#Among the Earl & Serpent thoughts

[deathfavor]

Luna (one of the cats) is currently laying on my ankle. Which might not be a problem except I'm a side sleeper and she got me while I was on my back fixing my blanket. How am I to sleep like this.

[archivist-crow]

Odds and Ends:

BEWILDERING WOMEN

In June 1905, on five separate occasions, 240 people saw a woman in white flying over Voltana, Spain. Frequently, she was flying against the wind, but she had no wings or apparent flying apparatus. She was always sighted in daylight, and sporadically people heard angelic singing coming from the apparition. Two Englishmen were among the village residents who witnessed the events. No trace of a hoax could be found.

In 1953, Eberta Villanfane had gone to visit his cousin at a mine in Argentina. One night, he woke up in his sheepskin bed to the sight of a beautiful woman coming toward him. He thought he was dreaming, and he started to get up. The woman indicated that he should stay. Her clothing consisted of a skin-tight, green, elastic-mesh garment, and her feet appeared like serpent heads with eyes shining on the insteps. Villanfane raced outside. The woman was settling onto the sheepskins when he looked back. The next day the sheepskins were no longer white, but scorched yellow.

In 1969, while on duty in Vietnam, Earl Morrison and two other marines were sitting on top of a bunker talking when something flew toward them. Morrison said that it looked like a bat at first, but as it came closer they could see that it was a naked woman. Her skin was black, as were her wings, and she glowed with a bright but pale green light in the night. Heading toward them, the woman got within ten feet or so of the soldiers before veering away. It was only then that they heard her previously silent wings begin to flap. Morrison thought that her skin was covered with fur rather than feathers, and her arms appeared to have no bones in them.

Text from: Almanac of the Infamous, the Incredible, and the Ignored by Juanita Rose Violins, published by Weiser Books, 2009

[africanrenaissance]

Thracian phiale adorned with Negro heads and acorns

Panagyurishte Treasure [1]

Discovered on December 8, 1949 in Panagyurishte, Bulgaria (24 karat gold, c. 400-300 BCE)

Permanently housed at the National Historical Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria, currently touring at the Plovdiv Regional Historical Museum in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

The treasure includes a phiale, amphora, and seven rhytons used for wine, ritualistically, in religious ceremonies and feasts.

You’ve possibly seen this libation bowl [2] on the cover of Frank M. Snowden, Jr’s book Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks.

Thracian amphora adorned centaur handles, Hercules battling a serpent, and Negro heads on the openings for pouring [3]

Panagyurishte Treasure

Discovered on December 8, 1949 in Panagyurishte, Bulgaria (24 karat gold, c. 400-300 BCE)

Permanently housed at the National Historical Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria, currently touring at the Plovdiv Regional Historical Museum in Plovdiv, Bulgaria [4]

The treasure includes a phiale, amphora, and seven rhytons used for wine, ritualistically, in religious ceremonies and feasts.

Thracians and Ethiopians

Thracian refers to various Indo-European tribes located in Southeastern Europe, majority of them today being Bulgarians. Although there is little historical reference to Thracians interacting with blacks, making it hard to understand where they received inspiration and why, there seems to have been a significance to ancient writers in the almost nonexistent correlation between the two. The most popular being from the Greek philosopher, theologian, and poet Xenophanes, in his Fragments:

“In my opinion mortals have created their gods with the dress and voice and appearance of mortals. If cattle and horses had hands and wanted to draw or carve as men do, the cattle would show their gods in the form of cattle and horses would show them as horses, with the same form and appearance as their own. The Ethiopians say that their gods have snub noses and black skins, while the Thracians say that theirs have blue eyes and red hair.”

“One god is greatest among gods and men, but his appearance and thought are nothing like ours.”

Fragment 21 B 14-16 and 23 (Diels-Kranz) [5] [6]

Citation 6 is a PDF to the full book, courtesy of the Earl Haig Secondary School. Also in some other translations, fragment 15 would say:

“Yes, and if oxen and horses or lions had hands, and could paint with their hands, and produce works of art as men do, horses would paint the forms of the gods like horses, and oxen like oxen, and make their bodies in the image of their several kinds.” [7] [8]

The full text at citation 8 is courtesy of Western Kentucky University. Xenophanes is also most notable for asserting the notion that “Men create the gods in their own image.”

