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Third son of Sir Henry Fortescue, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Educated at Oxford, probably at Exeter College, and also at Lincoln's Inn, where he became famous for his knowledge of law. In 1430 he was Serjeant-at-law; in 1441, King's Sergeant-at-law; in 1442, Chief Justice of the King's Bench; he was afterwards Chancellor of England; in 1463 he went with Queen Margaret to Flanders, and there wrote for the guidance of Prince Henry (who, however, was murdered before its publication) his "De Laudibus Legum Angliæ." Having returned to England, he was taken prisoner at the battle of Shrewsbury, 1471; he passed the remainder of his life in retirement, after being pardoned at Ebburton, in Gloucester. He was also the author of a treatise on "The Difference between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy."

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Descended from a northern family, and admitted into the service of Sir Henry Percy at the age of twelve fought with him as a volunteer at Homildon, Cokelaw, and Shrewsbury. He enlisted, after his patron's death, under Sir R. Umfraville, who made him Constable of Warkworth Castle. He was next engaged in some secret service" in Scotland for three and a half years at the peril of his life. He accompanied the king to Harfleur, and marched to Agincourt; he was present at the sea-fight, 1416, at the mouth of the Seine. In 1424 he was at Rome; thereafter he was sent again to Scotland. He became Constable of Kyme Castle, in Lincolnshire, and re-wrote his "Chronicle" in his old age. He is often spoken of as a notable and dexterous forger of charters and legal instruments, though it is quite possible he may have been either duped or mistaken.

Eldest son of Thomas Westcote and Eliz. Lyttleton, whose name and arms he subsequently took. Educated at one of the universities and at the Inner Temple, in which he gained the appointment of Reader, he was made Steward of King Henry VI.'s household, King's Serjeant, and Justice of Assize. He was afterwards Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and a Knight of the Bath. He died at Frankley in Worcestershire. His "Book of Tenures was written during his judgeship.

Educated at Oriel College, Oxford, of which he was made Fellow, 1417; Bishop of St. Asaph, 1444; of Chichester, 1449. He denied the Pope's infallibility and repudiated transubstantiation, and suggested persuasion rather than persecution in dealing with heretics. He was tried for heresy, and ordered to recant, which he did at St. Paul's Cross. He was, however, deprived, and confined in Thorney Abbey, where he died.

8. THOMAS OF WALSING

HAM

?-1440.

Born at Walsingham, Norfolk, and became a Benedictine monk in the Abbey of St. Alban's; appointed Historiographer to Henry VI., 1440, in which character he composed his "Brief History,” and his "Normandy till Henry V.'s Time."

Epitome of Critical Opinions.

The

1. "A long poem of nine books, written in the same octosyllabic rhyme with the 'Bruce' of Barbour, to which it was, no doubt, intended to serve as a kind of introduction. Wyntoun, however, has very little of the old archdeacon's poetic force and fervour; and even his style, though in general sufficiently simple and clear, is, if anything, rather ruder than that of his predecessor. 'Cronykil' is principally interesting in an historical point of view, and in that respect it is of considerable value and authority, for Wyntoun, besides his merits as a distinct narrator, had evidently taken great pains to obtain the best information within his reach with regard to the events both of his own and of preceding times." -G. L. Craik.

2. "In the class of romances of chivalry we have several translations in the black letter: such are the "Mort d'Arthur," "Huon of Bordeaux," &c. The best translations, now very rare and high-priced, are those of Lord Berners, the admirable translator of Froissart,' in the reign of Henry VIII.; and not the least of his merits is now the genuine antique cast of his style."-Isaac Disraeli. "His version is faithful, but not servile; and he imitates the spirit and simplicity of the original, without allowing us to discover, from any deficiency in either of these particulars, that his own work is a translation."-E. V. Utterson. "The fifth writer among the nobility in order of time."-Horace Walpole.

66

3. 'As a translator he ranks among the most laborious, and not the least successful of his tribe."-Dibdin. "Has a fluent and really good style. Volumes which are the delight of our collectors.

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More adapted to the general than the learned reader, and indicate upon the whole but a low state of knowledge in England."—Hallam. "He employed his press in the multiplication, and his pen in the translation, of the kind of books most in request among the reading portion of his countrymen."-G. L. Craik.

4. "Bracton and Fortescue are the two most learned, and almost the only learned, of the ancient lawyers."-Bishop Warburton. "An admirable treatise, which, for the excellence of its method, solidity of matter, and justness of views, excels every work on that subject."-R. Henry.

5. "He had drunk as hearty a draught of 'Helicon' as any in his age."Thomas Fuller. "The metre is melancholy enough; but the part of the work relating to the author's own times is not without value."-G. L. Craik. "Almost beneath criticism, and fit only for the attention of an antiquary. most impotent of our metrical historians."-Thomas Warton.

