1100: Propofal for regenerating and modernizing Shakspeare. [Dec.

quere POEMATA;) and every year, words which once the most delicate did not fcruple to pronounce, and the meaneft understood, become uncouth, or obfolete, or vulgar, or unfashionable. When antient buildings grow unfightly from age, it is a common practice to pick out the mouldering and decayed bricks, and to put new in their place in the fame manner fhould our great Dramatic Poet be regenerated; and, as his words moulder away, or become grofs and dif. gufful to the ear, new ones bould be fubftituted by his Editors in their room. In short, Mr. Urban, like the good old tenements of the age of Elizabeth, his plays fhould be kept in conflant and yearly repair. I trust I may without vanity obferve, that my grand-mother, the well-known Mrs. Stanley, was a very able artificer in this way: fhe did not content herfelf with merely renovating particular parts of Sir Philip Sydney's celebrated romance, the Arcadia, but completely modernized the whole; and I am extremely glad to find that, in an edition lately published of the admirable ESSAYS of Sir Francis Bacon, Shakipeare's illuftrious contemporary, her laudable example has been followed by the fagacious Editor.

By the bye, it is very ftrange and un accountable, that an edition of Shak ipcare, in which there is fuch a grofs violation of bienséance as that which has occafioned the prefent difquifition, thould have been entirely fold, and have beeome out of print, as I hear it is, before the Reviewers have told the town what to think of it; and is as ftrong a proof of the indelicacy, not to fay depravity, of the prefent age, as can be produced. For my part, Mr. Urban, I never wait for the judgement of Meff. the Reviewers, fome of whom think it neceffary to examine a work of this kind minutely. end to inform the publick of the merit or demerit of the various differtations, effays, and illustrations of obfcure paffages, it contains: a process by which one becomes quite weary and tick of a book before one begins to read it. have long made it a rule to judge ex ppie Herculem. One little fmart obieryation, though perhaps fent to a news"fome dd paper or niagazine by good-natured freud," only with a view to draw the attention of the town from the general merits of a work to a particular point, does perfectly well for me; and is often, as in the prefent cafe, a furer criterion of the worthle nefs of

a book, however popular and admired, than whole pages of Monthly Reviews and Literary Journals.

Many other reformations, fimilar to that which I have already fuggested, might be made in the admired author who is at prefent fo much the God of our idolatry. All our mothers and grand-mothers ufed in due course of time to become with-child, or, as Shakfpeare has it, round-wombed; and one of our most admired dramatic writers has been hardy enough to make the hero of his piece fay, ((peaking of his wife,) "She grew with-child, and I grew happier still;"

but it is very well known, that no female, above the degree of a chambermaid or laundrefs, has been with ebild thefe ten years paft: every decent married woman now becomes pregnant; nor is The ever brought-to-bed, or delivered, but merely, at the end of nine months, has an accouchement; antecedent to which, the always informs her friends that at a certain time the fhall be confined. A thoufand other inftances of the fame kind nuft occur to your readers, as we are every day growing more delicate, and, without doubt, at the fame time more virtuous; and fhall, I am contident, in a very fhort period, become the molt refined and polite people in the world. The reformation of our antient poets, and particularly of Shakspeare, I truft, will keep pace with the refine ment of our manners and converfation. It is, indeed, unneceffary to urge the propriety of duly purging and correcting that author, by ftriking out of his text all obfolete and uncouth expreffions as I can with certainty inform the pub. lick, that a venerable and very refpectable matron, a member of the BlueStocking-Club, and already well known in the literary world, being fully fenfi ble of the necellity of a thorough reformation in this retpect, has undertaken to give a new edition of this divine poet in twenty-four neat pocket volumes; with proper expurgations and purifications, which is to be intituled, "THE YOUNG LADY'S SHAKSPEARE," and may fafely be admitted into every nurfery in the kingdom. The very inge nious critick, whole tafte, accuracy, and knowledge of the antient copies of this author, are clearly manifefed by the judicious remark on Hamlet, quoted in the beginning of this letter, has very kindly promited to correct the sheets of

1102 Charader of Mr. T. Gouge.—Ornithological Intelligence. [Dec.

ARCHBISHOP Tillotson, in his fu- telligence they contain; therefore be fo

I wish the useful quarter-guineas were revived; and I wonder the new guineas are not made of value equal to an even fterling pound, or twenty fhillings, which would be more regular and convenient. NITHARD.

