THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES held its annual festival on the 23rd of April, and, on this occasion, with far more than ordinary eclât. Lord Mahon, the President, was in the chair, surrounded by a distinguished company of fellows and invited guests; the total number of persons present on the occasion being about 130. This unusual display arose from the circumstance of this year being the Centenary of the existence of the Society under its charter of incorporation. The President and Council determined to signalise the event by an assembly which should not only do honour to the general cause of antiquarian literature, but should exhibit to antiquarian students the anxiety of the Society to unite with all fellow-labourers in the antiquarian field on terms of harmony and good will. With this view invitations were sent to leading members of the Archæological Institute and Association, and to many other gentlemen throughout the kingdom, distinguished for historical and antitiquarian merit. The result must have rejoiced the heart of every one who entertains a proper feeling of respect for sound literature, and an anxiety that antiquarian science should be emancipated from the degrading influence of those bitter feelings by which it has been too long distracted.

The Chevalier Bunsen and M. Van de Weyer, the Duke of Northumberland and Lord Campbell, Mr. Wilson from Edinburgh, the author of the Archæology of Scotland reviewed in our present number, the Rev. J. C. Bruce from Newcastle, the author of the History of the Roman Wall reviewed in our number for February last, with very many other persons distinguished for historical and antiquarian attainments, were present, and a feeling of universal cordiality was exhibited and The whole inculcated on every side. conduct of Lord Mahon as President of the Society has been distinguished by the most unaffected and conscientious desire to extinguish all feuds in the antiquarian body; and his speeches on this occasion, liberal and generous as they were in their allusions to the labours of others, and lofty and eloquent in their appreciation of the importance of the common cause, were more than all conspicuous for an evident desire to diffuse a spirit of kindliness and

M. Van de Weyer's speech was distinguished by a very skilfully drawn contrast between the position of foreign ambassadors in past ages and at the present time in England. "If some future antiquary," said his excellency, were to make this contrast the subject of a paper he would have to record that there were days in the history of England (we hope his excellency alluded only to some peculiar and exceptional cases) when the Lord Mayor dared not receive a foreign ambassador as his guest, or answer for his safety on passing through the city, and when such was the unwillingness of the people to hold intercourse with foreigners that in travelling through the country it was difficult for an ambassador to procure a supply of even the necessaries of life. But," continued the ambassador, "if the antiquary to whom I have alluded were fully to work out the contrast by continuing his narrative to the present day, he would have to record that now, whatever the character or the object of a public entertainment, the foreign ambassadors were always amongst the most honoured guests, and that, encouraged by the generous cordiality with which they were every where received, so entirely did they learn to identify themselves with the people of the united king

dom that they not only dared to address them in their own language, secure of pardon if they occasionally murdered the Queen's English [a pardon never needed by M. Van de Weyer], but that more than one of them had even ventured to take unto himself an English wife "-an allusion to his own marriage and that of Chev. Bunsen which was most cordially received.

The Chevalier Bunsen's speech was of a high order-thoughtful and scholarlike. He pointed out in admirable manner the way in which the improvements in intercommunication which enabled gentlemen to come from Edinburgh and Newcastle to attend such a dinner as the present, might be made to tell upon the prosecution of antiquarian studies.

The Duke of Northumberland made two hearty and manly speeches in commendation of antiquarian studies, and with allusion to the researches going on near the Roman Wall; Lord Campbell claimed credit with antiquaries for his discovery of the decisions of Lord Chancellor St. Swithun, and showed the advantage of a knowledge of antiquarian subjects to a student of Bracton, Fleta, and the Year Books; Sir David Dundas answered for the House of Commons; the Church was represented by the Dean of St. Paul's; the universities by Sir Robert Inglis and Professor Willis; the Royal Society by Sir Philip Egerton; and the Royal Academy by Sir Charles Eastlake.

The evening was equally honourable to the Society of Antiquaries and to antiquarian literature, and will be long remembered by those who took part in it. A slight indisposition prevented the anticipated attendance of Sir Thomas Barrett Lennard, the father of the Society, who has been a Fellow from 1785, when probably some of those antiquaries who obtained the charter were still alive. Amongst antiquaries Sir Thomas is probably the only living link between the first incorporated Fellows and ourselves. We believe he is in his 91st year.

The inquiries we have set on foot respecting the original of the hymn " JERUSALEM, MY HAPPY HOME!" have not yet terminated, but, in the mean time, we have received several communications upon the subject, some of which put the matter in a new light. DR. DOBBIN of Hull writes to us with various particulars respecting David Dickson, to whom he believes the authorship is justly ascribed, but states that he wrote the first line

"Oh, mother dear, Jerusalem!"

in reference to Galatians iv. 26.

This last conjecture or recollection is confirmed by a valuable correspondent

signing H. G. who says that "in an edition of Dickson's Truth's Victory with his life by Wodrow, Glasgow, 1772, 12o. occurs the following passage (Life, p. xxi). Wodrow says, he (Dickson) wrote 'some short poems on pious and serious subjects, which I am told have been very useful, when printed and spread among country people and servants; such as The Christian Sacrifice; O, mother dear, Jerusalem! and on[e] somewhat longer, 8vo. 1649, entitled True Christian Love; to be sung with the common tunes of the Psalms." Wodrow's life is dated "Eastwood, Jan. 5, 1726."

Mancuniensis informs us that in the Life of Jessey, who died September, 1663, it is mentioned that on his death-bed sung this hymne:

Jerusalem, my heart's delight,

He

I come, I come to thee:
Then shall my sorrows have an end,
When I thy joys shall see.

