1824.] Progress of the Inquisition. and Portugal, wherein he only sanction ed the numerous errors then in circulation. About the same time, the respectable canon Llorente was employed in making the most minute researches, in the Archives of the Inquisition, of which he had been appointed secretary, intending to present the public with an authentic history of that institution, and its acts. This work, so remarkable in all respects, appeared in 1817, under the title of "A Critical History of the Spanish Inquisition." The anthor received ample satisfaction, in the proportionate success which attended it; and, his name being connected with the publication of such an history, a niche, at least, will be tenanted by him in the Temple of Fame. His facts are stated fairly, and his observations dictated with candor; of course his merits will be appreciated by the benefits he has conferred on mankind. This work consists of four large volumes, in octavo: from its magnitude and price, it is not within the reach of readers in general, and an abridgment has therefore become necessary. This article will only treat of the Spanish Inquisition; we may consider it as the great exemplar, in the application of its doctrines to practice, which has been followed by many others in different parts,-Italy, Portugal, America, and the Indies. No sooner was the Christian religion established, than heresies sprang up in the church. There were never more sectaries, or reputed sectaries, than in the first ages; and they had always bishops and archbishops at their head. In those times appeared, successively, the Gnostics, who held that faith was sufficient, without good works; the Nicolaitans, who pleaded for a community of wives; the Arians, who denied the consubstantiality, or the equal substance, of the Son with the Father in the Trinity; the Apollinarists, who maintained that Jesus had not assumed a body of flesh, like ours, or a reasonable soul; the Nestorians, who asserted that Mary was not the mother of God; the Monothelites, contending for one sole will in Jesus Christ; the Iconoclasts, who refused worship to images; the Montanists, who pretended to a discipline divinely inspired, more perfect than that of the Apostles; the Pelagians, whose system of free will tended to render void the doctrine of grace; the Manicheans, MONTHLY MAG. No. 390. 505 who established two principles, beneficent and maleficent; the Donatists, who professed to be the only true church; the Priscillianists, who held the human soul to be of the same substance as God; and the Macedonians, who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit: these were the principal, but there were other sects, distinguishable both by their numbers and diversity. During the first three ages of the church, and till the peace of Constantine, only mild and humane methods were resorted to with heretics; corporal punishments were unknown, and excommunication was only employed in obstinate cases, after all the means of persuasion had failed. But the popes and bishops of the fourth century, imitating the conduct for which they had reproached the Pagán priests, found means to get civil laws established against heretics. These penalties, from the fourth to the eighth century, consisted in marks of infamy, the privation of honours and employments, the confiscation goods, the prohibition of making or cf succeeding to legacies, and paying fines, more or less considerable. of The popes proceeded to solicit other punishments more severe; such as fustigation, and transportation or exile. The Manicheans and Donatists were the only heretics punishable with death, from the troubles which they gave rise to in Africa and at Rome. Under the imperial judges, a voluntary abjuration of heresy secured from all farther prosecution; the bishops had not then attained judiciary powers, except in particular cases. The church of Spain, at the fourth council of Toledo, decreed, in concurrence with King Sisenand, that Judaising heretics should be placed under the control of the bishops, to be by them chastised, and constrained to abandon Judaism. The penalties against those who from Christianity relapsed into idolatry, were proportioned to the quality of the delinquent: excommunication and exile, if of noble race; confiscation of goods and scourging, if of low condition. During this second epoch of church history, the ecclesiastics obtained from the emperors and kings a great number of privileges. In due time appeared the false Decretals, consecrated by the ignorance that universally prevailed. By these Decretals, the Roman pontiffs acquired such an ascendant 3 T over over the people, that the papal authority became, as it were, boundless, even in temporal concerns. In fact, after the Romans had banished their last duke Basil, Pope Gregory II. seized on the civil government of Rome; and his successor, Gregory III. acted as a temporal sovereign, in his treaties with the Lombard kings. Ere