original anthem sung by the first children, very beautifully illuminated. This celebrated seminary, a parallel to which is not to be found either in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, is divided into three distinct apartments: the Grammar School, the Writing School, and the Mathematical School, to which last is exclusively attached a Drawing School. The Grammar School is, as its name imports, entirely devoted to the study of the classics. It is under the direction of the reverend Dr. Trollope and his Son, both very excellent scholars, who have raised the classical credit of this department very considerably; and a sufficient number complete the higher course of education, to fill up the University exhibitions as they become vacant. About two hundred are also taught the rudiments of grammatical learning in the preparatory school at Hertford, and are transferred to the London establishment when they are near twelve years of age. There are seven exhibitions, or scholarships, for Cambridge, and one for Oxford. The value of the former is sixty pounds a year; and at Pembroke-Hall, in the former University, there is an additional exhibition from the college itself, making about ninety pounds for four years, and fifty for the last three; besides which, the hospital defrays the charges of the Bachelor's and Master's degrees, The Oxford exhibition is about seventy or eighty pounds; and the governors pay all fees of entrance, twenty pounds towards furnishing the room, ten pounds for books, and ten pounds for clothes. The Grecians, or scholars intended for the University, are selected by the head master, without any interference of the governors, according to the talents and behaviour of the youths. One exhibition goes every year to Cambridge, and one at the end of every seven years to Oxford. On St. Matthew's day, September 21st, the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, and Governors, attend at Christ Church, where an anthem is sung by the boys, and a sermon preached by a divine who has been bred up in the school. After service, the auditors proceed to the Hall, where two orations are delivered, one in English, by the senior scholar, who is about to leave school for college; and the other in Latin, by the next in rotation. A handsome col lection is then made for the youths; after which, his lordship and the governors, with other respectable visitors, retire to the court-room, where a dinner is served up, under the superintendence of the steward. In the year 1793, the present grammar school was erected, chiefly at the expense of John Smith, Esq. whose portrait is at the upper end. The Writing School, which is superintended by Messrs. Goddard and Peacock, is confined, agreeably to the name, to those common branches of education which may fit the boys for trade or the counting-house. 66 The Mathematical School was founded by King Charles the Second, at the recommendation of Sir Jonas Moore, for the purpose of improving the marine service, by giving instruction to forty boys in navigation. This school was endowed, at first, for seven years, with one thousand pounds, and an annuity for ever of three hundred and seventy pounds ten shillings, payable out of the exchequer. These boys were formerly presented to the king every new-year's day, by the president of the hospital; but after the king's illness in 1789, the practice was discontinued. They wear a badge upon the left shoulder, the figures of which represent Arithmetic with a scroll in one hand, and the other placed on a boy's head; Geometry, with a triangle; and Astronomy, with a quadrant and a sphere. Round the plate is this inscription, Auspicio Caroli Secundi Regis, 1673." Five of these boys pass an examination before the elder brethren of the Trinity House every six months, previous to their entering on the naval profession; and in case the royal donation should fail, Mr. Stone, a former governor, left a legacy for the maintenance of twelve boys, as a subordinate mathematical school, which, according to subsequent regulations, is made an introductory step to the foundation of King Charles. These boys are distinguished from the others by wearing the badge upon the right shoulder, instead of the left. This branch obtains the technical name of the "Twelves," in the school, on account of the number. There is another addition to the mathematical school, the endowment of Mr. Travers, and is exclusively limited to the sons of lieutenants in the navy; but these boys are not obliged to go to sea. The There is an infirmary attached to the hospital, which is attended daily by the physician and resident apothecary; and occasionally also by the surgeon, Mr. Abernethy. present mathematical master is Mr. a two-penny loaf; a quantity in most Adams, whose predecessor, Mr. Wil-cases far from being adequate. liam Wales, accompanied Captain Cook in his first voyage round the world. Among the mathematicians of eminence who have filled this respectable situation, may be mentioned Mr. John Robertson, whose treatise on Navigation is the standard book in this school, as well as in other nautical academies ; Mr. James Hodgson, the author of an excellent system of practical mathematics; and the pious Humphrey Ditton, who wrote a work on Fluxions, and another, still better known, on the Resurrection. The domestic arrangements of the hospital are conducted with remarkable precision and regard to economy. The