The Gentleman's Magazine

Mr. URBAN,-A friend of mine hav.. ing recently presented me with an extremely interesting typographical relic, I think fit to apprise you thereof, as perchance the notice of it may induce some of your numerous able Contributors to provide your columns with a historical disquisition on Almanacs; a subject affording scope for many curious particulars, and which has been slightly disserted on by Beckman, History of Inventions, vol. iii. The gift of my friend is an "Almanacke for xii. yere," printed by Wynkyn de Worde, anno 1508, which, in so far as I am aware, has not been noticed by any bibliographer. It consists of 15 leaves, and, with the exception of a small portion torn off one of them, is in the highest preservation. It is a Lilliputian square tome, resembling the size commonly termed sixty-fours. There are neither red-letters nor wood-cuts in the "bookie." The matter introductory is as follows: "This Almanacke and Table shall endure xii. yere, and is calked after the latytude of Oxe'forde, & it is taken out of the grete ephymerides or almanacke of xxx. yere, & sheweth the coniunccio's, that is to say, the metyng & fyrst lyghtnynge that the mone taketh from the sonne, the whiche is called the chaunge or the newe mone amonge us. And the opposycyons, that is to say, the fuls mone, whan we se it full & rou'de.

And ye shall alway begyn the day marked in the almanacke at after none of the day past, &c. Also ye shal fynde euery yere how longe the flesshe tyme is betwene Crystmas and lente, & that is called Intervalu', and there ye shal se how mani wekes and dayes the tyme is betwene Crystmas and lente, & so forthe shal ye fynde Septuagesima, that is, whan Alleluye Gloria i' excelsis, & Te Deu' laudamus is layde downe in Holy Chyrche; and than foloweth Quadragesima, that is, the fyrst sondaye in clene lente, and than ye shal fynde eester daye, Rogacyon daye, Ascensyn day, Whytsonday, and Aduent sondaye. And also ye shal fynde the eclypses betweene the sonne and the mone, with the daye, houre, and mynute folowynge, lately corrected, and emprynted at London, in the Fletestrete, by Wynkyn de Worde. In the yere of the Incarnacyon of our lorde. a, MCCCCC. and .viii. The .xxiii. yere of the reygne of our most redoubted so ueraygne lorde ki'ge Henry the vii." I do not remember to have seen or heard of an older British Almanac. I have a sheet one, printed in black and red, for the yere 1534. W. B. D. D. TURNBULL.

Edinburgh.

M. H. R. directs attention to the "Fragment on Mummies," which is attributed to Sir Thomas Brown, in the recent edition of his Works, at the 274th page of the 4th volume. He remarks: "On my first perusal, some doubts of its genuineness suggested themselves; and a further examination of the 'Fragment' greatly confirmed them. I am far from insinuating that Mr. Crossley, on whose authority it rests, was not a believer in its genuineness; but the manuscript from which he copied it might have been intended merely as an imitation of Sir Thomas Brown's style. It is one which we might suppose Charles Lamb to have written on some blank page of the MS. The thoughts and reflections of Sir Thomas Brown are slavishly copied ; perhaps there is not one of which the germ might not be found in his genuine writings; but they are not first thoughts which were afterwards to be wrought into his finished works; for the composition is methodical, and very elaborate. But while such is the nature of the thoughts, the flow of the language, the rhythm, and the texis of the sentences, all strike the ear as modern. Can any of your better-informed Readers contribute any argument either to authenticate it as Sir Thomas Brown's, or to prove demonstrably its spuriousness? On the latter supposition, the occurrence of some word used in a modern sense might be sufficient to determine the question. The subject, though capable of being made an interesting one, had escaped my recollection, until I saw a part of the Fragment quoted in the Edinburgh Review, as an undoubted relic of Sir Thomas Brown; and yet it was a part that struck me as peculiarly suspicious."

J. G. N. would be glad to be referred to any copies, whether in print or manuscript, of a political Song, evidently written in 1623, beginning,

When Charles has brought his Spanish girl.

In answer to the inquiry of a Correspondent, Mr. GREGORY, of the Lord Mayor's Court Office, replies that Alderman Rudge was buried on the 18th Dec. 1640, in the chancel of Allhallows church, Broad-street; which may be found upon reference to the Parish Register. He served the office of Sheriff in 1637; but never was Lord Mayor of London.

