Page images
PDF
EPUB

The chancellor might explain a word at every stop, higher than a comma; this being no interruption to a reader. Any person in the same company might win the chair, by explaining a word in the foregoing sentence, after waiting half the time the reader should stop. Whoever explained a word in favour of the chancellor, was not allowed to speak again in the same lesson. The chancellor was under the like penalty, if he spoke along with one who gave him proper time, any person who spoke after another had begun, was likewise under the same penalty, so was he who offers to keep, or take the chair by foul play. When the company had all read, the chancellor, and vice-chancellor, if they were members of the royal society took the head of the seat; if otherwise they sit at the head of the commons.

The vice-chancellor told the next word, when the reader stopped without a proper mark; which is a blemish in the reading, and prevents his advancement. If the reader neglected to make a stop, when there was a mark, the vice-chancellor bade him count the time of the stop, which he must do, below his breath, and then proceed from that stop. If he missed, or miscalled words, he told him his error, and made him read it properly. These corrections were made instantly without waiting for a stop. If the vice-chancellor neglected his duty, any other person in the same company, might make the proper correction, after a short pause, and so win the low chair. The penalty for silence is inflicted here in the same manner as he who had lost the privilege of gaining one chair, must not speak for the other. They who read without missing, took place of all the rest, except the chancellor, and vice-chancellor. They who left their seats, or neglected their

BELFAST MAG. NO. XXXI.

business by idleness, or foolish tricks, were sent to the trifling-club; where they stood, and followed the line till they had proper partners. They of the low company rehearsed the reading and spelling lessons on the book, to partners of the higher companies, till they said one of them without missing, and then got to their seats. They of the second rehearsed to the high company, in the same manner, or rehearsed the low company, till they told 5 words, and then got to their seats. They who misbehaved in the club, must continue there till they went through the above course, once for 'every instance of misbehaviour. Such as continued in the club till the 2d company had done reading, got a ba or a hiss from the whole class; while they marched along the company to

their seats.

To indefatigable diligence in his schools, he added exercise of benevolence in the vacant hours. He took a small farm near town for the amusement of his little guests, and called it Liliput. There he built a house, and formed a bowling-green, for the amusement of good boys.He constructed a machine by which he could raise persons above the top of every house in town, for an amusing prospect. Convinced of the utility of teaching girls to spin flax with both hands, he invented a wheel, which being turned by one man, moved a great number of spindles, at the same time; this gave an opportunity to the learner to pay attention to her hands, without the trouble of attending to the motion of the feet likewise. This wheel is still in the Belfast poor-house.

He had a carriage constructed for the exercise and amusement of his boarders and good scholars, as described in Emerson's Mechanics, which was moved by a crank within the body of the machine, without any other moving power.

He died the 2d March, 1792, in the 66th year of his age, and left no family. He was interred privately in the burying-ground of the old chapel of ease, in Belfast.

If ever a man merited well of his country, for benevolence, and exertions in favour of the best interests of it, the education of its youth, MAN

SON deserved well. Are monuments erected, and poems composed to the memory of ruffians, and tyrants? and neither a stone raised, nor an epitaph composed to the memory of the good, the generous, the beneficent MANSON the best friend to the rising generations of his time!!!

DETACHED ANECDOTES.

PUBLIC ÉXECUTIONS. THE HE following account of an execution at Paris, extracted from Causes Celebres, exhibits in a strong point of view, hardened audacious guilt, false compassion, and especially the error of attempting to represent persons guilty of crimes suddenly converted into imagined saints, by the machinery of fanaticism.Madame Tiquet, the wife of a banker, a woman of notorious intrigue, and dissipation, formed project to rid herself of her husband, in order that she might marry her gallant. During three years after the first conception of this project, she made three several attempts to carry it into effect, all of which failed, but without exposing her to a discovery. At last she bribed her porter to assassinate his master, at a time and place appointed, and on the very evening of the execution, she was present at a large company, where she was remarked to lead the conversation expressly to the subject of her husband, observing that she had no reasonable expectations of happiness, considering his age and state of health, which promised him long life, and herself an indefinite period of subjection. The attack was made as concerted; and on her return home, adame Tiquet was inform

