Thus mining age creeps on with silent pace, Clasps my chilled limbs, and kills with cold em brace :

The mouldering tombstone of a hero's fame,
Of all I was retaining but the name.

We see, from this specimen, that the old knight Laberius, notwithstanding his just lamentations, had not declined either in spirit or in genius: but, in the choice of the piece, he even shewed that he was not deficient in courage; for, on its being left entirely to him, which of his mimes he would act, he chose (certainly not without design) one, wherein several verses appeared, which were applied by all the spectators as alluding to Julius Cæsar; when, for instance, in the character of a scourged slave, he suddenly turned to the audience, and

exclaimed:

Porro Quirites! libertatem perdimus! Alas, Romans! our liberty is gone!

And shortly afterwards: Necesse est multos timeat quem multi timent! He has need to be afraid of many, who makes many afraid of him! At which words, the whole Theatre, as if by one consent, are said to have fixt their eyes on Cæsar. Cæsar felt the sting, but was too high-minded to shew that he was hurt; and though he adjudged the prize to the mimes of Publius Syrus, he, nevertheless, on the spot presented old Laberius with a gold ring, and 500,000 sesterces (by way of reinstating him in the equestrian honours, which, by his condescending to act publicly in the character of a mimus and histrio, he had forfeited) with the command henceforth to resume his place in the amphitheatre, among the knights. The whole equestrian order, however, whose dignity had been insulted in the person of Laberius by Cæsar, shewed that they felt the affront, and that they were not yet such slaves, as to leave it to the caprice of the Dictator, at his pleasure to make a Roman knight a mime, and the mime again a Roman knight: for, at that instant, the knights so spread themselves on the fourteen rows of benches appropriated to their order in the amphitheatre, that Laberius, upon going to take his seat, wherever he tried, could find no room. On that occasion, a very cutting bon-mot is related of him. Cicero, who was too apt to plume himself on his talent for highly-salted gibes, said to Laberius, as he saw him wandering about in great perplexity, to find a seat: "I would gladly make place for thee

beside me, if I were not so straitened for room myself *." "Surprising enough, that thou shouldst be straitened for room to sit," returned Laberius," since thou art always wont to sit upon two stools." —A sarcasm abundantly justified by the Letters of Cicero, which but too plainly betray his doubtful character, and his ambiguous conduct in the civil wars.

This notice of the mime-poet Laberius, will not, I trust, be thought

too wide of the occasion which Horace has given for it: since it enables us better to comprehend the judgment he passes upon him. Julius Cæsar tics, that Horace has done great inScaliger asserts, indeed, in his Poejustice to Laberius; and really, if his mimes were all, or only the major part of them, composed in a taste answerable to the Prologue above quoted, Scaliger's displeasure might be defended. But Horace, who had all the works of Laberius before him, was best able to put a fair valuation on them. He does not deny them all merit; he grants that, like the Lucilian Satires, they possess genius, and poignant wit: only he will not allow them to pass for fine poetry, because they want that terseness, that rotundity, that polish; in one word, that finishing, which he had a right to expect in a beautiful poem: and methinks, even in the fragment produced, there are lines evidently deficient in these requisites, and where the thought is, as it were, over-laid by the redundancy of words; as, for example: Mente clemente edita submissu placide blandiloquens orátio, and litterarum laudibus floris (1 should read florens) cacumen nostræ fame frangere. To conclude, Laberius had this fault in common with all the antient Roman poets; that terseness and polish which Horace missed in them, were reserved for the Poets of the Augustan age †. Ormond-street.

W. T.

(To be continued.) *Thisscomma properly concerns Cæsar, who had recently filled the Senate with so many novi homines, his creatures.

+ Gellius, in the 7th chapter of the xvith book of his Attic Evenings, quotes numerous instances of words and phrases of his own coining, with which Laberius has stuffed his mimes; and, probably, Horace had in view this licence, which must have given his diction a grotesque appearance.

Mr.

ent J. C. in treating of the necessity of a reform in the Costume of the Stage, condemns the very silly use of the plaid manufacture," in the representation of the tragedy of Macbeth ; and observes, that it betrays, in the Managers, a great want of research into antient documents; as he (J. C.) cannot find, after the most diligent enquiry, that the plaid, or partycoloured manufacture, was in wear previous to the troubles in Scotland, in 1715; and he, at the same time, states his reasons for its having been adopted by the Scotch military.

I cannot help expressing my surprise, that some one of that kingdom, which possesses two learned Societies of Antiquaries, should not have stept forward, and shewn, that the above assertion of J. C. is not well grounded, and have supported the antiquity of their Costume; and particularly when that Nation has always shewn itself so much attached to its antient habits and manners. No one having done this, I beg leave to submit to your Readers, what I have been able to collect on the subject.