We beg to return the thanks of J. W. B. and our own, to Mr. S. HORSFIELD, and propose to adopt his recommendation.

GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE.

MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE.

BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE T. PEREGRINE COURTENAY. 2 Vols. 8vo. MR. COURTENAY mentions the circumstances which induced him to become the biographer of Temple :-" He found that his style was a favourite theme with all writers on English Literature; and that the skilfulness and integrity of his diplomacy were celebrated by all politicians; at the same time, he ascertained that the excellencies of his style were praised by those who never read his works; and the honesty of his politics admitted by those who never traced his conduct." We believe that Mr. Courtenay's assertion is true, and that the fame of Temple rests rather on tradition than absolute knowledge; it is received, because it has been received: and the public having no motives to suspect the correctness of their opinions, had no leisure to investigate the evidence on which they are founded. The fact is, such writers as Sir W. Temple cannot expect to form exceptions to the neglect which gradually closes round all but those of eminent genius: as past times fade insensibly from view; as new opinions arise; as the circumference of knowledge increases; as taste refines; even as style and language alter; and as the eventful history of the present day, rising in bold relief,-and in bright colours before us, throws an obscure twilight on the shadows of the past. Temple was once a favourite writer, and was read" by the witty and the fair." Then, on the strength of that reputation, he was read less, but equally praised: subsequently, his reputation, though somewhat impaired in brightness, still remained, and his works were found even in small and select libraries; but the eventful period of the last quarter of a century has, by its proximity and its greatness, reduced the importance of his political conduct, while in literature, other writers of far deeper learning and brighter genius have taken the place which he once occupied ; and his works are now consulted by the scholar alone, who considers them as forming part of the history of literature, and who, like Mr. Courtenay, gives an account of them to a public, who are very willing to trust to the judgment of the biographer and critic. Greater men, the contemporaries and successors of Temple, have shared the same fate; familiar and celebrated as is the name of Dryden, yet scarcely any English poet is so little in demand. The works of our old writers that are most read, are all in the department of Theology. It is a professional demand; but the volumes that used, in our boyhood, to be found by the side of Temple, those of Locke, Bolingbroke, Sydney, Harrington, where are they now seen? Must we say it?-even those exquisite and unrivalled pages that were dictated by the Muse herself to her favourite son, and that showed the form of the all-accomplished Atticus, as he appeared behind the mask of Clio; those enchanting pages, without which the breakfast-table was mute, and the saloon was dull; those pages, which formed the amusement of the fair, and ensured the admiration of the studious; which were seen with equal success in the walks of

* "People (says an Eastern proverb) resemble more the times in which they live, than they resemble their fathers.'

poetry or philosophy; which to-day could brush with a light and graceful hand the follies of the prude and the levity of the coquette; and tomorrow could examine with critical discrimination the sublime beauties of Milton's Creation, or investigate the philosophy of the human mind ;-even the SPECTATOR itself, once the model and exemplar of all that was refined in thought and expression, has passed from the toilet and the table, to the shelves of the collector; and is to be met with only in some critical dissection of its neglected beauties, in the pages of a Mackintosh or a Coleridge. Still, what was once important in history, must always retain a value; what was once correct in taste, must always be worthy of preservation. The life of a statesman like Temple must be well worth recording. His name is closely united to an eventful period of English history; and his writings, the elegant amusement of his hours of "lettered ease,' can never be without attraction to the intelligent reader, and must form part of the select literature of the country.

From these observations it will be seen, that we approached Mr. Courtenay's work with the expectation of having our curiosity gratified; and we think that he has well deserved the praise of being an honest and intelligent biographer. That his work will be popular we do not expect; à century and a half have closed over the Triple Alliance; and the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle and the politics of the Hague, have ceased much to interest Europe; while comparisons of antient and modern learning have been found to be neither very instructive nor very entertaining: but that which is worth knowing at all, is worth knowing with correctness; and Mr. Courtenay has given us a biography exceeding all former ones, in the history of Temple's public conduct, and in the interesting details of his familiar and domestic life.

