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"Two out of the three feathers in an arrow are commonly white, being plucked from the gander, but the third is generally brown or grey, being taken from the goofe, and from this difference in point of colour, informs the archer when the arrow is properly placed. From this moft diftinguished part therefore the whole arrow fometimes receives its name.

"Though archery continued to be encouraged by the king and legiflature for more than two centuries, after the first knowledge of the effects of gunpowder, yet by the latter end of the reign of Henry the Eighth, it feems to have been partly confidered as a pattime.

"Arthur, the elder brother of Henry, is faid to have been fond of this exercife, in fo much, that a good shooter was ftyled prince Arthur.

"We are alfo informed, that he pitched his tent at Mile End, in order to be prefent at this recreation, and that Henry his brother alfo attended.

"When the latter afterwards became king, he gave a prize at Windfor to those who fhould excel in this exercife; and a capital fhot having been made, Henry faid to Barlow (one of his guards)" if "if you fill win, you fhall be duke over all archers." Barlow therefore having fucceeded, and living in Shoreditch, was created duke thereof.

"Upon another occafion, Henry and the queen were met by two hundred archers on Shooter's Hill, which probably took its name from their affembling near it to fhoot at marks.

"This king likewife gave the first charter to the Artillery Company in the twenty-ninth year of his reign, by which they are per

[191].

mitted to wear dreffes of any, colour, except purple and scarlet, to fhoot not only at marks, but birds, if not pheafants or herons, and within two miles of the royal pathe fame charter not to wear furs of laces. They are alfo enjoined by martin. The most material privia greater price than those of the lege, however, is, that of indemfon paffing between the fhooter and nification from murder, if any perthe mark is killed, provided the archers have first called out FAST.

been stated, that both Henry the "As it appears by what hath Eighth and his queen fometimes attended the archers when they all extraordinary that their dreffes were fhooting at marks, it is not at began to be expenfive, and that they ftudied much the gracefulncis of the attitude.

his Toxophilus at the end of this
"Ascham, therefore, who wrote
reign, hath feveral chapters on this
head, in which he begins, by ridi-
culing the aukwardnels of fome ar-
lowing citation.
chers in this refpect, as in the fol-

layeth out his buttocks, as though
"Another coureth downe, and
he fhould fhoot at crowes."

plains a paffage in Shakespeare's
"Which last part moreover ex-
King Lear, act iv. fc. 6.

like a crowkeeper."
"That fellow handles his bow

"From the words above quoted
powder was yet very dear, fields
it is to be inferred, that when gun-
archers, who had no grace in their
were kept from crows by unskilful
attitudes, and were therefore ipoken
of by the expert with the greatest
crowkeeper, had become prover-
contempt, fo that to fhoot like a
bial.

ticular with regard to archery in his
"Afcham mentions another par

time, which is, that (as it commonly happens in other paitimes) the bets at thefe fhooting matches began to be confiderable.

I fhall conclude this effay by mentioning, that the long-bow continues to be used as a manly exercife by the inhabitants of Geneva,

and in many parts of Flanders; nor is it totally neglected in Great Britain, particularly Lancashire, and London, where a fociety (of which our worthy member fir Afhton Lever is the prefident) frequently ufe this manly recreation."

OBSERVATIONS on the LANGUAGE of the PEOPLE commonly called GYPSIES. By Mr. Marsden.

"IT

[From the fame Publication. ]

T has long been furmifed that the vagrant tribes of people called in this country Gypfies, and on parts of the continent of Europe, Cingari, Zingari, and Chingali, were of eaftern origin. The former name has been fuppofed a corruption of Egyptian, and fome learned perfons have judged it not improbable that their language might be traced to the Coptic.

In the courfe of refearches which I have had occafion to purfue on the fubject of language, I obferved that Ludolfus, in his Hiftory of Ethiopia, makes mention, incidentally, of the Cingari vel Errones Nubiani, and gives a fpecimen of words which he had collected from these people in his travels, with a view of determining their origin. He difcuffes the opinions of various writers concerning them, but forms no precife one of his own, concluding his obfervations with thefe words: " Eadem vocabula, cùm maximam partem reperiam apud Vulcanium, à centum ferè annis tradita, non fictitia exiftimo, ut Megiferus putat, nec corrupta ex aliis linguis, neque Ægyptiaca five Coptica."