MORRISIAN MISCELLANY.
ARTICLE III.

CARDIGAN WEDDINGS.

HE manner of their folemnizing ΤΗ their marriages among the mechanicks, farmers, and common people, in Cardiganshire, is peculiar, I think, to this country, and its borders.

When the young couple have agreed to marry with the confent of their parents or friends, they agree to meet, fome refponfible perfons affifting on each fide, to fettle the fortune, in writing, if there be any fortune in money or lands. This they call Dyddio, i. e. appointing a day. Then the bans are asked, as in other countries: and the day of mar. riage is always, or most commonly, ordered on a Saturday; and Friday is allotted to bring home the Tafell, or chamber, of the woman, if the is to refide at the man's houfe; or of the man, if he is to refide at the house where the woman lives.

This chamber of the woman contains generally a valuable oak cheft of wainfcot work, and a featherbed and bed cloaths, if he is fo rich, with sometimes a good deal of houthold furniture, collected by her mother for fome years. This is fet up by the friends of the parties in ample order. The man's part is to provide a bedflead, a table, a dreffer, a pot, and chairs. That whole evening is employed in receiving prefents of money, cheese, and butter, at the man's houfe from his friends, and at the woman's houfe from her friends. This is called Pars a Gwregys, or purfe and girdle, an antient British cuftom. But I fhould have taken notice that, a week or a fortnight before the wedding day, an inviter or bidder (Gwahoddwr), goes about from houfe to houfe with a Jong ftick with ribbons Aying at the end of it, and, ftopping at the middle of the floor, repeats in Welsh a long leffon, partly in verfe, to invite the families that he calls at to the wedding of fuch and fuch perfons, naming them and their places of abode, and mentioning the day of the wedding, and the helps or benevolence expected from all that come there. This leffon he repeats with great formality, enumerating the

great preparations made to entertain the company, fuch as mufick, good eating, &c. (Here follows a form of invitation in verfe; but as the two following forms in profe give the idea of it, with lefs trouble of tranflation, it is omitted). Araith y Gwahoddwr, yn Llanbadarn Fawr, 1762.

"Arwydd y Gwahoddwr yw hyn; ynfwyn Einion Owain a Llio Elis, a'ç ewyllys da ar ac yn hawddgar, yn lân ac yn deuluaidd, dros y ddefgyl; dowę ag Arian difai; Swilt, neu ddau, neu dri, neu bedwar, neu bump; 'r ym ni'n gwahodd Caws ac Ymenyn, a'r Gwr a'r Wraig a'r Plant, a'r Gweifion a'r Morwynion, a'r mwyaf hyd y lleiaf; dowç yno'n fore, cewç fwyd yn rhodd, a diod yn rhad, vftolion i eifte, a phyfgod, os gallwn eu dal, ac onide cymmerwch ni yn efgufol; ac ahwy ddon' hwyntau gyda çwithau pan alwor am danynt.-Yn codi allan o'r fan a'r fan."

"The intention of the bidder is this: with kindness and amity, with decency and liberality, for Einion Owen and Llio Elis, he invites you to come with your good-will on the plate; bring current money; a fhilling, or two, or three, or four, or five; with cheese and butter we invite the husband and wife, and children, and men-fervants, and maid-fervants, from the greatest to the leaft: come there early, you thall have victuals freely, and drink cheap, ftools to fit on, and fish if we can catch them; but if not, hoid us excufable: and they will attend with you when you call upon them.-They fet out from fuch and fuch a place."

(To be continued.)

It is prefumed that fuch as have a taste for British antiquities and philology will be highly gratified with the information, that the CALTIC REMAINS, one of the most valuable labours of Mr. Lewis Morris, is in a train of being laid before the publick / as a relation of his has tranfmitted the copy from India with inftructions for that purpose; and has liberally given up the advantages which may arife from it to benevolent purpofes. It is needles to urge any thing in favour of the use. fulnels of this publication; as it will be the means of developing the antiquities of this ifland, which are fo wonderfully confufed, in confequence of being handled by too many writers deftitute of the qualifications neceffary for the undertaking, and in particular a knowledge of the Celtic languages.

