Kinge, finding himselfe hurt, sett spurs to his horse, thinking to recover his companie; but the wounde beeing deepe, and fainting through the losse of much blood, he felle from his horse, which dragged him by one foot hanging in the stirrop, untill he was left dead at Corfe gate, Anno Dom. 979." Thus far Malmesbury: Hutchins, in his History of Dorset, relates the circumstances of this event in the following words: "The first mention of this Castle in our histories, is A. D. 978, as the Saxon Annals (though some of our historians say 979 and 981), upon occasion of the barbarous murder of Edward, King of the West Saxons, son of King Edgar, committed here by his mother-in-law, Elfrith, or Elfrida; 15 cal. April, in the middle of lent: The foulest deed, says the Saxon annalist, ever committed by the Saxons since they landed in Britain." In the reign of King Stephen, the Castle was seized by Baldwin de Rivers, Earl of Devon; and though the King afterwards endeavoured to dispossess him, his efforts were ineffectual. King John appears to have made it for some time his place of residence, as several writs, issued by him in the fifteenth and sixteenth of his reign, are dated at Corfe. On the coronation of Henry the Third, Peter de Mauley, the governor of the Castle, was summoned to attend the ceremony, and to bring with him the regalia, "then in his custody in this Castle wherewith he had been entrusted by John." The following year he delivered up the Castle to the King, with all the military engines, ammunition, and jewels, committed to his charge.Edward the Second was removed hither from Kenelworth Castle, when a prisoner, by order of the Queen, and her favourite Mortimer. Henry the Seventh repaired the Castle for the residence of his mother, the Countess of Richmond, the parliament having granted 2,000. for that purpose; yet it does not appear that it was ever inhabited by this princess. It was again repaired by Sir Christopher Hatton, and most probably by Sir John Bankes, whose lady became illustrious from the gallant manner in which she defended it from the attacks of the parliament's forces, in the time of Charles the First. In the year 1645 and 1646, the Castle was again besieged, or rather blockaded, by the parliament's forces, who obtained possession through the treachery of Lieutenant-Colonel Pitman, an officer of the garrison. When it was delivered up, the parliament ordered it to be demolished; and the walls and towers were undermined, and thrown down, or blown up with gunpowder. "Thus this ancient and magnificent fabric was reduced to a heap of ruins, and remains a lasting monument of the dreadful effects of anarchy, and the rage of civil war. The ruins are large, and allowed to be the noblest and grandest in the kingdom, considering the extent of the ground on which they stand. The vast fragments of the King's Tower, the round towers leaning as if ready to fall, the broken walls, and vast pieces of them tumbled down into the vale below, form such a scene of havoc and desolation, as strikes every curious spectator with horror and concern."* The tragical murder of Edward by Elfrida, at Corfe Castle, and its memorable defence by Lady Bankes, form two very interesting narratives in Hutchins's Dorset. Their details would occupy too much of our present sheet, although they are worth reprinting for the gratification of the general reader. Corfe Castle, as we have already intimated, is proposed to be disfranchised by the Great Reform Bill now before Parliament. A year or two hence, probably, the political consequence of the place will, be humbled as the Castle itself! dom itself. The first triennial parliament was in the year 1561; the first septennial one, in the year 1716. Henry the Eighth increased the representatives in parliament 38; Edward the Sixth, 44; Mary, 25; Elizabeth, 62; and James the First, 27. P. T. W. ANCIENT BOROUGH OF LYDFORD. (For the Mirror.) LYDFORD is a poor, decayed village, consisting of ragged cottages, situated about seven miles from the north of Tavistock, Devonshire. It was (says Britton) formerly a place of consequence; and Prince states, that this ancient town and borough was the largest parish in the county, or the kingdom, and that the whole forest of Dart belonged to it; to whose parson, or rector, all the tithes thereof are due. It is said that this town, in its best strength, was able to entertain Julius Cæsar, at his second arrival here in Britain; but, anno 997 it was grievously spoilt by the inhuman Danes. Recovering again, it had, in the days of the Conqueror, 122 burgesses. This is still the principal town of the Stannaries, wherein the court is held relating to those causes. There is an ancient castle, in which the courts are held; and offenders against the stannary laws were here confined, in a dreary and dismal dungeon, which gave rise to a proverb " Lydford laws punish a criminal first, and try him afterwards." It appears from the Domesday Book, that Lydford and London were rated in the same manner, and at the same time. Lydford formerly sent members to parliament, but was excused from this burden, as it was then considered, by pleading propter paupertatem. P. T. W. A WORD FOR THE READERS OF THE MIRROR. of the Five Indian Nations of Canada, CADWALLADER COLDEN, in his Account says-"They think themselves by nature superior to the rest of mankind, is, men surpassing all others. The words and call themselves Ongue-honwe-that expressing things lately come to their knowledge are all compounds.. They have no labials in their language, nor can they pronounce perfectly any word wherein there is a labial; and when one endeavours to teach them to pronounce these words, they tell one they think it ridiculous that they must shut their lips to speak. Their language abounds with gutturals and strong aspirations: these make it very sonorous and bold; and their speeches abound with metaphors after the manner of the eastern nations. Sometimes one word among them includes an entire definition of the thing: for example-they call wine Oncharadeschoengtseragherie, as to say, a liquor made of the juice of the grape. N.B. It is hoped the above guttural word will not stick in the throat of the reader. P. T. W. Then