AFTER the death of John, London being in possession of the French prince, Louis, an assembly of the principal authorities was convened at Winchester, under the presidency of Gualo, the papal legate. The principal persons who attended the council were, Peter, bishop of Winchester, Jocelyn, bishop of Bath, Ranulph, earl of Chester, William, earl of Pembroke and earl marshal, William, earl of Ferrers, and Philip of Albany, together with a great number of abbots, priors, and other ecclesiastics. They unanimously resolved that the young king should be crowned on the 28th of October, A. D. 1216. The ceremony was performed in the cathedral of Winchester, by the bishop of that see, aided by the bishop of Bath. The papal legate compelled Henry to do homage to the holy Roman church and Pope Innocent for his kingdom of England and Ireland; he also made him swear that he would pay an annual tribute of one thousand marks to the papal see,

as his father had stipulated to do, when he was absolved from the sentence of excommunication. In return for this submission, Gualo excommunicated the French prince, and all his adherents in England. The ceremony of coronation was repeated by Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, as Holinshed informs us: "Moreover, in the yeare of our Lord 1220, and upon the seaventeenth day of Maie, being Whitsunday, the king was eftsoones solemnelie crowned at Westminster, to the end it might be said that now after the extinguishment of all seditious factions, he was crowned by the generall consent of all the estates and subjects of his realm."

Early in the year 1236, Henry married the Lady Eleanor, daughter to the earl of Provence, whose beauty is celebrated by all the chronicles. Langtoft says:

Henry kyng our prince at Westminster kirke

The Erly's douhter of Province, the fairest mayb o life Beyond the se that word, was non suilh creature. The ceremony of her coronation was performed with extraordinary pomp on the 22nd of January. Iolinshed's account of it will no doubt gratify our readers:"At the solemnitie of this feast and coronation of the quene, all the high peeres of the realm both spirituall and temporall were present, there to exercise their offices as to them apperteined. The citizens of London were there in great arraie, bearing afore hir in solemn wise, three hundred and three score cups of gold and silver, in token that they ought to wait upon hir cup. The archbishop of Canturburie (according to his dutie) crowned hir, the bishop of London assisting him as his deacon. The earle of Chester bare the sword of St.

Edward before the king, in token that he was earle of the palace, and had authoritie to correct the king, if he should see him to swarve from the limits of justice; his constable of Chester attended him, and remained where the presse was thicke, with his rod or warder. The earle of Pembroke, high marshall, bare the rod before the king, and made roome before him both in the church and in the hall, placing everie man, and ordering the service at the table. The wardens of the Cinque Ports bare a canopie over the king, supported with four speares. The earle of Leicester held the bason when they washed. The earle of Warren in the place of the earle of Arundell, bicause he was under age, attended on the king's cup. M. Michael Bellet was butler by

office. The earle of Hereford exercised the roome of high marshall in the king's house. The lord William of Beauchamp was the almoner. The cheefe justice of the forrests on the right of the king removed the dishes on the table, though at the first he was staied by some allegation made to the contrarie. The citizens of London served out wine to everie one in great plentie. The citizens of Winchester had oversight of the kitchen and larderie. And so everie person according to his dutie exercised his roome, and bicause no trouble should arise, manie things were suffered, which upon further advise taken therein were reformed. The chancellor and other ordinarie officers kept their place. The feast was plentifull, so that nothing wanted that could be wished. Moreover in Tothill fields roiall justes were holden by the space of eight daies together."

This account is fully confirmed by Matthew Paris, who adds, that "such was the multitude of peers and peeresses, such the crowd of ecclesiastics, such the assemblage of the lower orders, and such the concourse of minstrels, morrice-dancers, and buffoons, that the city of London could scarcely contain them." And of the coronation feast he says, that "it displayed all the world could produce for glory or delight.”

This is the first coronation in which we read of tourna

ments being introduced, but the most valuable part of Holinshed's description is the reason he assigns for the sword of state being borne by a palatine peer, namely, to show that the palatine nobles had the right of restraining the sovereign when he violated his royal duties.

EDWARD I.

On the 15th, or, as other authorities say, the 19th of August, 1274, Edward I., and his queen Eleanor, were crowned at Westminster by the archbishop of Canterbury, aided by other prelates. We prefer the latter date, because it is that expressly stated by Langtoft, who was a cotemporary.