Macpherson, in his "Introduction to the History of Great Britain and Ireland," p. 217, says:

"The party-coloured garments, which

the natives of the mountains of Scotland

all

have brought down to the present times, were the universal taste among branches of the Celtic nation. The Sagum of the old Gauls and Spaniards, was no other than the Scottish plaid of various colours."

This author refers to Livy, Lib. 8. Sir Joseph Ayloffe, in his "Account of some Antient English Historical Paintings at Cowdray, in Sussex" (Archæologia III. p. 256) in describing the picture representing the siege of Boulogne in 1544, by King Henry the Eighth, says:

Between the Duke of Alberquerque's camp, and that of the Lord Adiniral, is, a Bag-piper, playing on his drone, and followed by a number of men dressed in PLAIDS, their hair red, their heads uncovered, and their legs bare. They have pikes in their hands, and broad swords hanging by their sides, and are driving sheep and oxen towards the artillery-park. These, probably, were intended to represent certain Scotch irregulars, in their return from foraging, for the supply of the English army.”

Sir Joseph, in a preceding part of his Description, p. 247, points out

formed this representation; and adds:

"As he [the Painter] seems to have been chaste in properly distinguishing the different corps of guards, henchmen, light horse, demi-lances, pikemen, gunners, &c. so he hath duly observed to mark the different liveries of the respective bands, by varying the clothing of each straggler, and by representing some as wearing both stockings of the same colour, and others with one stocking of one colour and the other of another colour; thus some have both stockings white, some both red, and some both yellow; whilst others again have a yellow stocking on one leg, and a rel stocking on the other. Some have a white stocking on the left leg, and a red one on the right; and others again, a yellow stocking on the right leg, and a black stocking on the left."

That party-coloured hose were, at this time, worn by the Military, appears by a MS. in the College of Arms, containing the orders of the Duke of Norfolk, to the conductor of the wayward of an army, raised in 36 Hen. VIII. 1544.

"Item. Every man to provide a pair of hose, for every of his men; the right hose to be all red, and the lefte to be blewe, with oone stripe of red on the outside of his legg, from the stocke downwards."

This will be found in Grose's "Military Antiquities," II. 325.

Paintings alluded to, was a few years The mansion of Cowdray, with the ago cousumed by fire; but, very fortunately, the Society of Antiquaries of London had caused Drawings to be taken of them, which were afterwards engraved, and the impressions are now sold by the Society, at their Library in Somerset House.

I should have thought that the quotation in the letter of "Archaiophilus," in vol. LXXIX. p. 104, being

an

extract from Fynes Morison's Itinerary, printed in 1617, would have satisfied J. C. that his statement was erroneously made; but this appears not to have been the case: for, in a subsequent Number (to which I cannot now refer) I think he calls for a Picture shewing that the Plaid he contends it was first introduced. was worn before the time at which I have, I submit, furnished him with a reference to such a Picture, and to a very able description of it.

AGRICOLA SURRIENSIS.

Mr,

Mr. URBAN, Northiam, Dec. 7.

NOTWITHSTANDING the

ex

cessive partiality commonly attributed to Authors, or those who are in the habit of committing their thoughts to the press, for the productions of their own pens, I can truly affirm, that I am never better pleased than when I meet my own sentiments, either corrected, or confirmed, and improved on by others; and the latter I have lately experienced, on the perusal of your Review of Mr. Elton's Poems, pp. 352-3, on the subject of his "Musings on Sunday Morning," wherein, at the same time that you do justice to his poetical talents, which are, unquestionably, of a very superior order, you censure, with the greatest propriety, the very important error he seems to have given into, if not absolutely adopted, from the School of modern Philosophy; an error that one could hardly conceive would ever have been admitted into so clear and cultivated a mind; which, it is evident, has been in some degree obscured (though falsely termed enlightened) by the absurd and pernicious system of that School. I can certainly add nothing to the accuracy or justness of your remarks: whether I shall in any respect promote their force and efficacy by my own, I

know not.

There is not a more fallacious principle, nor can be a more dangerous opinion, than that the worship of the Supreme Being may be as fully and acceptably performed in groves and gardens, or whilst we are walking in the fields, as in the places set apart and consecrated for that purpose. If this had been the case, would that Being have directed the building of Temples to his honour, and enjoined the observance of religious rites and ceremonies, and "the assembling of ourselves together" in such places, where he has expressly promised his more immediate presence and attention? He who knoweth whereof we are made," and how much we stand in need of external acts, solemnly repeated at stated periods, to renovate the spirit of devotion in our hearts and minds, and maintain its proper influence on our conduct, hath himself appointed the "House of Prayer," and even given us a form in which we are commanded to ad

dress Him; not, indeed, confining the whole of our devotional exercises to that form, as some have erroneously conceived, but requiring us to "keep his Sabbaths," and also to "reverence his Sanctuary,"

