MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCE.

Theology.-Drew on the Immortality evidently died through immoderate of the Soul.-Doddridge's Lectures.- drinking. Sherlock's Sermons.-Collier's Sacred "We reflect with pain, upon what Interpreter.-ScholarArmed.—-Magee may be expected to be produced by on Sacrifice and Atonement.-Warbur- the manufacturing of sugar; as the diston's Divine Legation of Moses.-Stil- tilling of rum, and this trade, genelingfleet's Origines Sacræ.-Black-rally go together, and are so profitably wall's Sacred Classics.-Blair's Rhe- and easily connected. But the Lord toric.-Robinson's Claude.-Nichols is powerful, "and can do better to us The natives are on the Common Prayer.-Beattie's Es- than all our fears." says on Truth.--Ellis on Divine engaged in planting cotton, which We have Things. appears to grow well. formed a Missionary Society, and the cotton is to be for the people's subscription. The Society was formed at Taheita, before the Missionaries separated for their different stations, which took place about three months ago. Our meeting was held on the same day that your May meetings commenced; and so very large a congregation of people assembled, that the chapel could not contain them. We then adjourned to a shady and spacious place, under a grove of cocoanut trees, where brother Nott preached to the people from Acts, chap. viii. an appropriate discourse. 30-37. After sermon, the KING POMARRE, made known to his people the nature of the Society, which, with their approbation, was intended to be formed. He began his oration by reminding them of their former idolatry, when they worshipped the devil, if they worshipped any thing, through the supposed inspired wood;-what numbers of them fell as sacrifices; and how all the poor lived in perpetual fear, supposing that every moment during the praying season, the Teuteu Arii* might come and murder them, and take them to the morai, for sacrifices to their gods. He reminded them of their advantages now, as the worshippers of Jehovah; and concluded by desiring those who were for the Society, to signify their approbation by holding up their hands; which was unanimous. The sight was truly pleasing and affecting, to see a heathen king exhorting his people to establish a Society for the spread of the gospel; with 2000 chiefs and people seated round him, attentively listening to what was said. The subscriptions will be paid in arrowroot, cocoa-nut oil, cotton, pigs, &c.

Extract of a letter lately received from the Rev. Charles Borff, Missionary at the island of Hueine, in the South Seas, dated October 14th, 1818. "THREE thousand copies of the gospel by St. Luke, translated by Mr. Nott, have been printed at the Missionary press by Mr. Ellis; these are nearly all circulated among the natives. Mr. Nott is now engaged in translating the Acts; Mr. Davies has translated St. Matthew's gospel; and is now translating the gospel by St. Mark. It is expected, that in the course of 18 or 20 months, the four Gospels and Acts, will be ready for the press, and it is estimated that ten thousand copies, at least, will be wanted. The paper is already written for to the British and Foreign Bible Society. A great number of elementary books have also been printed by our brother Ellis, who is very active, and conducts himself with great propriety. Mr. Davies has been, and is still, very laborious in the Schools. It is estimated that 6000 of the natives are now able to read; and it is not unusual for those who can read, to be engaged till midnight teaching those who cannot:freely they have received, and as freely they give.

We have now a very large school at Hueine; about 900 names are on the books, but they seldom all attend at once. Messrs. Davies and OrsWe mond, and C. Borff, conduct it. teach them writing and arithmetic, as well as reading; and to behold the old and young all striving together, is a pleasing sight. The people in general are very docile, and pay great attention to us, as their teachers. By the desire of the Missionaries, they have discontinued the distillation of spirits, of which they used to drink to excess, and great numbers of them have

*The Teuteu Arii, were a party about the king, who would murder as many as the king wished, and it was very usual, if a stranger was ill, rather than be at the trouble of feeding him, they would bury him alive.

Puru, king of Hueine, was present, and soon after proposed to his people the formation of a similar Society, which they readily agreed to; and a meeting, the same as at Taheita, was convened, for the establishment of the Hueine Missionary Society. One, who had been formerly chief priest, delivered a very appropriate speech. In a short time we hope these Societies will be general; we expect chiefs from several of the islands, for instruction in the formation of them. Our Societies are not like yours; it is likely every one will give according to his ability.

46

Many large chapels are built, and building, by the natives. I was at the opening of one lately, where 3000 people were present, and it was not full. They were all dressed very neatly, and many of the females appeared in the English fashion: brother Nott preached.

SINGULAR PIECE OF HISTORY.

Richard Plantagenet.

"ON the north side of the chancel in Eastwell Church, Kent, is an ancient tomb, which has been assigned to Richard Plantagenet, whom a traditional tale represents as having been a natural son of Richard the Third, and whose burial is thus recorded in the register of Eastwell, under the date 1550.

