306 Lines intended to be prefixed to a Work on English Antiquities. [March, the Military Way, where, on a high hill, is an oval camp of great strength and ancient works; and near it, on the top of another hill, is a hillock, such as the Romans were wont to rear for soldiers slain, wherein many bones have been found. A parcel of land near the aforesaid camp is called Dane Furlong to this day." Now there is a hillock of the above description on the top of a hill not above a quarter of a mile from where the remains were found; and the whole country being studded with Roman works, shewing how much those people frequented these parts, coupled with the circumstance of so many urns containing ashes being found, favours the opinion that they belong rather to a Roman than a Danish period of our history. In the extract given from Camden, he states King Offa to have died and been buried at Offley. But Fuller, in his Church History, states he was buried at Bedford, and that his body was afterwards swept away by the overflowing of the river. Gosmore. J. C. In digging lately at Kertch, in order to make a new pavement, a coffin was discovered of rather an ordinary description, made of freestone, about two archimes long, one wide, and one thick. On opening the coffin, a superb black urn was found, of the Etruscan form, and of large dimensions, ornamented with bas-reliefs, and gilt in some parts. It was placed at the feet of the corpse, upon whose head was a golden laurel crown, beautifully executed, and weighing thirty-six zolotnitks, or about thirteen ounces of the purest gold. Near to one of the shoulders a round piece of gold was found, bearing some resemblance to a medal, having on one side the figure of a woman in relief, and on the other that of Mercury clothed as a shepherd. There were also in the tomb a strigil of iron, and another object of the same metal surrounded by copper rings. Upon the coffin-lid there was a common urn of potter's clay, full of the bones of birds, which had probably been sacrificed to the manes of the deceased. LINES INTENDED TO BE PREFIXED TO A WORK ON ENGLISH ANTIQUITIES. -Che s' ingegna Con questi van pensieri Fare il suo tristo tempo piu suave. DEEM not with idle or inglorious aim That I these few wild flowers, that whilom grew The disenchanted day that now had lost The unfinish'd task, in happier hours begun. And thus by morning light, or midnight chime, Of grey and gather'd wisdom. So the love Time's footsteps, through her long and ancient fame, Shadowing her elder glory.-The low roof, 1835.] Lines intended to be prefixed to a Work on English Antiquities. 307 B-ll. I heard the shepherd's pipe upon the hills, Its ancient echoes did the forest wake Pour'd out its startling sound.—The daisied croft Oh! sweet secluded Isle! how pleas'd I turn Amid thy beechen holts, and orchard-bloom And homestall humming with life's cheerful sounds Or soil'd the slenderest flower that deck'd thy vales! God hath been ever with thee:-thou of Him Each grassy holm, and shadowy coomb were heard, I to my studious musings.-From the loom, Hath given me in calm leisure here to lead Not friendless, though of many friends bereft, And musing much of sorrow, as befits One who through mortal toils hath wandered long : And gentle as the thoughts of childhood breathe, J. M. HISTORICAL CHRONICLE. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS. Feb. 19. This being the day appointed for the meeting of the New Parliament, a more than usual interest was excited, owing, independently of other important circumstances, to the anticipated contest in the election of the Speaker, which had become a decided party question. At two o'clock the Lord Chancellor took his seat on the woolsack; and a deputation of the Commons, headed by Mr. Ley, chief clerk of the Commons, having appeared at the bar, his Lordship stated, that the gentlemen of the House of Commons, previous to being sworn, would proceed to the election of a Speaker, who should be presented at their Lordships' bar the following day at twelve o'clock, for his Majesty's approbation. After the Commons had withdrawn, the swearing in of their Lordships commenced. In the COMMONS, The House forthwith proceeded to the question of the Speakership. Lord F. Egerton rose to propose the appointment of Sir C. M. Sutton as Speaker. On the grounds of fitness and experienced ability, he founded his hope that the motion which he proposed would meet with the support of a majority of that House.-Sir C. M. Burrell seconded the nomination.-Mr. Denison rose to propose another gentleman for the chair, the Right Hon. James Abercromby. He did so with reluctance, and from nothing but an imperious sense of public duty. In his opinion, it was the duty of that House to place in their chair a member assimilated in principle and opinions with the majority of the House. With respect to another House there might be some collision, perhaps, and it would, in such a case, be of the highest importance to have at their head an individual attached to the principles of the Reform Bill. The Hon. Gentleman then proceeded to detail the high qualifications he saw in Mr. Abercromby, and to call on all members of the House, who were reformers in reality, to vote for that gentleman. Mr. Ord seconded the nomination.