facility all the principal fixed stars that may at any time be visible in our hemisphere. But as it was my intention merely to hint to the manufacturer, the useful application of these instruments to the elements of geography and astronomy, I shall not enlarge upon the subject; but leave it to abler heads, and more expert hands, practically to perform what I have here theoretically suggested. Wisbech. WM. SKRIMSHIRE, Jun. For the Monthly Magazine. On the CONDEMNATION and EXECUTION of SIR WALTER RALEIGH. IN deciding upon the conduct of the court of England, in the condemnation and in the death of sir Walter Raleigh, there are two circumstances which particularly merit our regard. The first of these is the verdict of guilt passed against him; the other, the execution of the sentence. That a conspiracy was formed against the sceptre of James, involved and mysterious as are the circumstances attending it, is not to be denied. The character of the persons said to be concerned, seems sufficient to suggest a presumption of their guilt; and the trial and confession of the criminals put the matter beyond a doubt. The enemies of Essex had become the enemies of James; and, certain of the resentment of this prince for their zeal in the death of his mother and of his friend, they had endeavoured to oppose his being proclaimed king till he should have promised to overlook the murder of a queen whose fate the world lamented, and the untimely end of a nobleman whose generosity, genius, and courage, his country had adored. Detestation however of their conduct, or perhaps views of policy and interest, the generally exclusive motives of action in royal breasts, refused an accommodation; and dismissed from their employments sir Walter Raleigh, lord Grey, and lord Cobham. Men of so proud and so fiery tempers, were not likely to bear with the affront; and their restless and ambitious spirits, incapable of being inactive and of living in disgrace, might be thought eapable of forming any plot, or entering upon any enterprize, which would prove detrimental to the power that had frowned upon their crimes, and deprived thein of office. The discontented and innovating spirit of a puritan, as exhi bited in lord Grey, the thoughtless and unprincipled Cobliam, and even the jea lous and vindictive Raleigh, as experien ced in his rivalship with Essex, had afforded precedents to anticipate their fu by the discerning and considerate, that ture conduct and it might be dreaded every thing which opposed their views or their interest, would at once be sacrificed to their rage. But though the fact of the conspiracy be undoubted, and though such be the presumptions which arise against those charged with it, we must not be influenced by these when unattended with proof. Nor even though one or more be found guilty of the crime, are we to pronounce sentence against all. He is not only say that he had once been hostile to to be held as guilty, against whom we can the injured, or that he was the companion of those who had attempted his ruin. In a charge of any kind, and more particularly in that which affects the fortune and the life of any individual, we must confine ourselves case; and every thing which does not to the facts of the bear immediately upon these, we are to account as maliciously presented to us, or to dismiss it from our enquiries as extraneous and unsatisfactory. We may say with truth, that he whom we know to but we should do injustice to our be worthless and depraved is vicious; whom we speak, were we to say that in own integrity, as well as to the person of every thing which was vicious he was engaged, and that for every thing of that kind which happened he was to be punished. There are few who will doubt that Mary was the murderer of her husband; or who do not add to her faults, her being a Roman catholic: but the murder of Darnley was not the conspiracy of Babington. Her devotions in the church of Rome had never disturbed the peace of the English communion; and unless it shall be proved that she was guilty of the conspiracy for which she suffered, the vindication of her death upon former guilt must be reprobated as odious;. and Elizabeth must be held, in having put her band to a warrant of murder, to be guilty of the same crime as the queen she beheaded. These reasonings in point, when ap plied to Raleigh, in whose character we find alternately presented to us spe cimens of greatness, of weakness, and of vice; the first of which sometimes adorned, but oftener, with the others, lessened lessened and disgraced, his name. Attached to his country, he seemed but to live in its defence; and danger, or hardship, or toil, in his ardour for glory, in the gratification of his curiosity, or in the pursuit of knowledge, was, to his heroic and ardent mind, an inducement to acquire the object he desired. But this desire of glory was attended with a ferocious jealousy, which seemed incapable of being assuaged till it had gratified itself with the ruin or with the death of its rival: This curiosity often proceeded from a love of the marvellous, which shews his mind to have been romantic, or concealed under it a desire of wealth or plunder, the favourite object of all his voyages: and his knowledge was debased by a vanity which was mixed with it, and which lost sight of the proper object of all speculation-truth. Ile delighted in whatever was wonderful; and stretched every effort of imagination, to be accounted the discoverer of what was never before heard of. The pride of soul too was often forgot, and with surprise and regret we behold this heroic man counter feiting madness, sickness, and