"Richard Plantagenet was buried the 22ijth daye of Desember. Anno di supra." It is observable, that a similar mark to that prefixed to the name of Plantagenet, occurs before every subsequent entry in the old register, where the person recorded was of noble blood; but whatever may be the truth as to the traditionary tale, the tomb itself seems of an earlier period: it has been inlaid with brasses, which are now gone."

In a note under

"The story of Richard Plantagenet has exercised the pen of several writers; but the most particular account of his history, and the most curious, was given in a letter from Dr. Thomas Brett, of Spring Grove, in Wye parish, to Dr. W. Warren, afterwards published in Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, Vol. II. lib. vii. p. 13. from which the following particulars are extracted.—

"Now for the history of Rychard Plantagenet. In the year M.DCC.xx. (I have forgot the particular day, only remember it was about Michaelmas,) I waited on the late Lord Heneage, Earl of Winchelsea, at Eastwell House, and found him sitting with the Register Book of the parish of Eastwell lying open before him. He told me that he had been looking there, to see who of his family were mentioned in it. But, says he, I have a curiosity here to shew you; and then shewed it me; and I immediately transcribed it into my almanack.

"We are quite happy among the people. There are a great number who have come from some islands about 500 miles from Taheita. They came hither, in consequence of a native of one of their islands being taught to read by the Missionaries at Eimeo. He returned to his own country, and told the people the wonderful things he had seen and heard at Taheita. They, at first, charged him with telling them falsehoods, and threatened him with death; but he escaped by flight. After his departure, they reflected upon what he had told them, and cast away their gods, broke down their morais, and soon after wards came to Taheita, and told the Rychard Plantagenet was buryed people that they were come to seek the 22 daye of Desember, anno ut the word of God. and that they had supra.' Ex. Registro de Eastwell sub become worshippers of Jehovah. They anno 1550.-This is all the register are a very stout people, both men and mentions of him; so that we cannot women; but are nearly naked. They say, whether he was buried in the were formerly cannibals, and exceed-church, or church-yard; nor is there ingly savage; their language differs a little from the Taheitian, but no doubt it was originally the same."

666

now any other memorial of him, except the tradition in the family, and some little marks of the place where

:

his house stood.
told me, was thus:-
"When Sir Thomas Moyle built
that house, (i. e. Eastwell Place,) he
observed his chief bricklayer, when
ever he left off work, retired with a
book. Sir Thomas had a curiosity to
know what book the man read, but
was some time before he could discover
it; he still putting up the book, if any
one came towards him. However, at
last, Sir Thomas surprised him, and
snatched the book from him, and look-
ing into it, found it to be Latin.-
Hereupon he examined him, and find-
ing he pretty well understood that lan-
guage, he inquired how he came by
his learning. Hereupon the man told
him, as he had been a good master to
him, he would venture to trust him
with a secret he had never before re-
vealed to any one. He then informed
him, ‘That he was boarded with a
Latin schoolmaster, without knowing
who his parents were, till he was fif-
teen or sixteen years old; only a gen-
tleman (who took occasion to acquaint
him he was no relation to him) came
once a quarter and paid for his board,
and took care to see that he wanted |
nothing. And one day this gentleman
took him, and carried him to a fine
great house, where he passed through
several stately rooms, in one of which
he left him, bidding him stay there.
Then a man finely drest, with a star
and garter, came to him; asked him
some questions; talked kindly to him;
and gave him some money. Then the
fore-mentioned gentleman returned,
and conducted him back to his school.
Some time after, the same gentleman
came to him again, with a horse, and
proper accoutrements, and told him
he must take a journey with him into
the country. They went into Leices-
tershire, and came to Bosworth Field;
and he was carried to King Richard
the Third's tent.-The king embraced
him, and told him he was his son:
But, child, (says he) to-morrow I must
fight for my crown. And assure your-M.D.L, there remains LXV.
self, if I lose that, I will lose my life
too but I hope to preserve both. Do
you stand in such a place (directing
him to a particular place,) where you
may see the battle out of danger. And
when I have gained the victory, come
to me, and I will then own you to be
mine, and take care of you. But, if
I should be so unfortunate as to lose
the battle, then shift as well as you

The story my lord | can, and take care to let nobody know
that I am your father; for no mercy
will be shewn to any one so (nearly)
related to me.-Then the king gave
him a purse of gold, and dismissed
him.