-Sir C. M. Sutton then rose, and in a speech of some length refuted the charges that had been urged against him, of politically interfering with the formation of the present Ministry, or advising the dissolution of the late Parliament.Mr. Abercromby stated, that he had yielded to the suggestions of his friends, and not by any desire of his own, in standing forward as a candidate for the high office of Speaker of that House. He did not think it necessary long to trouble the House, as he was firmly convinced its decision would be such as would give weight and dignity to itself, and ensure all its rights and privileges.-Lord Stanley supported the re-election of Sir C. M.Sutton, and Lord John Russell warmly opposed it.-Sir R. Peel, in an eloquent speech, warmly eulogized the late Speaker. He said there are two candidates, one who has served the office eighteen years, during seven Parliaments, and who declined office on the ground that he thought it would have a tendency to lower the authority of the Chair. The other candidate was a member of the late Government, of whom he would not utter one word of disrespect, but of whose impartiality they had no opportunity to judge in this House. There could, then, be no doubt of the preference they ought to give; and he should resist the motion of Mr. Denison on individual and personal grounds. After some further observations, a division took place, when there appeared-for Mr. Abercromby, 316; for Sir C. M. Sutton, 306: Majority in favour of Mr. Abercromby, 10. The following day the two Houses were occupied with the swearing in of members, and other preliminary business. Feb. 24. This day his Majesty formally opened the New Parliament, with the following most gracious Speech : "My Lords and Gentlemen, "I avail myself of the earliest opportunity of meeting you in Parliament, after having recurred to the sense of my people. You will, I am confident, fully participate in the regret which I feel at the destruction, by accidental fire, of that part of the ancient Palace of Westminster, which has been long appropriated to the use of the two Houses of Parliament.Upon the occurrence of this calamity I gave immediate directions that the best provision of which the circumstances of æ Ì the case would admit, should be made for your present meeting, and it will be my wish to adopt such plans for your permanent accommodation, as shall be deemed, on your joint consideration, to be the most fitting and convenient. I will give directions that there be laid before you the report made to me by the Privy Council, in reference to the origin of the fire, and the evidence upon which that report was founded. "The assurances which I receive from my Allies, and generally from all Foreign Princes and States, of their earnest desire to cultivate the relations of amity, and to maintain with me the most friendly understanding, justify, on my part, the confident expectation of the continuance of the blessings of peace. The single exception to the general tranquillity of Europe, is the civil contest which still prevails in some of the northern provinces of Spain. I will give directions that there be laid before you articles which I have concluded with my Allies the King of the French, the Queen Regent of Spain, and the Queen of Portugal, which are supplementary to the treaty of April, 1834, and are intended to facilitate the complete attainment of the objects contemplated by that treaty. I have to repeat the expression of my regret that the relations between Holland and Belgium still remain unsettled. "Gentlemen of the House of Commons, "I have directed the estimates for the ensuing year to be prepared, and to be laid before you without delay. They have been framed with the strictest attention to economy, and I have the satisfaction of acquainting you, that the total amount of the demands for the public service, will be less on the present than it has been on any former occasion within our recent experience. The satisfactory state of the trade and commerce of the country, and of the public revenue, fully justifies the expectation that, notwithstanding the reductions in taxation which were made in the last session, and which, when they shall have taken full effect, will tend to diminish the existing surplus of the public revenue, there will remain a sufficient balance to meet the additional annual charge which will arise from providing the compensation granted by Parliament on account of the abolition of slavery throughout the British dominions. "I deeply lament that the agricultural interest continues in a state of great depression. I recommend to your consideration whether it may not be in your power, after providing for the exigencies of the public service, and consistently with the stedfast maintenance of the public credit, to devise a method for mitigating the pressure of those local charges which bear heavily on the owners and occupiers of land, and for distributing the burden of them more equally over other descriptions of property. "My Lords and Gentlemen, "The information received from the Governors of my Colonies, together with the acts passed in execution of the law for the Abolition of Slavery, will be communicated to you. It is with much satisfaction that I have observed the general concurrence of the Colonial Legislatures in giving effect to this important measure; and notwithstanding the difficulties with which the subject is necessarily attended, I have seen no reason to abate my earnest hopes of a favourable issue. Under all circumstances, you may be as-, sured of my anxious desire, and unceasing efforts, fully to realize the benevolent intentions of Parliament. "There are many important subjects, some of which have already undergone partial discussion in Parliament; the adjustment of which, at as early a period as is consistent with the mature consideration of them, would be of great advantage