AUTOGRAPH LETTER OF O. CROMWELL. WRITTEN WHEN BESIEGING PEMBROKE. I HAVE sent this bearer to you to desire wee may haue your Furtherance and assistance in procuringe some necessaries to bee cast in the iron furnases in your countye of Carmarthen, wch will the better enable vs to reduce the towne and castle of Pembrooke. The principall thinges are, shells for our Morterpeice, the depth of them wee desire may be of fourteene Inces and three quarters of an Inch. That wch I desire att your handes is to cause the seruice to bee performed, and that with all possble expedition, that soe, (if itt bee the will of God) the seruice beinge done theise poore wasted cuntries may be freed from the burthen of the Armye. In the next place wee desire some D cannon shott, and some culveringe shott may with all possible speede bee cast for vs and hasted too vs alsoe. Wee giue you thankes for your care in helpinge vs with bread and . You doe herein a very speciall seruice to the State, and I doe most earnestly desire you to continew heerein accordinge to our desire in the late Letters. I desire that copies of this paper may be published thorough out your countye and the effects thereof obserued, for the ease of the countye, and to avoyd the wronginge of Not doubtinge the continewance the cuntrie men. of your care to giue assistance to the publicke in the seruices wee haue in hand, I rest, your affectionals everench Comwell ThoLeague befow Zenbrooke Fund the 9th 164 8. *The above Letter, (for the use of which we are indebted to Richard Williams, Esq. of Stapleton Hall, near Hornsey,) has every appearance of having been written in haste. Part of the seal, in red wax, remains attached, and exhibits a shield of arms of the Cromwell family, viz. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, a lion rampant; 2nd, three fleurs de lis; 3rd, three chevrons. THE DURHAM BOOK. ON THE MANUSCRIPT COMMONLY CALLED "THE DURHAM BOOK," OR THE BOOK OF AMONGST the manuscripts which the zeal and antiquarian taste of Sir Robert Cotton collected, and probably saved from destruction, there are few of which the history is more interesting than that which is usually termed THE DURHAM BOOK, and known by the mark of NERO D. iv. We propose to dedicate a few lines to a short account of this volume, in which it shall be our object to advance all which has presented itself upon the subject without entering into any lengthened discussion, or comment, leaving it to our readers to form their own conclusions. In the early periods of Saxon history, the remote Island of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, situated off the coast of Northumberland, was the seat of a bishop's see. It was founded by Oswald, King of Northumbria, about A.D. 635, and after having been occupied by seven bishops, (of whom Saint Cuthbert was one,) in 698 it was under the care of the pious and learned Eadfried, who died in 721. Of this bishop a most splendid monument remains in the Manuscript of which we now write. It contains a copy of the four Gospels, most elegantly transcribed upon vellum, by his own hand, and is a volume, which, for beauty of execution, and completeness of preservation, may vie with any which can be produced in our own, or in any other country. There is every reason to believe that this work was undertaken when the scribe was as yet a simple monk, consequently that it is a production of the seventh century. After the death of Eadfrid, the volume was not forgotten, and it was adorned with Illuminations, which are still splendid beyond expression, by the hand of Ethelwald, the succeeding bishop of Lindisfarne. It was then clothed in a binding of gold and silver, and inlaid with precious stones, by Bilfrid, a monk of the same establishment, and an interlinear translation into the vernacular language of the time and country was added by a priest named Aldred.* A more detailed account of each of these portions of the volume will presently be given, but in the meanwhile, we proceed with its history. The Manuscript continued in safety in its original depositary, until the ravages of the Danes, (who carried fire and sword with them wherever they went,) drove a succeeding bishop and his monks from the exposed island of Lindisfarne. In their flight across the narrow strait which separated them from the main-land of Northumbria, their boat was thrown so much on one side that the precious volume which they had carried away, (with the body of St. Cuthbert, and their other valuables,) was thrown into the sea. They arrived, however, in safety, on the opposite coast, but the loss of their Gospels was to them an object of so much regret, that they lingered upon the shore, although they knew, that, by doing so, they exposed themselves to the danger of being discovered by the Danes, who were