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civil ^ affaire , and of a certain rashness on Fuller ' s part , which made his sermons at once offensive to the parliament and the king . However , when his property , had been sequestrated , and while wandering through the country in search o materials for The Worthies of England , hz chanced to be at Basing when Sir William Waller was before it , and the garrison was so inspired by the drum ecclesiastic of Fuller , that the enemy abandoned the siege . He was present , also , at the siege of Exetex , concerning which he relates a story : — " When the city of Exeter was besieged by tlie parliamentarj' forces , so that only the south side thereof , towards the sea , was open unto it , incredible numbers of larks
He had a capacious head , with angles winding and roomy enough to ledge all controversial intricacies . Imbrue not thy soul in bloody wishes of his death who parts thee and thy jpre / ir ment . ' Mr . Rogers' spicilegium is a piece of useful -work , -well performed . An introduction of this sort was necessary , since , though Fuller is read by every generation of students , lie has never been popular . From some books that jretend to be biographical encyclopaedias hts name is omitted !
were found in that open quarter , for multitude like quails in the wildernesse , though ( blessed be God !) unlike them both in cause and effect , as not desired / with man's destruction , nor sent with God ' s anger , as appeared by their safe digestion into wholesome nourishment : hereof I was an ege and a mouth witnesse . I will save my Credit in not conjecturing any number , knowing- that herein , though I should stoop beneath the tnitk , 1 should mount al ) ove belief . They were as fat as plentiful ; so that , being sold for twopence a dozen , and under , the poor , -who could , have no cheaper , as the rich no better meat , used to . make pottage of them , ' boy ling ' them down therein . Several natural causes -were assigned hereof . . . . However , the cause of causes :-was JJivine Providence . "
His first wife haying died , he married in 1654 the . sister of Lord Baitinglass , and was permitted by Cromwell to continue preaching as though he had not been an adherent of the late king . Being summoned before the Council . of Triers , however , he was perpl « xed in starch of ambiguities for the forthcoming examination , and applied for advice to one of Oliver ' s chaplains . " You may observe ^ sir , that I am a somewhat corpulent man , and I am to go through a very strait passage . I beg you would be so good as to give me a shove , and help me through . " When the Restoration took place , he was restored to his former ecclesiastical honours , and was in sight of a bishopric " when death brought all his eaa'tbly prospects to a close in 1661 . " -
We can scarcely agree with Mr . Rogers when he says that Fuller , though a voluminous write r , is never tedious . His tediousness is not that ' of Peter d'Alva , or Hans Sachs , but we confess to having felt the monotony of certain chapters in the Church History and even in the History of the Holy Weir . His very playfulness is sometimes ^ fati guing . Nor can we recognize the analogy , explained and limited as it is , between the writings of Fuller and those of Jeremy Taylor and Edmund JBarke . We do not think there is a passage , in Burke especially , which justifies any parallel between hiiri and the quaint divine , who sported even with Gilgal , Og , and Gaza . Biit Mr . Rogers deserves the gratitude of the reader for buying picked out and . put together the flowers of Fuller . Nowhere could be found a pleasanter page than this : —
Speaking of the Jesuits he says , " such is the charity of the Jesuits , that they never owe any man any ill-will—making present payment thereof . " Of certain pruiient canons , in-which virtue is in imminent danger of being tainted by impure descriptions of purity , lie shrewdly remarks—* . ' One may justly admire how these canonists , being pretended virgins , could arrive at the knowledge of the criticisms of all obscenity . " Touching the miraculous coffin in which St . Andrde was deposited , he slyly says— " Under the ruined walls of Grantchester or Cambridge , a coffin was found , with a cover correspondent , both of white marble , which did fit her body so exactly , as if ( which one may believe was true ) it was made for it . " On Machiavel ' s
saying , " that he who undertakes to -write a history must be of -no religion , " he observes , " if so , Machiavel himself was the best qualified of any in his age to be a good historian . " On the unusual conjunction of great learning and great wealth in the case of Seldcn , he remarks , " Mr . Selden had some coins of the Roman emperors , and a great many move of out English Icings . " After commenting on the old story of St . Dunstan's pinching the Devil ' s nose with the red-hot tongs , he drolly cries out— " But away with all suspicions and queries . None need to doubt of the truth thereof , finding it in a sign painted in Fleet-street , near Temple Bar . " The bare , bald style of the schoolmen , he tells us , some have attributed to design " lest any of the vermin of equivocation should hide themselves under the nap of their words .
