fountains of iniquity have ceased to flow." It was supposed, that at twelve o'clock on the night preceding Midsummer, the waters of these wells rose and overflowed miraculously. Crowds of men and women flocked to the place, amounting sometimes to ten, and sometimes to twenty thousand. It was supposed the water had the power of curing various diseases, and men and women, in a state of absolute nudity, promiscuously bathed in them, in the presence of the assembled multitude. The trick has been discovered; an artificial channel had been formed, through which, by water conveyed from a neighbouring stream, the wells could be made to rise and fall at pleasure. A Protestant from Belfast, of high respectability, in 1825, thrust a stick into the rampart, and let the water escape in another direction. The wells were left dry; yet

did the credulous multitude roll themselves in the mud, and multitudes, as formerly, ascending the hill on their knees, bare and bleeding, seated themselves on St. Patrick's chair, went round the cairns, and thus performed their stations, and, fancying they expiated their sins, were ready to commence a new account with heaven by drunkenness and debauchery the night that followed; for, in all such cases, there was no lack of tents and whiskey in the adjoining grounds.

"A Protestant gentleman of Belfast this year visited Struel, and, from a letter from him to the editor of the Guardian, it appears that the dam has been dug down in the presence of the few who had assembled, and the fraud openly exposed.

"Dr. Croly, the Roman Catholic Bishop, and his clergy, it appears, had prohibited the attendance of the people at the wells; but not, let it be remembered, till the editor of the Newsletter had for four years called public attention to the impious fraud and abominable iniquity practised there. We give them no credit for this tardy and reluctant tribute paid to honesty, decorum, common sense, and public morals; for had the thing been let alone by others, they Iwould have let it alone too. But we rejoice that the eyes of our countrymen are opened to these scenes; and are persuaded, that the hour is at hand, when all similar abominations, and the religion that sanctions them, will be swept away from the face of the country."

Priests have no Right to visit Schools. "At the late Wicklow Assizes, a cause was tried, important to the cause of scriptural education, as it establishes the principle, that no Roman Catholic Priest can enter a school without the master's consent;

and if he enter, and proceed to the work of turning out the children, on any pretence, whether that they are corrupted by Biblereading, or otherwise, and the master order him out, in his turn; he must comply, or be liable to an action for trespass. The Rev. C. B. Stennett entered the school of a Mr. Chapman, at Newtown Mount Kennedy, ordered the children out, and in fact broke up the school. The charge of Baron Pennefather clearly establishes the principle stated above; and the Jury found a verdict for Mr. Chapman, with damages. We trust this will have a salutary effect in helping to repress clerical insolence and tyranny."

"Shall burning Etna, if a sage requires,
Forget to thunder, and recall her fires?
On air or sea new motions be impress'd,
O blameless Bethel, to relieve thy breast?
When the loose mountain trembles from on high,
Shall gravitation cease, if you go by?

Or some old temple nodding to its fall,
For Chartres' head reserve the hanging wall ?”

The same author, in his Epistle to Lord Bathurst, thus expresses himself respecting

the distribution of riches.

"Like doctors thus, when much dispute has pass'd,
We find our tenets just the same at last.
Both fairly owning, riches in effect
No grace of heaven, or token of th' elect;
Given to the fool, the mad, the vain, th' evil,
To Ward, to Waters, Chartres, or the Devil."

Of these characters, celebrated for infamy, the following is briefly the history.

John Ward.

"John Ward of Hackney, Esq., member of Parliament, being prosecuted by the duchess of Buckingham, and convicted of forgery, was first expelled the house, and then stood in the pillory on the 17th of March 1727. He was suspected of joining in a conveyance with Sir John Blunt to secrete fifty thousand pounds of that director's estate, forfeited to the South Sea Company by Act of Parliament. The Company recovered the fifty thousand pounds against Ward, but he set up prior conveyances of his real estate to his brother and son, and

concealed all his personal, which was computed to be one hundred and fifty thousand pounds: these conveyances being also set aside by a bill in chancery, Ward was imprisoned, and hazarded the forfeiture of his life by not giving in his effects till the last day, which was that of his examination. During his confinement, his amusement was to give poison to dogs and cats, and see them expire by slower or quicker torments. To sum up the worth of this gentleman, at the several æras of his life at his standing in the pillory, he was worth above two hundred thousand pounds; at his commitment to prison, he was worth one hundred and fifty thousand; but was afterward so far diminished in his reputation, as to be thought a worse man by fifty or sixty thousand.