“A fresco of a noble [Thracian] woman with [a] golden necklace and earrings on the ceiling of the main chamber in the Ostrusha Mound near Kazanlak, Bulgaria.” (Photo credit unknown)

Despite Xenophanes’ clear mention of Thracians and Ethiopians together, nothing is ever found directly speaking of a meeting between the two, making this artwork very confusing. The most plausible theory of how the peoples of Thrace would have met the peoples of Aethiopia lies in the writings of the ancient Greek historians Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus. We read in “Historical Researches Into the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Carthaginians, Ethiopians and Egyptians” of Ramesses the Great:

“That he subjugated Ethiopia there can be no doubt: it appears, moreover, from what has been said above, that a part of it was very early reduced under the sway of the Pharaohs, or was at least dependent upon them; and when Herodotus says that he was the only king of Egypt who ruled over Ethiopia, this is undoubtedly to be understood of all Ethiopia, as well as the most southern part of it, or Meroe. He conquered, Diodorus [Siculus] informs us, the Ethiopians who dwelt towards the south, and compelled them to pay him a tribute of ebony, gold, and elephants' teeth—this is confirmed by the monuments.” (pg 428)

“And in an other passage, he ‘traversed Ethiopia as far as the land of cinnamon, where even now monumental columns with inscriptions are visible’.” (pg 429)

“Herodotus saw and describes these monuments first in Palestine, and afterwards two rock-monuments in Asia Minor, the situation of which he minutely particularizes; the statue of an armed man in Egyptian and Ethiopian [accouterments], with an inscription in hieroglyphics on the breast, signifying, ‘I have occupied this country.’ Further, his monuments were seen in Thrace, but not beyond; for here he turned back.” (pg 429-430) [9]

One can reasonably suggest that the subjugation and integration of Ethiopians into Egyptian society, followed by expansion into Thrace, is where the peoples of Thrace would meet the African inspiration behind their artwork in the Panagyurishte Treasure. Something I found funny when looking for better photos of the libation bowl was an Africa Resource blog (please, stay as far away from that website and Realhistoryww as you possibly can) that tried to claim, simply by seeing Negro heads on one European artwork, that the Thracians themselves must have been black people. Lol.

It is probable as well that people would assume from this theory that the Thracians were depicting Egyptians. I’d detest this seeing that there is clear phenotypical emphasis displayed. Whereas it is well-argued even for Egyptians in their African context, this is simply not “their type”, so to speak, and more so resembles the average Cushite (Aethiopian). Either way, the contrast of Thracians was explicitly with Ethiopians.

Ending out this blog, I found it interesting, as A.H.L. Heeren’s book goes on after my quotes to speak of the Israelite account, that another mention of Thracians and Ethiopians is found in the book “The Prophecies of the Second Book of Esdras Amongst the Apocrypha”, stating:

“These Two Feathers will succeed the Ottoman Head: The Æthiopians in Ægypt, and the Tartars in Thrace ... The Tartars will at last invade Thrace, and the Æthiopians Ægypt.” (pg 34) [10]

Citations:

1. http://www.visitbulgaria.net/en/panagyurishte/press-releases/20120527/panagyurishte_gold_treasure.html

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panagyurishte_Treasure#/media/File:Sofia_-_Panagyurishte_Thracian_Gold_Treasure_cutout.jpg

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panagyurishte_Treasure#/media/File:Sofia_-_Panagyurishte_Thracian_Gold_Treasure_(Amphora).jpg

4. http://www.archaeologicalmuseumplovdiv.org/_m1754/Commercial-stall

5. Barry B. Powell, A Short Introduction to Classical Myth, pg 18

6. http://www.earlhaig.ca/departments/socialscience/downloads/Mr.%20Wittmann/LVV4U1/2016-2017%20LVV4U1%20Handouts/LVV4U1%20Extra%20Readings/Powell,%20Short%20Introduction%20to%20Classical%20Mythology.pdf