fly with me my lady love, my island home is free, And its flowers will bloom more sweetly still, when gazed upon by thee; Come, lady, come, the stars are bright in all their radiant power, As if they gave their fairy light to guide thee to my bower. WRITING INK. (To the Editor.) I SEE in your admirable work one of the never ending disquisitions about making writing ink. As I have used as much as most people in the threescore and ten years of my life, and my father used perhaps three times as much, and we never were nor are troubled, I suppose we manage as well as most folksand as it is begged of me to a great amount, I infer that others like it. I improve a little on my father's plan, by substituting a better vehicle, and the knowledge of this improvement I obtained from a lady to whom a Princess Esterhazy communicated it. It is so convenient, that whenever I go to Leamington, Brighton, Tunbridge, or such places of temporary residence, I send to a chemist's my recipe, reduced to the quantity of half a pint; and my ink is in use as soon as it comes, improving daily. My home quantities are these: Three quarts of stale good beer, not porter. O PLEDGE me not in sparkling wine, O hail me at no festive shrine, Forbear to breathe in pleasure's hall, A name you should forget; O think not when the harp shall sound Oh only think you hear me when Seek me not in the mazy dance, Nor let your fancy trace But if you seek me, be it when L. M. N. Three quarters of a pound fresh blue Manners & Customs of all Nations. Aleppo galls, beaten. Four ounces of copperas. Four ounces of gum Arabic in powder. This is kept for a week in a widemouthed pitcher close to the fire, never ON it, frequently stirred with a stick, and slightly covered with a large cork or tile. My small quantity is- Quarter of an ounce of rock alum. It will never mould or lose its substance or colour. The large quantity will bear half as much beer for future use. If it thickens, thin it with beer. I adopt the Italian ladies' method of keeping the roving of a bit of silk stocking in the glass, which the pen moving, preserves the consistency of the liquid and keeps the fingers from it. If you have seen better ink than this, I yield my pre-eminence.* BLACKY. * Our correspondent's communication is in appearance "full, fair, and free," as all" representations" ought to be.-ED. BULL-BAITING IN SUFFOLK. (For the Mirror.) LAVENHAM Market-place was once considered as one of the most celebrated "theatres for cruel scenes'' in the county of Suffolk, "Where bulls and dogs in useless contest fought, And sons of reason satisfaction sought From sights would sicken Feeling's gentle heart, Where want of courage barb'd Oppression's dart."* On every anniversary of the Popish powder-plot, it was customary here to buit bulls; and it was then pretty generally understood that no butcher could legally slaughter a bull without first baiting him; or in default of doing so, he must burn candles in his shop so long as a bit of the bull-beef remained there for sale. Whilst a bull, with false horns, has been defending himself at the stake, or ring, in this market-place, dogs have been seen in the streets quarrelling for a part of the tongue of the living bull! * Ribbans's Effusions."" and daughters of reason have joined their treble screams to the yell of triumph when the bull either tossed or worried a dog, or a dog had pinned the bull, by fastening on his nose so desperately firm as even to suffer his limbs to be broken-nay, cutoff- before he would let go his hold. A man (of course of the bull-dog breed), not many years since, engaged to attack a bull with his teeth, and so far succeeded as to deprive the animal of power to hurt him. In Bury, too, so late as the year 1801, a mob of "Christian savages were indulging in the inhuman amusement of baiting and branding a bull. The poor animal, who had been privately buited on the same day, burst from his tethers in a state of madness. He was again entangled, and, monstrous to relate, his hoofs were cut off, and he defended himself on his mangled, bleeding stumps! The public exhibition of this most cowardly pastime is now prohibited; and the bull-ring was taken up, by order of Mr. Buck, out of this marketplace about eight years back. The name of the Rev. James Buck, rector of Lavenham, deserves to stand recorded as one of the most indefatigable magistrates who, uniting authority with compassion, exerted himself to the last in the cause of humanity. The common arguments which have ever been adduced to show that we have animals bred by nature for various sports, and that the poor man has as great a right to his share of amusement as the rich man that there are in all countries animals originally formed and carefully trained to the exercise of sports must be admitted; but the Creator of Brutes and the Judge of Man never can behold cruelty to animals without hear ing their cry; and although they are all evidently sent for the wise purpose of affording food, and of contributing to the comfort and improvement of the condition of man, they never were created to be abused, lacerated, mangled, and whilst living, cut to pieces and baited by brutes of superior race, depraved at heart and debased by custom. If two men choose to stand up and fib each other about (saying nothing of the practice), why let them do it; or if two dogs worry each other to death for a bone, or two cocks meet and contend for the sovereignty of a dunghill. In these last two cases the appearance of cruelty is out of the question, and how much soever we may be inclined to pity, we are entirely divested of the ability to blame. Dogs naturally quarrel; and any THE JEWS BEFORE THEIR DISPERSION. IN our second reading of Levi. and been struck with the following narrative Sarah, or the Jewish Lovers, we have of the pristine celebrity of this favoured people : The most ancient of all the written histories of the human race, of their deeds and condition, is undoubtedly that of the people of Israel: a people to whom God himself was both leader and lawgiver-for whom the sea was divided, and the stony rocks poured forth fountains of water-whose food descended on them from heaven- for whom angels from above fought-and whom all