[ 192 ] METEOROLOGICAL DIARY, BY W. CARY, STRAND, From July 26 to August 25, 1829, both inclusive. Fahrenheit's Therm. Fahrenheit's Therm. July 26 61 64 27 62 62 28 59 60 29 60 00 8888 00 200 00 10 61 70 58 29, 90'showers South Sea Stock, Aug. 1, 98. Aug. 4, 98.-Old South Sea Annuities, July 29, 89}. J. J. ARNULL, Stock Broker, Bank-buildings, Cornhill, late RICHARDSON, GOODLUCK, and Co. J. B. NICHOLS AND SON, 25, PARLIAMENT-STREET. [ 194 ] MINOR CORRESPONDENCE. He W. C. D. has much gratification in learning from the note at p. 111, that the ballad of "Old Rose" has been recovered. supposes there can be no doubt that the song, as there given, is the identical one with which Venator proposes to his friends to recreate themselves. But he observes, "that the removal of this difficulty leaves another of the same magnitude, the origin of the proverbial expression. We may infer from the words of the ballad now re-published, that" Old Rose" must, at the date of that composition, have been a song of some standing, and the proposal to "burn the Bellows" by no means new; and it is to be feared that little light can now be thrown upon this point: but, as I agreed with your correspondent Mr. Broughton, in opinion (founded in some measure upon the response in the British Apollo, which he has introduced to perhaps more than merited notice), that no hope remained of recovering the ballad, which opinion now appears to have been too hastily formed, there is still a chance that some of your Correspondents, whose means of research are greater than my own, may be able to give some clue to the origin of the phrase." J. G. N. remarks: "The death of the late Viscount Clermont was the thirty-seventh that occasioned a vacancy in the peerage of Ireland since the Union in 1801, not the thirty-fifth, as stated in p. 104. The difference in calculation probably arose from the Earldoms of Dublin and Ulster, possessed by the late Royal Dukes of Kent and York, having been omitted by the writer of the memoir; but I am enabled to state positively, that they are reckoned by Government, from having seen a copy of the Signmanual for creating Lord Downes, in which the Royal privilege, on that occasion, is expressly stated to have arisen from the deaths, without heirs male, of the Duke of Kent, Lord Tyrawley, and Lord Tara.-There is a curious point respecting one of these thirty-seven peerages. In 1825 the presumed extinction of the Earldom of Roscommon, together with the Viscounty of Bulkeley and Barony of Glenbervie, was alleged as giving the Crown power to create the Barony of Bloomfield; but by a decision of the House of Lords in 1828, the Earldom has been revived. It was provided by the Act of Union that, "if no claim shall be made to the inheritance of a peerage before the expiration of one year from the death of the person who shall have been last possessed thereof, then such peerage shall be deemed extinct." The Lords, it is presumed, in awarding the Earldom of Roscommon to the successful claimant, found means to overrule this provision; and undoubtedly it would be very unjust if inforced; as, with respect to peerages it has been an established axiom that no length of time can bar a claim. How far the revival may invalidate Lord Bloomfield's patent, is another matter for consideration; and indeed it appears reasonable that the latter should be propped up with another dead dignity in the place of that which has so unpolitely returned to life. There are at present seven extinct Irish peerages, of which the Crown has not availed itself. It has an immediate power to create a peer in the room of the Earl of Barrymore, who died in 1823, Viscount Netterville, who died in 1826, and the Earl of Ulster (Duke of York), who died in 1827. The deaths of Lord Castlecoote in 1827, of the Earls of Carhampton and Blessinton, and of Viscount Clermont, all in the present year, will make more than room for another after a twelvemonth has elapsed. "The last Irish title created was the Earldom of Norbury. It may not be generally known that, though conferred on an individual who was already a Peer of Ireland, it was properly considered a new Peerage, as it is limited to the second son. Should, however, Lord Norwood, the Earl's elder son, who is still unmarried, die without issue, the Crown will by this arrangement have wasted the privilege of creating a new Peer, and the family gained nothing.' If our anonymous Correspondent