"He followed the king's directions; and when he saw the battle was lost, and the king killed, he hasted to London; sold his horse and fine clothes; and the better to conceal himself from all suspicion of being son to a king, and that he might have means to live by his honest labour, he put himself apprentice to a bricklayer. But having a competent skill in the Latin tongue, he was unwilling to lose it; and having an inclination also to reading, and no delight in the conversation of those he was obliged to work with, he generally spent all the time he had to spare in reading by himself. Sir Thomas said, "You are now old, and almost past your labour; I will give you the running of my kitchen as long as you live.' He answered, ' Sir, you have a numerous family, I have been used to live retired; give me leave to build a house of one room for myself, in such a field, and there, with your good leave, I will live and die; and if you have any work I can do for you, I shall be ready to serve you.' Sir Thomas granted his request: he built his house, and there continued till his death. I suppose, (though my lord did not mention it,) that he went to eat in the family, and then returned to his hut. My lord said there was no park at that time; but when the park was made, that house was taken into it, and continued standing till his (my lord's) father pulled it down:'But (said my lord) I would as soon have pulled down this house;' meaning Eastwell Place. " I have been computing the age of this Richard Plantagenet when he died, and find it to be about eighty-one. For Richard the Third was killed on August 23d, M.CCCC.LXXXV, which subtracted from To which add XVI for the age of Richard Plantagenet at that time, and it makes LXXXI. But though he lived to that age, he could scarce enjoy his retirement in his little house above two or three years, or a little more. For I find by Philpot, that Sir Thomas Moyle did not purchase the estate of Eastwell, till about the year M.D.XLIII or IV. We may therefore reasonably suppose,

Phænomena of Venus, from the Commencement of January, to her inferior Conjunction on the 30th of July,

1820.

VENUS, the most splendid of all the celestial bodies, the two great luminaries of day and night alone excepted, will be a very interesting object to the curious (who are provided with telescopes) for this and the five following months. Every eight years, this beautiful planet presents the same pheno

that, upon his building a new house on his purchase, he could not come to live in it till M.D.XLVI; and that his workmen were continued to build the walls about his gardens, and other conveniences, off from the house. And till he came to live in the house, he could not (well) have an opportunity of observing how Richard Plantagenet retired with his book. So it was probably towards the latter end of the year M.D.XLVI, when Richard and Sir Thomas had the forementioned dialogue together. Consequently, Ri-mena, with but little variation, either chard could not build his house, and have it dry enough for him to live in, till the year M.D.XLVII. So that he must be LXXVII, or LXXVIII years of age, before he had his writ of ease.'

The late Mr. Thomas Hull, of Covent Garden Theatre, founded an ingenious poetical tale on the circumstances here narrated. Between forty and fifty years ago, the ruins of a building in Eastwell park, were still shewn as those of Plantagenet's house; and a well, now filled up, was called also after his name."

as it respects the times of the year when, or the portions of the zodiacal signs where, they occur. The year 1812 having been one of the periods in which Venus was peculiarly brilliant in the northern hemiphere every evening for several months together, it hence follows, that if eight years be added to 1812, the sum 1820 will shew, that the phænomena of Venus which occurred in the former year, may be expected to re-appear in the present. The following are some of the particulars attending the phænomena of Venus, from the 1st of the present month to the 30th of July; and it is left to

Remarks on the Language of Paradise. the skill of the numerous and very re

TO THE EDITOR OF THE IMPERIAL

66

MAGAZINE.

SIR,-I make these few observations,
as tending to strengthen the remarks
made by TYRO," in your last Maga-
zine. I believe we shall find that
Adam gave names to the beasts, cattle,
&c. before the Fall; and it was by
man's transgression, that a curse was
put on all nature, and that set the
beasts at enmity against each other;
(see Milton's P. L. Book 11th) as, be-
fore the fall, they were all amity and
coincidence. If then we agree with
this learned author, Adam could not
know the strength of the dog's teeth,
or the ferocious nature of any other
animal, until after he had given them
their names. I do not contend that
the Hebrew was not the language
spoken in Paradise, for that I leave
to your more learned correspondents;
but I do believe the dog had not that
savage disposition at the time Adam
gave it its name, that it had after
the fall. By inserting these few obser-
vations in your valuable Magazine,
you will oblige
Yours, &c.

DEGUIR.

spectable readers of the Imperial Magazine, to obtain the phases of Venus at any times intermediate to those mentioned below, by the rules of interpolation, which will be exact enough for all common purposes.

Feb. 1. Elongation of Venus from the sun 27 degrees to the east. Her apparent diameter 11". Sets at London about 4 minutes past 7 in the evening: shines on the earth with nearly a full face.

Feb. 26. Elongation 33 degrees. Apparent diameter 12". Five-sixths of her disk illuminated, the dark part being towards the east. Sets at 24 min. past 8.

March 28. Elongation 39 degrees. Three-fourths of her disk illuminated. Apparent diameter 14". Sets at 9 min. past 10.

April 19. Elongation 424 degrees. Two-thirds of her disk illuminated. Apparent diameter 17". Sets at 17 minutes past 11.

May 4. Elongation 44 degrees. Seven-twelfths of her disk illuminated. Apparent diameter 20". Sets at 45 minutes past 11. May 21. Elongation 45 degrees and 20 minutes. Disk one-half illuminat