To this miscreant has been attributed the following composition, which has frequently been published under the title of " The Miser's Prayer." It is inserted in "The Notes of a Book-Worm," p. 144; and in The Times paper for March 24th, 1828, it is said to have been found " a few days ago among Mr. Ward's papers, in his own hand-writing."

"O Lord, thou knowest that I have nine houses in the city of London, and likewise that I have lately purchased an estate in fee-simple in the county of Essex. I beseech thee to preserve the two counties of Middlesex and Essex from fire and earthquakes; and as I have a mortgage in Hertfordshire, I beg of thee likewise to have an eye of compassion on that county; and for the rest of the counties thou mayest deal with them as thou art pleased.

"O Lord, enable the bank to answer all their bills, and make all my debtors good men. Give a prosperous voyage to the Mermaid sloop, because I have insured it; and as thou hast said, that the days of the wicked are but short, I trust in thee that thou wilt not forget thy promise, as I have purchased an estate in reversion, which will be mine on the death of that profligate young man, Sir J. L

Keep my friends from sinking, and grant that there may be no sinking funds. Keep my son Caleb out of evil company, and gaming-houses; and preserve me from thieves and housebreakers, and make all my servants so honest and faithful, that they may attend to my interest only, and never cheat me out of my property, night nor day. Amen."

Francis Chartres.

"Francis Chartres was a man infamous for all manner of vices. When he was an ensign in the army, he was drummed out of

484

the regiment for a cheat; he was next banished Brussels, and drummed out of Ghent on the same account. After a hundred tricks at the gaming tables, he took to lending money at exorbitant interest, and on great penalties, accumulating premium, interest, and capital, into a new capital, and seizing to a minute when the payments became due; in a word, by a constant attention to the vices, wants, and follies of mankind, he acquired an immense fortune. His house was the perpetual resort of knaves and strumpets. He was twice condemned for rapes, and pardoned, but the last time not without imprisonment in Newgate, and large confiscations. He died in Scotland in 1731, aged 62. The populace at his funeral raised a great riot, almost tore the body out of the coffin, and cast dead dogs, &c. into the grave along with it. The fol lowing epitaph contains his character, very justly drawn, by Dr. Arbuthnot.

HERE continueth to rot

The body of FRANCIS CHARTRES,
Who with an INFLEXIBLE CONSTANCY, and
INIMITABLE UNIFORMITY of Life,
PERSISTED,

In spite of AGE and INFIRMITIES,
In the practice of EVERY HUMAN VICE;
Excepting PRODIGALITY and HYPOCRISY:
His insatiable AVARICE exempted him from the first,
His matchless IMPUDENCE from the second.
Nor was he more singular in the undeviating Pravity
of his Manners, than successful in
Accumulating WEALTH,

For, without TRADE or PROFESSION,
Without TRUST of PUBLIC MONEY,
And without BRIBE WORTHY Service,
He acquired, or more properly Created,
A MINISTERIAL ESTATE.

He was the only Person of his Time,
Who could CHEAT without the Mask of HONESTY,
Retain his Primeval MEANNESS when possess'd of
TEN THOUSAND a Year, and

Having daily deserv'd the GIBBET for what he did, Was at last condemned to it forwhat he could notdo. Oh Indignant Reader!

Think not his Life Useless to Mankind! PROVIDENCE connived at his execrable Designs, To give to After-Ages a conspicuous PROOF, and EXAMPLE,

Of how small Estimation is EXORBITANT WEALTH in the Sight of GOD, by his bestowing it on

The most UNWORTHY of ALL MORTALS. "This gentleman was worth seven thousand pounds a year estate in land, and about one hundred thousand in money.

Mr. Waters.

"Mr. Waters, the third of these worthies, was a man no way resembling the former in his military, but extremely so in his civil capacity; his great fortune having been raised by the like diligent attendance on the necessities of others."

He was alive when the above lines were written, and we may judge of his character from the association in which the poet then dared to put his name. Of his subsequent history scarcely any thing has been preserved.

GLEANINGS.