This doubtless is the same hymn, it having experienced such alterations as are the usual fate of hymns."

Other correspondents introduce to our notice a new claimant to the authorship of this hymn in the Rev. William Burkitt, the well-known author of the Exposition on the New Testament. This claim was first brought before us by a correspondent signing W. B. B. who writing to us from Hackney on the 18th February last, informed us that "not many months ago he heard the late Dr. Pye Smith state, without any expression of doubt, that this hymn was written by Burkitt." He adds, "I need not inform any of your readers who knew that venerable man how accurate was his knowledge respecting hymns and how scrupulous he was in assigning them to their rightful owners." A month afterwards the same correspondent kindly sent us a copy of the hymn as it appears in "A Help and Guide to Christian Families, containing Doctrinal Instructions, &c. &c. also Divine Hymns, on several occasions. By William Burkitt, M.A., of Pembroke Hall, late Vicar of Dedham in Essex. A new Edition, Colchester, 1819." The preface is dated, 1693.

A few days after we had received this communication we were favoured with one of a similar purport from a lady, who is descended from Burkitt. She informed us that her family had always been proud to recognise this hymn as the composition of their ancestor, and favoured us with a copy of it, extracted from "the 27th edition of the Help and Guide to Christian Families, printed in 1749. The book was first published 9 July, 1693." There are

variations between the copies furnished us from the editions of 1749 and 1819, and probably still more differences would be found if the latter were compared with the edition of 1693.

Burkitt's version of the hymn resembles but is not all identical with that found in modern collections, as, for example, that in Bickersteth's Christian Psalmody (70th thousand, No. 574) and that in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist* (3rd edition, Glasgow, 1826, 18mo.; 8th edition, Glasgow, 1837, 12mo.) How much of it was actually Burkitt's may probably appear when we find the hymn set forth by Dick

son.

H. G. sends us also another version found by him in "an Appendix (without date) to Hymns for the Poor of the Flock." London, 1841. 24mo. This version in some respects very nearly resembles that printed in the Gent. Mag. for February, 1798. Perhaps the editor of this collection will tell us whence he derived his copy.

H. G. also sends us extracts from various Latin hymns, "to which the English composition bears at least in parts a very strong resemblance." This is a portion of the subject to which we hope to return.t

With reference to the communication in our last Magazine respecting CHALCONDYLES AND THE ENGLISH, E. A. F. reminds us that "among the authors who have accepted or refuted the calumnies of Laonicus Chalcondyles against the English of the fifteenth century, one of the most remarkable is André Du Chesne, better known as an editor than an original writer, but whose 'Histoire d'Angleterre, d'Escosse, et d'Irlande,' Paris, 1631, is

*H. G. points out to us, that in the Introductory Essay prefixed to Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, the hymn is thus alluded to, "There is a delightful hymn, page 134, Jerusalem, my happy home,' &c. by an unknown hand: but the hymn itself ought never to be unknown where there is a church on earth training up candidates for the church above."

Referring to the Magazine for December, 1850, H. G. points out that the verses there printed are attributed in one place to E. B. P., and in another to F. B. P. Presuming F. to be a misprint,

and" as it was not usual for an individual to have two Christian names at the period of the date of the MS. referred to," our correspondent supposes the F. to stand for "Father." The initials ought to be F.B.P. But may not the "P." with equal if not greater probability be supposed to mean "Poet?"

worth some attention as shewing the point of view in which English affairs appeared to a learned Frenchman of the age of Louis XIII. His first book contains a curious description of England and the English,' and, among other things, he points out the error of the Byzantine writer: Ils ont eu de tous temps le renom d'estre humains, et courtois envers les estrangers, d'inviter et traiter honorablement chez eux leurs amis, et de faire bonne chere à tous ceux de leur cognoissance.* Ils prenent leurs repas ioyeusement et nettement, et ne tiennent à honte ny deshonneur de baiser librement et publiquement les femmes, qui sont là presque toutes belles, et bien formées.† Car ils n'estiment rien plus noble, ny genereux, que de meriter les graces et les faveurs des honnestes dames, par leurs caresses et bons offices. Non que pour cela les maris entrent aisément en soupçon ou doute de la pudicité de leurs femmes, et qu'ils ne sçachent bien que toutes leurs affections sont pour la pluspart unies auec l'honneur.+ Ceux-là se sont trompez, lesquels fondez sur cette liberté, se sont avancez d'escrire, § qu'ils ne se donnoient pas beaucoup de peine de leurs legitimes espouses, ny de leurs enfans," "—with other particulars which are not suitable for publication at the present day. "Du Chesne then evidently fell into the same mistake, if mistake it be, as Dr. Plate and the others, one shared moreover by Gibbon and his editor, Dean Milman (xii. 85). The latter says, 'These are expressions beyond what would be used if the ambiguous word kveσeaι were taken in its more innocent sense. Nor can the phrase Tapéxovтai tàs éavтŵv yvvaîkas év Tois eindelos well bear aless coarse interpretation.' . . . "This question would serve for as good an instance of the Herodotean maxim that νόμος πάντων βασιλεύς as the actual question between the propriety of eating or burning one's father. We of the present day should sympathise less with even the best aspect of our ancestors in the days of Chalcondyles than with those provisions of the Icelandic code by which the kissing another man's wife could only be expiated by the penalty of forty ells of red cloth."

We are sorry to hear that an attempt has recently been made to remove 130 yards

of the remains of the ROMAN WALL AT VERULAM. It appears that the wall to this extent was given up by its owner to