7. John Burnet, “Early Greek Philosophy, 3rd Edition”, 1920

8. http://people.wku.edu/jan.garrett/302/302xenof.htm

9.  Arnold Hermann Ludwig (A.H.L.) Heeren, translated by David Alphonso Talboys, “Historical Researches Into the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Carthaginians, Ethiopians and Egyptians”, pg 428-430, 1857

10. Sir John Floyer, “The Prophecies of the Second Book of Esdras Amongst the Apocrypha, Explained and Vindicated From the Objections made against them”, pg 34, 1721

[chriskarrtravelblog]

Britain’s top 20 stately homes

Whatever your idea of the perfect historic house – imposing architecture, beautiful interiors or glorious gardens – you’ll find it here. We peek through the (gilded) keyhole at 20 of the county’s finest manors, palaces and estates

  Highclere Castle, Berkshire

“The Real Downton”, Highclere Castle, is one of Britain’s finest statelies. It has been the family seat of the Earls of Carnarvon since 1679, though its history stretches back centuries further. In 749 an Anglo-Saxon King granted the estate to the Bishops of Winchester, who built a stately medieval palace on the parkland here. Various rebuildings and developments later (including the landscaping of the grounds by Capability Brown), in 1842 it was transformed by Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament, into the Italianate gem you can admire today.

Lyme Park, Cheshire

You might recognise Lyme – or rather, its lake – from the starring role it played in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, when Colin Firth as Darcy emerged from the lake and sent a million hearts uttering. Lyme’s glorious Italianate facade and lavish Regency interiors tend to have the same effect.

Visitors can dress up in period costume, take a peek at Truelove the butler’s rooms, and browse in the library, where the Lyme Missal prayer book is conserved. Printed by William Caxton in 1487, it is the National Trust’s most precious printed book. Outside, a medieval herd of red deer roam the estate, nestled on the edge of the Peak District.

Hatfield House, Hertfordshire

Some of our favourite stately homes are those still occupied by the same family that have been in place for centuries. Beautiful Hat eld House is a prime example: home to the 7th Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury, it was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and trusted advisor to Elizabeth I. Cecil used materials from the Old Palace, built in 1485 by the Bishop of Ely – some of which can still be seen today – to build the magnificent Jacobean house you see today.

Much of Hatfield’s fascination comes from the fact that Henry VIII purchased it for his children, Mary, Edward and Elizabeth, to use as a nursery. In 1558 a young Princess Elizabeth was resting under an oak tree in the grounds when she learned of her accession to the throne of England. Inside, seek out the Rainbow Portrait, an atypically vibrant Tudor portrait of steely-eyed Queen Elizabeth marvellously clad in a coppery cloak, and holding a rainbow. An inscription reads, “Non sine sola iris” (No rainbow without the sun) – portraying Elizabeth as a bringer of peace after stormy political times.

Mount Stewart, County Down

Neoclassical Mount Stewart has been home to one of Northern Ireland’s most powerful families, the Marquesses of Londonderry, for 250 years. Edith, Lady Londonderry – an author, designer and legendary hostess – made Mount Stewart home in 1921, filling it with art and antiques and planting its exceptional gardens. Now in the care of the National Trust, the house has been beautifully restored and is still dotted with family memorabilia and treasures. Mount Stewart was only one of the family’s houses but was a firm favourite with Edith. As she wrote to her husband Charles, “This is the most divine house, why do we live anywhere else!”

Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

Another Pemberley stand-in that featured in the TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Chatsworth’s creamy stone facade made an appropriately grand setting as Darcy’s ancestral home. Surrounded by extensive parkland and backed by the craggy wooded hills of the Peak District, it holds many priceless treasures.

Chatsworth has been home to the Cavendish family since 1549, but many of its grand rooms are open to the public. Be dazzled by the Painted Hall, the grandest room built by the 1st Duke; the Great Dining Room, dripping with gilt and swagged curtains; and the State Apartments, lavishly decorated in preparation for a visit from King William III and Queen Mary II that never actually took place.