long, the pontiffs began to arrogate the right of absolving subjects from their allegiance, and thereby disposing of the crowns of kings. The humiliation or compliance of Christian kings was favourable to the establishment of the Inquisition. In the times ensuing, which may be called the third epoch, all the natural sentiments of moderation and mildness gave way to the restless and intractable character of the popes and ecclesiastics. The Emperor Michael, on his ascending the throne, renewed all the laws which condemned to death the Manichean heretics; laws which, according to the sentiments prevalent at the present period, contained only what tended to cloud the intellect, to inflame the passions, and harass the human mind. The Abbot Theophanes, whose character stood high for piety and learning, openly declared that burning heretics was consistent with the spirit of the Gospel. Some time after, Gothescal, a religieux of the order of St. Benedict, published certain erroneous tenets on the subject of predestination. A conncil, composed of thirteen bishops and some abbots, assembled instantly, and condemned him to imprisonment, and to receive 100 lashes, at a public whipping. In the beginning of the eleventh century, certain heretics were discovered at Orleans, and in some other towns of France, that seemed to profess the doctrine of the Manicheans. Another council was presently assem bled, which condemned them to be burnt. They were delivered over to the secular arm, and suffered accord. ingly. The court of Rome made the prosecution of heretics meritorious; and apostolical indulgences were granted, in recompence for zeal manifested in such a cause. (To be continued.) To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, CANNOT refrain from presenting, I through the medium of Your Ma gazine, my grateful acknowledgments, and my sincere congratulations, to the learned Dr. Jones, for the important service he has recently rendered to literature by his valuable Lexicon. In this humble tribute, I am sure I shall be joined by every person that can properly appreciate the value of Grecian literature, or whom vexatious disappointment has taught to lament the obstacles by which its general diffusion has hitherto been so much retarded. It is not amongst the least of the numerous improvements and advantages of which the present age can boast, that the absurd custom of teaching Greek through the medium of the Latin language is giving way to a more simple and rational method, and that the difficulty of acquiring an intimate knowledge of a language so noble, so elegant, and so important, is daily decreasing, through the meritorious assiduity of some modern literary heroes. That the valuable life of Dr. Jones may be spared, and that he may be enabled to prosecute his philological labours with ardour and success, is the prayer of many, and, amongst them, of L. LANGLEY. Brampton Academy; Nov. 11., To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. A SIR, S the Monthly Magazine has always been distinguished by its impartiality, I am confident you will do me the justice to insert a few remarks on the critique upon the recent edition of my first set of Psalm and Hymn Tunes. The writer of that article has certainly never been in the habit of frequenting country churches, where the place of an organ is supplied by an instrumental band, or he would have seen the propriety of what I have said in my preface, about the performance of tenor parts as trebles, and vice versa. It is no unusual thing, in country choirs, for the principal melody, or first treble, to be taken by. men's voices as a tenor part; while the parts which were designed by the composer for tenor instruments, or. voices, are played by flutes or clarionots in the octave above, so that the harmony is completely inverted, and the consecutive fourths changed into consecutive fifths. With the merits or demerits of the. Hymns, quoted by the reviewer, L. have nothing to do, as they were published 1824.1 Discovery of the Author of the "Beggar's Petition." Nov. 4. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, YOUR YOUR correspondent C. R. says that Elia has stated that the author of the "Beggar's Petition" was an usher to a school. Pray, sir, do not believe Elia: the wily rogue asserted it merely to draw from me the stupendous secret, he knowing that I held secrets in store, connected with that poem, much more important than the mere name of the author, and which secret he was anxious to draw out of me; and now, in laying the name before the public, I know not whether it is not less to oblige your correspondent C. R. than the disconsolate friend of Elia, who seems, by his own account, to be, alas! no more; but who could, when living, twist me round his fingers. Behold, then, the name, ye curious thousands,-Dr. Josiah Webster. VOX EMISSA. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, S a supplement to the ecclesias 507 Leighlin and Ferns.