As it is, we must content ourselves with the proofs that the arts in those ages had a domicile at Bath. The remains of the Portico of the Temple of Minerva are sufficient to shew that there were those who could design and execute according to the chastest models of Grecian art. Some of our inscribed marbles are cut with peculiar delicacy and beauty. The bronze head + which is among the ornaments of the Guildhall, part of a statue, the remainder of which one day may be discovered, is the work of no ordinary hand. It may be questioned, indeed, whether it were the performance of any resident artist. But that it was so is rendered probable by the discovery that the processes of metallurgy must have been carried on in this place to a considerable extent, because that here was a manufactory of the instruments used by the Romans in war. Hence it is inferred that here were the furnaces necessary for the casting of the bronze in question, and some of the skill which such a work required in those who had to shape the ensigns, or to form the devices on the shields, of the Roman warriors. With attention to the Arts a literary spirit is generally united. But the dawn of the Literature of Eugland is to be fixed at a period after the retreat of the Romans from Britain, and when the anarchy which prevailed during the fifth and sixth centuries had given place to settled and regular governments. Before Eugland acknowledged only one sovereign, it had begun to have its national literature. Alcuin and Bede were writers, of whom no age need to be ashamed. A little before their time lived GILDAS, a man inferior to them indeed, but who is regarded as the father of English History, having composed, in his monastery at Bangor, an account of the wars of the sixth century, with a long and tedious lamentation over the sufferings of his country. This was the first attempt at historical composition amongst us. It is here that we read of Arthur, and the great battle of the Mons Badonicus. These continue to this day to attract to Bath the attention of every critical enquirer into our early history. With the name of Gildas has descended the addition of Badoni kings of Wessex and Mercia, there arose an extensive and richly-endowed Monastery, within whose precincts we are at this moment assembled. In the tenth century its constitution was reformed by ELFEGE, a native of this district, for he was born at the little village of Weston under Lansdown. In the earlier part of his life he lived at Glastonbury and Bath. Here he presided over the monastery, the rule of which he had reformed. From hence he was called to preside over the See of Canterbury. The history of his life is the subject of a particular memoir by one of his contemporaries. He appears to have possessed some great and good qualities. He perished at last by the hands of the Danes. The Monasteries were, in those ages, almost the only seats of learning and science. We are not qualified to judge how far the institution of Elfege went to form the mere devotee, or the far nobler character of the religious man who endeavours to gain knowledge for himself, and to impart it willingly to others. But soon after the Conquest another change took place in the constitution of the Monastery, which was highly favourable to the introduction of the light of literature and science among us. To one member of its body, soon to be mentioned, Western Science has, perhaps, greater obligations than to any individual from the fall to the revival of learning: and from this time to the Dissolution there appears never to have been wanting those who upheld the united lights of literature and science in the midst of the population of this city. And here I wish that we could recall the spirit of JOHN CHANDLER, who was Warden of New College in Oxford, and Archdeacon of Wells, in the reign of King Edward IV.: or that we could recover a work of his which existed in the time of Leland, "De laudibus Baiarum et Fonticulorum Civitatum." How much of the writings of the schoolmen would we give for this curious aud interesting tract. How agreeable a picture it in all probability presented of the state of the sister cities, at a period of which we have so few memorials: not inferior perhaps in true and lively colouring to the description of London a few centuries earlier by Stephanides. How many of the more distinguished inhabitants of the Monastery of Bath may it have recorded: for Chandler was one who delighted to employ himself in maintaining the memory of the wise and good. But since his spirit will not come, even though we invoke it, to these which were once his favourite haunts, and since his work is lost, it is to be feared irrecoverably, we must be content with such imperfect hints as are to be collected from other quarters. The change in the character of the inmates of this monastery was produced by that remarkable person called sometimes JOHN DE VILLULA, and sometimes Joannes : Turonensis, from Tours the place of his birth. This person came to England in the train of the Conqueror, and seated himself at Bath, for the purpose of practising the healing art. William of Malmesbury, who has written his life, speaks of him as being medicus probatus