304 On Ranks and Honours.-Royal Humane Society. tails may not prove unamusing or un- Mr. URBAN, Tours in a well constituted GoHE necessity of ranks and hovernment will be disputed by no one; but I think it may be deemed rather problematical whether the almost lavish distribution of them in the present day be not injurious to a moderate aristocracy. Their value in a great degree must depend upon their scarcity; and when the people see them often indiscriminately bestowed, it is natural to suppose that their reverence will be diminished in propor tion. I am aware it may be urged in return, the state of the country is such, the population so greatly increased, and we have risen to so high a pitch of opulence and power, that the Sovereign must exercise his prerogative, as "the fountain of honour," to a greater degree than was formerly deemed necessary. This is in some measure true; but why are hereditary honours to be conferred on persons not distinguished either for antiquity of family, or eminent public services, or skill in literature and the sciences. I allude particularly to the title of Baronet, which is now frequently bestowed on persons altogether destitute of the above-mentioned qualifications. I mean no disrespect to the worthy Aldermen of London, but surely it would have been better to have instituted a new order of Knighthood, which might have been conferred on those who are now in possession of hereditary titles. Baronetcies might then be reserved for persons of antient families, those who have deserved well of their country, in a civil or military capacity, or who have rendered eminent services to Literature and the Sciences. In this latter case especially, they would be marks of merit, and consequently looked up to with respect. At present I am sorry to say they signify nothing. It would be well to copy the example of Buonaparte, who constantly acted upon this principle, and to whom Science stands much indebted. I am aware, however, that there are some honourable exceptions, and among them Sir Walter Scott, Sir Humphrey [Oct. Davy, and the late Sir Joseph Banks. Here hereditary rank is well bestowed. The few observations which I have made are equally applicable to the Peerage; but in their case political reasons arise which should prevent their too great increase. "A numerous nobility (saith Lord Bacon) causeth poverty and inconvenience in a State, for it is a surcharge of expence; and besides it being of necessity that many of the nobility fall in time to be weak in fortunes, it maketh a kind of disproportion between honours and means." And again observes the same writer, "It is well when nobles are not too great for sovereignty nor for justice; and yet maintained in that height, as the insolency of inferiors may be broken upon them before it come on too foul upon the majesty of Kings." An observation this in which I believe we are more concerned than is usually supposed; and let a British Prince consider that though a nobility may advance his present interests, he is in the end infallibly weakening his own prerogatives and the liberties of his subjects. Yours, &c. H. P. Mr. URBAN, Temple, Aug. 8. 7E have within the last twelve W months had very many unfortu nate Shipwrecks; of these the North of England has had its full share. Many of our shipwrecked seamen, no doubt, perish for want of proper attention,-not from inhumanity, but from mere ignorance; and the chance is, unfortunately, that if any one reaches land from a wreck in a state of suspended animation, he is killed by being held up by the heels, or by rough usage, under the mistaken idea that life can only be restored by violent methods. A gentleman of high respectability at Sunderland has rendered a great service to humanity, by printing and distributing, at his own expence, along the coasts of the county of Durham, the Manual of the Royal Humane Society; thus instructing the inhabitants in the art of restoring life. I should hope this good example will be followed by Northumberland (in which the noble President of the Royal Humane Society resides), and by the other counties; the expence in each county is a mere trifle. Mr. 1822.] Mr. URBAN, Bartlow and Ashdon, Essex. Oct. 4. N that part of Essex which lies on the borders of Cambridgeshire, are four pyramidal hills (see Plate II.) They may, perhaps, excite your attention as connected with "olden time;" permit me, therefore, to give an account of them in the words of Holinshed, 9th chap. 7th book of the "Historie of England." A. D. 1016. Canute, with his armie on board his flete (which lay in the Medway) passed over the Thames into Essex, and there assembled all his power together, and began to spoil and lay waste the country on each hand; King Edmund (Ironside), ad-, vertised thereof, hasted forth to succour his people, and at Ashdone in Essex, three miles from Saffron Walden, gave battle to Canute, where, after a sore and cruel fight, the Englishmen were beaten down and slaine in heaps," Duke Edrike having turned the battle against them by treacherously joining the Danes. "There died on King Edmund's side, Duke Edmund, Duke Alfrike, Duke Goodwine, with Earl Ulfekettle or Urchell, of East Angle, and Duke Ailewall, that was sonne to Ardelwine late Duke of East Angle, and to be brief, all the flowre of the English nobilitie; there were also slaine at this battle manie renowned persons of the spiritualitie, as the Bishop of Lincolne, and the Abbot of Ramsey." In the place where the battle was fought, are yet seven or eight hils, wherein the carcasses of them that were slaine at the same field were buried, and one being digged down of late, there were found two bodies in a stone coffin, the one laie with his head towards the other's fete, and manie chains of iron of horses were found in the There is much to confirm this account; for Bartlow and Ashdon are closely connected; the hamlet of Bartlow joining Ashdon, so as to form part of its village. Four hills remain-one has been opened and lowered, as represented in the Plate, and a vessel GENT. MAG. October, 1822. 