Diorama at 73, Oxford-strect.-This exhibition consists of four pictures, said so be the largest ever brought before the public together in this country. The views are painted by Messrs. Stanfield and Roberts : The Lake of Maggiore in Italy. The Interior of St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Shipwreck and Storm, on the coast. Ruins of Tintern Abbey, by Moonlight: with various effects of light and shade.- -On looking at these paintings, so nicely is the perspective preserved, and so accurately are the degrees of light and shade blended and varied, that we can scarcely persuade ourselves that the eye is wandering over a flat surface. The lake is that which appears the least interesting. The chapel contains every thing that can be supposed to favour the deception, but presents nothing by which it can be distinguished from the interior of a real building. The shipwreck is admirable. The large vessel on the rocks, partially covered with foam, the blue waves apparently rolling and conflicting in tumultuous agitation, the floating wreck, the half-drowning mariners, the boats hastening to their assistance, the tremendous cliffs, and people gazing on the scene of desolation below, impose upon the whole the character of enchantment. The ruins of the abbey can admit of no description that will do them justice. They must be seen, to be fully appreciated. The platform or gallery, on which the spectators stand, is immoveable. A curtain is drawn before them when the views are changed, which conceals the process by which the illusion is accomplished.

George III.-A monument is about to be erected to the memory of this beloved and much lamented monarch; but the time, the place, and the characteristic peculiarities of this tribute of national gratitude and affection, have not yet been made public.

Fernando Po.-As the removal of our long established colony at Sierra Leone to this place has rendered Fernando Po of late an interesting object, we beg to inform our readers, that in the Imperial Magazine for 1826, cols. 33 and 129, they will find a compendious history of this island, including its climate, productions, inhabitants, and peculiarities. As a place of settlement, it is of fair promise; but experiment must be the touchstone of utility.

North America, as exemplified in the Life of Edward Drinker, who died at Philadelphia in the year 1822, aged 103 years.-The life of this man was marked with several circumstances, which have seldom occurred in the life of an individual. He saw the same spot of earth covered with wood, and a receptacle for beasts and birds of prey, afterward become the seat of a city, not only the first in wealth and arts in the new, but rivalling in both, many of the first cities in the old world. He saw regular streets, where he once pursued a hare; churches rising upon morasses, where he had often heard the croaking of frogs; wharfs and warehouses, where he had often seen Indian savages draw fish from the river for daily subsistence; ships of every size and use in those streams, where he had often seen nothing but Indian canoes; a stately edifice, filled with legislators, astonishing the world with their wisdom and virtue, on the same spot, probably, where he had seen an Indian council-fire. He saw the first treaty ratified between the newly confederated powers of America, and the ancient monarchy of France, with all the formalities of parchment and seals, where he had seen William Penn ratify his first and last treaty with the Indians, without the formalities of pen, ink, and paper; he witnessed all the intermediate stages through which a people pass, from the lowest to the highest degree of civilization; the beginning and the end of the empire of Great Britain in Pennsylvania. He had been the subject of crowned heads, and afterwards died a citizen of the newly-created republic of America, whose liberties and independence he embraced, and triumphed in the last years of his life in the salvation of his country.-Easton on Health and Longevity.

Machinery.-A machine, we understand, has lately been invented, by which some dozens of knives and forks may be cleaned in a few minutes. We expect shortly to hear of a machine for cutting bread and butter, we hope it will not also be for eating it!

Gypsies.-A society has lately been formed in Southampton, to take into consideration the state of this forlorn and singular branch of the human family, in order to ameliorate their condition. For this purpose, circulars have been published, requesting answers to thirty questions therein stated. relative to their character, mode of life, customs, associates, peculiarities, &c. Answers are to be addressed to J. Mayor, member of the committee for the benefit of gypsies at Southampton.

Hippopotamus.-The head of one of these wonderful and scarce animals, well preserved with the skin on it, and exhibiting its peculiar tusks and teeth, is now being exhibited in St. James'sstreet, London. To naturalists this is a great curiosity.

Method of obtaining Flowers of different Colours in the same Stem.-Split a small twig of elder-bush lengthways, and, having scraped out the pith, fill each of the apartments with seeds of flowers of different sorts, but which blossom about the same time; surround them with mould, and then tying together the two bits of wood, plant the whole in a pot filled with earth properly prepared. The stems of the different flowers will thus be so incorporated as to exhibit to the eye only one stem, throwing out branches covered with flowers analogous to the seed which produced them.

