came, said, "Are you there, Elizabeth Woodcock?" She replied, in a feeble, faint voice, "Dear John Stittle, I know your voice, for God's sake help me out." Stittle made his way through the snow; she eagerly grasped his hand and said, "I have been here a long time." "Yes," answered he, "since Saturday." "Ay, Saturday week," she replied, "I have heard the bells go two Sundays for church." She was then taken home, and a most fatal treatment was she subjected to. They gave her strong liquors, and applied poultices of stale beer and oatmeal boiled The direct contrary to which, under together. Providence, would have restored her. She lost her toes; and lingered on till the following July, when she died. The following remarks deserve the serious attention of every one :-they appear to be founded on the soundest principles. "The application of heat to the human body, after intense cold, is attended with the most dreadful consequences; it always produces extreme pain, and, most frequently, either partial or general mortification of the parts to which the heat is applied. Instead, therefore, of allowing persons who have thus suffered from frost or snow to come near a fire, let the limbs be rubbed well with snow, or, if snow cannot be procured, let them be put into cold water, and afterwards rubbed with flannel for a considerable time; (the contrary, in the case of Elizabeth Woodcock, having been nearly fatal.) Let the person be kept most cautiously from Spirits taking too much or too nutritious food. also, or wine, should, under no pretence whatever, be given, without being weakened very much with Great attention must be paid to the state of the bowels. The use of opium and camphor is much to be recommended, though at first the opium should be given in very small portions." water. The narrative ends with this remark. "We are sorry to add, that too free indulgence in spirituous liquors is supposed to have been the cause, both of the accident which befel Elizabeth Woodcock, and its fatal consequences.Gent. Mag. WE are too apt to forget our actual dependence on Providence for the circumstances of every instant. The most trivial events may determine our state in the world. Turning up one street, instead of another, may bring us in company with a person whom we should not otherwise have met; and this may lead to a train of other events which may determine the happiness or misery of our lives.-CECIL. ONE of the fathers saith, "that there is but this difference between the death of old men and young men; that old men go to death, and death comes to young men.-BACON. OCEAN of Time! There is ONE LORD, who sways Man's works, as thou his race. In HIM we bide Who to the wild brine spake, "Thy proud waves here But thou, in whose dim confines hours of hours, Nile, Ganges, mightiest waters that earth pours And when thy race is o'er, thy changes fled, And HE who trode th' impetuous foam; whose word LONDON T. P. O. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. OWEN GLENDOWER'S OAK. OWEN GLENDOWER'S Oak is situated at Shelton, distant about a mile from Shrewsbury, and by the side of the road leading from that town to Oswestry. It has its name from a tradition of Owen Glendower having mounted the tree to gain a view of the battle of Shrewsbury. This battle was fought on the 20th of July, 1403, between the forces of Henry the Fourth, then king of England, and those of Sir Henry Percy, commonly called Hotspur, eldest son of the Earl of Northumberland. Henry the Fourth had not been long on the throne, before he found that he had many enemies; among the most formidable of whom were the Earl of Northumberland, and Owen Glendower, who was descended from the ancient sovereigns of Wales. These two persons became 'discontented with Henry's government, and formed a scheme for uniting together to dethrone VOL. I him. The Earl's eldest son, Hotspur, was to march with a large army from the north of England, and Glendower was to meet him with such forces as he could collect in Wales. As soon as the king was aware of these hostile movements, he marched in all haste, to come up with Hotspur before he was joined by Glendower. The royal army entered Shrewsbury only a few hours before Hotspur arrived at the gates. This was on the 19th of July, and the king was anxious to give battle without delay. Hotspur, however, did not feel himself strong enough for this, having not above fourteen thousand men in his army, whereas the king had nearly double that number. On the following morning, the king's forces marched out of the town, and succeeded in forcing Hotspur to an engagement, of which the following interesting account is taken from the History of Shrewsbury. "The fight began by furious and repeated volleys 31 of arrows from Hotspur's archers, whose ground | greatly favoured that kind of warfare; and they did great execution on the royal army. The king's bowmen were not wanting in return, and the battle raged with violence. Hotspur, with his associate, Douglas, bent on the king's destruction, rushing through the midst of the hostile arrows, pierced their way to the spot on which he stood. Henry was thrice unhorsed, and would