1104
gether correfponding with it. Thus, in
the firft, only the fecond line corresponds
with that verfion :

The Raunds Inscription.-Tottenham.-Columbus.

Video quafi folem & lunam & ftellas xi adorare me. Gen. xxxvii. 9.

Line 5 does not agree with that verfion in words, though in fenfe:

..tatus eft & ait Pharao, bene interpretatus eft fomnium meum & ideo eris totam ter[ram camb'

eft quod femt effe fames in terra. Only this line with the verfion : Et adhuc reftant anni quinque. xlv. 6. Ideo venite ad me, & ego reficiam vo3. Line 7, only the two laft lines correfpond with the version :

Et huc ad hoc veniftis expoliare regem Jam experimentum veftri vos capiam Deum enim timeo.

Quia omnia quæ olim videbam perfor...
Nunc apparent michi Bene ania per omnia.
The last is a mere monkith rhyme.
Yours, &c.

Mr. URBAN,

Q R.

Dec. 4.

MR. Thorndon, p. 817, miflakes in

his corrections of the Hiftory of Totenham, p. 6, note. It is Milles, and not Miles.

How could W. Wimpen be W. Wimper the vicar, who died 1665 ? does Mr. T. fuppofe he would reign the vicarage for the fchoolmatter's place *?

I very much fufp.& the name of Hamanus is profituted in your p. 723 to ferve a worle purpofe. Let us admit the folly of the Tholofans in making a martyr, is it at all inconfiftent with the accidental death of a fon by the accidental blow or pufh of a tather? Will Humanus, because he denies the fon was intitled to the crown of martyrdom, deny that his death was unlucky or accidental? But Humanus, in blaming bigotry, is himself the mott angry of bigots ought at least to prove that his hair rug, as he fays, food on end.

G. G. G.

that profeffion, was no lefs diftinguished by his kill and abilities, than for his intrepid and perfevering fpirit. This man, when about forty years of age, had formed the great idea of reaching the East Indies by failing Weftward; but, as his fortune was very small, and the attempt required very effectual patronage, defirous that his native country fhould profit by his fuccefs, he laid his plan before the fenate of Genoa; but the fcheme appearing chimerical, it was rejected. He then repaired to the court of Portugal; and although the Portuguese were at that time diftinguished for their commercial fpirit, and John II. who then reigned, was a difcerning and enterprifing prince, yet the prepoffeffions of the great men in his court, to whom the matter was referred, caused Columbus finally to fail in his attempt there alfo. He next applied to Ferdinand and Ifabella, king and queen of Arragon and Caftile, and at the fame time fent his brother Bartholomew (who followed the fame profedion, and who was well qualified to fill the immediate place under fuch a leader) to England, to lay the propofal before Henry VII. which likewife, very fortunately for the future well-being of the country, met with no fuccefs. Many were the years which Chriftopher Columbus fpent in ineffectual attendance at the Caftilian court; the impoverished fate into which the finances of the united kingdom were reduced by the war with Granada, repretling every difpofition to attempt great defigns; but, the war being at length terminated, the powerful mind of Habella broke through all obftacles; the declared hertelf the patronefs of Columbus, whit her husband Ferdinand, decliung to partake as an adventurer in the voyage, only gave it the fanétion of his name. Thus did the fuperior genius of a woman effect the difcovery of one half of the globe!

The fhips fent on this important fearch were only three in number; two of them very fmall: they had ninety men on board. Although the expence of the expedition had undertaken, yet, when every thing was prolong remained the fole obitacle to its being vided, the coft did not amount to more than 4,00 1. and there were twelve months pro vifions put on board.

Columbus fet fail from Port Palos, in the province of Andalufia, Aug. 3, 1492: he proceeded to the Canary islands, and thence directed his courfe due W. in the latitude of about 28 deg. N. In this courfe he continued for two months, without falling in with any land; which caufed fuch a fpirit of dif content and mutiny to rife, as the fuperior addrefs and management of the commander became unequal to reprefs, although for thefe qualities he was eminently diftinguished. He was at length reduced to the neceffity of entering into a folemn engagement to abandon the enterprize, and return home, if Iand did not appear in three days. Probably