pose she was about 300 tons burden; and strange to tell, to ship builders of the present day, she was clinker built.

TELEGRAPHS AND SEMAPHORES.-These are more of those ingenious inventions, which the ever restless curiosity of enterprising man has but lately brought to perfection, to administer to his follies and his necessities. We may read that the Turks used pigeons to convey information, at the time of the first crusades, in the year 1100.

Carrier pigeons were used at the siege of Leyden, 1675.

Among the suggestions of the celebrated Marquis of Worcester, the telegraph may be found. In 1684, Dr Hook made some communications, respecting them, to the royal society.

In 1767, Richard Lovel Edgeworth actually put one in execution, to furnish his sporting friend, Sir F. B. Delavel, with information, to enable him to carry on his turf speculations. This apparatus transmitted sentences sixteen miles apart from Newmarket to London.

This ingenious gentleman was one of those,

66

Searching wits,

Who graced their age with new invented arts." VIRGIL.

Like St. Aldhelm, he was almost ingenious enough to turn a sun-beam into a clothe's peg.

Signals for fleets and convoys were, for a long time, very imperfect; Admiral Kempenfelt, (who was sunk in the Royal George, at Spithead,) made some improvements during the first American war.

I believe the French, under their Republican wars, were the first who used signals; and I think one of their battles, in the Netherlands, was mainly won by the use of an air balloon: a person in one, was enabled to give the commander advice of timely arrivals of reinforcement. The Republicans, under Citizan Chappe, had the telegraph regularly in use.

The introduction of Semaphores was by Admiral Sir Home Popham, which took place in 1816, they then made forty-eight distinct signals. Thus may we see the strange twirl of times." Brome.

SOCIETIES. During these reigns, many institutions were formed, both religious, political, and scientific.

The antiquarian society was formed 1572; application was made to Queen Elizabeth for a charter, but she did not favour it. It was suppressed by James I., but revived in 1717, and incorporated 1751.

In 1622, a music lecture or professorship was established and endowed at Oxford, by William Heyther, a gentleman of

the chapel royal, who, in the same year, was admitted to the degree of doctor in music: most likely he was stimulated by his friend, Camden, the antiquary, who founded a history lecture; he had been chorister of Magdalen College. Hawkins. In 1649, began the society for propagating the Gospel in New England.

The Royal Society was first began, 1645, and chartered by Charles II., in 1663; they commenced publishing their proceedings, 1665.

The society of the sons of the Clergy was began 1678. The society for reformation of manners began 1688, but soon declined.

The society for promoting Christian knowledge began 1699. The society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts began 1701.*

The academy of ancient music began 1710.

The royal society of musicians, 1738.

In 1755, Montague House was bought for the British Museum, which now commenced.

Chelsea Hospital was began during the reign of James; the foundation was laid, 1609. It was at first suggested by Dr. Sutcliffe, for "Polemical Divinity," and although well founded, it never flourished. It was then seized by the parliament, during Cromwell's time. Charles II. gave it to the newly established Royal Society, but not being proper for them, it was applied to its present purpose, viz.: disabled soldiers. See vol. i. page 35.f

RESTRICTIONS ON PRINTING.

"The Almighty put into man's head the knowledge of printing, to counteract the d-l's invention of artillery." RABELAIS.

THE art of printing was introduced into England by Caxton, * The amount of money collected by the various religious and benevolent institutions in England, during the last year, was £709,248.

The annual income of charitable endowments, in England and Wales, exceeds £1,200,000. Sheffield Mercury, 1843.

+ The following were formed in other European countries: at Rome, there was a board or congregation, called "The Congregation of the Propaganda,” through which they sent out foreign missions; its actual date the writer does not know. Academy del Cimento, 1610; del Bonontensis, 1690; L'Academy Francoise, 1635; of Painting and Sculpture, 1648; of Inscriptions and Medals, 1663; Institute of Science, 1666; Academy of Berlin, 1700; Royal Spanish Academy, 1714.

a citizen and mercer of London, about 1471 or 1472. introduced into Scotland, 1540, and into Ireland, 1551.

It was

After 1700, books were no longer printed in black letter, similar to the dedication of the first volume of this work, it being found more expensive.

It appears that the first printers in England, were men of learning and property, and that the privileges they obtained to print, were granted to remunerate them: but the government soon turned this privilege to their own account, for they were continually trying to suppress books that were printed against them or their measures.

When Henry VIII. made his attack upon the Catholic religion, it happened at a very extraordinary period. The art of printing was then in its very infancy; men's minds were not prepared for the changes such an art would be sure to introduce; many of the doctrines, and much of the discipline of the old religion, would be sure to be canvassed; but, if the old religion had been left untouched, there would have been something to rally round, some authority to have appealed to, and thus many of the heresies, and schisms, and vagaries of those days, might have been avoided.

"We are too apt to impute to the vices of institutions, the Papal, for instance, what are in truth the vices of the age, and would have existed under any institution that had been formed at the time." Edinburgh Review, No. 38.