usu non literis. But he also speaks of him as a great encourager of literature, as possessed of great skill in his art, and as surpassing all the physicians of his age in profit and honour. He purchased the antient royal farm of the city and such was his influence, he prevailed with the King to consent that the seat of the Bishoprick of Somersetshire should be removed from Wells to Bath, and that he himself should be made the Bishop. The Church of the Monastery then became the Cathedral of the diocese. He presided over the See with great dignity for four and thirty years. At his death in 1122 he was buried in the Church of the monastery, where his tomb was still to be seen in the time of Leland. It was then however going fast to decay. Weeds were springing about it, and the Church was unroofed. It was the old Church built by himself, superseded by the present fabrick. The reigns of Rufus and Henry 1. form a brilliant era in the history of Bath. Malmesbury expressly informs us that Villula collected about him a society of religious who were eminently distinguished for their learning. Amongst them was ADELARD, a name which deserves to be held in everlasting ho nour. It is well known that while learning and science were nearly extinct in Europe, they were cultivated under the Caliphs to a great extent, and with much success. Adelard having acquired what could be learned at home, visited Egypt and Arabia. He made himself master of the language of Arabia, and possessed himself of much of the science of that country. He brought from it treatises in natural philosophy; and is, in fact, the link which connects western science with that of the east. But he brought home a more precious volume than any of the writings of the Arabian philosophers. This was the Elements of Euclid, not in its original form, but in an Arabic translation, of which Adelard made a Latin version, which continued to be used all over Europe till, some centuries after, the Greek original was discovered. This was a service such as few are able to render for science; and who shall attempt to calculate how much is on this account due from all who love science, and venerate those who advance it, to this Athelardus Bathoniensis, who must a thousand times have crossed the very ground on which in these latter days we have raised this Temple to Science. But beside having made himself master of Arabian science, and in some measure of the science of a still more enlightened people, he appears to have been himself an enquirer into nature, and an original discoverer. His writings are probably known to very few, as they are to me, but by their titles. He wrote on the Abacus and the Astrolabe, which were the first attempt, at making the skill of the mechanic minister to the views of the philosopher: on the causes of Natural Compositions, in which it may be supposed that some of the principles of chemical affinities are to be found: and Seventy-Six Problems in Natural Philosophy, which Leland, no incompetent judge, pronounces to be highly valuable. An account of his travels was once to be read in a manuscript preserved in the library of Corpus Christi College in Oxford. Who but must join with Dr. Wallis in the sincere regret which he expresses in the preface to his Algebra, that some wicked hand has torn away the precious leaves ? In the next century there was one REGINALD OF BATH, a a physician, who may be presumed to have been eminent, as he was sent by King Henry III. to attend a Queen of Scotland at Edinburgh. Contemporary with him was HENRY OF BATH, a lawyer, who is described by Pitz as legum terræ peritissimus. And to about the same period is to be referred a WILLIAM OF BATH, a divine, some of whose homilies were collected, and the volume was still in existence in the time of Leland. The inhabitants of the Monastery of Bath had the benefit of a library which was richly stored with works relating to the science of the middle ages. John de Villula was a great benefactor to it. This library excited the admiration of Leland, who was acquainted with all the great libraries in the kingdom. There were books in it, which must have been precious volumes, the gift of King Athelstan. There were translations from the Arabic, perhaps the work of Adelard himself. There were poems of the middle ages; the Roman Classics; and the writings of the more eminent physicians. There has been a time at Bath, when men conspired to abolish the memory of the things that had been. One book remains. It is known as the RED-BOOK OF BATH, and is now deposited in the library of that noble family who derive their principal title of honour from this place. It relates to the possessions of the Abbey. The Dissolution of the Monasteries forms a grand epoch in the political, the religious, and the literary history of our country. From that event, rather than from the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. I should be disposed to date what is called our modern history. It will be found that here has been a succession of persons in the various depart ments of our literature,-in Natural Philosophy, in Morals, in History, in Criticism, and Poetry, some of whom may with truth be said to have been of the first order