nature cheerfully obeyed,-in short a people, who, through a course of many centuries, though surrounded with numerous Heathen nations, bore constant testimony to the existence of one God alone. It is not wonderful that such a people should think themselves exalted far above all others. Moses, the first of all instructors and legislators, desired to raise his people above the fate which had ruined other nations, by communicating to them firmness and perseverance in their adherence to such institutions, as should keep them a distinct nation from all others. These institutions were peculiarly appropriate to the time, to the situation, and the circumstances of the people for whom they were prescribed. It was not his design that the Children of Israel, when freed from their misery, after wandering forty years in the wilderness, should mix themselves up with the Heathens, and adopt their morals and principles. He desired that they should continue a distinct and holy people, that strangers should be extirpated, and their country be possessed by Jews alone. Their bounds were marked out by God himself, and extended from Lebanon and the Euphrates to the sea; and he commanded them to keep his commandments in the land which he had bestowed upon them, so that he alone should be their Lord. Hereupon, as I have before observed, Moses delivered such laws as were adapted to their situation. But these wanderers of the desert adhered not to the law delivered to them. We find even during the life of Moses much obstinacy, and an unbridled inclination to Heathenism was manifested, by their making objects of idolatrous worship. After the death of Moses, the seventy-two interpreters collected his doctrines; but they added to them some, withdrew others, and confused several, by which the pure Mosaic opinions must have been obscured. And we read accordingly, in the tenth chapter of Judges, "that the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord." They served Baal and Ashtaroth, the deities of the Syrians and Moabites, and even the gods of the Philistines, whom God had commanded they should not serve. Their hearts became hardened in their apostacy. The siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnazar, and the captivity in Babylon, had the most corrupting influence on the purity of the Mosaic doctrines, and on the laws. The original writings discovered by Hilkiah, were retrenched, added to, and the order of the events displaced. From the long residence amongst, and a great intercourse with strange people, all the frightful prejudices, all the fanciful dreams of our rabbins, were introduced into the sacred books. We learn from the second book of Chronicles, chap. xxxvi. verse 17, "that the king slew the young men with the sword in the house of the sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age. And all the vessels of gold, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king and all the princes, these he brought all to Babylon; and they burnt the house of God. and brake down the walls of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire." During the seventy years that this captivity lasted, only a few old men survived who had retained any recollection of the laws of Moses. Esdras collected, as far as was possible, the doctrines of Moses; but they were mingled with too *The greater part of the kings, both of Israel and of Judah, served strange gods. Under Josiah, as be cleared out the Temple, the book of the laws of Moses was found by Hilkiah the priest, and was delivered to the king, who was much struck with the threatenings it contained. many principles which were foreign to them, and some of them may be traced to Zoroaster. The existence of the three sects of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and Essenes, each of which give a different interpretation of the word of God, abundantly prove this. Hillel and Schamai, a little before the time of Vespasian, had a school. The Rabbi Jonathan Sillai, a pupil of Hillel, exalts his master by saying, "If every tree were a pen, and the whole ocean ink, I should not be able to describe the wisdom I have received from Hillel." What extravagant expressions! How well do they paint the fanaticism of sectarianism! It was not, however, long, before this blind zeal drew down on the people a punishment from Hea ven, by the destruction of Jerusalem under the Roman chief, Titus. Read the work of Flavius Josephus, and you will behold the noble firmness and perseverance of the Israelites on one side, and on the other the melancholy truth, that raving enthusiasm and blind obstinacy precipitated the ruin of the most flourishing people in the world. The last siege and capture of Jerusalem will ever be memorable in the history of mankind. How violent was the exasperation between the two sects of the believers! What firmness and obstinacy in each party, who preferred death and the destruction of the whole nation to yielding up the smallest particle of their different opinions! At that time, there fell, by famine and the sword, more than a million of the Jews. part of the people were left as food for the wild beasts of the field, whilst some were kept alive to grace the triumph of the victor; but that which above all moved the grief of the Israelites, was the destruction of that temple which had been erected by their own monarchs at so great an expense. Its glory has been described by the author already named; I find the description among my papers, and send it to you. You will weep as a true Israelite, and compare our former greatness with the degraded state to which the blindness and errors of our Elders have reduced us. One Under Hadrian, the Jews were once more excited to a contest.t Bar Co About fifty years after the destruction of the opinion that the time for the appearance of Jerusalem, when the great body of the Jews held their Messias had arrived, there arose this man, who announced himself in that character, and called himself Bar Cochef, or the "Son of a Star." He was acknowledged by numbers of his people. who became his followers, declared him their king, aud made war upon the Romans, many of whom were destroyed, both in Greece and in Africa. His power continued betwixt |