have been taken or slain, had he not been defended and rescued by his own men: and the fortune of the day would have been forthwith decided, if the Earl of March had not withdrawn him from the danger; for the royal standard-bearer was slain, his banner beaten down, and many of the chosen band appointed to guard it, were killed by these desperate assailants; while the young Prince of Wales was wounded in the face by an arrow. In short, notwithstanding all the exertions of the royalists, victory seemed inclined to favour the rebel army, who fought with renewed ardour, from an opinion, naturally derived from the overthrow of his standard, that the king himself had fallen, and animated each other to the combat with cheering and redoubled shouts of Henry Percy, king! Henry Percy, king! In this critical moment, the gallant Percy, raging through the adverse ranks in quest of his sovereign, fell by an unknown hand, alone, and hemmed in by foes. The king lost no time to avail himself of this event. Straining his voice to the utmost, he exclaimed aloud, Henry Percy is dead :' and the battle soon ended in the king gaining a complete victory. "In the mean while, Owen Glendower had marched with a large body of Welchmen to within a mile of Shrewsbury; and if the king had not been so rapid in his movements, Glendower and Hotspur would probably have joined their forces. It was necessary, however, that the Welch army should cross the Severn, which, at this place, is a broad and rapid river. It happened, also, most unfortunately for Glendower, that the water was at this time exceedingly high. There is a ford at Shelton, by which, at other seasons, he would have been able to cross the river, but now it was impossible. The bridges at Shrewsbury were commanded by the king; and he had nothing to do but to halt his army on the banks of the Severn, though he could see Hotspur's forces quite plainly on the opposite side, and though he knew that the king was wishing to bring on a battle. The battle took place as we have related. "The place, where the fight was thickest, is about three miles from Shrewsbury, and is still called Battle-field; and King Henry built a handsome church there, which is still used as a parish church, though great part of it is in ruins." : The tradition of the country says, that Glendower mounted the large oak tree, of which we give an engraving, and that he saw from thence the battle of Shrewsbury. The story is most probably true. It would be difficult to account for its being told by the common people of the neighbourhood, if there was not some truth in it. These people are not likely to have heard of Owen Glendower, or the battle of Shrewsbury and if Glendower really arrived at this spot, and could not get over the river on account of a flood, (of which facts there seems to be no doubt,) it is not at all unlikely that he mounted up into the Battle-field church can now be seen very plainly from the bank of the river. It is not much more than three miles off; and at the time the battle was fought, the country was, perhaps, much more open than it is at present, and there were few hedges to shut out the view; so that Glendower might easily have seen what was going on between the two armies; tree. and it must have been very mortifying to him to see the troops of his friend Hotspur totally defeated. There is no difficulty in believing, from the present appearance of the tree, that it is old enough to have been of a considerable size in the year 1403, or 429 years ago. Oaks are known to live to a much greater age than this; and there are documents which prove that the Shelton oak was a fine large tree some centuries ago. It is still perfectly alive, and bears some hundreds of acorns every year, though it has great marks of age, and is so hollow in the inside, that it seems to stand on little more than a circle of bark. At least six or eight persons might stand within it. The dimensions are as follows: The girth at bottom, close to the ground, is forty-four feet three inches; at five feet from the ground, twenty-five feet one inch; at eight feet from the ground, twenty-seven feet four inches, Height of the tree, forty-one feet six inches. E. B. ERRORS RESPECTING RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY. THERE exists a prejudice against religious seriousness, arising from a notion that religion leads to gloom and melancholy. This notion, I am convinced, is a mistake. Some persons are constitutionally subject to melancholy, which is as much a disease in them, as men's melancholy shall fall upon religious ideas, as it the ague is a disease; and it may happen that such may upon any other subject which seizes their distempered imagination. But this is not religion leading to melancholy. Or it sometimes is the case that men affliction, which produce at the same time depression are brought to a sense of religion by calamity and of spirits. But neither here is religion the cause of this distress or dejection, or to be blamed for it. is alleged against religion is the truth. These cases being excepted, the very reverse of what No man's spirits were ever hurt by doing his duty. On