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founder of the Scottish nation; that it was thence transported into Ireland "amongst other princelie iewells an regall monuments" by Simon Brech, who was crowned upon it about 700 years before the birth of Christ, and that it was thence carried to Scotland by king Fergus 330 years before the same After such adventures it will not be surprising that the stone should once more be removed, and find its way to the abbey of Westminster.

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Such are the legends relating to the Fatal Stone. But its probable history is so remarkable, and is carried back to a period so remote, that the aid of fiction was scarcely wanting to procure it reverence and regard. Mr. Toland justly styles this "the antientest respected monument in the world, for though some others may be more antient as to duration, yet thus superstitiously regarded they are not.”

The object of our inquiries may undoubtedly be traced to Ireland. It was most probably one of those stones which the druids or priests of the country were used to consecrate for particular sacred or political purposes: its place was the hill of Tara, and upon it the kings of Ireland for many ages received their authority. In the Irish language the names given to this stone, signified the fatal stone, or the stone of fortune; these it probably obtained from a power which it was said to possess of showing the legitimacy of royal descent, which it acknowledged by an oracular sound when a prince of the true line was placed on it: under a pretender it was silent. The Irish have an antient prophecy respecting the stone, implying that the possession of it was necessar to the preservation of the regal power.

In later times this prophecy assumed the following form:

"Ni fallat Fatum, Scoti quocunque locatúm

Inveniunt lapidem, régnare tenentur ibidem.” or in the Lowland Scotch of Wyntownis Cronykil,

But gyf werdys falyhand be,
Quhare evyr þat stane yhe segyt se,
Dare sall be Scottis be regnand,

And lorddys hale oure all bat land." In either way the prediction continues to be fulfilled in that branch of the family of James I. which now fills the British throne>!{

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From Ireland the Fatal Stone was conveyed to the settlement which the people of that country had made on the

north western part of our island, from them called Scotland. Whether we receive or reject the tradition that it was brought over by Fergus, there is no doubt that the stone was removed to Scotland at a very early period, and that it was always regarded as a sacred monument by the people of that country. This opinion appears to be countenanced by the late ingenious Mr. King, who says it is clear enough that before the time of Kennith, that is, before the year 834, it had been placed simply and plainly as a stone of great import and of great notoriety in Argyleshire, and, on account of the reverence paid to it, was removed by Kennith." This king, having taken it from the castle of Dunstaffnage, its antient station, placed it in the abbey-church of Scone, in the year 850: he also inclosed it in a chair of wood, on which he caused to be engraven the Leonine distich which we have already quoted. Here all the Scottish kings were crowned upon it till the year 1296, when the victorious Edward I. brought it to England and left it as an offering of conquest at the shrine of the Confessor, where it is still preserved,

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By the treaty of Northampton in 1328, which was confirmed by Parliament, it was agreed that the stone should be returned to Scotland: and for this end writs were issued by Edward III., which however were never executed. After its arrival in England, Edward I. caused it to be placed in a new chair with a step, richly painted and adorned with gilding. In the wardrobe account of that king under the year 1300 are the sums which were then laid out upon it, amounting to 17. 19s. 7d, -a considerable expense in those days. In order to illustrate the dignity of the relique, and to celebrate the crested pride of the First Edward," a tablet was suspended near the chair with the following inscription,

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architectural design, and ornamented on the back and sides with rows of pointed arches, the form of which confirms the reported age of this venerable relique. Some remains are yet to be seen of the painting and gilding with which it was once adorned. It is in height about six feet seven inches, in depth twenty-four inches, and the width of the seat withinside is twenty-eight inches. At nine inches from the ground is a frame to support the stone, upon the surface of which is the seat. The block appears to be of a reddish sandstone, and at each end a short iron chain is fastened in it; but these are nearly concealed by the wood-work. The lover of antient art must regret that so beautiful a fabric should be exposed to external injury as well as decay, and must wish, if possible, that the chair of king Edward might rather be restored in its original style of decoration, than concealed (as the custom hath been at the time of coronations) by a covering even of the richest material.

In Strutt's Honda Angel-cỷnnan (vol. iii. pl. 47.) is a representation of Edward II. in a chair of state, which is probably intended for that which now contains the stone.

Another chair, in imitation of that above described, was made for the queen of William III. and kept in the same place.

