enough to maintain one man, and that is all. Now, as I have a mind to be of fervice in my generation, and am here entirely out of the way of it, where nobody will encourage my ftudies, I do not know where more properly to apply for a patron to my ftudies and purfuits than to the Principal of Jesus College. You may, by ftating my cafe to the FelJows of your College, perhaps get me fome being among you, either as tube librarian, keeper of the mufeum, or chaplam; fomething, in short, whereby I might get vićtuals and cloathing; my utmost ambition would aim at no more. 1 might, by helps from the College, be enabled to give editions of all the British manuscripts that are valuable, with notes, and tranfcribe copies of others, to be depofited in the archives of your library. I fhould, in fhort, be enabled to do fome honour to my native country, and be no difgrace to the Univer. fity. Mr. Lewis Morris has left very many valuable pieces behind him, particularly a very elaborate performance, intituled, Celite Remains, which is a Dictionary of the Names of Men and Places in Great Britain, Gaul, &,This is done on the fame plan with what Mr. Llwyd of the Muleum prapofed to do, but did not live to finth. He has likewife added a great many words to Dr. Davies's Dictionary, and explained a great many that the Doctor did not understand. I would, was I fituated among you, fit thefe valuable works for the prefs, or at leaft write copics to be depofited in your archives: fuch acquifitions would be very valuable, and would redound to the honour of your College, I might make excurfions into the country, and tranfcribe what I left valuable there untranfcribed. I happened to fee a very valuable manufcript, intituled, Llyfr Cock Afaph. It was a Collection of Letters and Agreements between the Kings of England and the Princes of Wales, and a great many other curious particulars, which would be of great ule to illuftrate and corroborate our History of Wales, pub lifned by Dr. Powel, and a very bad edition fince, by Mr. William Wynne, a younger brother of the Wynnes of Garthewyn, and brother to Chancellor Wynne. I am very fenfible a great many worthiefs, ignorant perfons may treat thefe fchemes as vifionary and chimerical; for my part, I think they are very fealible, and would redound to the credit of the College, and of thofe wor thy perfons who would encourage them. I have done with all I have to fay on this fubje&; and would be glad to have your opinion of my fcheme, and whether you could procure me fome fuch being in the Univerfity. I fhall be at liberty any time to remove hence, by giving timely notice to my patron to procure another curate; but shall in no wife quit him till I am fure of fome fuch birth as I mention in the University; where, upon the account of my studious turn of mind, 1 with to spend the remainder of my days more to my own fatistaction, and the good of my native country, than hitherto, for want of proper encouragement, I have been enabled to do. I hope you will excufe the liberty I have taken in fpeaking my mind fo freely. If I did not know that you were willing to promote useful studies, and to encourage all well-meaning attempts at leaft to deferve well, I would not have given you this trouble. I am, your moft obliged, humble fervant, EVAN EVANS, Newick, Suffex. P. S. If you be so good as to favour me with a line, be fo good as to fend it inclofed in a cover to Mr. Richard Morris, of the Navy-office, London, with these words at top, On His Majef ty's Service; and it will come to me free. [N.B. The original of this letter is in the poffeffion of the Rev. Mr. Price, Bodleian Librarian.] THE Quakers' doughty champion M. N. (p. 693), is very indignant, and treats poor W. C. with a vaft deal of contempt. He feems to have studied Sir Toby Belch's inftructions to Aguecheek: "Go, write it in a martial band; be curft and brief," &c. However, in one of his affertions he is certainly miftaken; for the learned and acute author of The Snake in the Grafs was not effectually antwered by the Switch for the Snake. "This wholefome Switch," fays M. N. quaintly enough, "presently whipped him into cover, whence he ne ver after ventured to peep out his head." But if M. N. will take the trouble of turning to the fecond volume of Mr. Leflic's Theological Works, printed by Bowyer in 1721, he will find a long and circumftantial Reply to the Book intituled Anguis Flagellatus, &c. Take notice, Mr. Urban, I do not mean to enter into any controversy with M. N.; my intention is only to fet him 1176. On the Office of Confirmation.