ed, that her husband had been wounded, but not killed, by a pistol-shot, and that on his examination by the magistrate, as to the cause of the assault, he affirmed, that he knew of no enemies he had in the world, except his wife. The result of this examination was pub icly known, nevertheless Madame Tiquet paid a visit the next day at the same house where she had been on the fatal night, and where, though every eye was fixed on ber with horror, her countenance remained unaltered. That evening, one of her friends came to her, from motives of compassion, and conjur er her to make her escape while yet in her power, as she was about so be arrested in her own house upon supicion. "Those who are justly accused," she answered, “should flythe innocent have nothing to fear." Not long after, the lieutenant-criminet entered with a body of policeofficers. "You might have dispensed with this attendance," she coolly observed, "I should have been equally ready to obey you, had you come alone." By the law of France an assualt, with intent to commit murder, was capitally punishable, both on principal and accomplices. Madame Tiquet was shortly after fully convicted on the evidence of

her instruments, and condemned to lose her head. After sentence past, she continued in the same state of tranquillity to the moment of her exeention, and even composed verses full of religious expression, (though she was a notorious esprit fot,) in many passages very poetical, and full of masculine energy, on her approaching fate. No horror of the crime for which she suffered, no indignation at the detestable hypocrisy, or more detestable indifference of the sufferer, appear to have mixed themselves with the compassion and admiration which her youth, beauty, and uncommon fortitude, universally excited. Not only was this abandoned woman attended on the scaffold by a confessor, who publicly exhorted her, "to look up to that heaven which she was about to enter to drink the bitter cup, inimitation of her Saviour and Redeemer to estimate her momentary suffering only as the cheap purchase of everlasting life"-but long after her death, the circumstances of her fate became the general topic of praise and admiration in all companies, and funeral orations were composed in her honour by abbes and academicians, celebrating the heroism of her character, her exemplary resignation, her extraordinary selfpossession-nay, even the courage which prompted her to persevere for years together in so daring an enterprize, without suffering a moment of weakness to betray the agitation of her mind, or unsettle the fixed purpose of her resolution.

Huet relates, that a Swedish peasant observing the courage and composure with which men met their fate upon the scaffold, and the certainty of heaven, which was always promised them by the priest, who attended at their execution, committed a capital crime for the mere

purpose of attaining so enviable a state.

The selecter of this article heard a man of respectability, and of strong orthodoxy, adduce as an argument in favour of capital punishments, that persons executed were more likely to enter heaven, than many others, because so much more pains were taken to prepare them for death. Without presuming to pry, into secrets which are hid by an impenetrable veil, such a sentiment must be referred to strong prejudices to a favourite scheme. The supporters of such doctrine, often unawares to themselves, are sapping the foundation of morality, and encouraging the commission of crimes.

CHINESE, TURKISH, AND EUROPEAN

LIBERALITY CONTRASTED,

One of the Chinese emperors carried his hatred of the press so far, that in his reign, about 200 years before Christ, he ordered a general conflagration of books in his vast empire. Tyranny could in that country enforce its edicts, and many valuable works have been in conscquence lost to science. Omar the caliph of the Saracens is said to have ordered the burning of the Alexandrian library, on the principle, that if these writings agree with the Alcoran, styled by then the book of God, they are useless, and need not be preserved: if they disagree, they are pernicious, and ought to be de stroyed.

Many modern bedarkeners are of similar dispositions with these chiefs, or if they would not go so far, they wish only to burn all books which contain opinions different from their own. It is happy for the world, that such men have not unlimited power: they are to be pitied for their mental blindness: it is in vain to, reason with them: they must continue to

grope in the dark. Certain sectaries abuse learning, under the undefined name of "vain philosophy," and are actuated by a disposition exactly similar to that intolerence, and illiberality, which was displayed by the Chinese Emperor, and by Omar. Bigotry accomodates itself to all circumstances, and lends itself with equal facility to the professors of different faiths.

IMPROVVISATORI.