Barrington Court, Somerset

Strode House, built in 1674, seen from the Lily Garden at Barrington Court, Somerset

This handsome Tudor manor house lay neglected until the 1920s, when one Colonel Lyle visited and, moved by its sorry condition, bought it and painstakingly restored it with historic salvaged fireplaces, staircases and panelling, collected from derelict manors all over the country. The National Trust have kept it without furniture, so that you can appreciate the beauty of its features and the passion that went into its restoration. After wandering the atmospheric rooms, you can explore the beautiful gardens, planted by the Lyles after consultation with the famous garden designer Gertrude Jekyll.

Ham House, London

Ham House. Credit: Pixabay

Sitting on the banks of the River Thames in Richmond, Ham House is a 17th-century treasure, full of precious paintings, furniture and textiles. Built in 1610, it was remodelled by the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale in the 1670s. Richly transformed to impress London Society, it was one of the country’s grandest Stuart houses. The interiors boast baroque ceiling murals by Antonio Verrio, rare damask hangings and a gilded staircase. Among the collections, you can see the Duchess’s own teapot, one of the earliest to arrive in the country: always at the forefront of fashion, she was quick to adopt the new tea-drinking trend.

While you’re here, keep an eye out for unusual happenings – Ham is thought to be one of the most haunted houses in Britain. Some visitors even report catching a waft of the Duke’s Sweet Virginia pipe tobacco in the Dining Room.

Castle Howard, North Yorkshire

Castle Howard. Credit: Pixabay

The scale of Castle Howard, the residence of the Howard family for 300 years, is quite mind-boggling: with 145 rooms, it is one of England’s biggest stately homes. The house took over 100 years to construct, spanning the lifetimes of three Earls. Vanbrugh the original architect’s vision of a house of two identical wings capped with a central dome did not quite come to fruition: changing tastes over the centuries meant that east wing was built in flamboyant baroque style, while the later west wing is all restrained Palladian elegance. The result, though, is nothing short of spectacular.

A fire devastated much of the building in 1940 and would have caused even more extensive damage but for the efforts of some quick-thinking schoolgirl evacuees, who were able to salvage some of the house’s priceless contents. The filming of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisitedhere in 1981 helped pay for much-needed restoration works, though a section of the building remains a shell.

You could easily spend a day exploring the grounds, with their woodlands, lakeside terraces and formal gardens dotted with temples and statuary.

Tyntesfield, Somerset

Tyntesfield, North Somerset. Credit: National Trust Images

Conceived as a family home rather than a statement of wealth, Tyntesfield has an intimate, warm feel. William Gibbs bought Tyntes Place for his family in 1844 and remodelled what was then a simple Regency house into the stunning Victorian Gothic Revival house that you see today. It’s home to over 60,000 objects, from ornate furnishings and precious paintings to the evocative remnants of four generations of domestic life, from ice skates to picnic sets.

Osborne House, Isle of Wight

Osborne House. Credit: Pixabay

“It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot,” said Queen Victoria of her palatial holiday home on the Isle of Wight, and it’s hard not to agree. Built specially for Victoria and Albert, the house reflects their style and passions. The sumptuous state rooms, designed to impress the great and the good when Osborne was at the centre of the British Empire, are extraordinarily lavish, and you can have a glimpse into Victoria and Albert’s private world too: their bathing beach and the play cottage built for their nine children. Prince Albert’s private suite was poignantly kept as it was in his lifetime by the devoted Queen, and many of the objects he used at Osborne still lie where he left them.

Blickling Hall, Norfolk

Blickling Hall. Credit: Pixabay

This magnificent Jacobean pile stands on the site of the home of the Boleyn family, where it is believed Anne Boleyn was born. No documentation exists to back this up, but legend has it that one of the three ghosts that patrol the house is that of Henry VIII’s second wife, who is said to appear every year on 19 May, the date of her execution, bearing her severed head.

