881 Extract from an old Book, &c. &c. prove greatly detrimental to the best interests of society? In what words then can we express our abhorrence of such characters as Carlisle, who, after treating the immortality of the soul as a mere illusion, an ignis fatuus, pourtrays to us an imaginary state of bliss in this world, that will amply indemnify us for our non-existence hereafter? But even this is not to be granted us, unless we implicitly follow the directions so minutely laid down in his "Address to Men of Science." What an excellent figure would Carlile have made during the mania of the revolution in France! He would then have been in his proper element! With the Brissots and Robespieres he probably would have made himself highly conspicuous; though it appears to me, that notorious as these men were, they would almost have been ashamed of his company. I cannot conceive that any work published at that period, could possibly in its nature have been more calculated to unhinge the elements of society, than the present publication. His whole family appear to be infected with the same disease, doubtless arising from the execrable example taught them. What a father must that be, who can thus deliberately teach his offspring (let his own opinions be what they may) to despise and ridicule that which the majority of the world, and the wisest and best of men, look upon with awe and reverence. Holloway, near Islington, Aug. 25, 1821. I. D. Extract from an old Book, &c. &c. MR. EDITOR, SIR,-There lies before me a copy of that somewhat rare, and certainly very curious book, called 'EIKON BAZIAIKH', professing, as is well known, to be written by that unfortunate monarch Charles I. but long attributed to the pen of Bishop Gauden, whom, however, later evidence has proved not to have been the writer. The work contains twentyeight chapters, wherein are discussed the most prominent topics connected with the proceedings of the king at that most calamitous period of his life and government, from the time when his kingdom began to be divided against 882 itself, to the terrible crisis. The whole is written in a very vigorous and manly style, and seems to be the best extenuation of the errors and motives of that prince, that could have been devised; and, read in reference to the eventful period above mentioned, must needs produce peculiar feelings. In 1767, three letters appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine, written from this neighbourhood, and tending to shew that the actual executioner of Charles I. was one William Walker, who died at Darnal, a village about a mile from Sheffield, (as his epitaph, in the parish church at the latter place, set forth,) in November 1700: this is presumed principally from the dying confession of Walker, and the concurrent testimony of the "State Trials," wherein it is observed in the trial of William Hulet, for being one of the masquers on the scaffold, that the stroke was given by Walker, and the head then held up by Hulet. The whole of the evidence to be deduced from these letters makes it very probable, if not certain, that William Walker above mentioned was the actual executioner. Mr. Hunter, however, the learned and judicious historian of Hallamshire, attempts to disparage the above report, yet, as I think, on insufficient grounds. Connected with the book and report above mentioned, I have to add the following extract, written on one of the blank leaves of a copy of the Εικὼν Βασιλική lately in my possession, and once belonging to a person of Darnal. It exhibits the most bitter and fiery spirit of republicanism; and some expressions rather tend to strengthen the opinion respecting Walker:-" We glory in the remembrance of having the honour to be his majesty's judges, ignominiously called regicides, applauded mightily for their zeal and integrity for the good old cause, and cordial approbation, and the great effects, these of which we annually celebrate on the 30th of January, that derisional festival which we keep like true patriots of our country, and that the true spirit of liberty may never die. We not only declare ourselves brave defenders of that glorious action, by reverencing that valiant arm that did that noble deed, and annually signalize our gratitude to the pious memory of those illustrious, (the writer's pen here seems to 883 Extract from an old Book, &c. &c. As connected with a subject of perennial interest in English history, I will transcribe a part of the second chapter from the Basilike, entitled Upon the Earl of Strafford's Death." The royal prosopoiea observes, 66 "I looked upon my lord of Strafford as a gentleman, whose great abilities might make a prince rather afraid, than ashamed to emploie him in the greatest affairs of state. "For those were prone to create in him great confidence of undertakings; and this was like enough to betraie him into great errors, and manie enimies; whereof he could not but contract good store, while mooving in so high a spheer and with so vigorous a lustre, he must needs (as the sun) rais manie envious exhalations, which, condensed by a popular odium, were capable to cast a cloud on the brightest merit and integritie. 