I was furprised to find many of the words contained in the fpe

cimen familiar to my eye, and pointed out to fir Jofeph Banks (in the latter end of the year 1783) their evident correfpondence with the terms in the Hindoftanic, or as it is vulgarly termed in India, the Moors language. This fimilitude appeared to me fo extraordinary, that I was inclined to suspect an error in the publication, which might have arisen from a confufion of obfcure vocabularies in the author's poffeffion. The circumstance, however, determined me to pay farther attention to the fubiect, and to ex. amine, in the first place, whether the language fpoken by the Gypfey tribes in England, and by those in the remoter parts of the continent of Europe, were one and the fame ; and then to afcertain whether this actually bore the affinity, which so forcibly ftruck me in Ludolfus, to any of the languages on the continent of India.

"Through the obliging affiftance of fir Jofeph Banks, who has fpared no pains to promote this inveftigation, I procured an opportu nity or obtaining a lift of words from our Gypfies, which I can depend upon as genuine, and toler ably accurate in respect to the pronunciation, from their being corro

borated

"As this commemoration is not only the first instance of a band of fuch magnitude being affembled together, but of any band, at all numerous, performing in a fimilar fituation, without the affiftance of a manu-ductor, to regulate the meafure, the performances in Weftminster abbey may be fafely pronounced, no lefs remarkable for the multiplicity of voices and inftruments employed, than for accuracy and precifion. When all the wheels of that huge machine, the orchestra, were in motion, the effect refembled clock-work in every thing, but want of feeling and expreffion.

"And as the power of gravity and attraction in bodies is proportioned to their mafs and dentity, fo it feems as if the magnitude of this band had commanded and impelled adhesion and obedience, beyond that of any other of inferior force. The

pulfations in every limb, and ramifications of veins and arteries in an animal, could not be more reciprocal, ifochronous, and under the regulation of the heart, than the members of this body of musicians under that of the conductor and leader. The totality of found seemed to proceed from one voice, and one inftrument; and its powers produced, not only new and exquifite fenfations in judges and lovers of the art, but were felt by those who never received pleasure from mufic before.

"Thefe effects, which will be long remembered by the prefent public, perhaps to the difadvantage of all other choral performances, run the risk of being doubted by all but thofe who heard them, and the prefent defcription of being pronounced fabulous, if it fhould furvive the prefent generation."

"M

Of PENETRATION and FORESIGHT.

[From Mr. GREGORY's Effays, Historical and Moral.]

ODERN philofophy, if it did not invent, has at least methodized, elucidated, and explained a fyftem, which accounts better for the operations of the mind than the ingenious but difcordant metaphyfics of Plato and Aristotle.

It is, I believe, generally agreed, that our ideas are all connected, linked, or, in the technical phrafe, affociated together; and that each idea has its proximate, which it never fails to introduce: and thus our thoughts fucceed one another in a regular feries, as they happen to be related to each other.

This theory is pleasantly il

luftrated by a ftory which Hobbes relates in the third chapter of his Leviathan. "In a difcourse, says he, on our prefent civil war, what could feem more impertinent than to ask, as one did, what was the value of a Roman penny? Yet to me the coherence was manifeft enough. For the thought of the war introduced the thought of delivering up the king to his enemies; the thought of that brought the thought of the delivering up of Chrift; and that again the thought of the thirty pence, which was the price of that; and thence eafily followed that ma licious question: and all this in a

moment

moment of time, for thought is quick."

"That faculty, which is ufually called penetration, feems to depend altogether onfuch an intimate knowledge of human nature, as enables us accurately to diftinguish the affociations which influence the train of thought. It is, in fact, the art of filling up the blanks in converfation, and turning over readily a number of ideas which intervene, though not expreffed, and which are the feveral links of the chain in another perfon's mind. It is, as it were, transforming yourself into that other perfon, and thinking for fome time exactly the fame. Experience will render a man most adroit at this, as at all other exercises. A lively genius is neceffary in the obferver; fome aid may poffibly be derived from phyfiognomy; the general character of the fubject will affift in decyphering his thoughts; and the external manners and behaviour must be carefully noted.

"Similar to this, and connected with it, is the faculty of forefeeing, from the prefent thoughts and acons of men, what they will probably be in future. All our judgments of the future are formed by the recollection of the paft: on our knowledge of human nature, therefore, this power must depend.