Fuller , Mr . Rogers says , though often caustic , was seldom satirical . Sometimes , however , lie ventured to shake his humour at a friend . In confirmation of this , every one , of coui'se , will expect the story of his question to a Mr . SparroAvhawk , " What was the difference between a sparrow-hawk and an owl ? " To which Mr . Sparrowhawk replied that " owl was fuller in the head , and fuller in the face , and fuller all over . " But , unhappily , the anecdote seems apocryphal . Its truth was denied by Fuller liimself , and is not affirmed by any credible testimony . Hud the jolce been uttered , it would probably have been uttered by himself . He was a man to suggest a new reading for every name , and word , and thing , so fluentl y did his imagination colour all objects whatever with tints of variegated light . Speaking of false epitaphs in connexion with that suggested lor Cunipilen— " Caaipden ' s Remains "—he says " the red veins in the marble seem to blnah at the falsehoods written on it : " — ITo was a witty man that first taught a stone to speale , hut ho ivas a wicked man that taught it finst to lie .
We break the string that we may take ofT a few of the pearls : — Acquaint thyself with reading poets , for tlicrc fancy in on her throne . It rather loads than raises a wen , to fnstun the feathers of an ostrich to her wings . Almost twenty years since , I heard a profane jest , and still remember it . How many pious passages of far later date have I forgotten ! It seems my soul is like a filthy pond wherein fish die soon , and frogs live long . lla is the interjection , of laughter ; Ah is im interjection of sorrow . The difTercnce betwixt them very small , as consisting only in the transposition of > vliat is no substantial letter , but a baits aspiration . How quickly , in the age of a minute , in the very turning ' of a breath , is our mirth changed into mourning !' ticojt ' not at the natural defects of any , ivlrith arc not in their jwuier to uwtnd . — O , it U cruelty to bent a . cripple Avith his own crutches !
1 lave as much reason ns a camel , —to rise -when tliou hast thy full load . Memory liko a purse , —if it bo over-full that it cannot shut , nil will drop out of it . ( iemraUy nature hunrja out a sign of simplicity in the face of a fool . ' . The lust is often quoted , and not always attributed to Fuller . AYc have seen this writer's aphorism , il Those who marry whom they do not love , ¦ will iovo those whom they do not many , " employed by a contemporary au thoross and attributed to—herself . Charity ' s eyes must be open as well as her hands .
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A VACATION IN BRITTANY . A Vacation in Brittany . By Charles Richard" "Weld . With Illustrations . Chapman and Hall . Travellers are still packing up their trunks , and vexing the pages of Bradshaw . It is not too late to advise them to decide on Brittany for their ramble , and Mr . Gharles '* Weld for their cicerone . Nor will this volume , be without its cltarni to other less happier gents , who sit at home at ease aixd take imaginary voyages with very little expense and no sea-sickness . That more , much more , might have been made of such a tour by a brighter style and more suggestive mind , we will not deny ; but Mr . Weld is a pleasant , unaffected companion , cleverer with his pencil , of which he speaks modestly , than with his pen , but accustomed to travel , and writing sensibly about it . He has adorned—really adorned—his pages with numerous sketches of houses , bridges , cathedrals , caps , peasants , and curiosities of all sorts , which greatly aid in bringing the country vividly before us . We cannot transfer them to ' -our columns ; instead thereof \ ye ' will borrow a picture or two from his pen :- ^ - - ' . ' ¦ . . . " ¦ ¦ .. ; . a . fete . ' - ' . - ¦ . . .. . . ¦ ¦ ¦ . ' . There was no occasion to ask the way , as a stream of people was setting from the town to the festive scene . Ascending a long flight of steps on the verge of the houses , by th . e side of - which a . stream of water descended , I came upon the banks of a large lake bordered by a path leading to a valley , watered by the LefF- Having followed the path for about a mile , I entered a vast meadow , clothed by velvet sword , and fringed by noble trees , beneath-which the river flowed . A more beautiful locality for a fete could not have been selected . A placard informed me that the meadow , justly called Prairie Delicieuse , belonged to a gentleman of Chatelaudren , who had for the third time allowed the . fair to foe held on his property , and added that , as on previous occasions no damage had teen done , equal care would doubtless be now taken not to injure the trees or shrubs .