every other thought of disease, to attain the object which he had in view by it. Mixed indeed and reprehensible is the character of the man: but because we are dissatisfied, to charge him with every crime, would be joining ourselves to the vulgar, who pronounce every one who is the object of their indignation, to be guilty of every trespass which occurs. When we charge with a crime, we must establish the guilt; dismissing from our recollection every antecedent act, however criminal, unless it shall bear upon the matter we are to try: and when more than one are concerned, each is to be condemned by his own individual guilt. The sentence which we pronounce, unless supported by such proof, must be held as arbitrary and iniquitous. Now, to apply these principles to the condemnation of sir Walter Raleigh, (which is the first head of this enquiry,) we shall find that there is no proof of his guilt. He had been indeed the companion of the guilty, and was charged by one as accessary to the crime: but this was by one whose character gives it no weight; who in revenge and in passion declared him an accomplice; who detailed no circumstances to prove it; who retracted his charge, and after wards, to quote the words of Hume, retracted his retraction." No other evidence or even charge of guilt appears; which, had it been certain, must have transpired in the declarations of those concerned, or, as above remarked, in other circumstances attending the plot. To comment upon this would only be displaying how little familiar to us are those first and obvious principles of jurisprudence, which a very limited im provement or civilization of society should teach and enforce. The life of every individual is not only dear to himself, but valuable to the society to which he belongs; and if upon the solitary charge of another, uncorroborated by any other testimony, or supported by facts, he is to be condemned, the object of society is vain, since personal security is denied, and it affords the individual no refuge from the caprice or resentment of those who aim at his ruin. In answer, however, to this, and in vindication of the court, we shall perhaps be referred to the species of trial which existed about the time. The iniquity of the star-chamber, and the tyranny of martial law, had so filled the cup, that the present monarch was beginning to taste of the draught which his predecessors had prepared, and which it was des tined that his more unfortunate son should drink to the dregs. But to this must be replied, that in this reign and the preceding, we know of no noted abuse in these odious courts. Essex had a fair and impartial trial, and died sensible of his guilt; and, as far as we know, the same form of trial was granted to Raleigh. Admitting, however, that he was not tried at common law, as was Essex, but that the star-chamber was renewed for his trial, (for it is here only, in that event, we can suppose him to have been tried,) his condemnation is the more odious and unjust. As far as we now understand the nature of this court, it was solely composed of the privy-council and judges; men who, as has been justly remarked, enjoyed their oflice during the pleasure of the king. He, when he chose, might be present, and sit as judge of the cause which was prosecuted in his name; or, if absent, communicate those instructions which they were ready to obey. His situation therefore was the more delicate; and it required the clearer evidence of guilt, to sanction a sentence which otherwise would be imputed to the gratification of his will. In the confusions of the civil wars, as appeared in the contests of York and Lacaster Lancaster, law and justice were forgotten; but this may perhaps be apologised for by the barbarity of the times. In the dissensions too of religious parties, Henry was permitted to establish his will as a law. But after the peaceful and more equitable administration of Elizabeth, when men became enlightened and independent by the rational doctrines of the Reformers, and more refined by the partial but increasing intercourse of commerce, and by an acquaintance with the learning of the ancient republics of Greece and of Rome, no such plea of barbarous precedents should be used; and we should rather see the wisdom and goodness of the monarch uniting to abandon encroachments which the people had not the courage to repel, than behold him re-establish them. So just is the sentiment of Cicero-" Etenim qui ex errore imperita multitudinis pendet, hic in magnis viris non est habendus." : We know of no other plea upon which this verdict may be vindicated, unless we return to the one formerly premised; that of presumptions from the character of sir Walter, from the disgrace he received, and from his being the companion of some of those concerned: all of which are so weak in themselves alone, that they hardly deserve to be taken notice of. That he was capable of entering into such a conspiracy, need not be denied but that he did actually enter into it, must be established, to condemn him to punishment. Araestes is known to be avaricious; but if a robbery be committed upon the treasures of his neighbour, is Araestes necessarily to be punished for the crime? Are there not other means by which he may get money; and ought he not to be presumed to employ less impeachable methods, till evidence of his guilt be shewn? Sir Walter Raleigh was disgraced by James; but was there no other way of retrieving his fortune than by conspiracy and rebellion? An apology for his former faults, a supplication for favour, or a persevering countenance to the prevailing government, would, with the indulgent