Longevity in Russia.-From the lists of births and deaths published by the synod in St. Petersburgh, it appears that in 1825, there died 848 per sons above 100 years of age, 32 above 120, four between 125 and 130, and four between 130 and 135 years of age.

Medico-Botanical Society, London. Of this noble institution a meeting was held on the 14th March, when several distinguished personages, illustrious both in rank and science, were admitted fellows; among whom were the Duke of Somerset, Earl Stanhope, Sir Alexander Johnstone, &c. Several valuable specimens of botany, were also presented, and communications were read from foreign potentates, expressive of their desire to become honorary members, and of their wishes to promote its welfare.

Curious Inscription, on one of the gates of the city of Agra, in India:-"The first year of the reign of Julef, two thousand husbands were voluntarily separated by the magistrate. The indignant emperor abolished divorce in consequence. Next year there were in Agra three thousand marriages less, seven thousand cases of adultery more; three hundred women were burnt for having poisoned their husbands; seventy-five men were burnt for the murder of their wives; and three millions of rupees' worth of furniture was broken in domestic squabbles. The emperor re-established divorces."

Roman Coin.-A silver Roman coin of the emperor Carausins, of great rarity, has recently been found in a high state of preservation, in the vicinity of Debenham, in Suffolk.

Crime in France.-It is stated, that no less than 150,000 persons were tried before the criminal courts of France in 1826, of whom 122,000 were found guilty, and condemned to different degrees of punishment.

Posterity of Milton in India.-There is reason to believe that the representative of the family of Milton might be found in British India. Deborah, the third and favourite daughter of our great poet, was the only one of his children who had a family that lived. She married Abraham Clarke, a weaver, in Spitalfields, and died in August, 1727, aged 76. She had seven sons, one of whom, Caleb Clarke, went to Madras, and became parish-clerk there. His children were the latest descendants of Milton, fand it is desirable that some inquiry should be made respecting them by persons est dent at that presidency.

South American Bug.-The inhabitants of Chile are annoyed by an insect called benchuca, in shape and form like our common house-bug, but of the size of our cockchafer. This winged insect conceals itself by day in the thatch and cane roofing of the houses, and sallies forth by night in quest of food. They annoy people much after the manner of our bug, but from their size are terrific enemies. They are thin and flat like the common bug; but after satiating themselves with blood, of which they take as much as the medicinal leech, they become quite round.

Literary Notices.

Just Published.

A Memoir of Pestalozzi, being the substance of a Lecture delivered at the Royal Institution, May 1826. By the Rev. C. Mayo, LL.D.

A Sermon, historically and scripturally expla natory of the doctrines of Election, Predestination, and Reprobation. By a Clergyman of the Church of England.

Truth against Error; or, the Christian's Ægis, No. 1, 2, 3, 4, price 1d. each. Monthly.

Letters on the Means of Abolishing Slavery in the West Indies, and improving the condition of the slaves; with Remarks on Mr. McDonnell's pamphlet, entitled Compulsory Manumission.'

Christian Experience; or, a Guide to the perplexed. By the Rev. Robert Philips.

The Fruits of the Spirit. By the Rev. John Thornton. 4th Edit.

Encouragement to Christian Mothers.

Lady.

By a

The Vices, a Poem, in 3 Cantos. By the Author of the Letters of Junius.

The Stranger's Guide through London. With a plan.

The Scilly Islands, and the Famine occasioned by the legal prevention of smuggling with France. By the Rev. G. C. Smith.

No. II. of the Foreign Review, and Continental Miscellany. No. III. will be published in June.

Tracts and Essays, moral and theological. By William Hey, Esq. F.R.S. Edited by the Rev. Samuel Walter Burgess, A.M. Third Edition.

Memoirs of his late Majesty, George III. with a copious collection of Royal Anecdotes. 18mo. 2d Edit.

The Doctrine of the Trinity defended, in answer to a pamphlet, entitled, An Apology for Deism.' 8vo. 2d Edit.

The Sacred Lyre: Poems, devotional, moral, and preceptive, with many original pieces. 18mo. 4th Edition.

A Catechism of the Truth of Christianity, designed chiefly for young persons. 12mo. 2d Edit. Sermons. 8vo. 2d Edit.