66 Though I cannot in my judgment approov all hee did, driv'n (it may be) by the necessities of times, and the temper, more than led by his own disposition to anie height and rigour of actions; yet I could never be convinced of anie such criminousness in him, as willingly to expose his life to the stroke of justice, and malice of his enemies. "I never met with a more unhappy conjuncture of affairs, than in the business of that unfortunate earl; when between my own unsatisfiedness of conscience, and a necessitie (as some told me) of satisfying the importunities of some people; I was persuaded by those that I think wished mee well, to chuse rather what was safe than what seemed just; preferring the outward peace of my kingdoms with men, before that inward exactness of conscience with God. **** 884 ring up a tempest in a man's own bosom. "Nor hath God's justice failed in the event and bad consequences, to shew the world the fallacie of that maxim, Better one man_perish (though unjustly) than the people be displeased or destroyed. "In all likelihood I could never have suffered with my people greater calamities (yet with greater comfort,) had I vindicated Strafford's innocence, at leas by denying to sign that destructive bill according to that justice which my conscience suggested to me, then I have don sinse I have gratified som men's unthankful importunities with so cruel a favour; and I have observed, that some who counselled me to sign that bill, have been so far from receiving the rewards of such ingratiatings with the people, that no men have been harrased and crushed more than they. Hee only hath been least vexed by them who counselled me not to consent against the vote of my own conscience. I hope God hath forgiven me, and the sinful rashness of that business. *** "Nor were the crimes objected against him so clear as after a long and fair hearing to give satisfaction to the major part of both houses, especially that of the lords, of whom scarce a third part were present, when the bill passed that hous. And for the Hous of Commons, manie gentlemen disposed enough to diminish my lord of Strafford's greatness and power, yet unsatisfied of his guilt in law, durst not condemn him, who, for their integrity in their votes, were (by posting their names) exposed to the popular calumnie, hatred, and furie, which then grew so exorbitant in their clamors for justice, (that is, to have both myself and the two houses vote, and do as they would have us,) that manie (tis thought) were rather terrified to concur with the condemning partie, than satisfied that of right they ought to do so. 66 ** This tenderness and regreet I find in my soul, for having had any hand (and that very unwillingly, God knows) in shedding one man's blood unjustly, though under the color and formalitie of justice, and pretences of avoiding public mischiefs, which may (I hope) bec some evidence before God and man to all posteritie, that I am far 885 Defence of Wordsworth. 886 from bearing justly that vast load and | vindication. If Aristarchus has emguilt of all that blood which hath been braced the infidel sentiments avouched shed in this unhappie war, which some in the poetry of Lord Byron, it may men will needs charge on me to ease account for the indiscriminate praise their own souls, who am, and ever he has lavished upon him, but it does shall bee, more afraid to take away not invalidate my assertions. The any man's life unjustly, than to lose time has been when Dr. Wollcott was my own." Then follows (as at the regarded as the greatest poet of the end of all the chapters) a series of reign of George the Third,* but his penitential reflections and prayers laurels were gathered upon an imappropriate to the subject. pure soil, and they have withered. No essayist now borrows a plume from them to ornament his productions. I have by me a large sheet published at the Restoration, entitled " England's Black Tribunal, or the Royal Martyrs," containing a large wood cut with heads of eighteen of the nobility who suffered death in the cause of their royal master, with a likeness also of the king himself, “Enthron'd in centre of the planets bright," as the verse has it. Round the picture are a series of doggerel verses appropriated to each of the heads. I shall conclude this article with the one referring to Strafford, which may be amusing, from the salvo it contains for the loss of a head: “O Strafford! thy dear only king, Enough, the thing by Charles is done." Sheffield, Aug. 18th, 1820. DEFENCE OF WORDSWORTH. H. MR. EDITOR, SIR,-It is not my intention to reply at length to the "Vindication of Lord Byron's Poetry," (col. 810,) but rather to recur to and improve the remarks which I have already made respecting his lordship and Mr. Wordsworth. Your correspondent seems to imagine, that he has aimed a bold stroke at Wordsworth, and demolished at