hovering upon the coast, and discovery was certain to be followed by death. The waves having receded further than usual, they were enabled to advance a considerable distance beyond the ordinary low-water-mark, and to their great joy and surprise, they found their volume lying on the sand. Upon examination, it was discovered to have sustained but little injury from the action of the water, which, however, had left certain evident stains upon the vellum. Having thus repossessed themselves of their lost treasure, they journeyed to a place of safety, offering up thanks to St. Cuthbert, to whose especial care they attributed this miracle. The authority upon which this point of history rests for we do not hesitate to bestow on it the name of history—is respectable, being that of Simon of Durham, or rather of Turgot, as is more generally supposed. It will be remembered, that both These facts are attested by Aldred in a note, in Saxon, added to St. John's Gospel. At the end of the Saxon follows this notice," Eadfrith, Oethilwald, Bilfrith, Aldred, hoc Evangelium Deo et Cythberth construxerunt et ornaverunt," + The following passages from Turgot, or Simon of Durham, are quoted for the satisfaction of the reader : of these men lived in the neighbourhood in which the event, here recorded, took place, and were likely to be well acquainted with the localities which they mention. Should the general love for the marvellous, and the proverbial superstition of the monk, be quoted against us, we reply that there was but little reason for either of these writers to forge the story, or to give their sanction to a fable which they believed to be false; for at the time in which the History above-mentioned was written, the volume was not in the possession of the establishment to which the writer belonged, and consequently there was the less inducement for him to invent or propagate a falsehood. The volume itself, to this day, gives a degree of confirmation to the story, by certain of its leaves exhibiting marks which do not resemble the effects of damp, or of mildew; but which, however, we cannot decidedly quote as proof of the legend, as we are not prepared to state the exact effect which salt-water would produce upon vellum, more especially when it is remembered that about a thousand years have elapsed since the immersion, from which these stains are believed to have originated. Moreover, the monkish relater of the history has taken some pains to make the facts appear less probable than they really must have been. Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is divided from the land by a narrow strait of sea, the depth of which varies from six to seven feet, and the breadth does not exceed two miles. Twice a day the tide leaves this strait a flat of sand intersected by pools and quicksands, across which passengers and carriages can then easily pass and repass. Upon this beach, at low water, the monks found the manuscript; the event was what must have been a matter of certainty, and they knew that the result of "Qua tempestate dum navis (Monachorum scilicet) verteratur in latera, cadens ex ea textus Evangelicus, auro et gemmis perornatus, in maris ferebatur profunda." II. xi. Pergentes ad mare, multo quam consueverat, longius recessisse conspiciunt, et tribus vel eo amplius milliariis gradiforinsecus gemmis et auro sui decorem, ita intrinsecus literis et entes, ipsum sanctum Evangeliorum codicem reperiunt, qui ita foliis priorem præferebat pulchitudinem, absi aliqua minimè tactus fuisset. Liber memoratus in hac ecclesia, quæ corpus nullum omnino, ut diximus, per aquam læsionis signum monistius sancti patris habere meruit, usque hodie servatur, in quo stratur. Quod planè et ipsius Cuthberti, et ipsorum quoque meritis, qui ipsius libri auctores extiterant gestum creditur: Eadfridi videlicet venerandæ memoriæ Episcopi, qui hunc in honorem B. [Cuthberti manu propria scripserat; successoris quoque ejusdem, venerabilis Ethelwaldi, qui auro gemmisque perornari jusserat; S. etiam Bilfridi Anachoritæ, qui vita jubentis manu artifici prosecutus, egregium opus composuerat. Erat enim aurificii arte præcipuus." Id. xii. 66 When Holy Island became a priory cell to Durham, it still retained the subject of our memoir, for in the rolls of accounts sent in by it to the parent establishment, the manuscript of the Gospels is mentioned. Thus, in the account for the year 1348, extracts from which are given by Raine, in his one book of the "History of North Durham," Evangelists," is noticed; and this is mentioned in the following more satisfactory and explicit manner, under the year 1367, as the "book of St. Cuthbert, which had fallen into the sea." It is probable that had more of these rolls been printed, we should have had further notices of our volume; for a book of