crown-piece laid under their plates at dinner. In a curious manuseript, lettered on the back Publick Revenue, Anno Quinto regni Edwardi Sexti,' I find 'Rewards given on New Year's Day, that is to say, to the King's officers and servants of ordinary, 1557. 5s. and to their servants that present the King's Matie with New Year's Gifts.' The custom, however, is, in part, of a date considerably older than the time of Edward the Sixth. Henry the Third, according to Matt. Paris, appears to have extorted New Year's Gifts from his subjects." See Matt. Paris, an. 1249, p. 757, ed. Watts, fol. 1641. "It appears from a curious MS. in the British Museum, of the date of 1560, that the boys of Eton school used on the day of the Circumcision, at that time, to play for little New Year's Gifts before and after supper: and that the boys had a custom that day, for good luck's sake, of making verses, and sending them to the Provost, Masters, &c. as also of presenting them to each other. The very ingenious Buchanan presented to the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, one of the above poetical kind of New Year's Gifts. History is silent concerning the manner in which her Majesty received it. Ad Mariam Scotia Reginam.* Do quod adest: opto quod abest tibi, dona darentur Aurea, sors animo si foret æqua meo. Hoe leve si credis, paribus me ulciscere donis: [adest." Et quod abest opta tu mihi: da quod The following pithy observations are taken from a rare tract, intituled "Vox Graculi," 1623, 4to. "This month drink you no wine commixt with dregs; [legs. Eate capons, and fat hens,with dumpling "The first day of January being raw, colde, and comfortlesse to such as have lost their money at dice at one of the Temples over night, strange apparitions are like to be seene: Marchpanes marching betwixt Leaden-hall and the little Conduit in Cheupe, in such aboundance that an hundred good fellowes may Sooner starve then catch a corner, or a comfit to sweeten their mouthes. It is also to be feared, that through frailty, if a slip be made on the messenger's de fault that carries them, for non-delivery at the place appointed; that unlesse the said messenger be not the more inward with his mistris, his master will give him rib-rost for his New Yeare's Gift the next morning.—This day shall be given many more gifts then shall be asked for; and apples, egges, and orenges, shall be lifted to a lofty rate; when a pome-water, bestucke with a few rotten cloves, shall be more worth than the honesty of an hypocrite; and halfe a dozen of egges of more estimation than the vowes of a strumpet. Poets this day shall get mightily by their pamphlets: for an hundred of elaborate lines shall be lesse esteemed in London, than an hundred of Walfleet oysters at Cambridge." The ceremonies of TWELFTH Day are fully detailed, and are very entertaining. Of ST. PAUL'S DAY, Mr. Brand remarks, "I do not find that any one has even hazarded a conjecture why prognostications of the weather, &c. for the whole year, are to be drawn from the appearance of this day.” "The prognostications on St. Paul's Day are thus elegantly modernized by Gay, in his Trivia: All superstition from thy breast repel, Let cred❜lous boys and prattling nurses How, if the Festival of Paul be clear, [tell Plenty from lib'ral horn shall strow the year; [rain, When the dark skies dissolve in snow or The lab'ring hind shall yoke the steer in vain; [roar, But if the threat'ning winds in tempests Then War shall bathe her wasteful sword in gore.' He concludes, 'Let no such vulgar tales debase thy mind, [and wind'." Nor Paul, nor Swithin, rule the clouds Under CANDLEMASS DAY we meet with the following curious passages: "It was antiently a custom for women in England to bear lights when they were churched, as appears from the following royal bon mot: William the Conqueror, by reason of sickness, kept his chamber a long time, whereat the French King, scoffing, said, 'The King of England lyeth long in child-bed :' which when it was reported unto King William, he answered, When I am churched, there shall be a thousand lights in France;' (alluding to the lights that women used to bear when they were churched:) and that he performed within a few daies after, wasting the French territories with fire and sword." "In Bishop Bonner's Injunctions, A.D. 1555, printed that year by John Cawood, 4to. we read, that bearyng of Candels on Candelmasse Daie is doone in the * A neat Translation of these epigrammatic Lines is solicited from some of our ingenious Correspondents, — Epit, memorie of our Saviour Jesu Christe, the spirituall lyght, of whom Sainct Symeon dyd prophecie, as it is redde in the Church that day.' This ceremony, however, had been previously forbidden in the Metropolis: for in Stowe's Chronicle, edited by Howes, fol. 1631, p. 595, we read, 'On the second of February 1547-8, being the Feast of the Purification of our Lady, commonly called Candlemasse Day, the bearing of Candles in the Church was left off throughout the whole Citie of London'." "In a most rare book intitled The Burnynge of Paules Church in London, 1561, and the 4 day of June by Lyghtnynge,' &c. 8vo. Lond. 1563, we read, In Flaunders everye Saturdaye betwixt Christmas and Candelmas they eate flesh for joy, and have pardon for it, because our Ladye laye so long in child-bedde say they. We here may not eat so: the Pope is not so good to us; yet surely it were as good reason that we should eat fleshe with them all that while that our Lady lay in child-bed, as that we shuld bear our Candel at her Churchinge at