permission granted to the reader." If that was his meaning, nothing could be more unfortunate than his mode of expressing it. The regulation of the trustees referred to does not apply to any documents of the kind published in the book out of which this discussion arose, and, therefore, has really nothing to do with it; and, moreover, it is not a restriction upon access but upon transcribing. The whole passage is obviously non-descriptive of the practice of the British Museum, where there is really no restriction upon access, and office-copies are unknown; but it is strikingly applicable to the practice of another depository, which it instantly called to my mind-the Prerogative Office in Doctors' Commons. There, access to the wills is granted "with due restrictions," and office copies are furnished to applicants, and if that office, and not the British Museum, did not sit for your correspondent's picture, I cannot congratulate him upon his skill in portrait-painting. Again, if your correspondent meant, and desired, that the practice of the State Paper Office should be assimilated to that of the British Museum, what becomes of his suggested remedy? The proof of his complaint was deduced from inaccuracy in publication from the British Museum. He now tells us that his proposed remedy for this serious evil, as he designated it, was, that gentlemen should have equal facilities for inaccurate publication from the State Paper Office. He must excuse me for having given him credit for designing something more consonant to the ordinary character of a remedial measure. It seems I mistook him. He designed to put a stop to inaccuracy by enlarging the opportunities for falling into blunders. Gentlemen who argue in such a manner ought not to GENT. MAG. VOL. XIII. be surprised if common people occasionally misunderstand them. Your correspondent comments upon the title by which I have designated myself; but what am I to say to his, CHARTULARIUS-A RECORD KEEPER ? The recommendation of office copies gives it a verisimilitude, and the confident assertion of inaccuracies in the printing of documents derived from the State Paper Office, a probable home; but can it be possible that any gentleman connected with that office, to whom the title of Record Keeper is properly applicable, is of opinion that "the most liberal access should be granted to the documents in his custody-that the same facilities should be allowed with respect to their manuscripts and those in that invaluable institution the British Museum? If so I indeed rejoice, since such an opinion is an explicit and valuable condemnation of the present system. Unreasonable as that system is in itself, and condemned, universally and loudly, by all disinterested persons competent to form a judgment, if it be also condemned by those acting under it, there is hope that a better day is not far distant. Until it dawns, and the obsolete papers of the State Paper Office are made accessible to all inquirers-whether they desire "documents at length" or are mere searchers after truth-we do but dream of history; within sight of vast stores of knowledge we are kept ignorant; with the truth at hand we are compelled to put up with fables. Yours, &c. PHILALETHES. MR. URBAN, Greenwich, May 18. THE amateur review of the first volume of the New General Biographical Dictionary [Vide pp. 497-501.] recalls my attention to the progress of that work. I had resolved to leave it to its fate, and could only persuade myself to glance over the third and fourth parts of it. However, as the gentle reviewer announces a "visible and progressive improvement in each succeeding number," and even predicts its superiority, its immeasurable superiority, to the rival works of Michaud and Chalmers-I have been induced to examine the fifth part, very recently published, with more curiosity. I cast the result of this examination, 4 F as on previous occasions, in the epistolary mould-for I could not presume, without apprenticeship to the craft, to attempt a formal review. As a considerable portion of the New General Biographical Dictionary is avowedly based on the more extensive work of M. Michaud, it may be desirable to inquire how far the new biographers possess the art of epitomising. I shall therefore transcribe the FIRST article, which is epitomised from that work; and submit, in precisely the same space, a new epitome of it. "ANSON, (Pierre Hubert, 1744-1810,) a French writer, and an able financier. After having practised some time as an advocate, he was taken into the office of the comptroller-general of finance, and occupied, successively, several posts connected with that department. He wrote some historical memoirs; and translated Lady M. W. Montague's Letters, and Anacreon; besides being the author of several short poems and songs. (Biog. Univ.)" ANSON, (Pierre Hubert) a French writer, was born at Paris in 1744. He was bred to the law; successively obtained various financial situations; and that of Administrateur des Postes, which he held at his death in 1810. He published historical accounts of Milly and Nemours, 1766; a translation of Anacreon, 1795, sm. 8vo. and of the Letters of Lady Montagu, 1795, 2 vols. 12mo. He also wrote poems, songs, etc. Beuchot, B. U. - To record as many important facts as possible within the allotted space, and to arrange them judiciously, should be the principal aim of the new biographers but there is not one of the first six articles which deserves praise on either score. They are below the level of those of Watkins and Gorton. 