spheres, proceeding from the rapid motion of the heavens, is so "There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st, Still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubim : But whilst his muddy vesture of decay Doth grossly close us in, we cannot hear it." Merchant of Venice, Act. 5, sc. 1. Perhaps the passage above quoted, from the Ode on the Nativity, suggested to Dryden one of the lines in his first Ode on St. Cecilia's Day. "From harmony, from heav'nly harmony, Dryden's Ode, ver. 10, et seq. diapason is the lowest in In an organ, the stop called the pitch, and is consequently the base, or foundation, on which the rest of the instrument is built. It serves to bind, unite and close the other stops together, and to give strength and grandeur to the whole. Thus Milton and Dryden, in the following lines, seem to have taken their ideas from the effect or use of this stop. Norwich. "And let your silver chime, Move in melodious time, And let the base of heaven's deep organ blow.". "Thro' all the compass of the notes it ran, The diapason closing full in man.” E. D. • Had Dr. Johnson possessed a little of Milton's musical knowledge, he would have endeavoured to give a more satisfactory definition of this word, than merely saying that, "Diapason is a term in music." [To be Continued.] 2 MISCELLANEA. No. 1. COMPARATIVE VIEW OF SUPERSTITION IN THE SIXTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. Aveuglement terrible, affreuse illusion, Voltaire. TOWARDS the latter end of the reign of Philip IV. the plague raged with desolating fury along the coasts of Spain, and thence spread to Italy, where it dreadfully depopulated many of its sovereignties, and particularly the land of the church. Symptoms of infection soon began to shew themselves in the populous city of Naples: and the then Spanish Viceroy, Don Garcias de Avellano e Haro, has been accused of introducing this dreadful calamity, with a most diabolical view. Many Neapolitans soon fell the victims of a suspicious death; yet the government adopted no precaution whatever, for arresting the rapid and destructive strides, which the contagion daily made. The physicians themselves, actuated either by their fears, their ignorance, or sordid motives, declared, that it was nothing more than a common putrid fever; but recommended, however, that fires should be burnt in the streets, in order to purify the air, and that the sale of salt fish should be prohibited. In the mean while, the disorder began to assume a more formidable character, threatening universal desruction, and every precaution that individuals could devise against it, proved unsuccessful. Hundreds perished daily. The air was rent with cries of grief, hor for and despair; the streets constantly presented the mournful spectacle of funeral obsequies, performing over the dead-and the ncessant passing to and fro of priests, charged with the melancholy office of conveying the sacrament to the dying. Fear and dismay reigned in every breast. At length, the wretched desponding Neapolitans, blind to the fatal consequences which must inevitably ensue, had recourse to the senseless and delusive ceremouies of a perverted religion for their deliverance. Numerous processions, of both sexes, clad in habits of penance, and their hair flowing over their shoulders, paraded the streets, from morning to night, calling loudly on God and the saints for succour and rescue. In the midst of these pious devotions, it so happened, that a fanatical priest recollected a saying of the immaculate and holy sister and hermitess, Ursula Bennicasa, who had died a short" time before, and had asserted on her death-bed, That if ever any dreadful calamity should threaten Naples, her hermitage would be converted into a palace. These words, pronounced by one, whose state of mind bordered on insanity, he now circulated as a prophecy immediately proceeding from divirre inspiration. The calamity it alluded to, was now looked upon as arrived; beaming with hope, and pious confidence, every eye was ardently directed towards the hermitage of the holy Ursula, on the summit of mount St. Martin, and their minds became prepossessed with the conviction, that it was only by the restoration of these venerable ruins their deliverance could be effected. Not a moment was lost in framing the plan of this sacred edifice; the impious viceroy himself carried twelve baskets of earth to the spot where it was to be erected, and, thereby, rendered his infamy immortal. Every inhabitant of Naples, whether old or young, tradesman or grandee, artist or merchant, matron or virgin, vied with each other, in obeying the injunctions of their priests, and imitating (what they esteemed) the pious example of their chief, whilst they thought no sacrifice either of money or labour too great. The vessels, destined to contain donations, soon overflowed with gold, silver, and copper coins of every description; the poorest Neapolitan gloried in surrendering his last soldi, and the gaudiest dame in divesting herself of her finest ornaments, to complete the erection of the sacred structure. Nor was less readiness displayed in respect to manual labour-both nobles and citizens subjected themselves to the most trying exertions. The massy pile, as if by the effect of magic, soon towered aloft in honour of the holy Bennicasa:-but never did insulted reason revenge itself by so speedy and so