Reliefs of Anne and her daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, can be seen on the staircase of the Great Hall. The Long Gallery is also worth seeking out. It holds the National Trust’s most important book collection, including the first complete Bible to be printed in English, and first editions of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Emma.

Tredegar House, South Wales

The Brown Room at Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales. Credit: National Trust Images

This marvellous late 17th-century house is one of Wales’s most beguiling architectural wonders, set within 90 acres of gorgeous gardens. For more than 500 years Tredegar was home to one of Wales’s most powerful families, the Morgans, later Lords Tredegar, and no expense was spared in its decor. The interiors feature plenty of flamboyant touches, from the glittering Gilt Room, once a venue for glamorous parties, to the exquisitely carved serpents, lions and griffins in the Brown Room.

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire

Blenheim Palace. Credit: Pixabay

There’s something very special about Blenheim, seat of the dukes of Marlborough. The only non-royal or non-episcopal house in Britain to be called ‘palace’, it has a regal air that lives up to the name. For some, it even eclipses the royal palaces in its majesty; on seeing Blenheim for the first time, King George III is reported to have said to Queen Charlotte, “We have nothing to equal this!”

Blenheim was built by Sir John in the rare English Baroque style for John Churchill, 1stDuke of Marlborough, on parkland gifted to him by Queen Anne, as a reward for victory over the French in the Battle of Blenheim, Bavaria, in 1704. Almost two centuries later, the duke’s descendant, Winston Churchill, was born here.

Each room of the palace is more spectacular than the last. The marble-clad Great Hall with its frescoed ceiling and stone carvings makes a bold first impression, but the palace’s finest room is the aptly named Long Library, an incredible 55 metres in length.

Rivalling the house for magnificence are the grounds: 2100 acres of parkland designed by Capability Brown. Churchill chose one of his favourite corners, the Temple of Diana, as the perfect romantic spot to propose to his beloved, Clementine Hozier. They married just a month later.

Longleat, Wiltshire

Longleat House

Built by Sir John Thynne in 1580, Longleat is a spectacular Elizabethan house in parkland designed by Capability Brown. It is now occupied by Thynne’s ancestor, the 7th Marquess of Bath, who transformed part of the grounds into a safari park, complete with lions, tigers and giraffes, in 1966: the first drive-through safari park outside Africa.

The family still live in part of the house, but 15 rooms are open to the public. Famous for its 40,000-strong book collection, Longleat’s seven libraries are a sight to behold. The vast Red Library and the Ante Library which features a Venetian painted ceiling, are well worth a peek.

Montacute House, Somerset

Montacute House, Somerset. Credit: National Trust Images

This magnificent Elizabethan Renaissance house was built to impress by Sir Edward Phelips, a member of Elizabeth I’s parliament. Built in 1598, it remained in the Phelips family until 1931, when it was acquired by the National Trust. Its Hamstone facade with its mullioned windows is imposing, though all is not as it seems: the Tudor West Front was not designed for the house, but removed from nearby Clifton Maybank House and installed here in 1786.

Inside, the 52-metre Long Gallery is the longest of its kind in England, and holds 60 Tudor and Elizabethan portraits on long-term loan from the National Portrait Gallery.

Burghley House, Lincolnshire

Burghley House

A grand Elizabethan pile, Burghley was built by William Cecil, Elizabeth I’s most trusted minister, who designed the house as a grand tribute to his Queen. The house’s splendid interior contains a fine collection of Italian Old Master paintings, as well as a celebrated ceramics collection. You can explore the evocative Tudor kitchens below stairs, as well as the breathtaking State Rooms – furnished thanks to the efforts of two of the house’s Earls, who travelled widely and purchased an incredible array of art and antiques.

Petworth House, West Sussex

The North Gallery at Petworth House and Park, West Sussex. Credit: National Trust Images

Inspired by European baroque palaces, Petworth is a stately ancestral seat with an astonishing art collection, including major works by Van Dyck, Turner, Reynolds and Gainsborough. Intriguing objects abound, such as the earliest English globe in existence, dating back to 1592. The grounds, designed by Capability Brown, hold a 700-acre deer park.