once his poetical character. But far greater wits than himself have not been able to accomplish this. If the Ethiopian cannot be made white with washing, neither has the muse of Wordsworth become black by all the bottles of ink, nor maimed by all the arrows of criticism, which have been hurled against her. More than twenty years have elapsed since the poems of Wordsworth at first appeared in a small edition, when they were immediately attempted to be " run down;" but they have now obtained a name and a place among the magnates of the land. But Aristarchus is evidentwith the writings of his cotemporaries, ly unacquainted with his writings, and else he would have known that nearly all the great poets of the age have paid him their eloquent homage. His fame is upborne by "a cloud of witnesses. He has been acknowledged with reverence by Rogers, Corneval, and the author of Waverley. Montgomery, in his critique upon the Excursion, in the Eclectic Review, pronounces it a poem, "not more distinguished by the depth, compass, and variety of its speculation, than by exquisite choice of ornament, and inimitably appropriate diction;" and in If your correspondent Aristarchus, another place, when speaking of as he somewhat pompously styles him- Wordsworth generally, he terms him self, thinks fit to look into your Maga- a poet who seems all eye when he zine for March last, he will there find sees, all ear when he listens, all inthat I have spoken of Lord Byron intellect when he reasons, and all sensiterms of eulogy; and in the number bility when he is touched." Moore, for July, where, in a paper upon the author of Lallah Rookh, tells us, Wordsworth, I had occasion to men- that "Wordsworth is a poet even in tion his lordship, I never questioned his puerilities, one whose capacious his claim to the title of a great poet. mind, like the great pool of Norway, My censures were directed to the im- draws into its vortex, not only the moral tendency of his writings; and mighty things of the deep, but its upon this, the only point of attack, your correspondent never attempts a See Dr. Aikin's Annual Review. 887 On the Boiling of Potatoes. 66 life. 888 minute weeds and refuse." Coleridge, for preparing this valuable article of in his "Friend," owns him as apoet who has received the harp with reverence, and struck it with the hand of power;" and, lastly, Hazlitt, in his "Table Talk," lately published, eulogizes the poetry of Wordsworth, "in comparison of which," says he, "all that Lord Byron has written is but EXAGERATED COMMONPLACE." I am, yours, &c. G. M. Bridge-street, Derby, Sept. 6th, 1821. ON THE BOILING OF POTATOES. MR. EDITOR. SIR, I was very much pleased with the historical observations which you | published, (col. 797,) respecting the Potato. To this root no one can attach a greater value than myself. But while I feel thankful to Divine Providence for this simple but useful vegetable, I cannot but regret that it should be so seriously injured in the dressing as it frequently is, by those to whom the management of cooking is consigned. In Lancashire and Cheshire, the Potato is brought to the table in the highest state of perfection of which its nature has hitherto been found to be susceptible, but in most other parts of the kingdom the inhabitants have a lesson yet to learn. Having been brought up in Lancashire, and accustomed to this vegetable, where it is served up both in appearance and taste remarkably good, I was greatly disappointed on leaving the country, to find it brought to the Select the potatoes as nearly of one size as possible, pare off the skins, and wash them very well, then put them into an iron pot, and cover them with cold water; place the pot on the fire, and cause them to boil as soon as possible. Care, however, must be taken, that after they begin to boil, they be not suffered to boil quick, but rather slow. In about ten or fifteen minutes after they begin to boil, try them carefully with a fork; and as soon as they receive the fork very easily, and appear to be breaking on the surface, take them off the fire, and be particularly careful to pour from them all the water, and then putting the pot on the fire for about five minutes, continue to shake the pot so as to move the bulk of the potatoes, and the steam will evaporate, and the potatoes will assume a pleasant and dry surface. Care must be taken in this latter process that they do not burn at the bottom of the pot. You have only then to take a clean napkin, and putting it over and pressing it down on the potatoes in the pot, place them at some little distance from the fire, and they will keep for an hour, if necessary, good looking and good tasted. Some persons, after the water is poured off, sprinkle a little salt on the potatoes while shaking them, which is said to heighten their flavour; but this is an experiment which I never tried. August 11, 1821. LEONARDO ARETINO. I. G. table in a manner no way inviting. MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF Sometimes it has been