. . The

6. "From the lapse of centuries since it was written, and the consequent revolutions in the law of real property, The Treatise of the Tenures' is now chiefly historical and antiquarian; but with the commentary on it of Sir E. Coke, the author is likely to live as long as English jurisprudence."-Francis Espinasse. 7. "The language of Bishop Pecock is more obsolete than that of Lydgate or any other of his contemporaries. He preserves the old terminations, which were going into disuse perhaps, from a tenaciousness of purity in language." -Hallam.

8. "Derives its chief value from what the author writes of his own time."— Robert Harrison. "Rude and unpolished, but full and circumstantial.”—G. L. Craik.

The Inquirer.

QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS.

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659. Choice of Books.-In Macaulay's essay "On the Athenian Orators' this sentence occurs :-"It is not by turning over libraries, but by repeatedly perusing and intently contemplating a few great models, that the mind is best disciplined." I shall be glad to know what books are the best fitted for this constant and thorough study.-A. B. C.

660. I am anxious to be informed as to what is at present the best, the most advanced and trustworthy copy, in a single compact volume, of the Scriptures without note or comment, to be obtained. The question, as will be seen, tacitly excludes the existing socalled "authorized version." I desire the embodied results of the more recent scholarship and criticism in a handysized volume. I beg earnestly and respectfully to ask, Is it competent to me to obtain at the present time this desideratum? Answers meeting my requirement, either absolutely or relatively, will be much and highly valued.-O.D.

661. What has become of the "National Corresponding Literary Society"? Is it in existence at present? If it is, Who is the secretary, and what is his address? If not, is there any similar society in operation at present? and the address of the secretary?-RICHARD.

662. I understand there was recently started in London a newspaper printed in English, French, and German. Would some gentleman mention its name, price, and by whom published ?—W. D.

663. Social etiquette puzzles me greatly. Could you tell me what book to read about this most essential question for a young pushing man? Are "Lord Chesterfield's Letters to his Son" the best things to be had in our language upon the point? What is the philo

sophy of etiquette, and what are the laws which govern social intercourse in the various walks of life?-AWKWARK.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.

646. The Battle of the Herrings took place Feb. 12, 1429. It was fought on the occasion of that invasion of France by the English which called Joan of Arc into the field. We take the following notice of this event from the excellent" School and College History of England," by J. C. Curtis, for a knowledge of which we are indebted to a review in the British Controversialist: "The campaign was opened by the siege of Orleans under the guidance of Salisbury, who while reconnoitring the defences was mortally wounded (Oct., 1428). Suffolk succeeded to the command, and continued the blockade during the winter. Early in the following year, Bedford sent a convoy of provisions under the escort of fifteen hundred men, headed by Sir John Fastolfe. The French, learning their design, with a force three times as large endeavoured to intercept it, and a severe engagement took place at Rouvrai, in which Fastolfe gained a complete victory. The action was called the Battle of the Herrings, because the convoy contained a great quantity of that kind of food " [as, says another chronicler, " it was Lent"], 12th Feb., 1429 (p. 165). Thereafter there follows a brief but vivid account of "The Maid of Domremy," whose monument yet brightens the marketplace of Rouen, where, on 30th May, 1431, she is said to have been burned alive as a sorceress and a hereticthough recently doubt has been thrown on that story.-R. M. A.

655. Jonathan Edwards's "A Careful and Strict Inquiry into the modern prevailing notion that Freedom of Will is supposed to be essential to Moral Agency" was first published in 1754, in the fifty-first year of the author's age, and four years before his death. It is a masterpiece of metaphysics. Isaac Taylor says, "The treatise on the will is to a true philosophy of human nature as the demonstrations of Leibnitz are to modern mechanical science." "It is universally acknowledged to be one of the greatest efforts of the human intellect." An edition of "The Treatise on the Will" was issued in London in 1831, by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, we think, which contained an elaborate and exhaustive introductory essay by Isaac Taylor. In 1834 an edition of his works was issued, under the superintendence of Henry Rogers, to which an "Essay on the Genius of Edwards" is prefixed. As a mere training in logical analysis, in terse concentratedness of thinking, and in the consecutive pursuit of reasoning from premiss to conclusion, no better book is to be found in the English language. Yet its author was contemned, despised, persecuted, hunted by the odium theologicum! How strangely the defenders of the faith defend the faith !-R. M. A.

SUBJECTS SUITABLE FOR DEBATE.

Have recent Wars disturbed the Balance of Power in Europe?

Is Temporal Power essential to the
Papacy?