and forgiving James, have quickly obtained a reconciliation; and would not this have been a safer, and even a surer, road to power and to honour. Sir Walter Raleigh was disgraced in the reign of Elizabeth; and he chose rather to regain her patronage by pretence of sickness on account of her displeasure, and by a steady attachment to her throne, than by the precarious 1 and desperate contrivances for which be is now charged. With regard to his having been the companion of the guilty, little need be said. The maxims of the Roman law are so founded upon natural justice, that they are prevalent in every breast: "Sancimus ibi esse pœnam ubi et noxia est. Propinquos, notos, familiares, procul á calumniâ submovemus, quos reos sceleris societas non facit. Nec enim adfinitas vel amicitia nefarium crimea admittunt. Peccata igitur teneant auctores suos; nec ulteriùs progrediatur metus quàm reperiatur delictum. Hoc singulis quibusque judicibus intimetur." If, however, the extension of punishment to the friends of the guilty can in any way be vindicated, it will only be upon reasons of expediency, when bestowed upon those immediately descended from the criminal; and accordingly we have seen that in every state, the crimes of the father have passed to the child, in a less or a greater degree. This has originated in the affection which relations are known to possess; and it has been thought that any means were sufficiently vindicable, which should pre vent the revenge that a punishment excited. It does not belong to the present question to enter into an examination of the expediency of such maxims; but it is sufficient for this purpose to say, that they are here taken notice of only to shew that there could be no such policy pleaded in extending them to those who had no such near connection. That mankind are often charmed, nay even seduced, from their intentions by generosity and clemency, is a fact which history records to the honour of these virtues; and that vice has been struck by its enormities, and reclaimed to virtue by a magnanimous and gracious treatment, is also a truth which, amidst ali our depravity, bears testimony to an original virtue and dignity in our nature. Men in such a situation are more ready to reflect; and have not the ties of blood to determine them to revenge, or to rupture. Interest too, as well as admiration of the action, recommends a reconciliation, and induces an alliance which is made the stronger from its having been so formed. The prudence of Elizabeth received into her court even those who had persecuted her in the reign of her sister; and to her pardoning she owed much of the peace and glory of her reign. Had this accordingly influ enced the conduct of James to the un happy happy Raleigh; had he magnanimously dismissed him from trial, since he had no other evidence than suspicion of his guilt, nor condemned him to punishment be cause his companions were concerned; it is probable the hero had ever after struggled to make more comfortable to this prince an uneasy throne. That such sentiments of policy were familiar to James in those cases upon which reason would coolly decide, we cannot doubt. They are so obvious, that it must only be a mind blinded with passion, that will not act upon them; or the character Canada balsam one ounce, spirit of turpentine two ounces: mix them toge ther. Before this composition is applied, the drawing or print should be sized with a solution of isinglass in water; and, when dry, apply the varnish with a cainel's-hair brush. Chatham, W. W. March 20, 1810. For the Monthly Magazine. WALKS in BERKSHIRE.-No. III. (Continued from page 216.) HE village of Wargrave is not al must be strikingly abandoned, whore, T together unknown to fame," if by when applied, they will not reform. But be that as it may, the sentiments of James when speaking of the injustice of an opposite practice, leave him no excuse for the verdict against Raleigh; and shew the emptiness of moral theory, however noble, when our actions flow from the passions which we possess. In his speech to the parliament which assembled immediately after the discovery of the gunpowder-plot, he delivers himself thus: "That though religion had engaged the conspirators in so criminal an attempt, yet we ought not to involve all the Roman catholics in the same guilt, or suppose them equally disposed to commit such enormous barbarities. Many holy men have concurred with that church in her doctrines, who never thought of dethroning kings, or of sanctifying as sassination. The wrath of heaven is denounced against crimes, but innocent error may obtain its favour; and nothing can be more hateful than the uncharitable ness of the puritans, who condemn alike to eternal punishments even the most inoffensive proselytes to popery." For his own part, be adds, "that conspiracy, how ever atrocious, should never alter in the least his plan of government: while with one hand he punished guilt, with the other he would still support and protect innocence." To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, SIR, N the Magazine for last month, your some of your readers will inform him of the best method of preparing the composition which is now used for varnishing coloured drawings and prints, so as to make then resemble paintings in oil. I do not pretend to assert that the following is the best method of preparing a composition for that purpose; but I have used it, and found it answer. Take of MONTHLY MAG. No. 198. that character may be justly expressed the species of celebrity acquired by the cir cumstance of having afforded a residence to the late lord Barrymore. The