Italy has always been celebrated for the talents of its Improvvisatori, or extempore poets. Throughout Tuscany, in particular, this custom of reciting verses has for ages been the constant and most favourite amusement of the villagers and country inhabitants.

At some times the subject is a trial of skill between two peasants; on other occasions, a lover addresses his mistress in a poetical oration, expressing his passion by such images as his uncultivated fancy suggests, and endeavouring to amuse and engage her by the liveliest sallies of humour. These recitations, are delivered in a tone of voice between speaking and singing, and are accompanied with the constant motion of the hand, as if to measure the time, and regulate the harmony; but they have an additional charm from the simplicity of the country dialect, which abeunds with phrases highly natural and appropriate, though incompatible with the preci sion of a regular language. Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de' Medici.

JUST REPLY OF A NEGRO.

A free negro of Pensylvania, suspected of having stolen goods in his possession, was taken before a magistrate, and charged with the of fence. He knew the goods to be stolen; he confessed the fact. "Mas

sa justice, me know me got dem

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

A very pretty story truly! you know they were stolen, but excuse yourself by saying you paid for them! I will teach you hetter law than that, sirrah! Dont you know Juba, the receiver is as bad as the thief.-You shall be severely whipped you black rascal you."

"Very well, massa, if de black rascal be whip for buying de tolen doods, me hope de white rascal will be whip for de same ting as Juba, when me tatch him.

[ocr errors]

"To be sure, rejoined his worship."

Well den, here be Tom's massa, hold him fast massa Tonstable; he buy Tom, as I buy de piccaninny knife, and de piccaninny cork-screw: he know very well peor Tom be tolen from his fadder and mudder, de knife and de cork-screw have nedder-de no tink."

Whether the justice, or the se verity of the application, operated upon the feelings of the accuser and the magistrate, is not mentioned; but Juba was dismissed without the threatened punishment.

A LACONIC PETITION.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

66

relate, that during his residence at Lincoln College, in Oxford; one of the tutors either the logical or the mathematical used to be in the practice, at the conclusion of his lecture of saying individually to the students who incircled hin, with reference to the subject that had been treated, Sir, do you conceive me? And, “sir, do you conceive me?" To save trouble the enquiry had long been answered by the gentlemen in the affirmative." One day however, by mutual consent, it was determined that it should be answered in the negative. When, therefore, the usual question was put, the first gentleman said. "No, sir "the second gentleman answered, "No, sir;-the third gen tleman was in the same tone, and so they said all. The tutor confused, pensively applied his hand to his forehead, and after a moment's pause, exclaimed. "I think I do not conceive myself.

MECHANICAL RELIGION.

A gentleman residing at Sarepta, relates the following facts in a letter to a friend :

[ocr errors]

"Having observed small wooden windmills fixed at the entrance of the brown felt huts, (of the Calmuc Tartars) I enquired for what purpose they were put there, and was told that they were praying machines, on which the owner of the hut causes certain prayers to be written by the Priests, that they may be turned round by the wind, and he thereby be freed from the trouble of repeating them himself. The priests have likewise a very cominodious method of expediting their prayers when they have a number of petitions to offer up for the people; they for this purpose make use of a cylindrical wooden box into which they throw the written prayers; and having placed it perpendicularly on a stick, they sit down beside it, pull it backwards and forwards with a string, gravely smoaking their pipes while performing the ceremony; for according to their doctrine, in order to render prayer efficacious, it is only necessary that it be put in motion, and it is a matter of indifference whether this be done by means of the lips, of a windmill, or of a cylindrical box."

ORIGINAL POETRY.

TO RALPH.

THY wailing notes remind me of a calf,
Trotting at butcher's foot, (most simple RALPH,)
Which when it's master's face is turned away,
To shew that it trots on,...sings out...baa!...baa!
Henceforth, if you would wish to 'scape disaster,
Of poet's "sense" speak neither right nor wrong,
Make all the pie you can...and hold your tongue...
But mark the end of...turning on your master!

Look at your last*,...you'll then I think confess,
Your Lapsuses...nor make another caper:

With a spank, span, new-pen...on fine wove-paper,
Espouse was written...which you print express.

Page 49.

« PreviousContinue »