dreadful a blow, as on this occasion. The very measure, on which these deluded enthusiasts so faithfully relied for their deliverance, most woefully annihilated their hopes, and, at once, became the means of hastening, instead of averting, their destruction. The intense heat which prevailed, and which was rendered still more fatal in its consequences, from the great concourse of people assembled on one spot, together with the harrassing exertions which all sustained, necessarily disseminated the poisonous infection through every class, and in every quarter of the city. The physicians, themselves, at length, pronounced it to be the plague: and every precaution that wisdom or experience could dictate, was, alas! too late adopted; vain was 7 every attempt to stem its desolating (progress, which was daily marked by the fall of thousands of victims. In a few days, the church-yards and extensive catacombs round the city were filled with dead bodies. The pestilence soon raged throughout the whole kingdom, and destroyed 400,000 unfortunate beings, martyrs to the superstitious frenzy of the age, of which number 28,000 were inhabitants of the city of Naples. It is now nearly 150 years since this melancholy event occurred: and, we egotists, casting a retrospect on those times, arrogate to our own, the appellation of the enlightened age. But what right has the present age to this distinguished title?, Have the numerous reformersand philosophers, who distinguished that glorious era, really accomplished their boasted purpose of ennobling and enlightening the rest of mankind by the propagation of their new systems and dogmas? Has the reign of superstition really been succeeded by that of reason and truth? Is mankind really become more enlightened? Alas! although we are told that all this has actually come to pass, yet, when we compare the following anecdote of the present times, with what occurred in the sixteenth century, as above related, I can venture to say, that many doubts will arise in the mind of the reflecting philanthropist, on this point, and that he will be sensibly afflicted at the comparison. The city of Leghorn was visited, in 1804, by a dreadful contagion, which the physicians asserted to be nothing more than a common putrid fever, notwithstanding its being the received opinion, that it was the same disease as that which raged in the southern provinces of Spain, namely, the yellow fever. The magistrates having resolved not only to call the powers of medicine, but also those of the holy Roman religion, to their aid, it was ordained by the vicargeneral, that, on the thirtieth day of October, the miraculous image of the Madonna del Montenero should be conveyed to a meadow adjoining the church of Montenero. The ceremony, accordingly, took place, amid incessant peals of bells, and the sacred benediction, accompanied by discharges of artillery from the fortress, was, at the same time, pronounced over the city of Leghorn. This solemn spectacle was witnessed by, at least, thirty thousand persons, and among them the French general Verdier; they all held lighted tapers in their hands, and loudly implored the intercession of the Madonna. After the benediction, the miraculous image was carried in solemn procession through the city. Wax-tapers, weighing more than thirty pounds, and other costly presents, were offered up to the mother of Christ. The superstitious minds of the deluded multitude were completely tranquillized by the performance of this absurd ceremony; and, in order to put a finishing stroke to the farce, the bones of the holy Julia, (who had long been the tutelary saint of Leghorn,) were pompously brought forth and carried, with all due solemnity, through the streets, together with the heart of the holy Vigilia, which, for centuries past, had been carefully preserved in the cathedral. Notwithstanding the celebration of these pious solemnities, which were regarded as an infallible means of deliverance, the pestilence continued to rage with unremitting fury, daily destroying hundreds of Leghorn's dcluded inhabitants: and, yet, the 12th, 13th and 14th of November were appointed for a repetition of these disgraceful absurdities. S. D. ་ THE DYING CHILD. THE taper was just glimmering in the socket, as the weary and sorrowful mother awaked from a momentary slumber, to renew her anguish; she turned her eyes on her expiring infant, whose dim orbs were slowly turning in their hollow abodes. It was midnight, and nothing was heard but the strokes of the clock pendulum, and the heavy sighs of a disconsolate father, which mingled with the short, deep breath of his suffering darling. Half raised, and leaning on his pillow, he had been watching the dread moment when a sigh or a struggle should announce, that hope and life had together taken their everlasting flight. A sudden flutter drew the attention of the wretched parents from the melancholy object of their meditation: it was the expiring innocent's favourite bird, whose food had been neglected ever since the danger, of its little admirer had absorbed all other care, and, as the sad presage of his fate, it now expired! The parents looked alternately on each other, and on the bird, but at this instant, to add to their distress, the candle ceased to burn,-the father seized his infant's hand, the mother felt for its forehead, but the pulse was still, and all was cold! JOHN MORRIS FINDALL, |