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EDINBURGH MAGAZINE,

OR

LITERARY MISCELLANY,

FOR APRIL 1796;

With a View of STONEBYRES on the River Clyde.

CONTENTS:

Page

Regifter of the Weather for April,244 Books and Pamphlets published

Defcription of the View, Account of Sir Wm. Chalmers,

245

ib.

of Jas.Macpherfon, Efq, 247 of a Dutch Drum,

Trial of John and Arthur O'Neils," for Murder, (concluded,) Origin of the Fictions concerning the Land of Dorado, Popular Poetry of the Efthonians 257 Italian Method of reckoning the Hours,

in March 1796,

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Pago

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The Twin-Brothers of Mezzora nia, a Tale,

POETRY.

Elegy to the Memory of Mifs Dick,

249

251

303.

255

Trip to Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight in 1782,

305

To the Qurang Outang,

306

265

To the Moon,

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Parts of Women played by Men at the Theatre of Rome, Manners and Customs of the People in and about Naples, Hitory of Jews in England, Account of the New Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of fome other recent National Inftitutions in France, for the promotion of Knowledge, Minutes of Agriculture, from the Reports of the Agricultural

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272

On the Death of the Rev. Dr

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On reading an Epigram, intended to afperfe a great Law Character,

A Glee,-fung at the Gr. Lodge

of Free-mafons, at Somerfet House, .

- 309

ib.

274

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Board,

Brecknockshire,

Huntingdonshire,

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London Gazettes,

- 316

Affairs in Scotland,

320

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320

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The Bird-Catcher and Canary:

an affecting Anecdote,

Albert and Emma: an intereft

Re ofpective View of the Drama,296

ing History,

Drury-Lane,

Covent Garden,

Opera,

Hh

STATE

State of the BAROMETER in inches and decimals, and of Farenheit's THER MOMETER in the open air, taken in the morning before fun-rife, and at noon; and the quantity of rain-water fallen, in inches and decimals, from April 1ft to 30th, within one mile of the Castle of Edinburgh.

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THE

EDINBURGH MAGAZINE,

OR

LITERARY MISCELLANY,

FOR APRIL 1796.

STONE

DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEW.

TONEBYRES, the feat of the ancient family of Vere, is fituate on the fouth bank of the river Clyde, about two miles weft of the town of Lanark. The most ancient, and, at the fame time, the greate it part of the structure, is of the form of a parallelogram, running east and west, and, like most of the old feats of the barons erected in feudal times, flanked with turrets and otherways fortified, more for the purposes of defence than convenience.

From two dates upon the front of the house, it appears the building was begun in 1586, and finished in 1589; the wing, however, which projects from the main body of the ftructure, from its appearance and ar'chitecture, seems of a much more recent date.

The walls of the old houfe are of an astonishing thickness, measuring 9 feet, and fo continue, with a very fmall diminution, to the top of the edifice, five ftories from the bafe.

ment line.

The roof confifts of two angles, equally capable of durability with the walls, being of folid oak, covered with flate and lead.

From this fituation, on a fine day you have a moft delightful profpect, the whole of that beautiful country between Lanark and Hamilton lying extended below you as on a map. The Clyde, at one place, foaming over rugged rocks, exhibits to view the Lins of Stonebyres; at another place meandring through a delightful carfe ftudded with princely feats, and more towards the weft the ftately fpires of Glafgow prefent themfelves to view; ftill farther, and in the extreme diftance, the hills of Campfie, and cloud-capt Ben Lomond, terminate the profpect.

Upon this eftate of Stonebyres there is one of the most valuable woods in the fouth of Scotland, extending about two miles upon the new Clydesdale road, and yielding annually L. 100 to the proprietor.

SOME ACCOUNT OF SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS.

TH
HIS Gentleman was by birth
a Swede. It has been faid,
that he was defcended of the ancient
family of Chalmers in Scotland, Ba-

JD.

rons of Tartas in France, and that his father was a merchant, who fuffered much by fupplying Charles XII. with money and goods during

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his wars, for which he received only the bafe copper coin of that Monarch, ftruck for the purpofe in his emergencies, and, like the French affignats, afterwards depreciated; by which means the holder was involved incruin.

At the age of two years Sir William was brought over to England, and at a proper time placed at Rippon fchool in Yorkshire, where, it is believed, he continued until he was appointed chief Supercargo of the Swedifh fhips to China. In this fituation he did not remain long, probably not more than one voyage. On quit ting this employment he determined to follow the bent of his genius, which led him to Defign and Architecture.

His first refidence in London was in Poland Street, but, not as has been afferted, in the bufinefs of a Carpenter. He at an early period display. ed the talents he poffeffed, and foon was confidered as one of the beft Draftsfmen in Europe. His abili ties introduced him to the know. ledge of Lord Bute, by whofe interest he was appointed Drawing mafter to his Majesty, then Prince of Wales.