of the date of Sept. 1828, relative to the family of Surtees, will send us his direction, he may be supplied with some information in answer to his inquiries. We beg to inform E. L. that the drawing of the pulpit sent by him has been engraved; but, from his letter having been lost, we are even ignorant of the Church in which it is situated. He is therefore requested to send a description. The excellent pen and ink drawing sent from Paris by D. C. was safely received. We have been deterred from engraving it only by its being so narrow a slip; but are much pleased with the subject. C. inquires whose arms those are which occur in the window of Woodmancote Church, Sussex: 1. Cheque, Argent and Azure, on a canton Gules, a cross moline Or. 2. Azure siz mullets Or, 3, 2, 1. ERRATA.-P. 83, b. 1. 26, for "Nicholas Burghers," read " Michael." P. 112, a. l. 6, read " query and response." P. 121, b. 3 from bottom, read Feyjoo. P. 166, b. l. 31, for "unwordly," read "unweildy." THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. SEPTEMBER, 1829. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. I Mr. URBAN, A PILGRIMAGE TO MARIA-ZELL IN STYRIA. Baden, near Vienna, Aug. 26. RETURNED last night to this place from an interesting excursion to the alpine districts of Lower Austria and of the Styrian border ; and, as the track is not wholly beaten, I am induced, whilst the agreeable impression is yet fresh on my memory, to offer you a hasty sketch of my tour. Having been joined here, in the evening of the 18th, by a friend from the capital, we set forth, early on the following morning, on our expedition to the mountains. The morning was serene, and the road excellent. The latter lay through the Helenen-thal, a wild romantic valley watered by the Schwembach, to Heiligen - Kreuz, where we arrived towards noon. This prelature is the most ancient of the Cistercian monasteries in Austria, having been founded by the canonized Margrave, Leopold, in the 12th century. His son Otto, a monk of that order at Morimond, transplanted in 1134 the first colony of the fraternity from France into Austria. The building, which now contains about thirty monks (who, besides their diurnal of fices in the convent, are employed in superintending the adjacent parishes, and, within their own precincts, in the instruction of youth destined for the church,) is of different periods, with many remains of the original structure, in the style which we denominate the Saxon, but which was universal in ecclesiastical edifices of that age, and with other portions in the vile taste which predominated in the early part of the 17th century. Of this, the tasteless column, dedicated to the Trinity, in the inner court, composed of gilt emblems, in imitation, or perhaps the prototype, of the fountain pillar on the Graben at Vienna, is a sufficient specimen. Several of the halls, and, in particular, the beautifully vaulted one which was heretofore the dormitory, attest the great antiquity of the building. The interior of the church, partly Saxon, and partly Gothic, appeared to me to be perfect. The coup d'œil from the west entrance was awfully striking, owing, I presume, to the uncommonly lofty and narrow nave, and the concealment of the windows in the aisles; the whole interior seeming to be lighted only by a small window of yellow stained glass over the altar, which threw a tranquil gloom over every object within range of the eye. On arriving at the east end of the nave, we were agreeably surprised by the breadth and peculiar beauty of the transept and choir, lighted by long narrow windows of ancient stained glass, and adorned with several well-executed monuments. Amongst these, we found memorials of Altomonte and Giuliani, two members of the community, the one eminent as a painter, the other as a sculptor. Transcripts of the inscriptions may perhaps be acceptable to connoisseurs of their works: Vlator. preces. sIbI. aVet. parVas. MagnVs. artIfeX. familiaris obiit 14 Sept. [1745.] Ioannes. gIVLIanII. VenetVs. SCVLptor. InsIgnIssIMVs. hIC. LoCI. In. paCe. qVIesCIt. Etatis 81 familiaris 34 obiit 5 Sept. [1694.] Of several princes there are also me- of Austria, slain in battle with the morials, particularly of Frederick II. Hungarians in 1246; Leopold V. 196 A Pilgrimage to Maria-zell in Styria. Duke of Bavaria Leopold VI. of Austria, and others. On an erect monument, against one of the pillars of the north aisle, is the