With respect to the unction, the following curious history is recorded by some antient writers, and certainly deserves as much credit as the French tradition of the holy vial brought from heaven for the consecration of king Clovis*. While St. Thomas à Becket

The legend of the Sainte ampoulle, used in the consecration of the kings of France is thus recorded in Hincmar's Life of St. Remy, ch. 21. "And behold a dove, fairer than snow, suddenly brought down a vial in his mouth, full of holy oil. All that were present were delighted with the fragrancy of it, and when the archbishop had received it the dove vanished." Another historian is rather more particular in his relation. "When he that bore the chrism was absent, and kept off by the people, lo! suddenly no other, doubtless, than the Holy Spirit ap peared in the visible form of a dove, who carrying the holy oil in his shining bill, laid it down between the hands of the minister," See Menin, p. 15. The same oil which was thus received is said to have remained ever since undiminished, as that consecrated by Moses is reported to have lasted till the captivity, or about 900 years.

was in banishment at Sens in France, as he was praying in a church by night to the blessed Virgin, she suddenly ap peared to him with a golden eagle and a small vial of stone or glass, which she delivered to the archbishop, assuring him of the happiest effects upon those kings who should be anointed with the unction it contained; and desiring him to give it to a monk of Poitiers, who would hide it under a large stone in the church of St. Gregory. In this place the ampulla, with the eagle, which was probably made to contain it, and an account of the vision written by St. Thomas, were preserved, till in the reign of Edward III. they were discovered by revelation to a certain holy man, who brought the sacred vessel to the duke of Lancaster, and by him it was delivered to the Black Prince, who sent it to the Tower, to be safely kept in a strong chest. Here it was found by his son Richard II., who wished to be anointed with it: but he was told by the archbishop that it was enough for him to have once received the sacred unction, and that it onght not to be repeated; nor was it used till the acces sion of Henry IV., who was honoured with it at his coronation.

The vessel which is now used to hold the consecrated oil retains the form of an eagle with the wings expanded, and standing on a pedestal. The height of the whole is near seven inches, and its weight about ten ounces. There is also a spoon, into which the oil is poured from the beak of the eagle by the officiating prelate. The spoon, as well as the eagle, is of gold, chased; and the former has four pearls in the broadest part of the handle.

Of the Coronation of Queens, it is to be observed, that although the royal consort of our kings have generally been graced with "all the royal makings of a queen," there is the widest difference possible between the coronation of kings and queens. The former is a political and national act; the latter only an honourable ceremony, originating with the King. The following considerations will elucidate this docsion of this coronation never was or trine: 1st, that the observance or omiscould be held to influence the right of inheritance of the legitimate issue of a royal marriage. 2dly, the coronation of the King is essential inasmuch as it is a political act; in that of the Queen, however, no such character can be discovered: no consent is askt from

the people as to the person to be crowned; no conditions are required from her; no oath is administered; no homage or allegiance is offered. The Queen's Coronation, though performed at the same place, and usually on the same day with that of the sovereign, is a subsequent and distinct solemnity; it proceeds from the King, and is granted to his consort for the honour of the kingly office.

The customary appearance of the Lord of the Manor of Scrivelsby, as the King's Champion at each coronation is mentioned in an Inquisitio post mortem bearing date in the 7th of Edw. III. which speaks of the tenure as follows: That the manour of Scrivelsby is holden by grand sergeanty, to wit by the service of finding, on the day of Coronation, an armed knight, who shall prove by his body, if need be, that the King is true and rightful heir to the kingdom. No mention is made in it of any thing in the nature of an hereditary office; and the condition of the tenure is stated in terms which are common to many of our ancient sergeanties, the possessors of which had the care of finding a knight-inveniendi militem-to perform some particular service. In its first institution, then, the duty of the lord of Scrivelsby had this extent, no more: the performance of such a duty, however, had too much of honour attached to it to allow of its devolving on a deputy; and the obligation of providing a champion for the royal title, in case of need, became a right of appearing as its personal assertor on every new

succession.

Nor is this the only ground for such an understanding of the tenure before us. From other records we find that the horse and armour, which are the customary perquisites of the service, were only to be claimed as of right in case a combat ensued; when this did not take place it was at the King's pleasure whether they became the claimant's property.

The above particulars are stated with a view to account for the existence of the noble service of the King's champion as we now find it-certainly with no intention of detracting from the honour and respect which are so justly its due; and before we leave the records above referred to, it is necessary to mention, for its further illustration, a

difference between the ancient and the modern mode of performing it. The champion was anciently used to ride in the procession as well as in the hall, and to proclaim his challenge " devant tout le monde" in both places: the former ceremony hath long been discontinued. This may also remind us of a remarkable circumstance which occurred at the Coronation of Richard II. recorded by Walsingham. Sir John Dimmock, being armed according to usual custom, came with his attendants to the door of the church when the service was concluding; but the lord Marshal came to him and said that he should not have appeared so soon, "sed quòd usque ad prandium regis differret adventum suum: quapropter monuit ut rediret, et, deposito tanto onere armorum, quiesceret ad illud tempus." The champion complied with this admonition, and retired-the cause of his seeming irregularity is explained by the circumstances above described.