-The Bishop of this see, in this session, was the Right Hon. R. P. T. Loftus (vide Clogher). He was succeeded in 1822, at Leighlin and Ferns, by the present prelate, Thomas Elrington, D.D. preferred from Limerick, to which he was appointed in 1820. Cloyne.-Charles Morgan Warburton, D.D. was preferred to this bishopric in 1820, from Limerick, to which he was appointed in 1806. Cork and Ross.-The Hon. Thomas St. Lawrence, D.D. 1807. This Hon. and Rev. prelate voted in favour of the Bill of Paius and Penalties against her late Majesty in all its stages. Ferns and Cloyne did not vote at all. George IV. 2d session, 1821. Armagh. The prelate who filled the archiepiscopal sec of Armagh, in this session, was the Right Hon. Wm. Stuart, D.D. who died in 1822, and was succeeded by the Right Hon. John George de la Poer Beresford, D.D. who was appointed to the bishopric of Raphoe in 1806; archbishop of Dublin in 1820, from whence he was preferred to the archbishopric of Armagh, and primaey of all Ireland. favours bestowed on this family, at the expense of the Irish and British peoThere is 1:0 As a to thed at page ple, exceeds belief. 325-9 of the last volume of your inva- The following sat in the first session of the seventh Parliament of the United Kingdom, and first of George IV. assembled April 21, 1820. Tuam.-The Right Hon. William Poer le Trench, D.D. brother of the Earl of Clancarty, created a bishop in 1802, and preferred to the archbishopric of Tuam, primacy of Connauglit, and bishopric of Ardagh, in 1819. This Right Rev. prelate supported by his vote the second reading of the Bill of Pains and Penalties, against her late Majesty; but voted against the third reading. He was one of the most active and efficient co-adjutors of the Committee for the relief of the distresses of Ireland in 1822. The means of ascertaining correctly the amount they annually receive; but it is speaking within bounds to say, that it exceeds the means of subsistence of more than 20,000 Irish families; no fewer than eight of the family holding church preferment; and there are two (J. C. and H. B. Beresford,) on the Irish pension-list for no less than 23377. 10s. per annum cach, for loss of office as wine-tasters at the port of Dublin; (vide page 26, Parliamentary Return, No. 596, session 1822.) The Marquis of Waterford is head of the family, and influences about six votes in the House of Commons (vide Times newspaper of the 20th of February, 1823, for a very interesting exposition respecting them). Killaloe and Kilfenora.—The prelate who sat in Parliament for this see, in this session, was Richard Mant, D.d. preferred to Down and Conner in 1823; and was succeeded at Killaloe by Alexander Arbuthnot, D.D. C. Arbuthnot, who sits in Parliament for St. Germain's, Cornwall, influences also the vote of the member for Cashel, in Ireland. Kilmore.-George de la Poer Deres for ford, D.D. appointed in 1802. (Vide Armagh above.) Clogher. The Rev. prelate who sat in Parliament for this see, in this session, was the Hon. Percy Jocelyn; he was appointed bishop of Leighlin and Ferns in 1809, and preferred to Clogher in 1820; disgraced himself in 1822: succeeded by the Right Hon. Lord Robert Ponsonby Tottenham Loftus, D.D. appointed bishop of Kilfenora in 1804, preferred to Leighlin and Ferns in 1820, and was the representative bishop for that see in the session of that year. He is brother of the Marquis of Ely, who influences two votes in the House of Commons. Stuart, Mant, Beresford, and Loftus, all voted with the majority of 159, (twenty-five of which were churchmen,) against a minority of 120, who supported the second reading of a bill, on the 17th of April, 1820, for relieving the Roman Catholics from the political disabilities to which they still remain subject. Stuart voted by proxy, the others present. George IV. 3d session, 1822. Dublin.-Right Hon. William Magee, D.D. appointed bishop of Raphoe in 1819, preferred to the archbishopric of Dublin, primacy of Ireland, and hishopric of Glandclugh, in 1822. Ossory.-Robert Fowler, D.D. appointed in 1813. Killala and Achonry.-James Verschoyle, D.D. appointed in 1810. Clonfert and Kilmacduagh.-Christopher Butson, D.D. appointed in 1804. Dublin, Ossory, and Clonfert, present, voted with the majority of 171, (twenty-five of whom were churchmen,) against a minority of 129, who supported the Catholic claims. George IV. 4th session, 1823. Cashell and Emly. Right Hon. Richard Lawrence, D.C.L. succeeded the Right Hon. Charles Broderick, D.D. deceased in 1822, archbishop of Cashel. Meath.-Nathaniel Alexander, D.D. appointed bishop of Down and Connor in 1804, and succeeded the Right Hon. and Most Rev. T. L. O'Beirne, D.D. deceased in this see in 1823. The two members for Old Sarum (J. and J. D. Alexander,) are nearly related to the present Rev. Bishop of Meath. Kildare.