such value, when all books were the objects of much regard, must have been looked upon with especial this search would necessarily be,-the recovery of drinus; ten tables of the canons of the gospels; and arguments prefixed to each gospel in its proper the volume. place. In the margin of the text are placed the numbers of these lessons, with a reference to the corresponding lessons in the other gospels. Of these there are eighty-five in Matthew, forty-three in Mark, ninety-four in Luke, and forty-two in John. There are also indices of feasts, with references to the service, and lessons peculiar to each. These, and the gospels, are written in a large, bold, and uniform hand, exhibiting the most beautiful specimen of Saxon penmanship, and surpassing by far, the execution of any other manuscript with which we are acquainted. The ink retains all its depth of colour, the vellum, also, (save in the few instances already noticed,) retains its purity, and the united effect produced on examining the manuscript, is mingled pleasure and surprise. The unvarying equality of the style of the whole is remarkable, we are at a loss to account for it if it be the production of a common pen; perhaps a reed was employed, and even granting that supposition, we can scarcely observe any variation in the thickness of the mark produced. veneration. The Illuminations next demand a few sentences. The more important are drawings of the four Evangelists, each prefixed to his own gospel. The exe From this period, many years elapse before we find any notice of St. Cuthbert's book. At the time of the dissolution, it was still at Lindisfarne, and did not belong to the Cathedral Church of Durham; for that establishment, by virtue of a grant from Henry VIII., retained its books, and at this day possesses a collection of manuscripts which surpasses the most of our ecclesiastical libraries. We are not acquainted with the intermediate history of our volume, until we find it in the hands of Robert Bow-cution of these, it must be admitted by all, is much yer, clerk of Parliament under James I., who, fortunately for us, gave it to Sir Robert Cotton, of whose noble collection it forms one of the noblest volumes. The destructive fire of 1731, which committed so much havoc amongst the Cottonian MSS., then at Ashburnham House, Westminster, did not extend its ravages to that portion of the library in which Nero D. IV. was placed; but, like its fellow-volumes, it then narrowly escaped a fate from which the power Its of St. Cuthbert could not have recalled it. present situation, in the Museum, is one which secures it from such dangers. We now proceed to give some account of the naAs already mentioned, the ture of the contents. Latin text of the Vulgate, was written by the hand of Eadfrid. This version is according to the translation of St. Jerom, and is preceded by the prologue of the tables of the canons; the preface of St. Jerom; the preface of Eusebius, or rather, the letter written by him to Carpian, the object of which is to show the use of these canons, which he had composed according to the harmony of Ammonias Alexan superior to the design, which is rude in the extreme. The faces and hands are out of proportion: the drapery, however, has much in it to redeem, by its elegant disposal. Over each of these figures is the name of the Evangelist, to which is prefixed O ATION, and the symbolic animals, which were considered typical of the sacred writers, namely, the angel, the lion, the calf, and the eagle, accompanying them. There are also four pages, each of which is occupied by a most elaborate maze of traced and tesselated work, of which the details are minute and intricate beyond description, and of which the idea probably has been taken from a Roman pavement. commencement of each gospel and each chapter is adorned with a line of large letters, which exhibit a similar style. The colouring of these ornaments is as vivid as on the day in which it was executed, and the ornaments are disposed with an evident desire to produce an effect by their contrast, a desire in which Ethelward has certainly succeeded. The The binding of gold and precious stones no longer remains to bear witness of the skill of Bilfrid, it probably was stripped off at the time of the dissosolution, when the volume fell into the hands of the laity; its place is supplied by a plain dress of Russia ante Deum, incedentes in omleather. The interlinear Saxon version, however, is that which renders the volume doubly precious in the eyes of scholars. It is a singularly authentic and unique specimen of the language of our ancestors, a specimen of which we can fix the date and the locality, two most important points in etymological and grammatical investigations. No portion of the Saxon language can boast of such a high