the contrary, one good action, one temptation resisted and overcome, one sacrifice of desire or interest purely for conscience' sake, will prove a cordial for weak and low spirits beyond what either indulgence, or diversion, or company can do for them. And a succession and course of such actions and selfdenials, springing from a religious principle, and manfully maintained, is the best possible course that can be followed as a remedy for sinkings and oppressions of this kind. choly? Occasions arise to every man living; to Can it then be true, that religion leads to melanwhich the hopes of religion are the only stay that is many very severe as well as repeated occasions, in cheers and comforts them in their saddest hours; left him. Godly men have that within them which ungodly men have that which strikes their heart, like a dagger, in its gayest moments. Godly men disfound out too late, namely, that a good conscience, cover, what is very true, but what, by most men, is and the hope of our Creator's final favour and acceptthis world. Experience corresponds with the reason ance, are the only solid happiness to be attained in of the thing. generally cheerful. If this be not observed, as might I take upon me to say, that religious men are be expected, supposing it to be true, it is because the cheerfulness which religion inspires does not show itself in noise, or in fits and starts of merriment, but is calm and constant. Of this, the only true and are hollow and unsatisfying, religious men possess valuable kind of cheerfulness, for all other kinds not less, but a greater share than others,PALEY. NEW YEAR'S DAY. NEW YEAR'S DAY must always bring with it a mixed feeling to every reflecting mind. We are all grown a year older, but how few of us can say, that they are become either wiser or better? To many, the past year may have been one of suffering or anxiety; and the difference of their situation, with what it was at the commencement of the year 1832, will press very forcibly upon their memory, when its anniversary arrives. On the other hand, we must all be grateful to Providence for being permitted to see even the opening of another year,-that we have thus had longer time allotted us for the correction of bad habits, and the further improvement of good ones. The prosperous will anticipate that it may bring fresh accessions of happiness and enjoyment, while the unfortunate will cherish the hope that, with the old year, his distress may have an end, and that the sunshine of the new year will dissipate the gloom and darkness of the one that is past. The year did not always begin on the 1st of January, but was considered as commencing on the 25th of March*. This being the cause of great inconvenience (especially in carrying on a correspondence with foreigners), was remedied in this country, by an Act of Parliament passed in 1752, by which it was enacted, that the 1st of January should be reckoned to be the first day of the year, and eleven days in that year succeeding the 2nd September (what would have been the 3rd being called the 14th,) were thrown out †. The Old Style still prevails in Muscovy, Denmark, Holstein, Hamburg, Utrecht, Guilders, East Friesand, Geneva, and in all the Protestant principalities .n Germany, and cantons of Switzerland. The New Style is used in all the dominions subject to Great Britain; in America, in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Leyden, Haerlem, Middleburgh, Ghent, Brussels, Brabant, and in other places in the Netherlands; also in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, Poland, and in all the Popish principalities of Germany, and cantons of Switzerland. In former days, heavy demands were made upon the purse at this season; and the Household Books of our Kings and Queens contain notices of innumerable offerings from different classes of their subjects as a proof of which, the following list of new year's gifts, presented to Queen Elizabeth, in 1584-5, may amuse our readers. From this it appears that the peers, chief officers of state, and several of the Queen's household-servants, even down to her apothecaries, master cook, serjeant of the pastry, &c., gave new year's gifts to the queen. These gifts consisted either of a sum of money, or jewels, trinkets, wearing apparel, &c. The largest sum given by any of the temporal lords, was twenty pounds; but the Archbishop of Canterbury gave forty pounds, and all the other spiritual lords, thirty, twenty, and ten pounds. Many of the temporal lords and great officers, and most of the peeresses, gave rich gowns, petticoats, kirtles, doublets, mantles, some embroidered with pearls, garnets, &c.; bracelets, caskets studded with precious stones, and other toys. The queen's physician presents her with a box of foreign sweetmeats. Another physician with two pots, one of green ginger, the other of orange flowers. Her apothecary with a box of lozenges and a pot of conserves. Her master cook, with a fayre marchepayne," (a macaroon then in fashion ;) her serjeant 66 See the article YEARS, in the Calendar, p. 247. To expose the clamours which are too often idly raised against the laws, that clever painter, Hogarth, alluded to the change of the style, very happily, in one of his election pictures; on a flag is written, "Give us our eleven days:" as if every individual had been actually robbed, by an Act of Parliament, of a portion of his life. te of the pastry, a fayre pye oringed." The money given on this occasion, amounts to 8281. 