house in which that gay nobleman lived is not large; but it is seated on a most attrac tive spot, and presents an object of considerable interest when viewed from the winding shores of the Thames. The gar dens extend in a gentle slope to the water-side; and various spreading trees, and tufts of shrubs, form shady recesses, doubly inviting from the contiguity of the broad and deep stream of the great English river. Here, with rank, affluence, and health, the three great objects of human aspiration, it would appear that a man might be "the happiest of his kind," if the correctness of taste allowed him to derive his enjoyments from domestic intercourse, a lettered ease, and the exercise of philanthropy. But, according to the punning assertion of a comic writer, (who, as a punster, should certainly be interdicted from writing any thing but farces) "men will sometimes prove giddy in a world that is always turning round;" and it was the affliction of the nobleman on whom Fortune, in one of her brightest moods, bestowed this choice spot as a residence, to experience a vertigo that destroyed his relish for all those fine arts which sooth and dignify existence; unless boxing, horse-racing, and back-sword play ing, must be so entitled. I crave mercy of his memory! he built a play-house in nobleman who descended to "the tomb of those whose honours gilded his dawn," at so early a period of life, that there appeared quite sufficient time for alteration; were it not necessary to remark the baneful effect of such an example on the manners of a rural neighbourhood. All that simplicity of feeling and deportment, so much praised by the poets, and which, in a limited degree, does really exist in the generality of English villages, inevitably fell before the influence of the low and dissipated herds who conduced to his lordship's amusement. Time may wear out the most prejudicial impressions; yet it seems probable that the residence of lord B. in this hamlet will operate on the posterity of the peasants a century hence; and that a lesson in boxing, or a "genteel" way of shaking a dice-box, will pass, in lieu of a family recipe, down to the great-grandchildren of those who were witnesses of the revelry which once prevailed. The manor of Wargrave formed a part of the valuables possessed by queen Emma, mother of Edward the Confessor; and by this lady it was presented to the see of Winchester. It is a singular proof of the tenacity with which the unlettered preserve oral information, that a dwell ing, supposed to be built on the site of that ancient manor-house which was once oecasionally visited by the queen, is still called Queen Emma's House; and the neighbours talk of their former illustrious lady of the manor, with as much ready familiarity, as if she had dwelt in the great house of the village not more than a century back. A second legend describes a house in the village as having belonged to John of Gaunt (Ghent), duke of Lancaster. But here the more sober details of those who write the chronicles of towns and villages, do not corroborate the testimony of our traditionary historians. I cannot discover that the "time-honoured Lancaster," as Shakspeare terms this turbulent and imperious son of the third Edward, ever stood possessed of an estate in Berkshire. Yet it is certain that, in the year 1359, he was married at Reading, to Eranche, the younger daughter of Henry Plantagenet. Nearly all tra ditional report, however vague and desultory it may appear, has a connexion with fact. Perhaps the newly-married couple visited Wargrave, during the festivities which succeeded their nuptials; and we may readily apprehend, that the mansion honoured with their presence, became known to the neigh. bouring country-people by the appellation of "John of Gaunt's House.' Historical circumstances of a much more important description, have experienced greater misrepresentation, in the course of their descent through the generations of the prejudiced or illiterate. Like many other places of little consequence, Wargrave possessed a weekly market during those early periods at which the wants of the people were few, and the means of communication more difficult than at present. A Roman coin was found near Wargrave, some few years back; but this is the only indication of the Romans having visited the spot. They had a military station at White Waltham, which is not more than five miles distant; and the coin was probably dropped by some careless straggler, whose curiosity induced him to cross the soft and pleasing expanse of green-sward that lies between the two villages.* The church contains a monument to the memory of Mr. Day, the author of Sandford and Merton, who lost his life by a fall from his horse in the neighbourhood. Perhaps it may not be impertinent to copy the epitaph inscribed on the monument of so good a man and so respectable a writer, when it is observed that the lines were produced by himself in honour of a deceased friend, and were selected as a funeral tribute by his widow, under the persuasion of their justly expressing his talents and virtues: "Beyond the reach of time or fortune's gave Were centred in a dark untimely grave. And catch each glimmering of the opening Oh friend to truth, to virtue, to mankind! Secure to feel no second loss like thine." If the pedestrian follow the track of the chief road through Wargrave, he will leave to the left Bear Hill, (from the I was not able to procure a description of this coin from Mr. Taylor, the liberal and intelligent medical practitioner at Wargrave, who obliged me by mentioning the circumstance of a coin having been discovered. top |