305 in the Plate, only making allowance for the reduction of his size (about 15 feet) to a miniature, and remembering that his complexion is blackened by age, and that time and accidents in clearing away the veil thrown over him at the reformation, have somewhat checquered his person, his purple robes, and beam-like walking stick. The Church contains monuments and tablets in memory of different families, as Tyrrell, Wenyeve, Wise, Oseburgh, Mapletoft, Hall, and the late Sir William Blackett. There are the arms of England and France quarterly, in stained glass, and the shields as described in the Plate are, carved in stone, in the arches of the three doors. Two are evidently those of Vere and Pultney. Perhaps the aforesaid Dukes may claim the tent and triangle. Yours, &c. J. A. CARR, jun. MR. URBAN, Sept. 18. THE following description of the superb mansion recently erected by 306 Lord Forester's Seat, Willey Park.Vernon Family. by Lord Forester in Willey Park, Shropshire, is extracted from a pleasing account, in the Wolverhampton Chronicle, of the festivities given at Willey Hall, on the son of that Nobleman attaining the age of twenty one. "As the stately mansion of the family is an entirely new structure, built of stone, the following description of it may not be uninteresting:The grand entrance hall is lighted by 28 large lamps. The balcony is supported by massy pillars, between which the floor is paved with slabs of polished marble. The balcony and staircases are railed in by a burnished brass rail, which is said to have cost 2000l. and the ornaments round the cornice (the subjects of which are taken from Grecian history), are of the most chaste and beautiful kind, and produce a grand effect, aided by the profusion of light which the lamps reflect from below. A bronze tripod, supporting three massy lamps, is placed in the midst of the hall; on one side, between two family paintings, is a picture of the Duke of Wellington on horseback; on the other side is a beautiful portrait of Napoleon Buonaparte, surrounded with paintings of the Rutland and Forester_families; the effect of the whole is of the grandest description, and may well serve as a specimen of the taste and opulence which is displayed in every apartment of the noble mansion. Many costly pictures are scattered over the principal apartments, and a full-length portrait of Lord Forester, accompanied by one of his Lady, grace the dining room. The library is lighted up with two large lustres, which cast a brilliant reflection on the walls, that are covered with books in fanciful and superb bindings. The Drawing-room (which was fitted up on this occasion for the ball, and in which a temporary orchestra was raised), is a lofty and spacious apartment. Lord and Lady Forester's morning rooms contain some historical paintings, portraits, and a collection of valuable books.' Cecil Weld Forester, Esq. was created Baron Forester, July 9, 1821. His Lordship married, June 16, 1800, Lady Katherine Mary Manners, sister to the present Duke of Rutland, by whom he has had eleven children, of whom the eldest, the Hon. JohnGeorge Weld, has just attained his 21st year. This noble family possess a grant from King Henry VIII. to John Forester, of Watling-street, in the county of Salop, esq. to wear his hat in the presence of his Majesty, which grant is now in the possession of the present peer. [Oct. Mr. URBAN, York, Sept. 16. IN the lively description which Diana Vernon gives Frank Osbaldistone of the furniture of the library at Osbaldistone Hall, occurs the following passage (Rob Roy, vol. i.) "There stands the sword of my ancestor Sir Richard Vernon, slain at Shrewsbury, and sorely slandered by a sad fellow called Will Shakspeare, whose Lancastrian partialities, and a certain knack at embodying them, has turned history upside down, or rather inside out; - -and by that redoubted weapon hangs the mail of the still older Vernon, squire to the Black Prince, whose fate is the reverse of his descendants, since he is more indebted to the bard, who took the trouble to celebrate him, for good will, than for talents,— "Amiddes the route you might descern one Brave knight, with pipes on shield, ycleped Vernon ; Like a borne fiend along the plain he thundered, [plundered." Prest to be carving throtes, while others "She pointed to the carved oak frame of a full length portrait by Vandyke, on which were inscribed in Gothic letters the words Vernon semper viret.' I looked at her for explanation.-' Do you not know,' said she, with some surprise, our motto, the Vernon motto, where "Like the solemn vice, iniquity, We moralize two meanings in one word?' "And do you not know our cognizance, the Pipes?' pointing to the armorial bearings sculptured on the oaken scutcheon around which the legend was displayed. 66 6 Pipes!-they look more like penny whistles." That the family, whence the author has chosen to derive the descent of his heroine, is the same as that of the Vernons of the present day, appears from the allusion to the Warrior of Shrewsbury, who, instead of being taken prisoner, as Will Shakspeare has calumniously represented, died honourably on the field of battle; and to the Squire of the Black Prince, to whom, on the authority of the antique Bard whose lines he quotes, he has given the "cognizance" of the pipes. It is to an alliance with a fair descendant of these heroes, that the illustrious House of Manners is indebted for the fairest portion of its domains, as well as the most antient source of its ancestry. From them, also, the present noble and most reverend representatives of the Vernons are proud to trace their descent. The punning motto, Vernon semper viret, |