no refuge left to fly unto but only this, I am compelled to be a fuitor to your grace, for the renewing of my commendam for the time of my life. In doing whereof, your grace fhall both stay the covetous gripe that hath the advowson from his prey, the unlearned afs from the cure, where I have now a learned preacher, and bind me as I am otherwise most bound to ferve and pray for your grace's long continuance in honour and godliness; your grace's poor brother to command, Joannes Carliolenfis." We must stop a moment, in turning over this volume, to obferve what our writers fay of Charles Lyttelton, bishop of Carlisle, who died in 1768. He was a friend to all mankind,' we are told, and never had an enemy,' The latter affertion is rather rash, and, if it could be true, conveys no defirable. praife; fince it has already been contradicted by the former part of the fentence-for it was not fo late as 1768 that virtue had no enemies.-Moreover, a general panegyric is no panegyric; the portrait which looks at every one, strikes no one as looking particularly at him. Many a country fquire has been killed by a fall from a live horfe; we cannot fufficiently admire the ingenuity of a George, lord Dacre, who, in the eleventh of Elizabeth, contrived to be killed, we are told, by the fall of a wooden horse, whereon he practifed to leap.'-Our historians might have had their joke here with more propriety than on the death of poor Adams. The subsequent letter from Francis lord Dacres to queen Elizabeth, in the forty-fecond year of her reign, will be matter of curiofity to our readers. He was attainted of high treafon in the 12th of Elizabeth for being concerned in the affairs of Mary queen of Scots, whofe execution caft fuch a ftain upon the of Elizabeth. If Francis were not inmemory nocent, he writes at leaft with the spirit of an innocent and injured man. His uncle Leonard was certainly guilty. Moft dread fovereign, The cause of this my prefumptuous boldness in writing to your majefty is, my fudden, unwilling, and forced departure from your majefty and realm, for the which I moft humbly crave pardon, being the first thing that ever was committed by me, wherein I might hazard your highness's difpleasure, and yet betwixt God and my confcience am free from all disloyalty or evil practices in thought, word, and deed against your majesty and realm, whatsoever hath been or may be informed to the contrary by my unfriends, whereof I have gained many by my lord and father's poffeffions, especially fuch as have been brought up by him from mean eftate to be gentlemen, and now live in all wealth and pleasure upon the lands that were my ancestors, who have laboured to incenfe your majefty and council many untruths against me, which often hath taken effect with the lords of your council, whereby I have endured many and great diftreffes, but never with your majefty before this time; upon whom, as upon a fure pillar, next under God, I have always trufted, hoping ftill for happy performance of your majesty's most gracious promifes: in regard whereof, with the great and dutiful love and obedience that I have always borne to your majefty, hath caused me not only to many hard fhifts for maintenance, after all that I had was fpent, with the benevolence of all my friends, but alfo to fuffer fo many and open injuries at my adversaries hands, as the world may wonder that flesh and blood was able to fuffer the fame. It were too long to trouble your majefty with the recital thereof, but leave them untouched and proceed in my purpose, to fignify to your majefty the true caufe that hath driven me to take this courfe. Now continuing fill in this good hope, I have made my last and moft hard fhift for providing a little money in felling my houfe, wherein I have. received great lofs, to bring me up to attend your majesty's good pleafure, ftill expecting an happy end; but in the mean-time, being within a week of taking my journey, your majefty's commiffioners in the furvey of the faid lands have not only difpoffeffed me, by virtue of a letter from my lord treasurer and written by your majefty's command, of all thofe tenements which were returned to me both of the Graystocks lands, and also of the Dacres which were purchased and out of the concealment, but also have called me and very earnestly demanded the rents again at my hands that I have received thereof, (under favour be it fpoken) a hard case, that my lord of Arundel's attainder should forfeit my lawful poffeffion, I being a true fubject. All these things confidered, with the want of friends to further your majesty's good meaning towards me, the many and mighty adverfaries that I have fo near about you, which I fear me hath withdrawn your gracious favour from me, the many delays for anfwer of my last petition put unto your majefty at Eafter laft, wherein I made it known to your highness that I was not able to endure any longer without fome speedy relief, whereof I never had anfwer; the rents of the Dacres lands, which was the most part of my maintenance, being received to the ufe of your highness, without any confideration of my poor eftate; and now my law.ful poffeffion of all the reit taken from me by another man's fault. The favour and commodity of the Lowthers and Carletons, which never deferved well at your majefty's hands, is like to receive and be preferred unto before me, of thofe lands which were my anctitors, and gone from me not by any offence committed by me or my means, and by my only life and my fon's your majesty doth keep them. Under correction be it fpoken, my heart cannot endure that fuch evil men as they be, being the only maintainers of theft, befides their other bad behaviours, which is well known to all men that have had dealings VOL. XLVI. July, 1773. with with them, who have concealed your majesty's title thefe twenty years, and would have done for ever, if my adverfaries right had proved better than mine. They did make means to me, to have compounded with them to have defrauded your majefty thereof; which if I had done, I had made a better match for myself than I have done as the cafe ftandeth. And now in the end they be fo liberally dealt with, and myfelf (who I protett may compare with the best for my loyalty and true heart) to be fo little esteemed of, and without any reward at all; these things have not only driven me out of all good hope at your majesty's hands, but of all other refuge, in fuch fort, as knowing my title to be clear to Strangewaie's lands, yet