of minds, and many of them eminent, and worthy of a lasting remembrance. Early in the seventeenth century, the names of JONES, and VENNER, and JORDEN, and JOHNSON, and PIERCE, all resident physicians of Bath, who, with others, attempted to clear away the mystery which hangs over our springs, and by their writings to advance our botanical knowledge, or our medical science. There was also a Dr. MAYOW, who communicated to the world the result of his chemical researches in a treatise upon nitrous salts: and Dr. GUIDOT, a man of various learning, who lived in close correspondence with the most eminent physicians, naturalists, aud philosophers of his age, and who himself contributed to the advancement of science and philosophy. That all or any of them were great original discoverers can hardly be maintained: but they were men who fully came up to the standard of philosophical knowledge in their own age, who maintained in their day the reputation of Bath for science, and who prepared the way for their more able suc cessors. At the beginning of the next century were CHEYNE and the elder OLIVER, both Fellows of the Royal Society, and both contributing by their writings to the advancement of knowledge in the profession to practice of which they were devoted. A second OLIVER succeeded, not inferior to the first; and during the whole of that century, among the medical practitioners of Bath were many, who, through different channels, communicated to the public curious results of their professional enquiries, increasing in a greater or less degree the medical information of the country, and supporting through that century the reputation of our city for medical science; till at the close of it we arrive at the names of FALCONER and PARRY, who will, probably, be allowed to have surpassed all their predecessors as well in medical science as in polite and elegant literature. The name of Sir WILLIAM WATSON becomes honourably connected with the science of the country, and through him Bath with that science, by another tie. In the band of musicians who once performed at our evening Concerts was a young German who possessed considerable skill in his own art, but who was observed often to leave the room, and employ himself during the interval of his performances in the study of the heavens. This excited the curiosity of Sir William Watson, who soon discovered that he was no ordinary character, and who from that moment extended his patronage to him, assisting him in his studies, and introducing him to the acquaintance of other persons engaged in the same pursuit. need not add that this was HERSCHEL, who continued to reside for many years at Bath, till, I believe, through means of his first patron, he was introduced to his late Ma I jesty, and placed in a situation more favourable for the prosecution of those observations which finally produced such splendid results. While still a resident of Bath, many of his most important observations were made. Here, it is said, he obtained the first glimpse of the planet which bears his name; and here he constructed his first telescope, having been led to consider the structure of that instrument, by having accidentally broken one of the lenses of an old telescope which he had borrowed in this city. In the department of BOTANY, our old physician Dr. JOHNSON is to be remembered, as having published the Herbal of Gerard, which long continued to be the most popular and most complete work in that department of natural history. In later and better times the work of Mr. SOLE on the plants belonging to the genus Mentha is supposed to have exhausted his subject. But the name of STACKHOUSE stands eminent among the cultivators of this attractive branch of natural history, the translator of Theophrastus, and the able delineator of the Fuci and other marine plants found upon our shores, in the work to which he gave the appropriate and classical title of Nereis Britannica. (To be concluded in our next.) POLAR EXPEdition. On Sunday the 25th of March, the Hecla, under the command of Captain Parry, left her moorings at Deptford, towed by the Lightning steamer, to proceed on her intended expedition to the North Pole, noticed in vol. xcvi. ii. 61. From Sheerness she was towed by the Comet steam-vessel, which was to accompany her as far as Orfordness. The navigators were not to stop at the Orkneys, as in previous voyages, but proceed to Hammerfest in Norway, where some rein-deer will be provided for them, to assist in drawing the boats on the ice when they are used as sledges. Upon the arrival of the Hecla at Spitzbergen, after securing her firmly in as good a situation as can be found, she will be left in charge of a lieutenant. The two expeditions, into which the rest of the officers and crew are to be divided (after leaving a few hands with the vessel) will then start on their adventurous routes. The first, which is to proceed direct for the North Pole, is to consist of two parties of ten men each and two officers, in two boats, which may be used on the ice with wheels, or as sledges. The provisions consist of fine biscuit powdered, and meat preserved in a peculiar manner. For fuel there is highly rectified spirits of wine, one pint of