antiquity, and from the peculiar political circumstances in which the district of Northumbria was situated at the period when this version was written, we have in it the only specimen of the mixture of the Teutonic Saxon, with the Scandinavian Norse. It enables us to detect the principles upon which are formed many words and expressions, which, in the later eras of the language, are disguised beyond discovery without such a help; it shews us, in fact, the language in an earlier and simpler form than we have it elsewhere. Possessing, as it does, these and other advantages and recommendations, it is a matter of equal surprise and regret, that this version has never been printed, and it is one instance, of the many, which may be quoted as proofs of our supineness in all matters relative to our national antiquities. With the exception of a few disjointed sentences which Hickes, from time to time, adduces in his "Thesaurus;" and the Lord's prayer, which is given by Camden, in his " Remains," and repeated by Chamberlayne, Percy, Boucher, and others, no portion of this inestimable version is in print. It is with pleasure, therefore, that we observe the prospectus lately issued by B. Thorpe, esq., in which he states his intention to publish the interlinear gloss of the Durham Book, along with the other remaining Saxon versions of the New Testament, and most heartily do we wish that the project may receive the patronage which it so well merits. nibus mandatis, et justifica- 8. Et non erat illis filius, eo quod esset Elizabeth sterilis, et ambo processisent in diebus suis. boeze fore drih, ferende in allum bibodum soð. færtnisse drih buta znor. nunga. And ne wær dæm runu Fordon wær Elizabeð unbenende boeze gifeollun in dagum hioɲa. J. S. Since the above remarks were put in type, the University of Cambridge has commenced an edition of this and the other Saxon versions of the New Testament, under the care of Messrs. Thorpe and Kemble, the editors of Cadmon and Beowulf. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS ON ENGLISH HISTORY AND MANNERS.-No. II. LATIVE TO THE CAUSE OF THE INSURRECTION AMONG the Excerpta of Xiphilin from the History of Dio Cassius, is a passage concerning the insurrection against the Roman government in Britain, in the reign of the Emperor Nero, which affords a curious instance of the superstition of the Romans, and is also remarkable on account of the accusation which is adduced against Seneca, of having by usury and oppression driven the Britons into rebellion. "While these occurrences were taking place at Rome," says the Historian, " a grievous misfortune happened in Britain, two cities being destroyed, eighty thousand Roman citizens, or confederates, being slain, and the whole island in a state of revolt against the government. To heighten the disgrace of the Romans, this destruction was the work of a woman; and its occurrence was preceded by supernatural presages. For in the courts of justice was heard a barbarian murmur, with much laughter; and in the theatre a tumult, with great lamentation, when no human being there either spoke or lamented. Besides this in the river Thames were seen buildings as if made of water and again the ocean between the island [of Britain] and Gaul, became of a bloodred hue, and overflowed the shores. The immediate cause of war was the confiscation of property, or levying of fines, which, when the first proceeds had been remitted by the Emperor Claudius, the procu rator of the island Decianus Catus commanded to Werun warud soð færre be renewed. In addition to this grievance Seneca, The present page is no place for the investigation of those peculiarities which render this version so valuable, but we do not hesitate, in conclusion, to give the following short specimen of the Latin and Saxon, beginning with the sixth verse of the first chapter of St. Luke. 6. Fuit in diebus Herodis, rex Judeæ, sacerdos quidam nomine Zacharias de vice Abia, et uxor illius de filiabus Aaron, et nomen ejus Elizabeth. 7. Erant autem justi ambo Wær in dagum [penodir] cynizer Iudea, racend sum mith noma Zachaɲiar, of Cunde Abia 7 wir þam of Dohrnum Anoner noma hım Elizabeth. when he had lent them [the Britons,] forty thousand | torian adds his marrying in his old age, a young pieces of gold [aurei] at a very high interest, insisted wife of illustrious birth; and he terminates the cawith great force and violence on the immediate re-talogue of Seneca's delinquencies with an accusation payment of the whole sum at once. But the people which does not admit of repetition. were chiefly excited and persuaded to make war against the Romans by Bonduica, or Boadicea, a British female of royal race, who not only governed with great dignity, but also presided over the conduct of the war throughout, and who displayed on all occasions the mind and courage of a man rather than of a woman."