Candlemas with theym as they doe. It is seldome sene that men offer Candels at women's Churchinges, savinge at our Ladies: but reason it is that she have some preferement, if the Pope would be so good maister to us as to let us eat fleshe with theym"." The observations on the ceremonies of this day are agreeably, varied by some elegant songs from Herrick's Hesperides. "The purple-flowered Lady's Thistle," it is remarked in a Note, "the leaves of which are beautifully diversified with numerous white spots, like drops of milk, is vulgarly thought to have been originally marked by the falling of some drops of the Virgin Mary's milk on it, whence, no doubt, its name Lady's, i. e. Our Lady's Thistle. An ingenious little invention of the dark ages, and which, no doubt, has been of service to the cause of Superstition. Marry, a term of asseveration in common use, was originally in Popish times a mode of swearing by the Virgin Mary; q. d. by Mary. So also Marrow-bones, for the knees. I'll bring him down upon his Marrowbones; i. e. I'll make him bend his knees as he does to the Virgin Mary.” VALENTINE'S DAY affords scope for many pleasing illustrations. "The custom of chusing Valentines was a sport practised in the houses of the gentry in England as early as the year 1476. See Fenn's Paston Letters, vol. II. p. 21. Of this custom John Lydgate, the Monk of Bury, makes mention MS. Harl. 2251. See Strutt's Manners and Customs, vol. III. p. 179. "In the Catalogue of the Poetical Devises, &c. done by the same Poet, in print and MS. preserved in Speght's Chaucer, 1602, occurs one with the title of 'Chusing Loves on S. Valentine's Day.' Lydgate,' says Warton (Hist. Engl. Poet. vol. II. p. 53), "was not only the Poet of his Monastery, but of the World in general. If a Disguising was intended by the Company of Goldsmiths, à Mask before his Majesty at Eltham, a Maygame for the Sheriffs and Aldermen of London, a Mumming before the Lord Mayor, a Procession of Pageants from the Creation for the Festival of Corpus Christi, or a Carol for the Coronation, Lydgate was consulted, and gave the Poetry. The above Catalogue mentions also, by Lydgate, a Disguising before the Mayor of London by the Mercers; a Disguising before the King in the Castle of Hartford; a Mumming before. the King at Eltham; a Mumming before the King at Windsore; and a Ballade given to Henry VI. and his mother, on New Yeare's Day, at Hartford"," "The following is one of the most elegant jeu d'esprits on this occasion that I have met with: 'To Dorinda, on Valentine's Day. What we to love and custom owe. Satyrs of Boileau imitated, 1696, p.101.". We shall resume our examination of these volumes at an early opportunity. 2. Memoirs 3. Memoirs of a celebrated Literary and ONE more candidate for the honour of being considered as the Writer of Junius's Letters "Another, and another still, succeeds." Whatever opinion on the subject may be formed from the present publication, which can only result from the undoubted talents and the means of information which the Author possessed, this little volume is, on various accounts, extremely acceptable. "The publication," we are informed, "has been occasioned solely by the diversity of opinion which has prevailed respecting the Author of the Letters of Junius, and from the failure of all who have laid claim to that distinction. They are written by a celebrated character, and are only a part of a collection which is now in the possession of his immediate Descendant. He was the intimate associate of Chatham and the Grenvilles; at once possessed of literary reputation and an ample fortune, a Member of Parliament, and alike acquainted with public measures and ministerial Intrigue." Richard Glover, esq. (better known in the literary world as Leonidus Glover) was a very considerable London merchant; and, in that capacity, made a conspicuously distinguished figure, by a Speech at the Bar of the House of Commons, Jan. 27, 1741-2, in support of a most respectful Petition from the Merchants, complaining of the want of due protection to their Trade, from the depredations of the Spaniards; of which an ample extract given in our vol. XII. p. 150; and by which he acquired, and with great justice, the character of an able and steady Patriot; and, on every occasion, shewed a most perfect knowledge of, joined to the most ardent zeal for, the commercial interests of this Nation, and an inviolable attachmant to the welfare of his Countrymen in general, and that of the City of London in particular. In 1751, having, in consequence of unforeseen letses in trade, and perhaps in some measure of his zealous warinth for the public interests, to the neglect of his own private emoluments, some what reduced his fortune, he condescended to stand candidate for the office of Chamberlain of the City of London, in opposition to Sir Thomas Harrison, but lost his election there by no very great majority. The Speech which he made on that occasion to the Livery of London is preserved at large in our vol. XXI. p. 213; and is so highly creditable to his memory, that no excuse is necessary for copying a part of it. "Heretofore I have frequently had occasion of addressing the Livery of London in public; but at this time I find all the difficulties which a want of matmyself at an unusual loss, being under ter deserving your notice can create. Had I now your rights and privileges to vindicate; had I the cause of your suffering trade to defend; or were I now called forth to recommend and enforce the Parliamentary service of the most virtuous and illustrious