-Dr. Price's Verfatility. [Suppl. right in a matter of fact. For, though he comes forward as the advocate of a fet of men who value themselves on their "modeft ftillness and humility," and who profefs to keep their tempers, like their fhirts, always unruffled, yet indeed he is much too fierce and heroical for me. Yours, &c. R. P. Mr. URBAN, Oa. 8. LIKI Got employing myfelf in OOKING on the fubject as important, drawing up a few reflexions on a modern mode of Confirmation, which was animadverted on fome little time ago by a Conftant Correfpondent; bur, in compliance with your prohibitory with, p. 850, I have not troubled you with them. Per mit me, however, before you entirely difmifs the fubje&, to exprefs my earnest hope, that thofe truly eminent Prelates, who have been induced (no matter by what motives) to alter the folemn rite, will paufe at this moment-for, in truth, it is an aweful one!-and, following the example of a late excellent Metropolitan*, will relinquish a practice which has given great offence, and which, what even the arguments that have been offered in fupport of it prove, is utterly indefenfible. Eu-s, p. 799, would do well to read the Rubrick for Baptifms with more care; for he would then find, that the reverse of what he has ftated is the fact, and that the general prayers are to be read only once when the fponfors and the perfons with the children are at the font; but that the particular words which accompany the action of Baptifm are to be repeated for every child. And in like manner our Mother Church requires (and God forbid that her directions hould be any longer difregarded, and her Conftitutions made liable to contempt and reproach, by her most favour. ed fons!), that, although the general prayers in the Adminiftration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, in the Ordination of Priests and Deacons, in the Confecration of Archbishops and Bifhops, as well as in Confirmation, fhail be read only once; yet that the particular prayer which is directed to be used at *Abp. Secker. "The Bishop having concluded the prayer for all the perfons to be confirmed in general, he implores the divine protection and grace for each one, or each pair of them, in particular; and, along with the utterance of thofe folemn words, he lays his band on each of their beads." Sermon on Confirmation. the delivery of the facramental elements, and during the feveral actions of Ordination, Confecration, and Confirmation, fhall be repeated as often as the actions themfelves are; without which, indeed, thofe feveral folemn acts would prefent to us only fo many scenes of foletan mum merv. And as there appears, Mr. Urban, to be too great a propenfity in fome to alter eftablished forms, fo is there a co lefs too precipitate inclination in others to give up fome of the received articles of our faith as untenable, merely because they are faid to be fo. In the front of thefe fuppofed untenable articles is that of our Saviour's defcent into hell. But though Mrs. Knowles and the Quakers, p. 502, may daringly affirm, that there is no authority for such an affertion as is drawn up in the Apottles Creed," and Dr. Johnfon may be faid not to have controverted this pofition; yet would I nevertheless demand, how can this be? The Apostle Peter (A&s ii) applies a prophecy of David to our Saviour, and fays, "that his (Chrift's) foul was not left in hell." Now nothing can be plainer, in my humble apprehenfion, than this, that, fince Chrift's foul was not left in hell at his refurrection, his foul muft have been in hell before his refurrection: and how then can it with the leaf truth or candour be affirmed, that there is no authority for fuch an affertion as is drawn up in the Creed? Give me leave, Mr. Urban, to take up only a few more lines of your valuable Mifcellany, and I promife not to encroach again of fome time, Your Reviewer's reflexions on the verfatility of Dr. Price's fentiments, p. 838, reminds me of a circumstance which I heard of not many years ago, that, when he took his nephew in his own hand, to be matriculated at Oxford, and entered him at Jefus College, he told the worthy Principal, who rather expreffed his furprize at the bufinefs he was come upou, that he confidered an univerfity education as the beft by far of all orbers. Upon this conduct of the Doctor I shall only remark, that it can scarcely be doubted, but that there are men of a particular defcription in this kingdom, who are not afhamed of