In the yere folowand that I rekened here
Edward com to land, als prince of grete powere
The next Sonenday after the assumpcioun
Of Mari moder & may, Sir Edward had the coroun.
In the kyrke of Westmynstere, at the abbay solempuely
The bishop of Canterbere, Robert of Kilwardeby
Corouned Edward thore, biforn alle the clergy
And Dame Helianore corouned quene & lady
Was never at St. Denys feste holden more ly
Ne was of more pris, ne served so redy d
Was never prince that I writen of fonde
More had treief & teres than he had for his lond.

Holinshed adds some remarkable particulars of this

coronation:

"At this coronation were present, Alexander, king of Scots, and John, earle of Bretaine, with their wives that were sisters to King Edward. The king of Scots did homage unto King Edward for the realme of Scotland, in like manner as other the kings of Scotland before him had doone to other kings of England, ancestoures to this King Edward. At the solemnitie of this coronation there were let go at libertie (catch them that catch might) five hundred great horsses by the king of Scots, the earles of Cornewall, Glocester, Pembroke, and others, as they were allighted fro their backs."

Clement proposed to send over a cardinal to officiate upon the occasion; but Edward rejected the proffer, and prevailed upon the pontiff to grant a commission to the archbishop of York, and the bishops of Durham and London, to perform the office. These prelates refused to sanction such a precedent, and Edward again applied to the pope to remove Archbishop Winchelsey's suspension. Clement assented; but the archbishop, who was out of the kingdom, and confined to his bed by severe illness, delegated his office to the bishops of Winchester, Salisbury, and Chichester. Scarcely was this difficulty removed, when another arose, from the partiality of the weak king for his unworthy favourite, Piers Gaveston; the principal nobles refused to attend the ceremony unless this unpopular minion should be sent out of the kingdom. Edward promised to give them satisfaction on the subject in the next parliament, which he agreed to assemble at the ensuing Easter; but he gave proof of the little reliance that could be placed upon his word, in the council which he held to regulate the procession. Edward disposed of the sceptre, the cross, St. Edward's staff, the spurs, and the swords, with little regard to prudence or precedent; but nothing was more offensive to the nobles than his delivering the crown to be borne by Piers Gaveston, who was dressed finer than the king himself, and outshone everybody in the procession. Gaveston also was appointed to superintend all the arrangements; but he performed his duty so negligently, that, as Holinshed informs us, "There was such presse and throng at this coronation, that a knight, called Sir John Bakewell, was thrust, or crowded to death." The bishops, also, were incommoded, and forced to hurry through the service in a slovenly manner; and yet it was not concluded before three in the afternoon. Great abundance of viands and wines had been provided, but the dinner did not begin until night, and was then badly served; the usual forms of service were neglected, and the whole was a continued scene of confusion, singularly emblematic of the state of the nation, during this monarch's unhappy reign.

PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THE ALGEBRAIC SIGNS + and -.

THE SIgn + (plus), indicating addition, was early expressed et (and); the forms of its gradual contraction from the manuscript form (a good deal similar to the early printed forms,) will be apparent from the annexed series of transformations, all of which are easily verified by a reference to existing documents.

& & & + + +

Various contortions of the first symbol of this series may be found in early books and MSS.; but in the one case they are merely for ornamental printing, and in the second for ornamental writing. The spirit which dictated them, still maintains its ground in all parts of the civilized world.

SAINT SWITHIN.