Citizen; my tongue would be free from constraint, and, expatiating at large, would endeavour to merit your attention, which now must be solely confined to so narrow a subject as myself. On those occasions, the importance of the matter, and my known zeal to serve you, however ineffectual my attempts might prove, were always sufficient to secure me the honour of a kind reception and unmerited regard. Your countenance, Gentlemen, first drew me from the retirement of a studious life; your repeated marks of distinction first pointed me out to that who, pursuing your example, condegreat body, the Merchants of London, scended to entrust me, unequal and unworthy as I was, with the most important cause-a cause where your interest was as nearly concerned as theirs. In consequence of that deference which has been paid to the sentiments and choice of the Citizens and Traders of London, it was impossible but some faint lustre must have glanced on one, whom, weak as he was, they were pleased to appoint the instrument on their behalf: and if from these transactions I accidentally acquired the smallest share of reputation, it was to you, Gentlemen of the and I joyfully embrace this public opLivery, that my gratitude ascribes it; portunity of declaring, that whatever part of a public character I may presume to claim, I owe primarily to you. To this I might add the favour, the twenty years' countenance and patronage of one, whom a supreme degree of respect shall prevent me from naming*; and *Frederick Prince of Wales. though though under the temptation of using that name, as a certain means of obviating some misconstructions, I shall however avoid to dwell on the memory of a loss so recent, so justly, and so universally lamented." From the time of Mr. Glover's misfortunes in trade, he lived in obscurity, known only to his friends, and declining to take any active part in public affairs. At length, having surmounted the difficulties of his situation, he again relinquished the pleasures of retirement; in the Parliament which met in 1761, was elected Member for Weymouth; and afterwards stood forward, on several occasions, in a manner highly honourable to himself, and advantageous to the publick. See in vol. XXIV. p. 51, a "Letter" addressed to him in 1774; in which year he obtained a high degree of credit by his "Evidence before the House of Lords about Foreign Linen," (see our vol. XLIV. p. 278). March 16,1775, he made an excellent speech at the bar of the House of Commons, on the West-India Planters' Petition (see vol. XLV. p. 620); and died November 25, 1785. To Glover and Mallet, it will be recollected, the Duchess of Marlborough, by her last Will, assigned the task of writing the Duke's Life, with a Legacy of 1000l. which Glover indignantly rejected. Of his character see more at large in our vol. LV. p. 922; from which we shall transcribe one extract: "For upwards of fifty years, through every vicissitude of fortune, he exhibited the most exemplary simplicity of manners; having early attained that perfect equanimity which Philosophy often recommends in the closet, but which in experience is too seldom exercised by other men in the test of trial. In Mr. Glover were united a wide compass of accurate information in all mercantile concerns, with high intellectual powers of mind, joined to a copious flow of eloquence as an Orator in the House of Commons. Sinee Milton, he was second to none of our English Poets, in his dis criminating, judicious acquaintance with all ancient as well as modern literature; witness his Leonidas, Medea, Boadicea, and London: for, having formed his own character upon the best models of the Greek Writers, he lived as if he had been bred a disciple of Socrates, or companion of Aristides. Hence his political turn of mind; hence his unwarped affection and active zeal for the rights and liberties of his Country; hence his heart-felt exultation whenever he had to paint the impious designs of Tyrants in antient times frustrated, or in modern defeated, in their nefarious purposes to extirpate Liberty, or to trample on the unalienable rights of man, however remote in time or space from his immediate presence. rious erudition, for his unalloyed patriotIn a few words, for the extent of his vaism, and for his daily exercise and con stant practice of Xenophon's philosophy, in his private as well as in public life, Mr. Glover has left none his equal in the City; and some time, it is feared, may elapse, before such another Citizen shall arise, with eloquence, with charaeter, and with poetry like his, to assert their rights, or to vindicate with equal powers the just claims of free-born men. But to return to Junius: I "After the perusal of these pages," says their Editor, "the Reader will be surprized, that, among the numerous persons to whom the Letters of Junius have been attributed, the Author of these Memoirs was never named: and it is remarkable that he should have been overlooked, while the perspicacity of Horne Tooke and Wilkes, and the phalanx of politicians of his time, was exhausted in unavailing conjectures. will not pledge myself that he was Junius; but this I can safely say, that no one yet named, supported by facts, has any claim to stand in competition with his political relations; and numerous him. These Memoirs sufficiently mark documents, long since before the publick, might be adduced, to strengthen and confirm them. One circumstance, however, I am authorized to mention, which will serve to shew in what estimation his political sagacity was held in his retirement in