Thefe faculties conftitute the true fecond fight, which, as was imagined of the fabulous, brings

probably as great an addition to our pains as to our pleafures. It reveals to us a number of the diftreffes of our fellow-creatures, which efcape common eyes; and, I fear, it feldom difcovers evil till it is too late to remedy it.

"The remarks contained in this Effay will in fome measure account for many delicate embarraffinents, which a nice obferver experiences in company. He pierces beyond the outward colouring. He fees vices, and confequences, which none but himself remarks. His heart bleeds, when every thing around him wears the face of joy. I have observed fuch a perfon, at an entertainment, more penfive than those for whom he felt.

"These faculties of penetration and forefight will, perhaps, fometimes lead us into error; and, if fancy be but active, we may magnify a fmall discovery into fomething very extraordinary. But whether they contribute or not to the happiness of the poffeffor, the good effects of them to fociety are not to be difputed, if in good hands : and the higher endowments of the mind I hope, and I believe, usually are. In good hands, thefe faculties may prevent, if not all, a great deal of mifchief, by timely advice; and the evil they can do, in bad hands, is not equal to the good which they in other respects produce."

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cit faith upon an evidence fo doubtful; for if there be no date to a print, it is totally impoffible to af certain the time precifely in which it was executed; for its rudenefs, and the indifference of its workmanship, are by no means to be confidered as certain proofs of its antiquity; though in fome cafes they may have their weight, efpecially when strengthened by other corroborating circumftances: yet even then a pofitive decifion in their favour ought to be very cautiously made.

"From the fimplicity of Andrea Mantegna's ftyle, I wonder not, that he has been often confidered as

one of the moft early engravers: For I own, before I was convinced by experience of the contrary, I concluded, that his manner of engraving was, of all others, the moft ancient. One of the carlieft fpecimens of this kind of workmanship, which I have seen, is faithfully copied, plate V. of this volume. If the F. which appears upon the pedestal close to the hand of the feat ed figure, be granted to ftand for Finiguerra, the print must be confidered as a very valuable acquifition; for it would inconteftibly prove, that this fpecies of engrav ing, which was practifed in Italy only, was more ancient than any other adopted in that country, and in fome measure exculpate Vafari for attributing the invention to Fi niguerra, even if it fhould hereafter be proved that the Germans practifed the art of taking impreffions from engravings prior to the Italians. But this interpretation of the letter F. is not without fomne difficulty. It is exprefly faid by Vafari, that Baldini was instructed by Finiguerra, and Boticelli again by Baldini. Yet if we look at the plates executed by one or both the

[1951

edition of

laft artifts for the great
Dante, dated 1481, we shall find
the ftrokes, which conflitute the
fhadows, laid this way or that in
difcriminately, as
thought proper, and croffed with
fecond ftrokes almost continually,
the engraver
and fometimes with thirds, as the
reader may fee upon plate VII.
which is a faithful copy of one of
the engravings for Dante. The
ftyle of the engraving, plate V. is
precifely the fame as was afterwards
adopted by Andrea Mantegna; fee
print executed by him. The out-
plate VI. which is taken from a
line is first cut upon the copper in a
dows are expreffed by fimple ftrokes,
very powerful manner, and the sha-
running from one corner of the
plate to the other, without any
croffing, or confiderable variation,
precifely in imitation of drawings
made with a pen. Now, if Fini-
guerra worked in this ftyle, it is
immediate difciple, Baldini, or Bo-
not reasonable to fuppofe that his
ticelli, inftructed by Baldini, fhould
have fo totally differed from it.

"It is as confidently reported,
Mantegna learned the art of en-
on the other hand, that Andrea
graving from the works, if not from
the inftructions, of Finiguerra, or
his fcholars. If this be true, it
will alfo appear incredible, that he
fhould not in fome measure have
followed the style of his inftructors.
The print, plate V. has every ex-
ternal appearance of being executed
prior to the works of Mantegna ;
the mechanical part of whofe en
gravings is far fuperior, firmer, and
more decided. It is therefore highly
probable, that from this master,
whoever he might be, Mantegna
received his first instructions. This
fpecies of engraving was carried to
by John Antonio Brixianus, and
a ftill farther degree of perfection

N 2

other

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