It is true, that the immense concave of the Heavens, the great luminaries of day and night, the countless number of the stars, the immeasurable expanse of the ocean, the stupendous rocks and mountains, the wild regions of the desert and the forest, the beautiful arrangement of rivers, woods, and plains, interspersed with verdant meadows, and fields of waving corn, forming collectively those inimitable scenes on the grand theatre of Nature, which the most ingenious Artist can but imperfectly pourtray in their several changes through the revolving seasons, are unquestionably calculated, and most evidently designed to make strong impressions on the mind of man, and inspire it with awe, veneration, and delight. But we know, that such impressions are almost exclusively confined, in the present state of society, to the cultivated minds of contemplative persons; even on them have no deep or lasting effect; and are, therefore, very unfit to be relied on, as constituting adequate motives, or inducements, to the proper worship of Almighty God, or the due performance of our religious duties, prescribed and required by Him in the Holy Scriptures, from which it can never be considered, by those who believe their divine authority, either allow able or safe in this or any other instance to depart, or to place their dependence on any casual impulse, however powerful or effective they may occasionally find it.

No one can have a stronger or more frequent experience than myself, of such impressions, made by the sublime, the romantic, and the beautiful objects of Creation, more especially those of rural scenery; which never fail to lead me to the same point, the contemplation of the power, the wisdom, the goodness, and all the principal attributes of the Great Creator, and to excite sentiments of the most profound adoration: yet I could not rest satisfied with these sentiments, or the immediate acts of devotion they induce, as with a regular performance of the public duties of

prayer

prayer and praise, enjoined to be observed in places set apart for Divine Worship, and the private devotions of the family, or closet. The blissful walks of Eden were, indeed, the scenes in which the first of the human race performed their devotions, when every object of the new Creation tended to inspire the purest and most exaited pie y and, in after-ages, the retirement of groves and gardens unquestionably had, and to this day retain, the same tendency to impress the mind with similar sentiments; which, notwithstanding, must derive their steady and proper influence from the observance of those positive insitutions, and the support of those establishments, that have been ordamned by divine and human laws; and if every Christian thought himself at liberty to disregard the means prescribed by our Saviour, and established by human authority, to maintain a visible Church by regular congregations on the Sabbath, for a public profession of the Christian Faith, for expounding the doctrines and enforcing the precepts of the Gospel, Christianity itself would soon be lost to the world; but, although we are happily assured that this can never be, it may and will be lost to persons of that description, in greater or less degree, together with the benefit of all its sacred truths, and important interests in time and eternity. The combined productions of Nature and Art in groves and shaded walks, which are found so peculiarly adapted to the purpose of religious meditations, have given the architect his best plan for the structure of sacred edifices; and the long-drawn ailes of our venerable Cathedrals are evidently designed, and seldom fail, to co-operate very forcibly with the solemn rites, in creating, in almost every individual, some portion of that frame of mind, with which we should approach the more immediate presence of our Maker; and to such a frame of mind, I will venture to

assert, even the stained or painted glass contributes its effects: casting no such gloom as to depress the spirits, but so far tempering the light, as to dispose the mind to serious and sublime considerations, and banish all levity of thought. With respect, indeed, to Chanting the Service, although it may be suitable to acts of praise and thanksgiving, it utterly destroys the solemnity of Prayer; nor can any thing be conceived more adverse to devotion and propriety, than to sing out the Confession and Absolution of our Sins; and, in the same strain, to implore the Almighty to save and deliver us in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment. In those parts of Divine Service, I therefore consider Chanters and Choristers as very injudiciously employed; and I greatly prefer the accustomed celebration of it in common Parish Churches, where the officiating Minister performs the Holy office, with the attention and solemnity required to give it due impression, which it will not fail in general to make, when it appears to make that impression on himself, without supposing him possessed of any superior powers of elocution.

To return to the subject of that wandering species of Devotion, which is to be sought

"On rivers' banks, in the embow'ring shades,

Or on the pebbled shore." And where, as I have already admitted, a contemplative person may often become "spiritually minded;" but if he wishes to retain and improve that disposition to any permanent or beneficial purposes, he must allow it to lead him to "the House of Prayer," and to all those means of Grace, which are appointed to give us the hope of glory and happiness hereafter.

These sentiments I have always entertained, and recently expressed in some lines on the Rural Sabbath, which I will subjoin *. They were

written under the great Oak, near the

Hear the woodland choir rejoice,

In the beams of morning blest!

See the splendid orb arise,
On this sacred day of rest!

Man, reposing in the shade

Of this antient Sire of Trees,