The large area was occupied by the holiday-makers and the usual booths found at country fairs ; those devoted to refreshments displayed cakes , beer , and cider , the latter beverages being in great request . The dances , evidently-the principal amusement af thz fete , were most extraordinary performances , differing _ entirely from any dance I had previously seen ; the strangest , called " La Ronde , " was danced by upwards of a thousand persons . It consists in forming a gigantic ring , holding hands , and circling jound sideways with a kind of hop-and-step jump , the arras being at the same time swung violently to and fro . The strain produced by the great number of dancers whirling round is so great as to make it extremely difficult to retain hold , of each other's hands ; many girls - were obliged to give way ; then followed shouts of laughter as the dancers endeavoured to close up and repair the breach by joining hands . The exercise was most violent ; one round of the great ring sufficed to fcathe the dancers' faces in perspiration , who however held out , literally ,
, To tue each other down , for not Until the girls co-uld foot it no longer did their partners lead them away to the refreshment booths . Apart from the singularity of this dance , it is interesting from its great antiquity , being a relic of Celtic times , and is only met witli in Brittany and Greece . The Iliad describes the ; dance precisel y as you will see it performed to this day in those two countries . It is also worthy of remark that the voluptuous nature of the Ronde , which certainly recommended it to the impure manners of the ancients , is still one ef the striking features of this danco in Urittany . The late Cluvnoine Malic , whose curious and learnedwork on the Morbihan should be read by all tourists in Brittany , says that lie considers the Ronde a very voluptuous dance , and highly dangerous to the morals of youth .
The music accompanying this wild dance was of a very primitive nature . In the centre of a ring , seated on a platform half a dozen feet from the ground , were three musicians , attired in fantastic garments ; one . played-the baniou , or bagpipes , an essentially Breton instrument , another the flageolet , and the third whacked a cracked drum . Iro > tn such materials melody was not to be expected , and the performers wisely abandoned attempting even to extract harmony from their instruments , contenting themselves with producing a series of groans and squeaks which , with the drum ' s rattling burden , sufficed to mark the time to the capering multitude around them . This rude music is the ancient and therefore legitimate accompaniment of the famous Breton Ronde ; any improvement in the orchestra would be deemed out of character . Brittany , the land of legend and superstition , affords him many a legend andinany a half-painful , half-ludicrous illustration of credulity . Catholicism presents some noticeable points ; we were particularly struck with the following : — The Mass in honour of the Virgin was of course the great event of the day , and , judging from the jingling of money , I apprehend that the silver harvest must have been great ; sous , however , v . oro not rejected , and , indeed , as will be seen by tho following copy of a document affixed in conspicuous localities within tho church aud on the doors , tlie priests do not regard centimes as beneath their notice . ' ^ Cathoh-iquks kk FiiANcic , voici uno foiulation assurce dans l'Kglise do l'lnimaculoe Conception . Uue messe tons lea jours f . une messe a perpJtuitu . ' O ' est uno source inUiriasablc de graces pendant la vie . C ' eat un aocours infiniment prtfeieux nprefl la mort . Y vuu / cz-voiis tine part ? Cia Tui ' sou vous kst oi'I'kht i * ouji unk oisoi . k !! Ileurcux l'honnne qui cumprend « u quo vaut unc nien . so I Murie tie eompte pas la soin me qu'on lui apportc , tillo consider © lo cwur < jui In doimo . Si done vous n ' avez fjue den centimes , domic / , des centimes U votre mow . Envoyez votre oiFrando en un bun sur la ponte ! 1 " A . pimt-ofllce order in favour of the Virgin ! Truly Voltaire never atruck a bardci blow ttguiiiht Popery tliuu that contained in . this advertisement .
lo us who stand outside tbo superstition , merely spectators , it nlway seems incredible that credulity could continue against the suggestions o common sense . The most credulous are amazed at tho credulity of others the sujiciatition which we do not admit into our minds seems so utterly un worthy of admission , whereas the superstition -we do admit is " a verj different , thing ! " And thus it is that the spectacle of another ' fo lly onl ) makes us pity him ; it seldom makes us suspect ourselves .
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October 4 , 1856 . j THE LEAD EH . 953
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 4, 1856, page 953, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2161/page/17/
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