An Abridgment of Dr. Wells's Historical Geography of the New Testament. 12mo. 2d Edit.

Gradations in Reading and Spelling, upon an entirely new and original plan, by which dissyllables are rendered as easy as monosyllables. By Henry Butter.

By J. Grant, Elgin, Shaw's History of the Province of Moray; brought down to the close of 1826. Also, publishing in parts, by the above Author, Views of the most interesting Ruins, and principal Gentlemen's Seats, in the North of Scotland; accompanied with letterpress descriptions of each.

The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans; with an Introduction, Paraphrase, and Notes. By C. H. Terrot, A.M.

A Brief Enquiry into the Prospects of the Church of Christ in connexion with the Second Advent of our Lord. By the Hon. Gerard Noel, A.M.

Consistency. By Charlotte Elizabeth, author of 'Osric,' 'Rachel,' &c. 2d Edit.

Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin. 6th Ed. F'cap. 8vo.

488

Sermons adapted for Family Reading. By the Rev. John Edmund Jones, M.A.

Hints, designed to promote a profitable Attendance on an Evangelical Ministry. By the Rev. W. Davis.

Village Incidents; or, Religious Influence in Domestic Scenes. By a Lady.

Church Patronage. A Letter to the Right Hon. Robert Peel, M.P. &c.

Observations on the Importation of Foreign Corn. Sermons and Extracts consolatory on the loss of Friends; selected from the works of the most eminent Divines.

An Estimate of the Human Mind, I vols. 8vo. By the Rev. J. Davies.

Four Sermons on subjects relating to the Christian Ministry. By the Rev. John Bird Sumner.

An Introduction to the Literary History of the Bible. By James Townley, D.D. In one vol. 12mo.

The History of Ireland, Civil, Military, and Ecclesiastical. With the Lives of the Stuarts. By Lieutenant Colonel Keene. In three thick vols. 8vo.

A History of the Council of Trent, illustrative of the Roman Catholic System, and the Ecclesiastical History of that period (A.D. 1545–1563.)

Public Characters, vol. I., comprising Portraits, with Biographical Sketches, of twenty-seven distinguished Personages of the present age.

In the Press.

Essays on the Nature, Causes, and Effects, of National Antipathies; on Credulity, and on Enthusiasm; with an Historical Review of the Revolutions of Empires, from the earliest ages to the death of Alexander the Great. By R. Otley.

Narrative of a Journey from Constantinople to England. By the Rev. R. Walsh, LL.D. M.R.I.A. The Cottager's Friend; or, Crumbs for the Poor. Price 2d. To be continued monthly. Sacred Hours: consisting of select pieces in prose and verse. In one vol. post 8vo.

The Missionary Gazetteer, in one vol. 12mo. containing a geographical and statistical account of the various countries in which Misionary Sta tions have been formed. By the Rev. Charles Williams.

A Treatise on the Malvern Waters. By Wm. Addison, Esq. surgeon.

The History of the Town and Honour of Woodstock, with Biographical Sketches of Chaucer and other illustrious individuals, with splendid engravings. By Joseph Graves, Esq.

A Letter to the Right Honourable Robert Peel, on the Impediments and Abuses existing in the present System of Medical Education, with sug gestions for their correction and removal. By Henry William Dewhurst, surgeon.

The Rev. Alexander Stewart will speedily pub. lish, "Elements of Geography, for the Use of Schools, or of Private Students, on an entirely new Plan;" in one neat volume 18mo, with nine Maps.

Preparing for Publication.

The Sacred Muse, consisting of Select Poems. By the late Earl of Crawford and Lindsey. With a Memoir of the Author, by the Rev. T. W. Burgess, A.M.

The Union Collection of Hymns, additional to the Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts. 18mo, Large type.

The Progress of Learning in England, from William the Conqueror to the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. One vol. 8vo.-Also, Leisure Hours, in prose and verse. One vol. post 8vo.

A Translation of the chief Works of the celebrated Masillon; to be issued in parts, at moderate intervals of time. By the Rev. F. A. Cox, LL.D. A duodecimo volume, entitled, The Present State of Christianity, and of the Missionary Establishments for its Propagation in all parts of the World.' By Frederic Shoberl.

Erratum.-Col. 174, line 9 from bottom, for rain read vain.