which will make four gallons of water from ice (by an ingenious apparatus), and at the same time boil the water into soup. They will take provisions for ninety days, the time they expect to be absent; but will be able to subsist upon the stock for 110 ad 120 days, should difficulties arise to detaiu them so long. The second division is under Lieutenant Foster, R. N. an officer of great scientific attainments, and who acted as astronomer in the last expedition with Captain Parry: it is his intention, if possible, to sail round Spitzbergen. It having been correctly ascertained to be au island, he will correctly lay down the exact portions of the different bearings, and make many astronomical observations and experiments on magnetism-the Board of Longitude having furnished the expedition with many excellent and curious instruments for those purposes. The perils incident to this undertaking are probably magnified beyond reality; for the voyage itself by sea, as far as Spitzbergen, is not subject to any extraordinary degree of danger; and the impervious barrier which the insurmountable accumulations of icebergs and fixed masses, as well as avalanches of snow, present farther to the northward, will probably soon compel the adventurers to retrace their steps. FOSSIL REMAINS. In the summer of 1826, as some workmen were quarrying stones in Uphill Hill, Somerset, they crossed a fissure containing a quantity of bones. In the course of further search were discovered bones of the elephant, rhinoceros, ox, horse, bear, hog, hyæna, fox, polecat, water-rat, mouse, and birds. Nearly all the bones of the larger species were so gnawed and splintered, and evidently of such ancient fracture, that little doubt can exist that it was a hyæna's den, similar to Kirkdale, and Kent's Hole. The bones and teeth of the extinct species of hyæna were very abundant. The more antient bones were found in the upper region of the fissure, firmly imbedded; further down, in a wet loam, there was an innumerable quantity of birds' bones only, principally of the gull tribe. These Professor Buckland supposes to have been introduced by foxes. The Cavern extends about 40 feet from North to South, varying from 14 to 6 feet, from East to West. At its entrance the floor was found covered with sheep-bones, and on digging into the mud and sand of which it consisted, several bones of the cuttie fish were found, and the pelvis and a few bones of the fox. The fissure is vertical, about 50 feet deep from the surface to the mouth of the cave, and is situated at the western extremity of Mendip, in a bold mural front of limestone strata. The greater part of the bones have been presented to the Bristol Institution; Mr. Buckland has a few specimens, and the Geological Society in London a few more. THE REV. T. WILLIAMS'S LIBRARY. A Latin MS. of the Gospels in this splendid collection was sold April 11. It is the one that was presented by the Countess Matilda of Tuscany (the great patroness of the church in the eleventh century), to the celebrated monastery of St. Benedict de Padolirone, near Modena. It appears, by a MS. note of Recanati on the margin, to have been written previous to the year 1097. One of its most distinguishing features is, the spirited designs at the beginning and end of the text of the scriptures, which are highly interesting specimens of early art. The subjects treated, are Joseph's Dream, the Wise Men's Offering, the Flight into Egypt, and various other passages in the Life of Our Saviour. This valuable Codex, which Mr. Dibdin says is the finest in existence, is in folio, written upon vellum. It was put up at fifty guineas, and, after much competition, was knocked down at 172. to Ir. Singer, the librarian to the Royal Institution, who was understood to have purchased it for Sir Thomas Phillips. The Duke of Sussex, we believe, was very desirous of possessing this MS., and Mr. Pettigrew bid for it very spiritedly up to 1711. Evangelia Quatuor, a fine Greek MS. upon vellum, bearing the date of the tenth century, and apparently copied from an earlier MS., was sold for 52l. 10s. SALE OF THE CELEBRATED BREVIARIUM ROMANUM, PRESENTED TO ISABELLA, QUEEN OF SPAIN. The celebrated Missal which was presented by Francisco de Roias to Isabella, Queen of Spain, wife of King Ferdinand, and the munificent patroness of Columbus, was lately brought to the hammer, by Mr. Evans, of Pall Mall, and knocked down to Mr. Hurd, of the Temple, at 360 guineas. This was one of the most interesting and important articles in the very splendid library of the late John Dent, Esq. F.R.S. and F.S.A., which was on sale by Mr. Evans. It was purchased by Mr. Dent at 300 guineas. In introducing this splendid work to the notice of the company, Mr. Evans passed upon it an elegant eulogiam. This magnificent MS, upon vellum, is illuminated by Flemish painters, in Spain, about the close of the 15th century, containing 523 leaves, interspersed with a variety of beautiful miniature paintings. The portraits of De Roais and the Queen of Spain are introduced in the miniatures. De Roais is supposed to have been of the noble family of Roccas; the name being written indifferently Roias, Rojas, and Roccas, in Spain. The Rev. Dr. Dibdin has given, in his Bibliographical Decameron, an elaborate and admirable description of this splendid Breviary, which contains some specimens of art of a higher character than are to be found even in the beautiful Bedford Missal. ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCHES. SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. March 22. Henry Hallam, esq. F. R. S. V. P. in the Chair. The report of the Auditors appointed to examine the Society's accounts, was read by Dr. Meyrick; from which it appeared that the balance of the last accounts, and the receipts for the past year, together amounted to 28501.; and that the disbursements during the same period had been 20931. leaving a balance now in the Treasurer's hands of 7571. A Letter was read, addressed to Mr. Ellis by S. R. Meyrick, LL.D. F.S.A.; containing a minute description of some legends of saints and devices, engraved on a suit of steel armour for man and horse, in the horse armoury in the Tower, the armour and arms in which Dr. Meyrick is re-arranging, by the direction of the Master-general and the Hon. Board of Ordnance. The engravings on this suit, which has always been stated to have belonged to Henry VII. were concealed by a coat of black paint, which after his discovery of them, Dr. M. caused to be removed. They evince the suit to have been really made for Henry VIII. on his marriage to Catherine of Arragon. The legends engraved on this suit of armour are various portions of the life of St. George, the tutelar military saint of England; of that of St. Agatha, &c. &c.; and the devices comprise the Basilisk, the Dragon of Cadwallader, and many others. Tracings of the whole, on fifteen sheets, made by Mr. Lovell, accompanied the paper, and were exhibited to the Society. March 29. The President in the Chair. A paper by Mr. Blore was read, descriptive of the specimen of ancient art recently discovered by him in Westminster Abbey, and noticed in our last number, P. 251. The reading of Dr. Meyrick's notices of military writers concerning Hand Fire-arms was also continued. April 5. Thomas Amyot, esq. F.R.S. Treasurer S. A. in the Chair. The reading of Dr. Meyrick's paper was further continued. The weapons described in this portion of Dr. M.'s interesting communication, were the following: the Petronel or Poitrinall, so called from its being applied to the breast when fixed, and distinguished from the Long Dag only by its width at the but; the Blunderbuss, invented in Germany; the Hand-mortar, for throwing grenades; the Dragon, a piece shorter than the Carbine, and carrying a musketball, from which the troops who carried it were successively termed Dragonniers and Dragoons; the Dag, of which there were three kinds, the long, the short, and the pocket; and the Pistol, invented in the time of Henry VIII. The ensuing weeks being those of Passion and Easter, the Society then adjourned to the 23d of April, when the Anniversary Meeting for the election of officers, &c. took place. EGYPTIAN MUMMY. The operation of opening an Egyptian mummy was lately performed in the gallery of Egyptian Antiquities at Paris; and her Royal Highness the Dauphiness, together with a number of scientific persons, attended to witness the process. The linen bands encircling the body from head to foot being unrolled, the mummy was found to be in wonderful preservation. The nails on the hands were remarkably long; the hair was quite perfect, and had preserved its flaxen colour untarnished; eyes of enamel had been substituted for the original, a singularity which has been observed only once before. The most curious circumstance, however, was the discovery of two papyrus manuscripts, one rolled round the head, the other round the breast; they were in such preservation as to allow of being deciphered, by M. Champollion, jun.; the body by this means was found to be that of Tete Muthis, daughter to the keeper of the Temple of Isis, at Thebes; different marks and orna ments also denoted she had been one of high consideration among the Egyptians. It is supposed that the mummy cannot be less than 3000 years old, notwithstanding which the skin has preserved in a great measure its elasticity, and even its humidity in some parts. An attentive perusal of the manuscripts will no doubt bring to light some curious facts. The operation was managed by Doctors Delatre and de Ver neuil. ANCIENT BURIAL PLACE, CARLSRUHE. Very remarkable antique graves, 137 in number, have been discovered on the mountain Schonberg, near Freiberg, on the Brisgau. Skulls, ornaments, daggers, spears, swords, &c. of very ancient appearance, have been found in them. The arrows and spears are of iron, the swords half iron, half steel, the daggers of the finest steel, which resists the file. The most remarkable, however, is the coloured glass, which is frequently set in silver, especially a sky blue, such as, perhaps, was never before seen. There are also red and purple beads, and large pieces of amber. All the graves are turned towards the East. It is estimated that these burying grounds contain 500 tombs formed of large flat stones. An account of these curiosities, with lithographic plates, will be published by Mr. Schneiber of Freiburg. |