The form of the challenge is as follows:

If any person, of what degree soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay our sovereign lord king of Great Britain and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. son and next heir to our sovereign lord the last king deceased, to be right heir to the imperial crown of this realm of Great Britain, or that he ought not to enjoy the same; here is his Champion, who saith that he lieth, and is a false traitor, being ready in person to combat with him; and in this quarrel will adventure his life against him, on what day soever he shall be appointed.

But some events have lately occurred which appear to involve the very existence of this ancient service, and to preclude the possibility of its being again repeated. The reader need not be informed that an act hath passed the legislature for the abolition of trial by battle in all cases criminal or civil: now without inquiring whether the procedure before us partakes more of the quality of an appeal of treason or of a writ of right, yet as the mode of conducting it is undoubtedly a wager of battle, must we not, however reluctantly, conclude that the service of the King's champion is become extinct, no exception of any kind having been made in the recent enactment?

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THE BOTOCUDOS, A SAVAGE TRIBE OF BRAZILSAANICH up the Rio Doce, at the spot where the Poroação of Linhares is now built; and this post was provided with one piece of cantion to cover the intended new road to Minas. At first the savages were frightened away by it, but when they had gradually become better acquainted with the Europeans and their weapons, their fears subsided. They once made a sudden attack on the station, killed one of the soldiers, and would have overtaken and massacred the others, who fled, had they not sought their safety in the river, and escaped in the boat, which happened to be just then coming with the relief. As the savages could not reach them, they filled the cannon with stones, and then retired into their woods.

Of the rich and interesting country ,1lying (on the East coast of Brazil, beween' the 15th and 23d degrees of South datitude, Europeans have long been destitute of any accurate knowledge. Until the emigrations of the Portuguese court, it was the narrow policy of the Brazilian government to impede, by every possible Pobstacle, the researches of travellers in these regions. A more liberal system is now adopted, which not only permits, -but encourages and assists the investigations of adventurous and scientific individuals. To this enlightened policy we owe the important discoveries of Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who in the years 1815, 1816, and 1817, explored the Eastern coast of Brazil, and much of the interior of the country, which, until the recent publication of his travels, was wholly unknown, or at least not vdescribed. Among the most valuable and curious additions which the Prince has made to our knowledge of natural history, geography, manners, and customs, may be reckoned his communications relating to the various uncivilized tribes which inhabit the extensive forests that separate the East coast from the --lofty and naked ridge of Middle Brazil in the provinces of Minas Geraës, Goyaz, and Pernambuco. These aboriginal savages have hitherto scarcely been known in Europe even by name; but rude and barbarous as they are, they are not destitute of vigour, courage, or sagacity, and may therefore, in the course of events, become enlightened and powerful. The following account of the Botocudos, one of the most powerful and warlike of these tribes, is taken from these interesting travels.*

The Botocudos rove about in the forests on the banks of the Rio Doce, up to its source in the Capitania of Minas Geraës.

These savages are distinguished by their custom of eating human flesh, and by their warlike spirit: they have hitherto made an obstinate resistance to the Portuguese. If they sometimes appeared at one place with all the demonstrations of friendly sentiments, they committed hostilities and excesses at another; and hence there has never been a lasting good understanding with them. Many years ago, a military post of seven soldiers was stationed eight or ten leagues

Travels in Brazil, by Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied. London, 1820.

NEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 78.

After this event, the late minister of state, Count de Linhares, formally declared war against them, in a wellknown proclamation: by his orders, the military stations already established on the Rio Doce were reinforced and increased in number, to secure the settlements of the Europeans, and the communication with Minas up the river. Since that time no mercy has been shewn to the Botocudos: they have been extirpated, wherever they have been found, without respect to age or sex; and only now and then, on particular occasions, some very young children have been spared and brought up. This war of extermination was prosecuted with the more inveteracy and cruelty, as it was firmly believed that they killed all their enemies who fell into their hands, and devoured them. When it was farther known that in some places, on the Rio Doce, they had expressed pacific dispositions in their manner by clapping their hands, and had then treacherously killed with their formidable arrows, the Portuguese who had crossed over to them, confiding in these amicable demonstrations, every hope of finding sentiments of humanity among these savages was totally extinguished. But that this opinion, derogatory to the dignity of human nature, was carried too far, and that the incorrigibility of these people proceeds as much from the manner in which they have been treated, as from their native rudeness, is strikingly evinced in the beneficial effects which the moderate and humane conduct of the governor, Conde dos Arcos, has produced in the capitania of Bahia, among the Botocudos residing on the Rio Grande de Belmonte. The traveller who has just quitted the VOL. XIV.