We often times err, also, by judging of many of their customs by our present standard of public opinion, as they in their day were judged by those who preceded them, and no doubt as we of our day shall be judged of our successors.

The habits and the manners of the people at large were coarse and cruel, and totally unfit for the study of polemics; hence, every party that obtained power for a time, attempted to rule by force, and persecution in the most hideous form was the consequence. Each sect became a persecutor in its turn, this was the peculiar character through the whole of the period under review, and the instances are so numerous and appalling as to make one ask,

"Can knowledge have no bounds, but must advance

So far, to make us wish for ignorance?" DENHAM.

The art of printing was never free, and hence arises a difficulty, which is strongly felt at the present day, of reconciling many of the political and religious conflicting statements then made, one party at a time was only free to write their unfettered thoughts, they could make what statements they pleased,

and however outrageous they might be, they knew those whom they were libelling could not then contradict them.`

Cardinal Lorraine says: "A lie believed for an hour, doth many times, in a nation, produce events of seven years' continuance," although, as Dr. Doddridge forcibly expresses himself, "A lie is a lie, though told by all the world;" yet the lies of that and the succeeding ages are very much believed in now, although seven generations have passed since they were first promulgated; and such, I am afraid, they will remain for seven generations more; this seems to be a part of frail and fickle human nature.

"The vulgar thus through imitation err,

As oft the learned, by being singular,

So much they scorn the crowd, that if the throng

By chance go right, they purposely go wrong." POPE.

Many have not the time, the tact, the opportunity, or even the inclination to unravel the misstatements of those periods, hence they will still pass current, however often they may be refuted and exposed; as Frederick Lucas says : "You cannot nail a lie, like a base coin, to a shop-board and stop its circulation for ever, it must and will run on, till the motive which gave it birth, and the malignity which feeds it and keeps it alive, has become exhausted," and prejudice no longer stands up to call it true.

With these preliminary remarks, which are not intended as reflection upon any one particular sect or party, I will, by a few instances, shew how the press was fettered.

a

Archbishop Laud projected the setting up a case of Greek type, at Oxford, which he obtained in the following artful and arbitrary manner: The king's printers committed the important mistake, in an edition of the Bible, of omitting the word not, in the seventh commandment. He called in the whole impression, and cited the poor printers before the cruel high commissioners, a most unconstitutional and cruel court; they were sentenced to pay an exorbitant fine, with part of which, he provided the Greek type, for printing ancient MSS.

He also got a decree in the Star Chamber, in 1637, by which it was ordered, "that the master printers should be reduced to a certain number, that if any other person should secretly or openly pursue that trade, he should be set in the pillory or whipped through the streets, and suffer such other punishments as that arbitrary court should inflict: the rest of the decree prohibited the printing of any book without the imprimature of the archbishop, (himself,) or the bishop of London." Heylin.

Such was the state of this important engine, while the mo

narchy lasted. "The long parliament did not hesitate to copy this precedent of a tyranny they had overthrown, and by repeated ordinances against unlicensed printing, hindered, as far as in them lay, this great instrument of political power, from serving the purpose of their adversaries. We read the noble apology of Milton, for the freedom of the press, with admiration, but it had little or no influence on this parliament, to whom it was addressed." Hallam.

In June, 1643, the year before Milton's eloquent appeal, an act had been passed by the lords and commons, "for redressing disorders in printing," the preamble of which states, that notwithstanding divers good orders lately made on the subject, very many persons had "taken upon them to set up sundry private printing presses, in corners, and to print, vend, publish, and disperse books, pamphlets, and papers, in such multitudes, that no industry could be sufficient to discover or bring to punishment all the several abounding delinquents." It is thereupon ordered, "that no books should henceforth be printed without being first approved of and licensed, under the hands of persons as both or either of the houses of parliament should appoint to that office; and the master and warden of the company of stationers, the gentlemen usher of the house of peers, the sergeant of the house of commons, and their deputies, together with the persons formerly appointed by the committee of the house of commons for examination, are authorized and required, from time to time, to make diligent search in all places where they should think meet for all unlicensed papers, pamphlets, or books; and to seize the presses, the books, the authors, the printers, and all other persons whatsoever, employed in compiling, printing, stitching, binding, publishing, or dispersing of the said scandalous, unlicensed, and unwarrantable papers, &c., and to bring them before either of the houses or the committee for examination, that so they may receive such farther punishment as their offence shall demerit, and not be released until they have given satisfaction to the parties employed in their apprehension, for their pains and charges, and given sufficient caution not to offend in the like sort in future." "In case of opposition, the searchers are authorized to break open doors and locks." Schobell i. p. 45.

By another act, passed by both houses, in 1647, "the maker, the writer, or composer of any book, pamphlet, treatise, ballad, libel sheet, or sheets of news whatsoever, not licensed by both or either house of parliament, or the persons authorized by them, with the name of the author, printer, and licenser thereunto affixed, was made liable to a fine of forty shillings, or imprisonment, not exceeding forty days, in the common gaol; the printer