to the public interest. Among the first, in point of urgency, is the state of the Tithe Question in Ireland, and the means of effecting an equitable and final adjustment of it. Measures will be proposed for your consideration, which will have for their respective objects to promote the Commutation of Tithe in England and Wales to improve our civil jurisprudence, and the administration of justice in ecclesiastical causes-to make provision for the more effectual maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline, and to relieve those who dissent from the doctrines or discipline of the Church from the necessity of celebrating the ceremony of marriage according to its rites. "I have not yet received the Report from the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of Municipal Corporations, but I have reason to believe that it will be made, and that I shall be enabled to communicate it to you at an early period. "I have appointed a Commission for considering the state of the several Dioceses in England and Wales, with reference to the amount of their revenues, and to the more equal distribution of the Episcopal duties-the state of the several Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, with a view to the suggestion of such measures as may render them most conducive to the efficiency of the Established Church, and for devising the best mode of providing for the cure of souls, with reference to the residence of the clergy on their respective benefices. The especial object which I have in view, in the appointment of this Commission, is to extend more widely the means of religious worship according to the doctrines of the Established Church, and to confirm its hold upon the veneration and affections of my people. I feel it also incumbent upon me to call your earnest attention to the condition of the Church of Scotland, and to the means by which it may be enabled to increase the opportunities of religious worship for the poorer classes of soociety in that part of the United Kingdom. "It has been my duty, on this occasion, to direct your consideration to various important matters connected with our domestic policy. I rely with entire confidence on your willing co-operation in perfecting all such measures as may be calculated to remove just cause of complaint, and to promote the concord and happiness of my subjects. I rely also, with equal confidence, in the caution and circumspection with which you will apply yourselves to the alteration of laws, which affect very extensive and complicated interests, and are interwoven with ancient usages, to which the habits and feelings of my people have conformed. I feel assured that it will be our common object in supplying that which may be defective, or in renovating that which may be impaired, to strengthen the foundations of those institutions in Church and State, which are the inheritance and birthright of my people, and which amidst all the vicissitudes of public affairs have proved, under the blessing of Almighty God, the truest guarantees of their liberties, their rights, and their religion." FOREIGN NEW S. SPAIN. Spain appears in a very weak and unsettled state; and the capital has lately been the seat of an insurrectionary movement. It appears that a battalion of soldiery, small in number as compared with the garrison, had the boldness to seize upon the principal guard-house at the Post-office; to fortify themselves in it, in utter defiance of all authority; to fire upon and kill the Captain-General, Canterac, who went to remonstrate with them; and eventually exact, from the weakness of the government, such entire impunity for these outrages, that the mutineers marched out from their stronghold with drums beating and all the manifestations of a signal triumph. The mutineers were a battalion of the 2d regiment of light infantry, in number about 700, which had but lately arrived in Madrid on its way to the North. Their object, it is said, was to establish the liberal constitution of 1812, and of removing from the councils of the Queen Regent General Llauder, who appears to be distrusted as a politician, and feared as a Court favourite. Llauder has since been dismissed from the ministry, and re-appointed to the Capt.- Generalship of Catalonia. Duke, who is henceforward to go by the title and name of Prince Augustus of Portugal, appears to have met with a cordial reception among the Portuguese, and is likely to become popular. GERMANY. Under the auspices of the Austrian government, the whole of the Danube, from Presburg to the Black Sea, and even to Constantinople, a distance of fifteen hundred miles, has lately been opened to the influence of steam. This project was first undertaken by Count Szechengi, a Hungarian nobleman of great fortune and very enlightened mind, who, in quest of mechanical information, has made several journeys to this country. His operations for improving the navigation of the Danube, have been upon a scale so vast, as to entitle him to the appellation of the Bridgewater of the German States. After expending great sums from his private fortune, he has at length received assistance in his plans from the Prince Metternich. The most active exertions are accordingly to be made for the removal of the only formidable interruption which exists to the navigation of the Danube, the rocks at the rapids between Moldavia and Glendova. Through these rapids, a channel or kind of canal is intended to be cut, by means of a divingbell, which has lately gone from England for that purpose, accompanied by one of the seamen who was engaged in raising |