COME not St. Swithin with a cloudy face,
Ill-ominous; for old tradition says,
If Swithin weep, a deluge will ensue,
A forty days of rain. The swain believes,
And blesses sultry Swithin if he smiles,
But curses if he frowns. So boding dames
Teach the fray'd boy a thousand ugly signs,
Which riper judgment cannot shake aside:
And so the path of life is rough indeed,
And the poor fool feels double smart, compelled
To trudge it barefoot on the naked flint.
For what is judgment and the mind informed,
Your Christian armour, gospel-preparation,
But sandals for the feet, that tread with ease,
Nor feel those harsh asperities of life,
Which ignorance and superstition dread?
I much admire we ever should complain
That life is sharp and painful, when ourselves
Create the better half of all our woe.
Whom can he blame who shudders at the sight
Of his own candle, and foretels with grief
A winding-sheet? who starts at the red coal
Which bounces from his fire, and picks it up,
His hair on end, a coffin? spills his salt,
And dreads disaster? dreams of pleasant fields,
And smells a corpse? and ever shuns with care
The unpropitious hour to pare his nails?
Such fears but ill become a soul that thinks,
Let time bring forth what heavy plagues it will.
Who pain anticipates, that pain feels twice,
And often feels in vain. Yet, though I blame
The man who with too busy eye unfolds
The page of time, and reads his lot amiss,
I can applaud to see the smiling maid
With pretty superstition pluck a rose,
And lay it by till Christmas. I can look
With much complacency on all her arts
To know the future husband. Yes, ye fair,
I deem it good to take from years to come
A loan of happiness. We could not live,
Did we not hope to-morrow would produce
A better lot than we enjoy to-day
Hope is the dearest med'cine of the soul,
A sweet oblivious antidote, which heals

The better half of all the pains of life.-IIURDIS.

NOTHING gives so high a polish as truly religious feelings: they shrink into nothingness all those minor objects which create asperities between man and man: they give, from the habit of self-examination, an insight into the heart, a quickness of perception that knows every tender point, and avoids touching it, except to heal, whether its delicacy spring from the virtues, the infirmities, or even the vices of our nature. The Christian cannot be proud, vain, or negligent, except in the inverse of his religion: as the sun of righteousness shines out in his heart, these clouds melt away.

The courtesy of Christianity is equally visible in health and sickness, in retirement as in a crowd, in a cottage as in a palace. Those sudden gusts of adverse or prosperous fortune, so fatal to artificial pretensions, do not throw it off its guard. Like the finest porcelain of the East, when broken in a thousand pieces, every fracture displays new smoothness and polish; and, in its shivered state, it best shows the superiority of its beautiful structure, over those coarser kinds which are" of the earth, earthy."

The courtesy of Christianity is equally solicitous to avoid offending the poor and low, as the rich and great; recollecting that to the poor the Gospel was first preached, and that the Saviour of the world ennobled their situation, by choosing it for his own.MRS. TRENCH; Thoughts of a Parent on Education.

-

In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who would labour to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the destinies of men and citizens. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion; reason, and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.-WASHINGTON.

THE MICROSCOPE. No IV.

In several of the preceding volumes of the Saturday Magazine, we have given representations of many natural objects, which, when viewed under the microscope, have presented singular and beautiful appearances. In the present selection of objects we shall confine ourselves to an account of the organization of some of our common flowers, because they are the more easily referred to.

Fig. 1.

or

Fig 1, is a section of the blossom of the gooseberry. Between the petals flower-leaves are the stamens, each consisting of a filament with an oval anther at the top, of a fine golden colour; the cup from which these grow is the calyx, in the centre of which are the stigma, and immediately under the cup is seen the ovary or seed-case, which forms the future gooseberry. All this beautiful arrangement of parts is for the purpose of perfecting that simple fruit.

D

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

B

The common wild heart'sease, if the leaves are removed and the inner parts exposed, exhibits the appearance shown in fig 2.

The growth of a hazel-nut is well worth noticing. In the spring of the year many of the small branches are covered with two kinds of blossom, fig. 3; one kind is easily discovered, hanging like so many little yellow tails, shining beautifully in the sunbeams; these are called catkins, but it is not from these that the nut is produced. A closer inspection will enable you to discover near to the catkins, numerous small flower or rather fruit buds, of quite a different nature, consisting of a small group of scales, from the centre of which a number of very fine red filaments proceed. If we dissect this little bud, we find that these filaments are arranged in pairs, each pair being attached to an ovary or seed-vessel, containing two small seeds, one of which only comes to perfection. The left-hand figure B, is the catkin, D one pair of the filaments with the ovary, and surrounded by a small jagged calyx, containing, when partly grown, the two seeds as shown at E.

.

that it never flowers, but if it be attentively observed on a warm day in June or July, little straw-coloured specks will be discovered, and the leaf on which ene of these specks is found, presents the appearance of fig. 5, when highly magnified; the flower being embodied in the substance of the leaf, and just protruding from a slit in its side. If this is carefully opened, the flower itself can be detached, and will appear like fig. 6. The blossoms and the stem of nearly all the grasses are worth noticing, and present to the view a very beautiful arrangement of parts.