His first work of confequence was Lord Beborough's Villa at Rochampton, which, from his conduct in that buffefs, procured him many other buildings. He gave in his plan to Lord Befborough with an eftimate as an architect; but on that nobleman's applying to him to know whether he would build it himfelf for the money mentioned in the eftimate, he confented to undertake it.

It was accordingly finished, and both parties, the employer and the builder, were fatisfied with their bargains, and each with the other.

The intercourfe which Sir William had obtained with his Majefty foon after his Sovereign's acceffion to the crown, procured for him the

laying out and improving of the Gara dens at Kew, which, from the nature of the ground, he was obliged to ornantent in the Chinese taste. In 1763 he published "Plans, Elevations, Sections, and Perspective Views, of the Gardens and Buildings at Kew in Surry, the Seat of Her Royal Highnefs the Princess Dowager of Wales;" a magnificent work, in which the Architectural defigns were drawn by our Author, the Views by Meffrs Kirby, Tho. Sandby, and Marlow; and the Engravings by Paul Sandby, Woollett, Major, Grignion, and Rooker. In this work, Sir William affigns the reason of his adopting the Chinese ftyle in this inftance. "The gardens of Kew," fays he, are not very large, nor is their fituation by any means advantageous; as it is low, and commands no profpects. Originally the ground was one continued dead flat : the foil was in general barren, and without either wood or water. With fo many disadvantages, it was not eafy to produce any thing even tolerable in gardening: but princely munificence and an able director, have overcome all difficulties, and converted what was once a defert into an Eden." The difficulty of ornamenting fuch a fituation few perfons will deny; but as few will be inclined to defire the introduction of such Exotics in places where Nature has been more bountiful.

66

In the year 1771 our Architect was announced in the catalogue of the Royal Academy as Knight of the Polar Star, and the next year he published the work which has afforded much entertainment from itself, but more from the admirable piece fuppofed to be the production of Mr Mason, entitled "An Hercic Epif tle." Sir William Chambers's work was entitled "A Differtation on Oriental Gardening," 4to, which, in the preface, he fays, was collected from his own observations in China,

from

from converfations with their Artifts, and remarks tranfmitted to him at different times by travellers. A ketch of it had been published fome years before; but the performance itlelf appearing immediately after Mr Mafon's English Garden, it was invidiously fuggefted, that the intention of our Author was to depreciate English Gardeners, in order to divert his Royal Master from his plan of improving the Gardens at Rich mond as they are to be feen at this time. The horrible and ftrange devices defcribed to exift in the Chinefe gardens have been much ridiculed, but are no more than had been before published by Father Attiret, in his account of the Emperor of China's gardens near Pekin, tranflated by Mr Spence under the name of Sir Harry Beaumont in 1753, and fince republished in Dodley's Fugitive Pieces.

Sir William Chambers's next work was on Civil Architecture; and in 1775, on the building of Somerfet Houfe, he was appointed to conduct that great national work. He was allo Comptroller General to the works of the King, Archite&t to the Queen and the Princefs Dowager, Treasurer to the Royal Academy, Member of the Royal Academy of Arts at Florence, and of the Royal Academy of Architecture at Paris.

After a long illness he died, at a very advanced age, the 8th of March 1796, leaving a fou, married to Mil Rodney, and three daughters, the wives of Mr Cotton, Mr Innes, and Mr Harward, with a confiderable for tune, acquired honourably, and enjoyed with hofpitality bordering on magnificence; and, what is ftill better, quitting life with the regret and concern of all thofe with whom he had been connected; efteemed, loved, and lamented, by all with whom he had any intercourfe either as au artist or as a man.

In

On the 18th of March his remains were interred in the Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey, being attended by his fon, his fons-in-law, his executors, the Dean of Lincoln, Minif ter of the Parish, Mr Penneck of the Mufeum, and a few other friends, the Prefident, Officers, and Council of the Royal Academy, and the Clerks of the Board of Works. the Abbey they were joined by the Mafter-workmen belonging to the Board of Works, who attended unfolicited, to teftify their regret for the lofs, and their efteem for the memory of a man, by whom their claims had ever been examined with attention, and decided with juftice, and by whom themfelves were always treated with mildnefs, courtefy, and affability.

AN ACCOUNT OF JAMES MACPHERSON, ESQ. ' HIS Gentleman was defcended came fo confpicuous, that his rela

THIS was de ancient tions, contrary to their original inten

families in the North of Scotland, being Coufin German to the Chief of the clan of the Macpherfons, who deduce their origin from the ancient Catti of Germany. He was born at Ruthven in the county of Inverness, in the latter end of the year 1738, and received the first rudiments of his education at home, from whence he was fent to the Grammar School of Inverness, where his genius be

tion, determined to breed him to a learned profeffion. With this view, he was fent fucceffively to the Uni verfities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, in the last of which he finished his ftudies.

While at the University, he exer cifed his poetical talents, which, however, were not (if a few passages of Offian are excepted) of the first order. In the year 1758, he

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