total number of boys is generally from seven to eight hundred, who are divided into twelve compartments or wards; in each of which is a nurse, who is responsible for the cleanliness, comfort, and good conduct of those under her care. The steward of the hospital might, with more propriety, be called the master, for, though he has nothing to do with the office of tuition, and keeps the accounts of expenses, yet he has the sole superintendence of the household, and is the common regulator of all complaints. The rules for the preservation of order are plain, but well adapted to the object. In each ward are three or four monitors, as they are called, who act as the deputies of the steward, for the maintenance of regularity in their respective districts, and delivering to him the characters of all within their jurisdiction. This, with the exception of the Grecians, is the most honourable office attainable by merit, and it is always appropriated without any favour. Every master has a house, with an allowance of coals. There are besides a number of beadles, who also act as constables, and are placed at different posts, to keep order, and be in attendance upon any emergency. The diet of the children is simple and wholesome, consisting chiefly of joints of meat, broth, bread, and sometimes, though rarely, vegetables. The breakfast formerly was bread and water, afterwards small-beer was substituted, but latterly this also has been properly changed for milk. The allowance of bread to each boy is half The costume of the boys is that of the age when the foundation took place; consisting of an outer blue garment, with long skirts, and an inner one of yellow; the stockings also are of the latter colour; but the cap, which is round, and the girdle, are the ornamental parts of the dress. During three winter months, it has been usual to throw open the greathall of the hospital every Sunday evening, for the admission of a select company, with tickets from the governors, to hear the music and see the ceremonial of the supper. The following letter, written above sixty years ago by a country gentleman to his family, describing this interesting spectacle, may be amusing to our readers, and is worth preserving: “None of the charities in London," says this observer, "has given me so much pleasure, as that of Christ's Hospital; for on Sunday, with some friends, I went there to see the children sup in the great and magnificent hall. The number of boys and girls* amounted to some hundreds, all of whom appeared, in behaviour and neatness, as belonging to one and the same family, Their manners were so decent, and their decorum so exactly just, that they appeared like the children of some pious prince. After the children were regularly placed, the superior officer, with many governors, each with a green wand, entered the room, walking in procession through the rows up to the upper end, where being seated, and surrounded by several ladies and gentlemen of distinction and fashion, silence was demanded by three strokes of a mallet. Then one of the boys in the desk, with an audible and distinct voice, read the prayers appointed for this royal foundation, during which time a profound silence was observed. The prayers being ended, a psalm was sung by all the children, which was so melodious and exact, as to the notes and time of the organ, that I wished for all our * Since the establishment at Hertford, all the girls are educated there. parish to have been present, that a | distinction might have been made between time, harmony, and throatstraining singing. "After this, the children placed themselves at the long tables, where supper was provided in the neatest and cleanliest mode; the food consisted of bread, butter, cheese, and mugs of small-beer. After some time, I walked into the several wards, which were as neat as so many palaces, the beds regularly placed, and to each hung a clean bowl. "Supper being over, solemn thanks were given; after which, a hymn was sung by six of the children, and the chorus by every one. "The table cloths were now rolled up, the broken bread gathered in baskets, and the remainder of the beer put into leathern jacks, according to the eastern custom, and the several allotments were taken by each division. Then the procession began; first a lad walked with two lighted tapers, followed by the nurse and the children of her ward; a boy with the bread basket on his shoulder, another with the table-cloth, a third with the leathern jack, and the fourth with the empty wooden mugs; when advancing by two and two up to the place where the governors were seated, the boys and girls shewed their gratitude, by bowing and curtsying to them; the organ solemnly playing during the whole procession. "After the several divisions had walked in the same order, each nurse conducted her children or family into her ward; and in this charming manner the scene closed. ing, of prudence, and discretion, to discharge these high trusts and paternal cares. "When any of my neighbours come to town, I would advise them to partake of this feast, in which they will find a more delightful amusement than any other in London." Children under nine years old are sent to the preparatory school at Hertford, where the usual number amounts to four or five hundred; so that, upon an average, there are belonging to this noble establishment, generally twelve hundred; and as the revenues are increasing, the charity