faying, I had nearly added doing, almoft any thing to ferve their own purposes. But the eyes of my countrymen are opened to their practices, and they refufe to be any longer, if indeed any of them ever have been, the dupes of crafty men. CLERICUS Surrienfis. ΔΙΣ N my laft excurfion into Leiccfer. hire I was furprifed with a fight of (to me a very) fingular phænomenon. I was going from Moulley to Knaptoft, on Wednefday morning, the 14th of September, 1791. There was a very thick fog on the ground, which feemed at Moulley to be difperting by the fun, which rofe with great warmth; but, when I got on fome high ground about a mile from Moufley, the fog feemed to increafe, and I could fee but a very fhort diftance from me, though the fun was at my back. I was fuddenly frack with a most beautiful white arch in the atmosphere, fimilar to a rainbow, but only of one colour, and that fo bright as to dazzle the fight. It lafted only a few feconds, and then difappeared. Having proceeded about a quarter of a mile farther, the ground full rifing, another arch appeared, but confiderably larger, and more brilliant. This did not disappear so fuddenly as the first, but feemed o vanish with the fog. The distance of time between the appearance of the two arches was about twenty minutes, and happened about a quarter before seven in the morning. I have fent you a sketch of the firft arch; jee plate III. fig. 1. If, Mr. Urban, any of your correfpondents can explain the caufe of this phænomenon, it will much oblige, Yours, &c. J. SCHNEBBELIE. Mr. URBAN, Warminster, May 12. ANNEXED you have a rough (Plate III. fig. 2.) of a figure found a few days fince in pulling down part of a very old building in this town, that has always been known by the name of, and fuppofed to have been, a Nunnery. It is as large as the original, and appears to be made of earth, has a very high varnish, is very black and light, and has loft the legs, and a fmall part of the bonnet on the left fide. It seems (from two holes, one under each arm,) to have been fufpended by a firing, and may probably have been worn by the owner. If you favour it with a place in your Magazine, in all probability fome of your correfpondents may difcover what it is meant to reprefent. H. original of which is in the poffeffion of Mr. Maton, of Salisbury. The current account of the place is, that it was found amidst the ruins which the prefent alterations of that cathedral have occafioned; but of this I have my doubts, as it has been fuggeiled to me by pertons of credit, that it was purchated of a traveling Jew. It is not, however, on that account, the lefs curious as an article of antiquity. This feal reprefents the well-known emblem of the Bleted Trinity, under a Gothic canopy; concerning which it is only neceffery to remark, what otherwife might efcape obfervation, that the Holy Ghoft is reprefented in the form of a Dove iffuing from the breaft of the Father, immediately over the head of the Crucifix. In a compartment below is the figure of a Bifhop, intended for St. Thomas the Martyr. The infcription is much obliterated; but, with great attention, I think I can make out the contractions for all the following words, fome of which are very confpicuous: Sigillum Fraternitatis Höfpitalis San&i If I read right, we must fay, that the feal lately difcovered belonged to one of the most antient establishments of this nation now in being, and one of the moft celebrated in our Saxon hiftory. Certain it is, that the eftablishment in queftion is at prefent dedicated to the Holy Trinity and to St. Thomas the Martyr. A few historical gleanings refpecting it may not prove unacceptable. In 727, Ina, King of the Weft Saxons, and Sovereign Paramount of the' Heptarchy, refigned his crown; and, traveling to Rome, there founded (as we learn from Matthew of Weftminfter) what was called the English school, with a church adjoining, dedicated to the Bleed Virgin, for the accommodation of perfons of diftinction, whether ecclefiaftical or fecular, whom an inclination for literature or devotion might lead to that capital of the Chriftian world. Amongst other diftinguished perfonages who refided there was Burhed King of the Mercians, who, dying at Rome, was interred in the aforefaid church, which not being finished at Ina's death, the latter was buried in the veRibule of St. Peter's. This establishment was greatly curarged by King Offa in 794 at which time, lays Matt. Paris, "this fchool, by reafon of the great conflux of ftrangers reforting thither for fub |