-Right Hon. Charles Dalrymple Lindsay, D.D. brother of the Earl of Balcarras, who influences two votes in the House of Commons, appointed in 1804. Derry-Hon. William Knox, D.D. appointed a bishop in 1794, and preferred to Derry in 1803. This prelate is brother to Viscount Northland, who returns his son member for the borough of Dungannon. George IV. 5th or ensuing session, 1824. Dromore.-James Saurin, D.D. 1820. D.D. Hon. 1824.] River-Rushes.-Singular Habit of Rooks. being well calculated for bedding for horses, cattle, pigs, &c. and for which, I assert, they are much better adapted than bruised gorse, and other stubborn substances, which are used in places where straw is both scarce and dear. He says justly, that in some depths of rivers, where pools are formed, and in other places, that rushes grow entirely under the surface, and considers any attempt to detach them from these deep aquatic beds to be a task both of difficulty and danger. I can assure him his surmises are wrong: the process is simple, easy, and safe; a lad stands on each side a punt-boat, while another lad keeps it steady, or moves it, as occasion requires. They are both furnished with a cutter, an instrument similar in shape, but smaller, than a common digging spade, and which is attached to the end of a slight firm pole, whose length is proportioned to the depth of the river where this operation is required; and it is surprising to see with what ease the different floating masses are detached from their roots, and rise therefrom to the river's surface. The time chosen for this branch of exercise is when the tide is receding, and in a direction towards the mill-head, round which the various drifted heaps form one collection, and are thence drawn out by rakes, and afterwards left to exhale their moisture in the sun. What tons of loads of rushes does the Severn, the Thames, the Medway, the Trent, alone individually contain! and, however Vandal-like may appear such an infringement as I recommend upon the ancient domains frequented by such choice masters as Collins, Gray, and other votaries of the lyre, I readily acquit myself on this score, that national property will become, according to the extent of its adoption, more or less enhanced; besides, those now inaccessible and intolerable retreats for toads, water-newts, cfts, and gluttonous birds, such as bitterns, herous, and other devastating creatures, in addition to those mischievous animals I have before specified, will become nearly extirpated, and the sun will, in such a case, smile pleasantly upon those now "hidden waters." Mr. Alexander Moody, of Hawleymills, is the gentleman who has the merit of bringing water-rushes into practical use, and I wish to see the experiment more extensively tried. Singular Habit of Rooks. 509 It is a fact that these busy noisy birds prefer building their nests in elm-trees to any other. As an illustrative fact, I beg to mention, that there is a fine mingled assortment of elms and horse-chesnut trees growing in beautiful diversification on the banks of the river Darent, at Hawley, in Kent, and yet not in one of the latter species of trees do the rooks ever build their nests. Every frequenter of rural nature knows what a grand picturesque object a full-grown horsechesnut tree forms; it possesses much of the masculine majesty of the oak in the breadth and heighth of its structure; and in autumn, when its full shining leaves are spread in perfection, and their verdant drapery is intermingled with its prolific round prickly fruit, the sight is beautiful, as well as it is in spring, when its full dotted blossoms form a variety of snow-like festoons, delighting the climbing and searching eye, as it views them. I consider it singular that rooks should dislike building their nests in these trees, which are far better adapted to shelter them and their young, either from a too intense heat of the sun, or the visitation of unpleasant rains, than the elm-tree is; but such is the fact, that they uniformly reject the horse-chesnut trees, and fix their airy settlements among the elms. If that eminent naturalist, Bingley, were alive, 1 would ask him for a solution of so singular a phenomenon; as he is not, I will endeavour to answer it myself. I consider this strong objection to arise from a rankness of vegetation which is inherent in the horse-chesnut tree, and which proves so offensive and unpleasant to the sensitive organs of these birds, that they cannot dwell comfortably in their branches: the bitter quality of the fruit, when ripe, is well known to be of so repulsive a nature that even hungry swine will not eat them. It is likewise singular with what strength (and wisdom of instinct,) rooks attach their nests to the highest branches of those trees where they form their colonies; so much so, that village boys inform me they can stand on them without disturbing in the least the equilibrium of their position. Sagacity and Rapacity of Water-rats. Nature certainly shows less wisdom in some parts of her management for the preservation of species than in others: |