will, no doubt, be further extended. Though the permanent revenues of the hospital are great, arising from royal and private donations in houses and lands; yet without the aid of voluntary subscriptions, the establishment could not be supported on its present scale; the expenditure being at least thirty thousand pounds a year, out of which near two thousand go in salaries to the officers and servants. The governors, who choose the masters and domestics, are unlimited in number; and commonly consist of wealthy citizens, and members of the corporation. A donation of four hundred pounds qualifies a person for this distinction. As the buildings, in the lapse of time, have been much deteriorated, subscriptions for some years past have been received, for the purpose of erecting an entirely new edifice, commensurate to the magnitude and importance of the charity. By a grant of the corporation of London, the governors of the hospital have the privilege of licensing the carts allowed to ply in the city, to the number of four hundred and twenty, whose owners pay a small sum for the same. Three farthings upon every piece of cloth brought into BlackwellHall, are also paid to this hospital. "This masterly and admirable economy led me to inquire, how it was possible such a number of children could be well bred up, and with such decency; when scarcely a private family, with only three or four children, is able to govern so few; nay, few All human institutions, and none families afford the like education, for more so than those of a public nature I was informed, that many perfectly like this, are liable to abuse. Such understand the mathematics, naviga- was the case to a very scandalous detion, geometry, and the useful arts. gree, till lately, with regard to the The health of the children, their modest admission of children into Christ's behaviour, proper carriage to all, and Hospital; many being received, whose the neatness of their dress, must al-parents lived in affluence, and actually ways do honour to the several persons who have the care of them; and the wisdom of the masters is a proof of the judgment and understanding of the governors in electing men of learn kept their carriages. The exposure of one or two facts, and the dismissal of the children who had been so improperly obtruded upon the foundation as objects of charity, produced not only a restoration of the rights of the poor, but a general reform of the whole system. From this noble seminary have issued many eminent characters, in different walks of life: several who have risen to the highest civic honours; others who have shone in the sphere of literature; and not a few who have adorned the church by their learning and piety. Among these various luminaries, it may suffice to mention Camden, the father of English antiquaries; Joshua Barnes, the Greek professor of Cambridge; Jeremiah Markland, the philosophical critic; and, though last, not least, the exemplary Dr. Thomas Fanshaw Middleton, bishop of Calcutta. The list of distinguished Blues might be extended considerably, especially were the living ornaments of this great foundation to be added to the number; the mention of whose names would furnish a decisive answer to those sophists who have pertinaciously endeavoured to undervalue a public education, as injurious to morals. WITNESSES FOR SLAVERY, CROSS- MR. EDITOR. SIR,-On lately taking up the Quarterly Review, number 60, of so remote a date as August 1824, my attention was arrested by the contents of the last article in the volume, on the important subject of Negro Slavery in the West India Colonies. The intention of the writer is, evidently enough, to throw discredit on the conduct and statements of those who have attacked the system of slavery; and while he lays claim to impartiality, and a desire to do justice to both parties, the bias and prejudice of his own views are sufficiently apparent. He has shewn a particular anxiety to obviate the force of the example set by Mr. Steele; and for this purpose the testimony of three different witnesses is cited, to invalidate the accounts published by Mr. Clarkson and others, of the success of Mr. Steele's plans for the gradual amelioration of his slaves. His arguments and evidence may, or may not, have been examined and replied to; but as no such examination or reply has reach ed my notice, I beg leave to communicate a few short remarks; for which, if thought worthy of notice, I would solicit the favour of a corner in your valuable miscellany. The example of Mr. Steele was brought forward by Mr. Clarkson, in a pamphlet entitled "Thoughts on the Necessity of Improving the Condition of the Slaves," &c.; and it was there satisfactorily shewn, on the most unquestionable authority, (that of Mr. Steele himself, and of others,) that the slaves on his estates had been raised in the scale of society and happiness, and that the estates themselves had been rendered more productive and profitable, by a more lenient and less despotic system of management, which raised them from the state of slaves to that of copyholders, and which was continued under his own eye for eight years, viz. from 1783 to 1791. Mr. Clarkson adds in a note, "It is much to be feared, that this beautiful order of things was broken up after Mr. Steele's death, by his successors, either through their own prejudices, or their unwillingness or inability to stand against the scoffs and prejudices of others." In