We have already described that curious flower the vegetable fly-trap *, and the singular property of its leaves. The complicated construction of these leaves is most beautiful when seen under the microscope. In order to exhibit this arrangement, cut a very thin slice off one of its leaves through its entire thickness, and in the direction of its veins; place a portion of this in water under the microscope, and viewing it as a transparent object, it will present the following appearance.

I HAVE known what the enjoyments and advantages of this life are, and what the more refined pleasures which learning and intellectual power can bestow; and with all the experience that more than three-score years can give, I, now on the eve of my departure, declare to you, (and earnestly pray that you may hereafter live and act on the conviction,) that health is a great blessing,-competence obtained by honourable industry a great blessing,-and a great blessing it is to have kind, faithful, and loving friends and relatives; but, that the greatest of all blessings, is the most ennobling of all privileges, is to be indeed a Christian.-COLERIDGE.

LONDON:

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HAY-CLIFFORD CASTLE.

THE few fragments of the once magnificent Abbey Cumhir that have escaped the ruthless hand of time, may be traced in a pleasant valley about seven miles north-east of Rhayadyr, on a verdant bank of the Clewedog. The situation of this venerable fane amidst lofty and beautiful hills is well calculated to inspire devotion. According to Leland, it was founded in 1143, for sixty Cistercian monks, but was never finished. There are a few specimens, (if we believe tradition,) still in good preservation, in Llanidloes church, consisting of six arches surrounded with small columns, ending in capitals of palm-leaves, which, according to a date on the roof, were brought from the abbey in 1542, which date corresponds with the final dissolution of monasteries in this kingdom. Leland says that the abbey was destroyed by Owen Glendower in 1401.

There are several barrows in this neighbourhood, and numerous carneddau, the most perfect of which is one on Camlow, near Abbey Cwmhir; and another on Gwastaden, a craggy wooded hill near Rhayadyr, is considered the largest in the county.

Llandegle, a pretty little village, celebrated for its medicinal waters, lies on the road from Rhavadyr to VOL. XIII.

New Radnor, at no great distance from the former, and is well worthy of a visit, if it were only for the sake of its very lovely scenery. Mr. Roscoe tells us, that "a very singular range of rocks, abounding in beautiful quartz crystals, nearly joins the churchyard, and is much visited both for the views it commands, and the glittering treasures which may be won from the clefts and sides of the rock."

The Wye, after passing Rhayadyr, is considerably augmented by the waters of the Elian and Ithon; and Cwm Elian, the beauties of which have been celebrated by the Rev. W. Lisle Bowles, well merits the attention of the tourist. Mr. Roscoe calls this "the paradise of the district, created, like Hafod, out of bare and cultureless land." The name of Cwm Elian, is derived from the little torrent Elian, which runs through this singularly-romantic vale. Its waters join the Wye at Aber-dau-ddwr.

The Ithon, scarcely inferior to our peerless heroine the Wye, in scenes of picturesque beauty, joins the latter four miles above Builth, the Bullaum Silurum of the Romans. The scenery about Pont ar Ithon has been pronounced to be scarcely exceeded by any on the Wye above Ross. Pursuing the course of the Ithon upwards, we come to Llandrindod Wells, which are situated near the banks of the river, about four miles to the south of Penybont. When these 388

large city having been swallowed up by an earthquake, the waters of the lake afterwards covering the site. This, however, is probably mere fable, as there is no historical notice of such an event.

In following the course of the Wye from Builth to Hay, the valley becomes contracted by high mountains on either side, and the road runs along the edge of the river, affording occasionally some charming prospects. A fine reach brings to our view the beautifully-retired village of Aberedwy, with its primitive church, and time-worn ivy-clad castle, situated at the

questionably one of the most enchanting spots in the Principality. The Edwy descends for a considerable distance through a deep valley; but, for about half a mile before it joins the Wye, its channel is confined on either side by a lofty wall of rock, consisting of horizontal blocks of compact slate or flag-stone, in some places broken into crags, which overhang the abyss, and threaten the intruder who ventures beneath to view the sublime prospect they offer to his contemplation. Nothing certainly can exceed in grandeur and picturesque effect the scenery in every direction. Gilpin remarks,