Dunrobin Castle

The most northerly of Scotland’s great houses, overlooking the Moray Firth, is also one of its most spectacular. Home to the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland since the 13th century, it resembles a French château with its whimsical spires and fairytale turrets. A fortified square keep for centuries, it was extensively remodelled by Charles Barry in 1845; the gardens, based on those at Versailles, were laid out in the 1850s. A museum in the grounds displays taxidermy and ethnographic items collected by the family from around the world.

Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire

Hardwick Hall. Credit: Pixabay

Hardwick is a remarkable house in many ways. One of the country’s most magnificent Elizabethan houses, crafted by the finest craftsmen of the age in the 1590s, it is quite a spectacle. Then there’s the backstory: it was the creation of the formidable Bess of Hardwick – Tudor England’s other great Elizabeth – whose four marriages led her to become one of England’s most powerful and richest women. The house’s towering turrets bear her initials, and her influence can be felt in every aspect of the extraordinary house, from the huge windows – revolutionary at the time – to the world-class textile collection, mostly collected by Bess in the late sixteenth century.

Harewood House, Yorkshire

Harewood House. Credit: Kippa Matthews/Harewood House

The 1st Baron Harewood, Edwin Lascelles, assembled a dream team to create his ideal home in 1759: interior designer of the moment Robert Adam, legendary furniture maker Thomas Chippendale and famous landscape gardener Capability Brown. Their extraordinary efforts provide a fitting showpiece for Harewood’s priceless collections of Renaissance masterpieces and Sèvres porcelain, among much more.

                  The post Britain’s top 20 stately homes appeared first on Britain Magazine | The official magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family,Travel and Culture.

Britain Magazine | The official magazine of Visit Britain | Best of British History, Royal Family,Travel and Culture https://www.britain-magazine.com/features/top-20-stately-homes/

source https://coragemonik.wordpress.com/2020/04/06/britains-top-20-stately-homes/

[onherpedestalquotes]

Jonas Hanway, Virtue in Humble Life: CONVERSATION XXI, At their Cousin Robert’s, 1777

Description of several fanciful serious decorations of their cousin’s library, and other apartments. Observations on the sabbath day, particularly with regard to the iniquitous practice of those who spend their time in business or amusement, and neglect the public worship.

D: After your dissertation on the skull, with the assistance of my cousin Elizabeth, I have been copying writings from the sentimental decorations of my cousin’s library.

E: He has not many books: he says he has been too much in active life to enjoy time for reading; and that he apprehends a little reading and much thinking is better than much reading and little thinking. He has had great opportunities of reading men in their lives and manners. This, with a thoughtful turn of mind, seems to have made him what he is. But what have you collected, Mary?

D: I have copied the inscriptions on the pedestals of several moral figures. Fortitude is displayed with her emblem of a pillar, as expressive of stability. On the pedestal are these lines:

The surest friend and patron of mankind; The pillar which supports reason and faith, With all their bright and shining attributes! ’Tis thine to taste the real good possessed, And triumph o’er the ills thou suffers.At sight of Thee, Oppression flies dismayed, And laughing folly hides her face with shame.

F: You understand his meaning. What admirable properties are ascribed to Fortitude, but she loses her name when she is employed in trifles.

D: I understand it perfectly: her companion is Prudence, looking at herself in a mirror, with a serpent in the other hand. On her pedestal is written in a fair character;

Prudence, ‘midst all the virtues, stands approved Harmless as doves, and as the serpent wise. As the bright mirror shows the face of man, She sees and notes similitudes in things, Her throne is built on Judgment’s solid base, And solemn silence guards her sanctuary!

F: This is truly descriptive of Prudence. I hope you will remember these lines in the conduct of your life.