the Quarterly Review, with an evident want of candour, no notice is taken of the important circumstance referred to in this note, but a letter is inserted from a Mr. Sealy, who states, that he was a manager of a neighbouring plantation, and who denies, in very express terms, the success of the improved system tried on Mr. Steele's estate, which he asserts have been persevered in for "thirty years under Mr. Steele, and his executor, Mr. T. Bell." Here we may observe, that the experiment brought forward by Mr. Clarkson is that of only eight years under Mr. Steele himself, and that he intimates that it was broken up after his death. Mr. Sealy, however, has chosen, for obvious reasons, to state the result of thirty years, during which, he says, the experiment was continued. But let us hear the next witness, who is no less a person than the Attorney-General of Barbadoes. He says, that Mr. Steele's plan "failed considerably," and that, 66 on his death, they reverted to the old system." Valuable witnesses, indeed, are these! they refute each other; the one says that the new system was persevered in for thirty years, viz. to 1813; the other, that it was abandoned on Mr. Steele's death, viz. in 1791. But what says Mr. M'Queen, on the authority" of Mr. Steele's books in Barbadoes, those of his executors who continued his plan, and the records of the Court of Chancery of that island?"-why, that the experiments were closed in 1797, with, of course, the same results. Here, then, are three evidences, asserting very important results from an experiment; the two first, it would appear, from their own knowledge, and the last from authentic documents on the spot: one says, that the system was persevered in till 1813; another, that it was abandoned in 1791; and the third, that it was closed in 1797. Now, I contend, Mr. Editor, that there is enough in the face of these evidences to convict them of ignorance and falsehood. They remind me of some, of an infamous stamp, about 1800 years ago, of whose contradictions it was said, "But neither so did their witness agree together." Whatever may be the matter of fact to which they refer, the presumption as to their knowledge and truth is evidently against them; and I would caution any cursory readers from being misled by such inconsistent counter statements. There is much more in the same article which is equally obnoxious to animadversion, but I trust enough has been already said, to induce suspicion in its perusal, and distrust in its most positive assertions. I am, Mr. Editor, your constant reader, N.N. THE ABSURDITY OF RASH VOWS, ETC. (FROM ERASMUS.) The Vanity and Misery of rambling Voyages; the Folly of inconsiderate Vows; with some pleasant Reflections upon pretended Indulgences or Pardons. Dialogue between Arnoldus & Cornelius. A. WELL met once again, my dear Cornelius; 'tis a thousand years, methinks, since I saw thee.-C. What! my old acquaintance, Arnoldus! the man of the whole world I longed to see.-A. We all gave thee up for lost. But, prithee, where hast thou been rambling all this while?- C. In the other world.-A. Why truly, by thy slovenly dress, and this lean ghastly carcass, a body would e'en judge as much.-C. Well; but I have not been with old Nick yet, for all that. I am come from Jerusalem.-A. What wind blew thee thither?-C. The very same wind that blows other people to the same place.-A. Some whimsy, I suppose.-C. There are more fools than one, however.-A. What did you hunt for there?-C. Misery.-A. Methinks you might have found that nearer home. But did you meet with any thing there worth seeing?-C. Why, truly, little or nothing. They shewed us certain monuments of antiquity, which I look upon to be mostly counterfeit, and mere contrivances to gull the credulous and simple people. Nay, I am not yet satisfied that they can so much as tell you the precise place where Jerusalem stood.-A. What did you see, then ?-C. Only barbarity and desolation.-A. But the Holy Land, I hope, has made you a holy man.-C. No, nothing like it; for I am come back ten times worse than I went out.-A. You have filled your pockets, perhaps?-C. So far from it, that a snake which has cast her skin, is not so bare as I am.-A. Do you not repent, then, of so long a journey to so little purpose?-C. Repentance would be to as little purpose as the journey. Nay, I cannot so much as be ashamed of it, there are so many fools to keep me in countenance.-A. | What's the fruit, then, of this dangerous voyage?-C. Oh! very much. A. Let's know it, then: I shall live the more at ease hereafter for it.-C. You'll have the pleasure of telling old stories when the danger's over.-A. That's something, but not all.-C. Is there any advantage in it else, then?A. Yes, there is.-C. Pray what may that be?-A. It furnishes a man with table-talk and discourse upon all occasions; the history of such an adventure. 'Tis a strange delight, that one coxcomb takes in telling lies, and anI am well enough pleased myself to other in the hearing of them.--C. Nay, hear other travellers amplify upon matters they never saw nor heard; and they do it with so much confidence too, that in things the most ridiculous and impossible, they believe themselves.-A. A perverse kind of satisfaction, but there's something, however, for your money.-C. This is a more tolerable course, yet, than that of a mercenary soldier. An army is the very nursery of all wickedness.A. But lying is a mean and ungentle |