78. Od.; the jewels, trinkets, apparel, &c., not being valued ‡. head was only a receiver of gifts. There were heavy We must not think, however, that the crowned demands on the liberality of the reigning monarch; and as the presents of a king or queen must necessarily have been both more numerous and more costly than those of a subject, the tax upon the royal bounty was very considerable. On the back of the list before quoted, appear the New Year's Gifts presented by the queen in return; the whole of which consists of gilt plate :to the Earl of Leicester, 132 ounces; to the Earl of Warwick, 106 ounces; but to all the other earls, thirty and twenty ounces: to the Duchess of Somerset (the only duchess), twenty-five ounces; to the countesses, fifty, forty, and twenty ounces; to the Archbishop of Canterbury forty-five ounces; to the other prelates thirty-five, thirty, twenty, and fifteen ounces; to Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chamberlain, 400 ounces; to all her maids of honour and gentlewomen of her household, as well those who presented gifts, as those who did not, from twenty Thus to Mrs. Tomysen, the dwarf. two ounces; to the physicians thirteen, the apothecary seven, the cook and serjeant of the pastry, five ounces. Sum total, 4809 ounces of gilt plate. to two ounces. The following extracts from LODGE's Illustrations of British History (vol. ii.), are pleasing proofs of the interchange of kindness and good feeling, at this period of the year, between a son and his father, and two of the noblemen of Queen Elizabeth's court : : According to my riches, and the country I dwell in, and not to my desire, I send your lordship a new-year's gift: a Monmouth cap § and a rundlet of perry; and I must require pardon to name the other homely thing, a pair of Ross boots, which, if they be fit for your lordship, you may have as many as please you to appoint. I beseech Almighty God to preserve your lordship many happy new-year's days, that you may live as many and joyful years after them, as ever did any creature!-Goodrich Castle, 3rd Jan., 1576, -Gilbert Talbot to his father, the Earl of Shrewsbury And for that I find warmth doth breed me some ease, supposing that the self-same things which are employed towards me that way cannot be hurtful to your lordship, I have sent you a small rug by this bearer, to wrap about your legs at times convenient; which your lordship must accept as I present it, and as though our country wools were much finer, and our workmen more curious; and withall your lordship shall receive a case of Hallomshire whittles, being such fruits as my poor country affordeth with fame throughout this realm.-Handsworth, last of January, 1589.- -The Earl of Shrewsbury, to Lord Burleigh. H. M. THE BELL-SHAPED SEA-NETTLE. WHOEVER has been in the habit of walking on the sea shore, must have observed, when the tide has retired, a number of substances, lying on the sand, in appearance like masses of jelly; in the summer scason they are extremely abundant, and in warmer Archæologia, vol. i. "The best caps were formerly made at Monmouth; but, on the occasion of a great plague happening in that town, the trade was removed to Bewdley in Worcestershire, yet so that they are called Monmouth Caps unto this day."-FULLER'S Worthies. In order to promote the use of woollen caps, it was enacted, in 1565, that no man under the degree of a knight, should wear any hat or cap of velvet, under a penalty of ten shillings; and, in 1570, a further law was passed, that every person above the age of seven years should wear, upon the Sabbath and holydays, a cap of wool knit, made in England, on pain of forfeiting daily three shillings and four pence, (excepts maids, ladies, lords, knights, gentlemen, mayors of cities, &c., and the wardens of the Companies of London.) This provision continued in force till 1597. A whittle was a knife, which was sometimes worn suspended by a cord to the girdle. Handsworth was situated about four miles south of Sheffield, then, as now, famous for its cutlery, and especially for its knives. climates are found of a very large size. These substances, notwithstanding their appearance, will be found on examination to be living bodies, and as perfectly formed for all the purposes of their nature, as any other part of the works of the great Creator. The Bell-Shaped Sea Nettle. Their bodies are nearly transparent, and the different organs they enclose are faintly visible to the eye; their form is that of a saucer upside down, and the mouth, as may be seen by the engraving, is placed below. The outward edge of this body is furnished with numerous arms, which gradually taper towards the ends, where they appear like so many threads; with these arms, the creature is able to convey its food to its mouth; small fish, or any other animal