The first Life of Temple was written by Boyer, a French Protestant refugee, the author of the well-known and very useful Dictionary; this, Mr. Courtenay calls a very plain and useful work. In 1720, when Sir W. Temple's Works were collected, a Life formed from that of Boyer was prefixed to them; and in 1731, Lady Gifford, Temple's sister, prefixed a new Life to the next edition; but both these accounts had the same defect of passing over the private life of Temple; Boyer saying very little, and Lady Gifford omitting all. It was to be feared that such a defect could not be supplied; but fortunately, Mr. Courtenay discovered that the property and valuable papers of Sir W. Temple, had descended throngh the Bacons into the family of the Rev. Mr. Longe of Coddenham* in Suffolk, who with great liberality and courtesy offered him the use of all the documents in his possession. Among these papers is the Life of Temple by Lady Gifford, with the suppressed passages. There are various letters; some unpublished romances and essays, a family prayer, and a pleasing collection of letters written by Lady Temple before marriage to her future husband. The papers of public interest, and those relating to Temple's correspondence with the Secretaries of State, during his employment abroad, Mr. Longe presented to the British Museum, where they are found in five volumes, under the name of the Longe Papers. In the State Paper Office, many other unpublished documents were found. Mr. Courtenay

*The Bacon family lived at Shrubland near Coddenham, bought afterwards by Sir W. Middleton. It is now one of the best seats in the county, and wants only water to make it an agreeable place.

†These suppressed passages are the most interesting part of the whole Life.

says, he is at a loss to discover any principle upon which former selections have been made; some of the most curious particulars having been taken from these neglected papers. Many letters also existed in the rich library at Stowe, which were freely lent. On the subject of the collocation of our historical records, Mr. Courtenay makes an observation which we consider well worthy the attention of Government. He says, "Nothing is more common than to find an official letter in the State Paper Office, and the answer to it in the British Museum, and the reply in the State Paper Office again; or perhaps, not forthcoming anywhere. For this the keepers of the several repositories are in no way blameable; each keeps and communicates his own papers with care and liberality; but it were well worthy of the consideration of Government, whether at least all the materials of the history of one period, might not be collected into one place of deposit." Mr. Courtenay is aware of the too common impropriety of letting biography spread into the province of general history, and he has mentioned the effect which the preservation of this distinction has had on his work: "I have endeavoured to proportion the length of my narrative to the importance of each transaction to Temple's fame. Thus the Triple Alliance, and still more the negotiation with the Bishop of Munster, would bear an undue proportion to the history of the Congress of Nimeguen, if my book were a history of Europe; but in this great affair, Temple, though one of the plenipotentiaries, had a small share and no influence: whereas in the others he was a principal actor, and the principles of the Triple Alliance formed his political creed."

Mr. Courtenay also, for the unusual frequency and minuteness of his references, affords a twofold explanation, which we offer to the dispassionate consideration of the Lingards and Brodies, and the other unbiassed writers of the day. "In the first place," he says, 66 my conversance with histories has taught me that not the most honest and veracious of historians is to be depended upon for a matter of fact. It may seem a harsh judgment, but I believe it to be a just one, that when the best of men, in the best of language, makes an averment for which he gives no authority, there is an equal chance, whether it be false, or whether it be true: and if he founds it upon an unnamed document, there is always a high probability that the document will bear another construction. No man can write from his own knowledge of that which passed before he was born; he must take his notions from some evidence, or from some authority; and he who conceals from those whom he teaches, the grounds of his own belief, may be suspected of caring more for establishing his own views, than for the truth of the matter."

We have no space to follow Mr. Courtenay's history of Temple's political conduct, which commenced with his mission to Von Ghalen, the Bishop of Munster, and finally closed with the failure of the Privy Council scheme. He came forward under the protection of Arlington; but the integrity and simplicity of his conduct gained him ultimately that confidence and respect, which placed him on the sure foundation of his own merits He had the misfortune, as a statesman, to live in times when intrigue was esteemed the best policy, when to negotiate secretly with one's enemies,* to deceive one's allies, and even to blind those who are nego

* On Charles the Second, his secret negotiations with Louis, and the projected abandonment of the Triple Alliance, see Mem. I. p. 314. The whole of the thirteenth chapter is well worth reading: Temple's ingenuous character, and his hatred of all

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The Gentleman's Magazine, Tomy 161-162