520 Origin of the Appellation of the Thames and Isis. [July 1,

shire; and that it had the name of Thames in that county as early as 905, is proved by the ancient historians saying that King Ethelwald in that year passed the Thames at Cricklade. In 1016 also it is recorded that Canute passed the Thames at the same place, which is in Wiltshire, not very far from its source. In the year 1114, I find it called "Tamisia," in the annals of Thomas Wike, canon of Oseney; but that refers to the river when near the metropolis, and it appears to be merely the latinizing of the ancient Saxon name Temese. Caesar only knew the river near the metropolis, and I cannot find any reference to it in the Roman historians with respect to that part which forms the subject of inquiry. In a modern Encyclopædia, indeed, I find it asserted that the Isis is only a branch which rises near Minchinhampton, in Gloucestershire, and joins the main stream near Lechlade; and Campbell, in his Political Survey, states that there are four streams forming its source, the Lech, the Coin, the Churn, and the Isis; but then his Isis rises from what is, and always has been, called the Thames Head; and the only ancient authority which I can find coincident with his opinion, is the following passage in a work supposed by Leland to have been written by a monk of Malmesbury “Isa nascitur a quodam fonticulo juxta Tetbiriam prope Circestriam," and which refers absolutely to that which is now called the Thames Head."

The only authority now left to be exa-
mined is that of Camden, who expressly
calls it the Isis until it joins the Thame
an appellation which, though contrary to
modern opinion, and even to ancient cus-
tom, seems to have been in some mea-
sure sanctified by poetic classicality. But
Camden is now generally believed to
have been the author of a Latin poem
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, called
the "Marriage of the Thames and Isis;"
an idea that may have been, indeed, first
started by the then modern latinity of
the name 66
Thamesis," which was no-
thing more than a translation of the
Saxon appellation Temese: it is, there-
fore, not surprising that he may fondly
have adhered to the separate names, and
thus have felt himself justified in assert-
ing what is now generally considered to
be a topographical error.

Such are the facts-let antiquarians
Yours, &c.

decide!

CAMDEN, JUN.

MR. EDITOR,

I AM a constant reader of the daily newspapers, and it has long been my custom, after having silently determined upon the wisdom or imbecility of the political conduct of the various sovereigns and statesmen whose actions are there recorded; after bestowing praise and censure upon the different measures adopted by them, in proportion as they accord with or differ from the plans I should myself form under similar cir cumstances; and after predicting success or failure to the armies and expeditions according as their destination does or does not meet my approbation-to turn my attention to the reports of cases de termined in our courts of law, and to exercise my judgment in matters, if not so splendid as victories and battles, perhaps not less interesting to indivi duals, nor less conducive to public happiness. Although not versed in the technicalities of the science, nor deeply read in precedents, I am frequently presumptuous enough to examine how far the various legal decisions are founded upon established rules of law, the principles of justice, and the dictates of common sense. That to such a novice as myself doubts should occur, and difficulties start up, is by no means surprising; or that I should sometimes be at a loss to discover the wisdom of a judicial charge, or the equity of an unanimous verdict, how much soever I am bound to yield to the one, and to respect the other. It is not for the purpose of, in any case, questioning either, but solely with a wish to enlighten my own ideas by means information derived from some of your numerous correspondents, that I request the insertion of the leading circum stances of two cases which appeared a short time since in our newspapers, and the grounds of the decision in which I can by no means comprehend.

of

The names of the parties have slipped my memory; but the first case was shortly this: A brought an action against B, for an injury done to the fruit trees of A, which were nailed to the side of B's wall adjoining to the premises of A, in consequence of B pulling down the said wall, and disturbing the trees. A obtained a verdict; for it was held, that as A had actually sustained damage by B pulling down his (B's) wall, B was bound to compensate him to the full amount of such damage. Now, Sir, it did not appear to me that A was entitled to any compensation for the loss of B's wall, unless he (A) had acquired a right

1815.]

Remarks on two Recent Legal Decisions.

to nail his trees to that wall. Originally a trespasser upon B's wall, could the interruption of that trespass, by a legal exercise of the owner's right over the wall, properly subject that owner to recompense A to the amount of whatever loss he might sustain by no longer being able to trespass? If it be so, then the moment a person erects a wall, it ceases to be his exclusive property, for his adjoining neighbour, by an immediate use of that wall, acquires a prohibitory right over the wall, and it can never again be disturbed by the original builder without compensating his neighbour for the damage consequent on the interruption of is usurped and unauthorised use of the wall. I should have thought such a rule as was here laid down diametrically opposite to the acknowledged maxim of law, that no man can take advantage of his own wrong. If A had not a legal right to make use of B's wall, he could not be legally entitled to a compensation for the interruption of that use. A I should conceive could only nail his trees to B's wall by sufferance, in which case, surely, B could terminate that sufferance at his pleasure. It did not appear in evidence that B knew of these trees being thus nailed, for he had not penetration to see through a brick wall. If after having pulled down the half of your own brick wall, 20 feet high, you discover your neighbour's trees nailed to the remaining ten feet, must you instantly desist, and must you again rebuild? I should much like to know the law on this subject.