saturated with water, and at other times hard and clammy, which rendered its look bad and its taste still worse. On making inquiries, the people, in some places, wondered at my dissatisfaction, and in others they ascribed the defect to the bad quality of the Potato, and to the uncongenial soil. But so far as I have been able to extend my observations, not one appeared conscious that the preparation was defective, and that a Potato, but indifferent in quality, might be much improved by good management in dressing it. Satisfied of this deficiency, allow me, Sir, to forward for your insertion, in your valuable and widely extended miscellany, a recipe (Continued from col. 689.) THE refractory Cardinals, on quitting Lucca, repaired to Pisa, where they took the bold step of constituting themselves a general council, in which capacity they summoned the principal ecclesiastical dignitaries of the various countries in Europe to assist them in the task of composing the distractions of the Church. In this crisis of his affairs, Leonardo still adhered to the fortunes of Gregory, whom he accompanied on his return from Lucca to Siena, in the month of July 1408. But wearied and disgusted by the unsettled life which he had of late been compelled to lead, and 889 Memoirs of Leonardo Aretino. 890 attention of your friend and yourself To rise to power, commit some daring crime; scandalized by the intrigues and dissensions of which he was the daily witness, he began to envy the tranquillity enjoyed by his friend Poggio, who had retired from the pontifical court to Florence, where he devoted himself to the intercourses of friendship and the prosecution of his studies. He therefore requested the kind interposition of Poggio and of Niccolo Niccoli, to procure for him, in his native republic, some official station, which might justify him in quitting the service of the Pontiff. In this wish, however, he was for the present disappointed; and after paying a visit to the baths of Petrioli, he went to his native city Arezzo on the first of December 1408; and from thence proceeded to rejoin his master, who, in the course of his wander- "I write my sentiments freely on this ings, had fixed his abode at Rimini. § point, in order that you may underIndividuals who have familiar ac- stand, that if you would attain your cess to the great, are ever troubled object, you must change your meawith the importunities of those who sures. As to myself, I am ready to hunger and thirst after places of pro- serve you to the utmost of my ability; fit and trust. To these importunities but at this time I have not power to Leonardo appears to have been ex- compete with the projects of the amposed, in consequence of the interest bitious men by whom I am which it was presumed that he had rounded. Let the candidate then do established with his Holiness, in con- his Holiness some signal service, in sequence of the fidelity of his attach-order that his name may be received ment to him. During his residence at Rimini, he received a letter from Niccolo Niccoli, requesting him to exert his influence to advance an aspiring ecclesiastic to a bishopric which was supposed to be vacant. The reply which he made to this application may afford hints of advice to candidates for the mitre in modern times. "Your letter, which I received today, announces to me the notable cupidity and immature haste of your friend, who, with a view of serving God without the inconveniences of poverty, desires a rich bishopric. In replying to this part of your epistle, not to hold out delusive hopes to your friend, who may be a good man, but, as I conceive, by no means a man of the world, I must inform you that you are deceived by the reports of the deprivation of the bishop whom you mention. You may be assured that no such step has been, or is, contemplated in this court. Besides, you must allow me to suggest, what indeed ought not to have escaped the Mehi Vita Leon. Aret. p. 37. No. 32.-VOL. III. sur with due favour. The Deity proposes the good things of life as prizes; these prizes, however, are not the meed of the indolent spectator, but of the stre| nuous and active champion.”+ Though Leonardo thus instructed the ecclesiastical aspirant how to make his way to preferment in the pontifical court, he was too independent in spirit himself to practise the lesson which he thus inculcated. Whilst he attended to the routine of his duty as one of the secretaries of his Holiness, he was careful not to foment the divisions which gave seandal to the Christian community, or to assist in drawing up the anathemas and processes which were fulminated against the enemies of Gregory. By this conduct, his interest at court was diminished, and he became liable to invidious animadversion. But in this decline of favour, he consoled himself by the approbation of his conscience; supported by which, he firmly resolved not to quit the onward path of integrity. It was his earnest wish to do no wrong to any one; and on his + Leon. Aret. Epist. lib. iii. ep. 7. 3 L |