1. ANSON (P. H.).-I leave this article to speak for itself. 2. ANSPACH. On the latter portion of the life of the Margrave of Anspach it is merely said, He died in England in 1806." It might at least have been said, He purchased La Trappe, afterwards celebrated as Brandenburg House, in 1792; and died at Speen, in Berkshire, in 1806. 3. ANSPACH. -The works of the Margravine of Anspach are very imperfectly enumerated, and the date assigned to the Memoirs is erroneous. It should be 1826. 4. ANSPRAND.-This article is not so much an epitome of that of M. Sismondi as an assemblage of fragments of it. It is the life of a monarch without the date of his' accession to the throne! Cunibert, another monarch, is miscalled Canibert. 5. ANSTEY (Christopher).-The birth-place of the poet, his education at Eton, the date of his scholarship at Cambridge, his degree of B.A. in 1746, etc. are omitted. The New Bath Guide is the only one of his poetical progeny which is named; and on his other progeny, thirteen in number, the oracle is mute. It is not said where Anstey died, nor that his Poetical Works were edited by his second son, 1808, 4to. nor that the volume contains an account of his life and writings. Can such an article be termed biography? 6. ANSTIS (John). -This learned heraldic writer is treated with some care, but the authority, as in the case of Anstey, is omitted. Was it Brooke or Nichols? or Noble? or Chalmers? The fact should have been stated, for the biographers are at variance on the date of his appointment as Garter King at Arms, and of his death. Brooke remains in manuscript. Nichols first published his account in 1782; Noble, who was much indebted to Nichols, in 1804; and Chalmers, who refers to both, in 1812. Chalmers, however, copies Noble almost verbatim. I must here express the surprise which I have repeatedly felt at the absence of references to the Literary Anecdotes of Mr. Nichols, who, as a female writer justly remarks, has "poured forth such a flood of literary and biographical anecdote as is not to be equalled, for variety and interest, by any work in the English language.” After this examination of consecutive articles, I may be allowed to select from the remaining portion. The Spanish articles, said to be contributed by one who "has cultivated Spanish literature with the most distinguished success, shall receive particular attention. 1. ANTELMI (Joseph). The authority cited at the end of this article is the Biographie Universelle. I conceive we should read, Alexander Chalmers. Millin, the learned author of the article in the former work, gives no general character of Antelmi, but Chalmers and the new biographers supply that deficiency, and they coincide to admiration! Behold the evidence : "Antelmi died at Frejus, June 21, 1697, leaving the character of a man of acuteness, learning, and integrity, but credulous, and too ready to deal in conjecture."-A. C. "He [Antelmi] died at Frejus in 1697, leaving the character of a man of acuteness, learning, and integrity; but credulous, and too fond of dealing in conjecture."-N. G. B. D. 2. ANTHONY (Derick).-The name of this seal engraver appears to have been introduced in order to serve as a vehicle for announcing a discovery. The Antony Deric of Horace Walpole should be Deric Antony! The new biographer deserves praise for his discovery. I cannot, however, convince myself that Derick Anthony has a better claim to be commemorated than Charles Anthony-who was engraver of seals, &c. to James I. for more than ten years; and on whom some interesting facts have recently become more accessible. 3. ANTILLON, (Isidore,) a Spanish patriot. In lieu of this name and designation I have to propose-ANTILLON, (Isidoro de) a very eminent Spanish geographer. Antillon was the author of Elementos de la Geografía Astronómica, natural y política, de España y Portugal, Madrid, 1808, 8vo. Valencia, 1815, 8vo. Madrid, 1824, 8vo. It is the best account of the Peninsula, and a choice specimen of an elementary essay. He also composed Lecciones de Geografía General, 2 vols. But perhaps he deserves still more praise for his Cartas Esféricas del Grande Océano, del Océano Reunido, del Océano Atlántico, etc. The analyses prefixed to these charts are equally remarkable for the rich display of authorities, and the impartial appropriation of discovery. To Sir Francis Drake he has done an act of justice, which is denied him by our own geographers : "Denotamos," says he, "con el nombre de Islas Elisabétidas á todas las que rodean por O. y S. la tierra del Fuego, porque así las llamó en 1578 el primer Europeo que llegó á verlas, el Ingles Francisco Drake, queriendo eternizar en sus descubrimientos Australes la memoria de la Reyna Isabel de Inglaterra." The authority cited is the Biographie Universelle; and it proves to be one of the few anonymous articles in that work. Our anonymous biographers seem to have a predilection for anonymous authorities! 