The other case which puzzled me was this A brought an action against B for an injury sustained from the bite of B's dog, which was running loose upon B's premises, and attacked A who went thither ou business. It was stated in evidence, that the dog was generally esteemed a harmless dog, and that his being at large on that day was merely accidental, he usually being confined by a chain. It was held, that the dog not being a vicious animal, the attack was an accident, for which the owner was not accountable, and the plaintiff was nonsuited. I must confess it struck me as rather strange, that so harmless a dog should be kept generally chained up; surely his being at large on the day in question would have required no excuse if the dog had deserved the character of quietness given to him; and yet the fact of his being generally chained was adduced as a proof of the care taken by B to prevent his dog biting any one, and to

521

shew that the animal being loose was a mere accident. But admitting the full force of the evidence, and that the occurrence was altogether an accident, has it not been decided in other cases, that the owner of an animal should pay for whatever accidental mischief that animal may do? A horse suddenly takes fright, and by plunging against my windows, breaks several panes of glass-am I or the owner of the horse to bear the pecuniary loss? A dog runs among a flock of sheep, never having been known to do so before,and destroys several-is the owner of the sheep to bear the loss, because it was an accident? And so of innumerable other instances. I must suppose, from the decision of the case abovementioned, that this is the law; I should be obliged to some of your correspondents to explain to me, on what principle it was so decided. INDOCTUS. June 6, 1815.

MR. EDITOR,

HAVING in a former paper briefly discussed the subject of Greek inscriptions on Medals, it now remains that we should copsider those having Latin ones: but on entering upon this subject, it may not be improper to illustrate two terms usually found in this study. One is the legend-the other the inscription; for as both are inscriptions it will be necessary to make a difference between them, which we shall do by considering the le gend, as that inscription going round the medal explaining the figures that are upon the field; while the inscription is the words which are in lieu of a reverse; taking up the field of the medal instead of figures. A medal in this sense may be said to have two legends-that of the head and that of the reverse: the former serves only to make the persons known by their proper names, or by sirnames, which their virtues may have gained them; the latter records their actions; the glorious monuments which serve to perpetuate their names, and the benefits which their several empires have received by their means. On the medal of Antoninus, on the head side, we find "ANTÒNINUS AUGUSTUS, PIUS, PATER PATRIE, TRIB. POT. Cos. 1111." which are his names and his titles. On the reverse are three figures--the Emperor seated on a throne-a woman standing with a horn of plenty-and a square chart with a certain number of points upon it--the third is a figure holding out *See New Monthly Magazine for March 1815, p. 100.

Rev. Mr. Mackinnon on Latin Medals.

1815.]

Miscellaneous Answers and Inquiries.

The Latin language of medals, however, began to decline, and the alteration may be said to commence about the time of Decius, when it lost that roundness and neatness for which it had ever been distinguished, and after that period became difficult to read; but it is worthy of observation, that the character some time after recovered itself, and continued until Justin's time, when it again began to change, and at last fell into the utmost barbarism.

In studying these relics of antiquity, and surveying the emperors and states which they mention, those emperors whose very name struck terror into con

523

tending foes, and those cities whose for-
mer grandeur and magnificence are re-
corded in the page of history, the re-
flecting mind must indeed confess the
uncertainty of sublunary things. The
medal, though small, keeps its inscrip-
tion and retains its beauty, gaining value
from the accumulation of years; not like
the splendid column, or the vaulted
dome, which year after year decay, and
at last mouldering into dust, the very
site of those once famous edifices will be
unknown to future generations.
J. MACKINNON.

Bussingham, June 5, 1815.

MISCELLANEOUS ANSWERS AND INQUIRIES.

MARIA PUCKLE has favoured us with the following Recipes

To remove grease spots from paper.— Fold up in two small muslin bags ashes of burnt bones, or calcined hartshorn; lay the bags on each side of the greasy paper, and having heated a pair of curling irons, or common tongs, moderately hot, press the bags against the grease for some time; if necessary repeat it.

To destroy Beetles.-At night lay treacle on a piece of wood afloat in a broad pan; beetles are so fond of treacle they will fight for it whilst drowning: or take some lumps of unslacked lime, and put it into the holes they come from; if numerous, scatter a little also

on the floor.

PHILOTECTON, Who is building an extensive artificial mound or pyramid, with internal chambers and staircase, but with immensely thick walls, will thank

any of the readers of the New Monthly Magazine to inform him of a cheap common cement for filling in the interior of the walls, which are composed of brick and stone fucings and rubble interiors.

JUVENIS begs to be directed to the best Dictionary of English Synonyms, for a young student in English composition.

PHILO-MUSICUS begs to be informed in what reign, and by whom the national tunes of" God save the King" and "Rule Britannia" were composed.