* But if it be granted that the attempt to defend Seneca against the imputation of having by his oppressions driven the Britons into rebellion, cannot be supported by any considerations drawn from his personal character, some palliative circumstances at least may be stated in extenuation of this part of his conduct. As he had accumulated immense riches, The charge of usury, and extortion, thus brought it is extremely probable that he endeavoured, by in direct terms against Seneca, does not appear to lending money on usurious interest, to increase his be countenanced by the authority of any ancient wealth. If he advanced sums in this manner to the writer except Dio; but it is repeated from him by great landholders, and territorial chieftains in the Du Chesne, and other modern historians. Mr. Petit various provinces dependent on the Roman Empire Andrews, in a note to the introduction to his valu- to enable them to make up the amount of the conable" History of Great Britain, connected with the tributions levied on them from time to time by the Chronology of Europe," says, "That the philan-imperial procurators, he must have had agents in thropic Seneca should have assisted in driving these poor barbarians to revolt, by exacting most cruelly exorbitant interest for sums he had lent them is hard to believe. It rests on the credit of Dion Cassius." may be questioned, however, whether there is any thing in this transaction inconsistent with the real character of the tutor and confidential minister of one of the worst and most infamous of the Roman Emperors. The philosopher Seneca (who has acquired by his writings the traditional reputation of a virtuous sage, qualified to be the stern monitor rather than the servile tool of the imperial monster of whom he at length became the victim,) was in fact a selfish voluptuary and mere man of the world, of whom it was said, even during his life, "that he was the general legatee and guardian of rich orphans at Rome; and that he exhausted Italy and the provinces of the empire by his exorbitant usury."+ It Dio Cassius treats the character of Seneca with peculiar hostility, and among the accusations which he brings against him, is his criminal connexion with Agrippina as well as with her sister Julia, his panegyrics on the abandoned Messalina and the freedmen of Claudius, his accumulation of great wealth, amounting to 75,000,000 drachmæ, and the luxurious furniture of his habitations; to which the his each province to transact such negotiations. These agents, in most cases, must have been entrusted with a great discretionary power; and it may easily be conceived that they were not scrupulous in the use of that power, so as to lay themselves open to the charge of oppression, extortion, and cruelty. Supposing therefore, that Seneca had an agent or agents in Britain, that he had advanced forty thousand gold crowns, or whatever the sum might be, and that he transmitted directions to have the whole, with the accruing interest, speedily called in, he could not have foreseen the ultimate consequences that would result from taking this step, and to the violence and rapine of his agents and their instruments, rather than to his own purposes and proceedings, may be attributed the sufferings inflicted on the Britons, which drove them to rebellion.§ Dio is anything rather than a discriminating and impartial historian, and if his testimony in this instance against Seneca were not corroborated by the general accusation of Suillius, recorded by Tacitus, which has been already quoted, it could hardly be received as decisive; but it agrees so correctly with † Dio's expression is Χιλίας σφίσι μυριάδας. "Est millio uncialium nummorum." Don Reimar. § In opposition to this exculpatory statement, it may be ob* Historia Romana, L. 62. Excerp. Edit. Reimar. Tom. ii. served that a man ought to be held answerable for the conduct p. 1002. + "Romæ testamenta et orbos velut indagine ejus capi: Italiam et provincias immenso foenore exhauriri:" Suillius apud Tacit. xiii. 42. Vide Senecam se defendentem, in Lib. de Vita Beata, c. 17, sq. et apud Tacitum xiv. 53, sq. Confer Lipsium, Lib. i. Manuduct. c. 18; et de Vita Senecæ, c. 6, sq.; aliosq. qui de Vita ejus commentati sunt, apud Fabricium, in Bibliot. Latin. Lib. ii. c. 9, § 6. of his agents and servants acting under his directions; and that here the maxim holds good-" quod fecit per alterum, fecit per se." To this no satisfactory reply can be made; and if we admit the authority of Dio, and the authenticity of his text, we must consign Seneca to reprobation, as a sordid usurer, and ruthless oppressor, whose writings and actions present a contrast disgraceful alike to the individual and the age in which he lived. |