confidering the intereft that my lord chamberlain and fir Thomas Scifell's fon hath in thefe lands from your majefty, no hope there is at all for me to attain unto them, but muft let them reft in their hands that have no right, arming myfelf with patience to abide what poverty may enfue. Now confidering all thefe aforefaid hard dealings, as alfo all that was towards my lord of Arundel and the lord William doth receive credit and commodity of thofe lands, and thofe that were towards me difplaced of their offices with most hard fpeeches; feeing the cafe to stand so hard against me, and that I have the laft penny of maintenance that ever I can make, befides the great debt I am in, having no shift now left me whereby to live, To beg I am ashamed, To work I cannot, To want I will not, therefore I am forced to feek for maintenance where I may with credit gain the fame, and have determined to employ that little that should have brought me to attend upon your majesty, to carry me elsewhere. I have taken my fon with me, for that I have left him nothing to tarry behind me withal; and if God hath provided a living for us we will live together; if not, we will ftarve together. And for my daughters, I commit them to God and fuch friends as it fhall please him to provide for them. Thus trufting in your majefty's most princely clemency in tolerating this my forced and moft unwilling departure, which I moft humbly crave at your majefty's hands, I will daily pray to the Almighty for the prefervation of your majefty's reign in all happiness to continue. From Crogling the 17th of September 1589. Francis Dacres.' The plague has not confined its ravages to cities; it has made its dreadful appearance alfo in the country-In 1598, it fwept away from only four places in Cumberland, Penrith, Kendal, Richmond, and Carlisle, 8156. Of the parish of Arthuret we are told that Archy (Armstrong) jefter to king James and king Charles the firft, often mentioned in the annals of those times, was born in this parish, and lies buried here amongst his fellow-parifhion. ers. He was banished the court upon the following occafion : when news came to London that the Scots were all in an uproar about the liturgy which archbishop Laud was for forcing upon them, them, the archbishop haftening to court, Archy, as he paffed by fays, "Who's fool now?" Whereupon, prefently after, appears an order in the council book,-"Ordered, That Archibald Armstrong, the king's fool, be banished the court, for fpeaking disrespectful words of the lord archbishop of Canterbury." So numerous are the paths which lead to fame-one man hoped to render his name known by building a temple to Diana; another flattered himself he should be remembered for having burnt it: this perfon gains a place in history for being a wife man, that for being a fool. - Archy feems clearly to have been an archer fellow than the archbishop. He has a right to this pun, if it deferve to be called one; for Dr, Johnfon is of opinion that the word arch owes its origin to our friend Archy. 1 We now take our leave of this hiftory. Weftmorland and Cumberland have certainly confiderable obligations to the labours and the researches of Mr. Nicholson and Dr. Burn, To the reft of the kingdom their work will, in many paffages, afford entertainment and information.-The objection already made to the style of the work, cannot be recalled.-But, had we ftill greater quarrels with thefe gentlemen, we must shake hands, and be reconciled to them, for having preferved a piece of elegiac poetry of moft uncommon mérit. It is called. The Moans of the Foreft after the Battle of Flodden-field. At bughts in the morning, nae blythe lads are fcorning, Nae daffing, nae gabbing, but fighing and fobbing, I have heard] That is, formerly, whilft the young men were living Lilting] Singing chearfully, with a brifk lively air, in a ftyle peculiar to the Scots; whofe mufic, being compofed for the bagpipe, jumps over the difcordant notes of the 2nd and 7th, in order to prevent the jarring which it would otherwise produce with the drone or bafs, which conftantly founds an octave to the key note. Hence this kind of compofition is commonly styled a Scotch lilt.—' A'] All.— Ilka] Each. Loning] Lane; a word ftill in ufe in the northern parts. The word green is peculiarly emphatical; the lane being grown over with grals, by not being frequented as formerly. Bughts] Circular folds, where the ewes are milked. Scorning] Bantering, jeering. Dowie] Dowly, folitary. Wae] Full of woe or forrow Daffing] Waggish sporting.' Gabbing] Jeftingly prating, talking gibble gabble. Leglin] Can, or milking pail. ་ In har'ft at the fhearing, nae fwankies are jeering, At e'en in the gloming, nae youngsters are roaming · Dool and wae fa' the order-fent our lads to the border! The English for once by a guile won the day : The flowers of the foreft, that fhone aye the foremost, • We'll ha' nae mair lilting, at the ewes milking, Our women and bairns now fit dowie and wae: We fhould think this poetry well deferves the attention of fome gentleman's mufical abilities. An Account of some remarkable ancient Ruins, lately discovered in the Highlands, and northern Parts of Scotland. By John Williams. 8vo. 25. Cadell. Τ IT appears that above a twelvemonth ago, a copy of this narrative was fent to London, with the view of being fold to a bookfeller; but was returned to the author on account of its being confidered as a fictitious production. Its credit, however, is now rendered unquestionable, by a letter prefixed from lord Kaims, bearing honourable teftimony to Mr. Williams's general character as a man of veracity. Previous to a particular description of the antiquities which Mr. Williams has difcovered, he relates fuch circumftances as are common to them all. The feveral vitrified forts which he has yet feen, are fituated on the top of a hill, that is small in comparison of the ordinary Highland mountains; and thofe hills every where command the view of a beautiful valley, or widely extended level country. They have always a level area on the fummit, of lefs or greater extent; and this has been furrounded by a wall, which, as far as may be judged from Swankies] Swains.- Banfiers] Bandfters, binders up of the fheaves.- Lyard] Hoary; being all old men. A preaching] A preaching in Scotland is not unlike a 'country fair. Fleetching] Fawning, flattering.-Glooming] Glimmering, twilight- Dool) Dolour, forrow. Wae fa'] Woe befal, evil betide. Aye] Always. Ligs] Lies. the |