BUILTH*, situated on the north-west extremity of Breconshire, has long been extolled for the salubrity of its air, and the picturesque beauty of its position on the banks of the Wye, in a broad and pleasant plain, embosomed by woods and mountains. The town is singularly built, having two parallel streets, which form irregular terraces on the side of a deep declivity. The streets are narrow, and the houses generally mean and squalid. A handsome stone bridge, crected in 1770, leads into Radnorshire. The remains of the castle are situated at the east end of the town, and comprise only a small portion of the wall facing the north. The site of the keep is about forty or fifty yards in circumference, surrounded by a ditch, and defended on the north side by two trenches. History has transmitted to us neither the name of its founder nor the period of its erection. The castle, originally of British origin, was probably afterwards rebuilt by the Bruces or Mortimers. In 1209 it was repaired and fortified by Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester; shortly afterwards it fell into the possession of Giles de Bruce, Bishop of Hereford; and after the defeat of Llewellyn, in 1282, became an English fortress. It was accidentally destroyed by fire, together with the greater part of the town, in the year 1690.

About a mile north-west from the town are some mineral springs, called Park Wells; there are three sorts of water, each strongly impregnated: viz., saline, sulphureous, and chalybeate. Pump-rooms and other accommodations are provided for visiters, who are often very numerous.

From a hill above Builth a good view may be obtained of Llyn (lake) Savathan, or Brecon Meer, which lies about three miles to the south-west of Brecknock. It is called by Giraldus, Clamosum, from the "terrible thundering noise it makes upon the breaking up of the ice in Winter." This lake is two miles broad, and about the same in length. Its depth is in some parts thirteen fathoms, and it abounds with various kinds of fish. Marianus calls this place Bricenaic Meer, from a castle which was reduced by Edelfleda in 913; but whether he means this or Blaen Lleweny Castle is uncertain. The country people have a very singular tradition, of a

Builth signifies according to H. Llwyd, Ox-cliff, or Oxen-holt.

It is possible, I think, the Wye may in this place be more beautiful than in any other part of its course. Between Ross and Chepstow, the grandeur and beauty of its banks are its chief praise; the river itself has no other merit than that of a winding surface of smooth water. But here, added to the same decoration from its banks, the Wye itself assumes a more beautiful character, pouring over which a solemn parading stream through a flat channel shelving rocks, and forming itself into eddies and cascades, cannot exhibit. The Wye also, in this part of its course, still receives further beauty from the woods which adorn its banks, and which the navigation of the river in its lower reaches forbids. Here the whole is perfectly rural and unincumbered: even a boat, I believe, is never seen beyond the Hay.

Aberedwy Castle is interesting to the antiquary, from having been the favourite residence, and latest retreat, of Llewellyn ap Griffyth, of whose fate we have previously spoken.

On Garth Hill, an inconsiderable elevation on the north side of the Wye, the vestiges of an ancient British camp may be traced. Erwood, on the opposite bank of the river, presents nothing worthy of notice, save that the tourist, if he expects comfortable accommodation, must wend his way elsewhere. Three miles from Erwood, stands Llangoed Castle, pleasantly embowered in woods, through the breaks of which, glimpses of the river may be obtained as far as Swaine. Near Llangoed is a magnificent dingle far from any thoroughfare.

The river near Boughwood Castle, makes the largest horse-shoe bend in its whole course. At Maeslough Castle, situate on an eminence above the village of Glasbury, an ancient seat of the Howarths, Gilpin speaks of the view as "wonderfully amusing." He says, the situation is, in its kind, perhaps, one of the finest in Wales. A lawn extends to the river, which encircles it with a curve, at the distance of half a mile. The banks are enriched with various objects, amongst which two bridges with winding roads, and the tower of Glasbury church surrounded by a wood, are conspicuous. A country equally enriched, stretches in the distance till the landscape is terminated by mountains. The bridge over the Wye at Glasbury, is remarkable, being constructed partly of wood, and partly of stone; it consists of several arches, and has a picturesque appearance.

From hence to Hay, a distance of about four miles, the scenery loses much of that grand and romantic character, which we have previously endeavoured to