Ought Marriage to be regarded as a
Civil or a Religious Ceremony?
Is Peace likely to prevail in Europe
long?

Is Non-Intervention a proper policy for
Britain?

Does Old Testament teaching favour Polygamy ?

Ought President Johnson to be reelected?

Is Prayer efficacious?

Is a European Confederation possible? Should the British Army be reorganized

on the European plan?

Is England declining in Political Influence ?

Is Ritualism inconsistent with Christianity?

Does History give a Verdict in favour
of or against Protestantism?
Are Sisterhoods in accordance with
Christianity?

Is Co-operative Labour advisable ?
Are Standing Armies beneficial?
Ought we to have Asylums for In-
ebriates?

Have Russia and America cognate interests?

Does John Bright merit the confidence of the British people?

Which would most effectually extinguish Bribery-the Punishment of the Bribers or the Bribed ? Are the offers of Salvation in Christ

limited to this present World? Does the Theology of the Schools coincide with that of Scripture ? Is Church Organization unfavourable to Home Piety?

Was the Jewish Sabbath a Day of Worship?

Is the "Private Interpretation" of Scripture allowable?

Does Christian Doctrine develop? Is Sensation the Original Source of all thought?

Have we any Evidence for the existence of Matter?

Have we any Evidence for the independent existence of Mind?

Is Knowledge power?

Do Christian Ethics differ from Natural Morals?

Are there good reasons for believing in Providence?

Does the Speculative differ from the Practical Reason?

Are Virtue and Happiness coincident? Is Reasoning from Analogy legitimate?

The Societies' Section.

REPORTS OF MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETIES.

The Philosophical Institution, Edinburgh. The following is a list of the lectures announced for delivery at this notable northern association:

1. 66 Opening Address," by Sir William Stirling Maxwell, Bart., M.P. 2. "Plato," by John Stuart Blackie, M.A.

3. "The New England States; their Origin, Condition, and Prospects," by M. D. Conway, Esq., Virginia, U.S.

4. "Man; Where, Whence, and Whither?" by David Page, F.R.S.E.

5. "Washington Irving," by the Rev. Adam L. Simpson, F.S.A. Scot.

6. "An Englishman's Impression of Scottish Usages," by Frederick W. Bedford, LL.D., D.C.L.

7. "The Method of Nature," by John Tyndall, LL.D., F.R.S. London.

8. Concert of vocal and instrumental music, under the direction of John Hullah, Prof. of Vocal Music in King's Coll. 9. "Richard Brinsley Sheridan (with illustrative readings from his works), by George W. Baynham, Esq.

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10. "The English Commonwealth and the Protectorate," by T. H. Green, M.A., Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford.

11. "Modern Engines of War," by John Scott Russell, C.E., F.R.S. Lond.

12. "John Milton," by John Nichol, B.A., Oxon., Prof. of English Literature in the University of Glasgow.

13. "The Progress of the Philosophy of History," by the Rev. Robert Flint, Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of St. Andrews.

14. "Letters and Letter-writing," by George Seton, Advocate.

15. "Mr. Buckle's Historical Philosophy," by A. V. Dicey, M.A., Barrister-at-law, Fellow of Trin. Coll., Oxford.

16. "The Great Pyramid, and Egyptian Life Four Thousand Years ago" (with photographic illustrations shown by the oxy-hydrogen light), by C. Piazzi Smyth, F.R.SS., Professor of

Practical Astronomy in the University of Edinburgh.

17. "Thomas Hood," by George Dawson, M.A., Birmingham.

The Dublin Young Men's Christian Association, in connection with the United Church of England and Ireland, is under the patronage of his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Dublin (Richard Chenevix Trench). The meetings are held in the Association House, 8, Dawson Street, Dublin, on sabbath evenings at five, for the Bible class, in which the subject of study for this session is "St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews." On Friday evenings there are Scripture lessons, which are followed by lectures, essays, and debates. Among the lectures there are noted in the programme the following topics:-"The Employment of Spare Hours :" "Leisure Hours, and Mutual Improvement;" "Plants in Relation to Man," &c. Among the the essays we notice:"The Past and Present of Mexico;" "The Life and Writings of Southey;" "Lord Chief Justice Bushe;" "Confessions of St. Augustine;" and "The English Church before the Arrival of St. Augustine." The debates, as has been acknowledged on the programme, have been selected from the volumes of the British Controversialist for 1864 and 1866. The members have the use of a consulting library, open every day except Sunday; and a wellsupplied reading-room. Latin, Greek, and French classes are open, and examinations for prizes are held periodically.

A lending library is in course of formation, as is also a class for the study of English literature. A course of public lectures is in process of being arranged, and the entire prospects of the association are healthy and promising. Young men are welcomed at the association house.

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