substance that comes within its reach, afford it the means of subsistence. The indigestible parts of the food which are swallowed, are, after a time, returned by means of the mouth. caught them with great eagerness; but I was too far off to ascertain what they were. They then, one by one, raised their joined hands over their heads, and threw themselves down, with a force which must have proved fatal, had not their fall been broken by some means or other. The crowd was too dense to allow of my discovering how this was effected; but it is certain they were unhurt, as they immediately reascended, and performed the same ceremonies many times. On the 10th, we were awakened before day-break, by the discordant sounds of native musical instruments, and immediately mounted our horses, and rode to the Meidân. As the morning advanced, we could see an immense crowd coming down the Chowringhee road, which was augmented by persons joining it from all the streets and lanes of the city. We entered the crowd, taking the precaution of making the saees walk close by my horse's head, who was frightened at the music, dancing, and glare of torches, accom panied at intervals by the deep sound of the gong. The double, double peal of the drum was there, In the midst of this crowd, walked and danced the miserable fanatics, torturing themselves in the most horrible manner, and each surrounded by his own particular band of admirers, with music and torches. . . . Their countenances denoted suffering; but they evidently gloried in their patient endurance, and probably were supported by the assurance that they were expiating the sins of the past year by suffering voluntarily, and without a groan, this agony. We had considerable difficulty in making our way through the crowd; but when we had arrived at a short distance from the scene of action, the sight was beautifully picturesque, and forcibly reminded me of an English race-course: flags were flying in every direction,-booths were erected with stages for dancing; the flowing white garments of the natives gave the impression of a numerous assemblage of well-dressed women; and though, on a nearer approach, their dingy complexions destroyed the illuMany varieties of the Medusa are phosphorescent; sion, yet the scene lost nothing of its beauty. I that is, they shine at night with a pale blue flame, like never saw in England such a multitude collected tothat of phosphorus, and their appearance, when float-gether; but this is one of their most famous festivals, ng in large groups on the surface of the sea, on a dark night, is extremely beautiful. Some species have the power of benumbing the hand, when touched, and have had the name of Sea-nettles applied to them. The appearance of many is peculiarly graceful and elegant, when floating in their native element, from the delicate colours with which they are adorned. The bodies of some among them are of a light azure blue, the border surrounded with the appearance of golden beads like a coronet, from which stream, in every direction, delicate threads of a bright carmine colour; in short, almost all those that are found in warmer climates have something pleasing either in form or colour. The annexed engraving is an enlarged view of the object represented, its natural size being about one inch in width. It is an inhabitant of the Greenland seas. HINDOO FESTIVALS. ONE of the Hindoo festivals in honour of the goddess Kali, commenced this evening. Near the river a crowd was assembled round a stage of bamboos, fifteen feet high, composed of two upright, and three horizontal poles; which last were placed at about five feet asunder. On this kind of ladder several men mounted, with large bags, out of which they threw down various articles to the by-standers, who and the people had assembled from all the neighbouring villages. The noise of the music continued till about noon, when the devotees retired to heal their wounds. These are said to be dangerous, and occasionally to prove fatal. One of our servants, a Musalchee," or torch-bearer, of the lowest caste, (for it seems that none of a higher sort practise these cruelties,) ran about the house with a small spear through his tongue, begging money from his fellow-servants; this man appeared stupefied with opium, which, I am told, is generally taken by these poor wretches, to deaden their feelings; and the parts through which the spears are thrust, are said to be previously rubbed for a considerable time, till numbness ensues. nah, the part of the city where the trees for swinging In the evening, the bishop walked to the Boitaconare erected: they are not suffered to be placed near the European residence. He arrived in time to be a spectator of the whole ceremony. The victim was led, covered with flowers, and without any apparent reluctance, to the foot of the tree; hooks were then thrust through the muscles of his sides, which he endured without shrinking, and a broad bandage was fastened round his waist, to prevent the hooks from being torn through by the weight of his body. He was then raised up, and was whirled round; at first, the motion was slow, but by degrees was increased to |