4. ANTONIO DE LEBRIJA, (14421522.) This article has no reference to the authority. It is a mere scrap in comparison with the excellent article of M. Weiss, which is contained in the thirty-first volume of the Biographie Universelle. The sagacious biographer passes over the grammatical and lexicographical works of Lebrija, the Specimen of Mayans, and the Elogio of Muñoz. M. Weiss characterises Lebrija, I believe very justly, as "l'un des plus savants hommes de son siècle, et celui qui a le plus contribué à faire refleurir les lettres et les sciences en Espagne." I suspect the article of M. Weiss escaped our biographers. Chaudon and Delandine celebrate Antonio de Lebrija as ANTOINE Nebrissensis; Chalmers celebrates him as ANTONIUS Elius Nebrissensis; Michaud, as NEBRISSENSIS (Ælius Antonius); and D. Vicente Salvá has it, perhaps more correctly, LEBRIJA (Antonio de). So much for the alphabetical order in biography, which is supposed to deserve the preference on account of the superior facility which it affords to research. In every other point of view it is extremely objectionable. A biography, with the articles in proper order, would exhibit each individual in the midst of his contemporaries. It would form a series of pictures of the times-of the progress of social life, of science, of literature, and of the arts. A biography, in the customary order, approximates the Visigoth Alaric and our own Queen Anne, Cicero and Colley Cibber; and it separates, almost as widely as possible, Aurelian and Zenobia, Addison and Steele, Albert and Victoria. It is a mass of anachronism and incongruity. 5. ANTONIO, (Nicolas, 1617 1684,) of Seville, the celebrated literary biographer, &c.-Nicolas Antonio, to whom biographers are indebted for a vast mass of information, is commemorated in a very slovenly manner. There is no mention of his elaborate treatise De Exilio, nor of his Censura de Historias Fabulosas, nor of the life of him written by Mayans, nor of that by Bayer. The dates and size of his Bibliotheca Hispana Vetus, and Bibliotheca Hispana Nova, and the reprint of the former, are also omitted. Cardinal Aguirre is called Aguine. This article, or rather imperfect memorandum, concludes with a curious specimen of the inverted style, of which I shall attempt a partial imitation : "By Bayer of Valencia the Bibliotheca Nova was augmented and improved. Madrid, 1783."N. G. B. D. 'By Bayer of Valencia the Bibliotheca Vetus was augmented and improved. Madrid, 1788."-C. 6. ANVILLE, (Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d', born at Paris, July 11, 1697, died Jan. 28, 1782.)-The life of d'Anville, the very eminent geographer, is treated at considerable length, but without much neatness of composition. There is no attempt to guide the student to those of his numerous works which it is most essential to possess; no particulars as to dates, sizes, &c. His memoir of Gravelot, a name familiar to Englishmen, should have been indicated. We should also have had a reference to the excellent Notice des Ouvrages de M. d'Anville, &c. Paris, 1802, 8vo. It is by M. Barbié du Bocage-le seul élève qu'ait fait M. d'Anville. The new biographer states that d'Anville formed no scholars. The statement is correct-but may lead to misapprehension. 7. APTHORP, (East,) an English divine. This article is extremely imperfect, and the authority is most injudiciously chosen. The Bibliotheca of Watts is not a work to be resorted to for biographical facts. An ample account of this very learned and worthy man, drawn up by Mr. Nichols, and revised by the Rev. Dr. Calder, may be met with in the third volume of the Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century. There is also a memoir of him in the Gent. Mag. 1816. i. 467. 8. ARANJO DE AZEVEDO, (Antonio de, 1752-1817,) Conde de Barca.This article is rather a fragment than a memoir. Araujo de Azevedo is commemorated only as a diplomatist and minister he was also a man of letters. He wrote a defence of Camoens in answer to La Harpe, and two dra : matic pieces. He also translated the odes of Horace, some of the poems of Gray, and the Cecilian ode of Dryden. A very interesting summary of his life, from the pen of Costancio, has been printed in the fifty-sixth volume of the Biographie Universelle. 9. ARBUCKLE, (James, born 1700, died 1734,) a native of Glasgow, &c. -This article is chiefly copied from Chalmers, who was not satisfied with his authority. The new biographers add the Collection of Letters and Essays, but they reject the M.A. More research should have been exercised on this occasion. I shall give a specimen of the poetical powers of Arbuckle from his Monimia to Philocles, Dublin, 1728, 12mo. Monimia thus addresses her faithless lover : "Lost to the world, abandon'd and forlorn, 10. ARCO, (Alexis del, 1625-1700,) a Spanish painter, &c.-The account of this artist occupies about twelve lines. The authority cited is Michael Bryan. I shall spare, on this occasion, my rapidly-diminishing store of condemnatory phrase, and substitute a list of errata: 1. Alexis del Arco-Alonso del Arco. 2. Polonusio-Palomino. 3. Assumption of the Virgin-Annunciation of the Virgin. 4. Trinitarios Descalios-Trinitarios Descalzos. have only to add that my authority is D. Juan Agustin Cean Bermudez. I 11. ARDEMANS, (Teodoro,) a Spanish architect.-This article, though it occupies half a column, is very defective. We are not told that Árdemans was a native of Madrid-nor that he had served in the royal guards -nor that he was a writer-nor that he died at Madrid. The proofs of his authorship are, Declaracion y extension sobre las Ordenanzas de Madrid, 1719, 4to. and Fluencias de la tierra y curso subterráneo de las Aguas, 1724, 4to.There is no authority appended to this article. Cean Bermudez and Alvarez y Baena should undoubtedly have been consulted. I may here note the utility of re |