figure of an abbot, in alto relievo, having in his hand the sacramental cup with a large spider on the brim. The tradition is, that the pious prelate there represent ed, when in the act of celebrating mass at the high altar, observed, on raising the chalice to his lips, a large spider, of the species vulgarly considered to be charged with deadly poison, and which had, at that moment, descended from the roof of the choir, floating on the sacred element. For a moment the holy man rejected the nauseous potion; but recollecting that the liquid had already undergone transmutation into the blood of the Highest of beings, a feeling of awe prevailed over the dictate of nature; he emptied the cup, and fell dead on the steps of the altar. We had not time to inspect the library, which, we were told by the lay brother who attended us, contains few remarkable manuscripts not of a theological description. Some of the curiosities of the treasury were, however, per force paraded before us; such as a large piece of the true cross, which appeared to me to be of mahogany, and a number of sacred paraphernalia, richly ornamented with gold and precious stones. An ivory crucifix of exquisite workmanship arrested our attention more than any of the other objects of exhibition. On quitting Heiligen-Kreuz, we pursued our course through numerous picturesque valleys; and reached, in the evening, the princely monastery of Lilienfeld, said to be the richest spiritual establishment in Austria, and to reckon upwards of thirty villages within its domain. In this magnificent abode the late Emperor frequently passed several weeks in summer; and one cannot conceive a more delightful residence. The monastery stands on the slope of a beautifully wooded hill, the base of which is washed by a rapid stream passing through rich corn-fields and orchards. Having ordered our evening repast at the post-house (of which, however, we were informed, trout could not form part, as the lord prelate reserved the whole supply for himself and his guests,) we proceeded to take a cursory view of the monastery. At the entrance of the outer gate we observed the prelate seated on [Sept. a bench reading. He graciously rose to return our salute; and appeared to be about forty, and of a pleasing exterior. The solemn sounds of the organ accompanying the chaunt of the evening song, at that moment burst upon our ear; and we hastened into the church. The twilight scarcely afforded us an opportunity of examining in detail any part of the splendid edifice. It was, as a whole, exceedingly beautiful, abounding with altars richly decorated, and with paintings of the merits of which we could of course form no just opinion at the late hour of our visit. Before the high altar stands the costly shrine containing the remains of St. Leopold. Our journey, on the following morning, was enlivened by frequent meetings with companies of pilgrims on their way towards, or on their return from, Maria-zell. Each procession was headed by the bearer of a tall crucifix, adorned with flowers, and consisted usually of about forty persons, of both sexes, with rosaries in their hands; the returning groups being decorated with artificial bouquets; and all singing hymns in praise of the Virgin, and soliciting aid in her "gnaden-thal," or valley of grace. The to me novel scene carried me back, in imagination, to the glorious days of our Lady of Walsingham. By the hobbling gait of many of those whose faces were turned towards the object of devotion, it was evident that they had travelled from afar; and I was assured that some must have been three weeks on their journey, as they had wandered from Pesth, about 180 English miles below Vienna. The seasons for these pilgrimages are Pentecost, the feast of the Assumption, and that of the nativity of the Virgin. The two latter falling on the 15th August and 8th September, the corn harvest is usually over before the journey is undertaken. It is expected that every individual should once at least perform the rite; though vows, made during sickness or on other occasions, may render repetitions necessary. We sometimes overtook carts laden with pilgrims, and more wealthy votaries in carriages, or on horseback. The villages on this road of grace abound necessarily with inns and caravansaries adapted to the diversified condition of the numerous visitants, and, as an inevitable consequence, with beggars of all ages, who find rea |