D: I trust I shall: next to her stands Contentment, looking down on a crown, which lies at her feet, to denote her superiority over all earthly gifts. On her pedestal are these words, which I understood, allude to a monumental inscription of his friend, a sea office, who lately died [Footnote: Alludes to a chamber monument at the Marine Society’s Office in Bishopsgate street.]:

To find the soul calmly resigned to part, Is of all earthly bliss the most complete; For if the laboring bark climbs hills of seas, It straight must fall again in the deep vale. Or if the roaring cannon vanquish foes, Triumph herself must yield her trophies up. Here we behold the vanity of life, Where fortune smile and frowned in various forms, Still scanty in dispensing solid joy!

Opposite to these figures is Gratitude, with a lion at her feet on one side, and an eagle on the other. The lion, I was told, alludes to the story of the Roman slave, who was condemned to be devoured by a lion. This king of the beasts, upon the man’s appearing, knew him to be the person who had once taken a thorn out of his foot, and instead of devouring, fawned upon him.

F: I know this story is related with the solemnity of a truth; if it be false, it is well invented to express the force of gratitude.

D: Her pedestal explains her attributes thus:

If kindness once a lion’s rage o’ercame, What is a man estranged from gratitude? Behold her looks, how tenderly she weeps! Her brows adorned with a civic crown, Emblems of truest dignity and worth! As the strong eagle mounts to Heaven’s high arch Rejoicing, on her wide expanded wings, She joins with angles in their grateful praise! What does a civic crown mean?

F: It was only a wreath of leaves, but it was in the highest esteem among the ancient Romans, being given to those who had guarded a fellow citizen, and saved his life in battle.

D: Her companion is Friendship, with a branch of palm in one hand, the other held up to her heart. The lines on her pedestal are:

Her garb is simple, her deportment mild, And on her breast most pure she lays her hand, Emblems of Truth and sweet Sincerity. Without these virtues she disdains to dwell In habitations with the sons of men! The palm which graced Messiah’s sacred way, Denoting triumph o’er his vanquished foes, With peace on earth, good will to fallen man, She holds as token of her attributes, Standing sure amidst the darts of death!

F: Is not this strongly expressive of the purity of manners and constancy of mind essential to friendship?

D: Most truly: the figures which form the two wings, are Charity and Hope. Charity is represented with a flame issuing from her head, and with the horn of plenty in her hand. On her pedestal is written:

O beauteous Charity! thy heavenly charms Diffuse both earthly bliss and endless joy! Behold her zeal in bright ascending flames, Whilst plenty overflows in copious streams. True riches shine in our benignant works; In the we trust for our eternal state. In sense of misery behold her weep, While peace and mercy brighten in her eyes. So human kindness, doth in sweetest notes, Charm all the passions of the soul to rest; Showing how best to from our lives by laws Replete with solid hopes of Heavenly Joys!

Her companion is Hope: She is seated with a wreath of flowers round her head; her right hand on her breast, holding an anchor in her left. This seems to be the true companion of charity, when duly exercised. The inscription runs thus:

The mighty Prophet of the human race Who knows the heart of man, bids us rejoice: Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world! Our hope in Him is joy indeed! Hope is as manna, which from heaven fell, Giving fresh life to her afflicted sons. Her balmy sweets draw comfort from distress, She smiles, as Spring crowned with the gayest flowers; And anchors safe amidst tremendous storms. On her left breast she holds her lily hand, And calm, in manly looks, she calls on heaven To evidence her true sincerity! [Footnote: The original figures of Hope and Charity compose part of the monument of the late Earl of Shelburne, at High Wickham, in Buckinghamshire.]

F: Admirably descriptive of the true properties of hope.

D: Opposite to the several figures I have mentioned is a monumental statue leaning on a pedestal, on which stands an urn. This figure holds a table in his hand with these words:

Father of all! grant me this Good supreme, To think on Time, and never lose an Hour!

On one side of the pedestal is a circle in allusion to eternity, round which are these words:

“Eternity thou pleasing dreadful Thought!”

On the die of the bracket, which supports this piece, is written:

What a piece of work is man! How noble In reason! In action like an angel! In his image, resembling his Maker! The beauty of the world! The paragon Of animals! The quintessence of dust! Where is thy brightest form or movings, now? Behold them here, — enclosed in this urn!

F: These last lines are the sentiments of our great poet Shakespeare, and noble they are!