the decline of life. During the Shelburne and Portland Administrations in 1783, he was frequently visited privately by the late Marquis of Buckingham, then Lord Temple, and closeted with him alone; his visits were always in the evening, and such was the privacy of these meetings, that his name was not announced, and no servant was permitted to open the door when he.left the house. At some future time I hope to give a sketch of his character. At present I submit these pages to the publick; valuable, at least, for the information they contain, if not as authority to establish a conjecture on a subject of peculiar literary interest." This is candid; but at best amounts to no more than proof presumptive. The The "Memoirs" commence in the Spring of 1741; are continued to 1757; and develope the secret springs by which many of the great Leaders both in the Ministry and the Opposition were in reality actuated. It is a most curious peep behind the curtain, by an intelligent Actor in the Political Drama; and unfortunately demonstrates" how little are the great!" Mr. Glover speaks his mind very freely both of the Ins and Outs; as may be judged from the following highly-seasoned character: "The Duke of Newcastle was a man of whom no one ever spoke with cordial regard; of parts and conduct which generally drew animadversions bordering on contempt, of notorious insincerity, political cowardice, and servility to the highest and the lowest; yet, insincere without gall, ambitious without pride, luxurious, jovial, hospitable to all men, of an exorbitant estate, affable, forgetful of offences, and profuse of his favours indiscriminately to all his adherents; he had established a faction by far the most powerful in this country: hence he derived that influence which encouraged his unworthy pretensions to ministerial power; nor was he less indebted to his experience of a Court, a long practice in all its craft, whence he had acquired a certain art of imposition, that in every negociation with the most distinguished popular leaders, however superior to himself in understanding, from the instant they began to depart from ingenuous and public principles, he never missed his advantage, nor failed of making them his property at last, and himself their master. Lord Cobham, Chesterfield, the Duke of Bedford, Pitt, and others, found him so in 1743, when he took them into his confederacy to rout the Earl of Bath and Granville. Pitt found him so in 1757, when this new coalition was formed to destroy the Duke of Cumberland and Fox." We shall conclude this article with the more immediate object of the publication, “The Politics of Junius.” "His first great and leading principle is, that Magistrates and the Ministers of Government should ever be subservient to the Laws. To preserve the British Constitution, according to his view of the subject, in its utmost purity, is his whole aim: and bis violence against mea upon ail occasions, is solely with a View to destroy their measures, when he Considered them to be impolitic or unGENT. MAC. January, 1814. just. His abuse and invective are go verned by this principle; and when he attacks the private vices of men, he adopts that mode, only as an expedient to diminish the baneful effects of their public actions *. To the Duke of Graf ton he declares himself not to have been his personal enemy. "I have no resentments but against the common enemy. And after the most bitter and reiterated abuse of the King, he says, 'I would willingly hazard my life in defence of your title and your crown.' In pursuing this subject, to give force to his political theory, he confesses himself, in some instances, to have overstepped the bounds of correct truth. It was necessary to the plan of that letter, to rate you lower than you deserved.' From the same motive he also bestowed praise, if he saw political good to be derived from it: 'I think it good policy to pay these compliments to Lord Chatham.'— To preserve and renovate the Constitution, his favourite theory, in common with Lord Chatham, was to have triennial Parlia ments. With respect to his political creed, in his fifty-ninth letter he has thus very fully and very clearly expressed himself: 'I can more readily admire the liberal spirit and integrity, than the sound judgment of any man, who prefers a republican form of government, in this or any other empire of equal extent, to a monarchy so qualified and limited as in theory the wisest system of governours. I am convinced, that neither is it Iment, nor practicable in this country. Yet, though I hope the English Constitution will for ever preserve its original monarchical form, I would have the manners of the people purely and strictly republican. I do not mean the licentious spirit of anarchy and riot; I mean a general attachment to the common weal, distinct from any partial attachment to persons or families; an implicit submission to the laws only, and an affection to the magistrate, proportioned to the integrity and wisdom, with which he distributes justice to his people, and administers their affairs.'-Throughout the whole of Junius there is a feeling of despondency for the public weal: 'I am is capable of judging, that the present. convinced, as far as my understanding ministry are driving this country to de "I am here speaking of the professed principle and intention of Junius; how well or ill he executed or manifested his intentions, or bow far his own private feelings bave heightened or imbittered his invective, his works before the publick will declare for themselves." struction. |