C

theatre of this inhuman petty,

the Rio Doce, is particular Warfare on above the surface of the water; they

and furnished with occasion for the most important reflections, when after the lapse of a few weeks he arrives in the district on the Rio Grande, and there' sees the inhabitants, in consequence of a peace concluded three or four years ago, living with these very savages on the most friendly footing, which ensures to the latter the desired repose, and to the former security and the greatest advantages.

The Rio Doce runs through a considerable extent of country; its banks are covered with thick forests, which are the haunt of a great number of different animals. Here are frequently found the anta or American tapir, two kinds of wild swine, (dicotyles, Cuvier,) the peccary or caytetu, and the porco a quechada branca (taytetu and tagnicati of Azara), two species of deer (the guazupita and guazu bira of Azara), and above seven varieties of the cat kind, among which the spotted ounce (yaguarété, Azara) and the black tiger (yaguarété noir, Azara) are the largest and most dangerous. But the rude savage Botocudo, the aboriginal inhabitant of this country, is far more formidable than all those beasts of prey, and the terror of these impenetrable forests.

The Prince's party proceeded up this river in a long canoe which was rowed by six soldiers. The party consisted of nine persons, all well armed. In order to ascend the Rio Doce, when it is at its height, four men at least are necessary, who propel the canoe with long poles (varas). As there are every where shallow places, which in the dry season appear as sand-banks, the poles can always reach them, even when the water is high; and with the most favourable combination of circumstances it is possible to reach Linhares in one day, but not till late in the evening.

The weather was very fine, and when -they had become accustomed to the rocking of the narrow canoe, caused by the soldiers walking backwards and forwards to push it along, they found the excursion very agreeable. When it was quite day-light they saw the broad surface of the rapid stream glistening in the morning sun; the distant banks were so thickly covered with gloomy forests, that in the whole of the long tract which they passed, there was not a single open spot which would have afforded room even for a house. Numerous islands of various sizes and forms rise

are covered with ancient trees of the most luxuriant verdure. Each has its particular name, and their number is said to increase the farther you ascend. The water of the Rio Doce, when at it's height, is turbid and yellowish, and is universally asserted by the inhabitants to generate fevers. It abounds in fish:. even the saw-fish (pristis serra) comes up far above Linhares, and into the lagoa of Juparanan, where it is frequently caught.

From the forests they heard the cries of numerous monkeys, particularly the barbados, the saunssus, &c. Here it was that they first saw in their wild state the magnificent maccaws (psittacus macao, Linn.) which are among the chief ornaments of the Brazilian forests," they heard their loud screaming voices, and saw these splendid birds soaring above the crowns of the lofty sapucaya trees. They recognised them at a a dis tance by their long tails, and their glow-` ing red plumage shone with dazzling splendour in the beams of the unclouded sun. Perroquets, maracanas, maitaccas, tiribas, curicas, camutangas, nandayas, and other species of parrots, flew, loudly screaming, in numerous flocks from bank to bank; and the large and stately Muscovy duck (anas moschata, Linn.) alighted on the branch of a cecropia, in the margin of the forest on the bank of the river. The black skimmer (rynchops nigra, Linn.) sat motionless and with contracted neck upon the sand-banks: toucans and the çurucuas (trogon viridis, Linn.) uttered their loud cries.

These wild animals, and the savage Botocudos, who are now however more rare, are the sole inhabitants of the banks of this river. There are scarcely any settlers in two places only a few persons, sufficiently provided with arms for their defence, have fixed themselves. They always carry their guns with them, when they go to their plantations; and those who have no firearms have at least one of the bows called bodoc, to discharge balls and stones. It is but occasionally, and in their roving excursions, that the Botocudos appear in these parts so far down the river.

Towards noon they reached the little island called from its shape Carapuça (Cap.) Here the weary people took some rest, and they found it absolutely impossible to reach Linhares this day. To secure their vessel from the rapid current of the river, they ran up be tween the main and an island, into a

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