J. W. enquires, Why the Lord Chancellor always sits upon a woolsack in the House of Lords? and also, When Harlequin Pantomimes were first introduced on the stage, and by whom; and why there are always the four characters of Harlequin, Columbine, Pantaloon, and Clown in those pieces?

MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PERSONS. MEMOIRS OF PROFESSOR HEYNE, OF GOTTINGEN. (Concluded from page 434.)

LEFT with a young family, and oppressed with the weight of his multifarious avocations, Heyne's situation seemed to require his entrance into a new matrimonial connexion. He had himself no intention of this kind, but had applied to a friend at Leipzig to recommend to him a governess for his children. To this friend Dr. Zimmerman suggested the idea of a closer union between Heyne and the family of Brandes, curator of the University of Göttingen, with whom he had been for many

years on an intimate footing. The proposal was highly agreeable to all the parties, and on the 9th of April, 1777, Heyne received the hand of the younger daughter of Brandes.

We now come to notice the principal of the literary labours of this eminent scholar. This was his edition of Homer to which he devoted a considerable portion of his life and studies. Though he might not have been unacquainted with Homer when he removed to Göttingen, yet it seems very doubtful whether he

524

Memoirs of Professor Heyne of Göttingen.

[July 1,

other disquisitions. Every book has, moreover, its Ercursus, or Digression, to the number of 53 in all;-inquiries on the most difficult and diversified subjects, grammatical, archæological, mythological, geographical, and historical, for which there was no place in the Ob servations. The last book is furnished with a series of these Digressions on the nature, the economy, and the history of the Iliad, and of Homer's compositions in general, which crown the whole performance. The eight volumes of the large edition were published together in 1802.

had previously made a study of the prince of poets. But it was not long after his arrival that he began in the year 1767, his lectures on Homer, which he occasionally repeated. Besides these lectures he was necessarily led by his edition of Virgil, which he prepared about this time, to a more intimate acquaintance with the bard who so often served him for a prototype. Soon af terwards appeared a work which produced a powerful effect upon Heyne: this was Wood's Essay on the Original Genius of Homer. Wood had himself travelled in the East, had made observations on the spot where the poet lived and sung, where Achilles and Hector had fought; he had explored the places which Ulysses had visited; he had at the same time studied the inhabitants and their manners, and composed his work, after gaining a thorough acquaintance with Homer's world. This was a very different kind of commentary from what was to be found in the anuotations of critics and philologers. He needed only such an example to teach him what was requisite to the reading of an ancient poet in the spirit of his age and nation; and a new world of inquiries at once opened upon him. It was not, however, till the year 1780 that Heyne conceived the idea of editing Homer, when he was encouraged to undertake the task by his friend Reich, the book-lished in 1788, with numerous vignettes, seller, who had published Ernesti's edition, and by Ernesti himself; but it was seven years later before the work itself was commenced. From that time he scarcely passed a day without devoting a couple of hours to Homer. For fifteen years he continued this labour, not with a view to pecuniary profit or fame, but out of pure love for classic literature.

Heyne's work was designed to embrace all that can reasonably be expected of an editor-criticism on the text and commentaries, into which was to be introduced all that was worth preserving out of the ancient grammarians, scholiasts and commentators. The first two volumes of the large edition contain, after the prefaces and preliminary notices, the text of the Iliad, accompanied with a running commentary, which only aims at rendering the text intelligible to the reader without entering into abstruse inquiries. The third gives the Latin translation and the great dissertation on the auxiliaries of Homer, the different editions, MSS. &c. The five other volumes comprehend Observations on each book, with literary, critical, and

Considering the predilection for clas sical literature prevailing among, the higher ranks in England, and the celebrity which Heyne had acquired, it was to be expected that when the three youngest sous of his Britannic Majesty were sent to Göttingen to finish their education, the superintendence of part of their studies would be committed to him. He was charged with their instruction in Latin, and at first undertook the duty himself, but afterwards deputed it to younger teachers. He gained the respect of his royal pupils, and the Duke of Cambridge in particular conceived an affection for him, which during his subsequent residence in Hanover he repeat edly manifested in the tenderest manner. The second edition of his Virgil, pub

and dedicated to the English princes, had a singular fate. Heyne's fame roused the spirit of British speculation: the London booksellers Payne and White procured of the publisher Fritsch, of Leipzig, his edition with engravings and vignettes: they then made a great noise about a splendid edition that was in preparation in England, but did little more than copy the German embellishments. They had applied to Heyne for additions and emendations, which he was goodnatured enough to send to them, toge ther with a short preface. The preface was lost in the printing-office; the additions, instead of being introduced in the proper places, were all thrown together at the end; and, in lieu of Heyne's preface, the work was ushered in with as advertisement from the Corrector, as he styles himself, in such bungling Latin that it can scarcely be read without laughter. The conduct of the London booksellers highly incensed Heyne; indeed he could never speak of it with temper. As soon as the English edition appeared, Fritsch determined to publish a new one, which should eclipse it; he