1

440

Reafons for furrendering FORT ST. PHILIP'S.

To the feventh and eighth it is answered
thus: "All the difpofitions for defence were
made, that prudence could fuggeft, or the,
nature of the place would adinit of. Lord
By, a year or two before the fiege,
ordered a furvey to be taken of the ord-
nance and of the ftores, when it was found
that upwards of forty cannon were de- A
fective, which, by a proper reprefenta-
tion thereof, the board of ordnance re-
placed with others fit for fervice. He
alfo had the fhot and fhells carefully fur-
veyed and gaged; and finding the fuzces
in ftore unferviceable, they having been
drove many years, he ordered an equal B
number of empty ones to be drove. And
by ordering a number of foldiers to be
difciplined in the management of the ar-
tillery, many of them became expert gun-
ners, and did good fervice in the defence
of the place. Surely thefe will be allow-
ed to be the proper attentions of a good C
governor. In the time of the fiege, coun-
cils of war were frequent, and the engi
neers always attended. The batteries of
cannon and mortars were well ferved, and
did great execution. But his lordship had
no miners, except fix or feven coal-beavers,
or fuch like men, picked out amongst the D
regiments."

F

To the ninth it is anfwered, firft with
refpe&t to the small lofs of men in defence
of the place, as follows: "It was al-
ways allowed to be an act of the greateft
prudence in the governor of a place be-
fieged, to fave his people as much as pof- E
fible. No governor ever had more reafon
for this part of his conduct than lord
By. The garrifon was not half the
number requifite for the defence of the
fort. The works were extenfive, and the
befiegers much too numerous to be oppo-
fed by open force. Therefore his lordship
could make no fallies; and as his chief
bufinefs was to annoy the enemy, as much
as poffible, from his batteries, and to
fave his people for the defence of the
place, in the laft extremity, he made as
much ufe as he could of the fubterraneans
to fhelter his men: He ordered the guards G
to parade in them, and to march to and
from the feveral pofts affigned them, un-
der their covers by the communications.
And that part of the garrifon not upon
duty, were ordered to continue always
under thofe covers. By which prudent
difpofition the garrifon was faved, and H
the pots conftantly fopplied. As, there
were but few expofed in a large extent of
ground, the lofs muft certainly be the lefs.
So that had you been poffeffed of any de-
gree of candour, you ought to have ac

Sept.

knowledged the great propriety, with which lord By difpofed that handful of men in the defence of Fort St. Philip's; and how well both officers and men obeyed his commands, and difcharged their duty; as, with fo fmall a lofs on our fide, to cut off, at least, five thousand of the enemy; of which twelve hundred fell in the night of the storm."

And with refpect to the furrender, the author anfwers thus : "The garrifon was reduced to two thousand five hundred men at the time the general attack was made: On the contrary, the enemy's army, which had from time to time been augmented by a regiment of artillery, and fupplies of troops, ammunition, &c. was ftronger than at the beginning of the ficge. The ftorm, which began between ten and eleven at night, was general, and from every advanced poft round the place at once. The men of war's boats, with troops and fcaling-ladders, went up St. Stephen's Cove at the fame time, and attempted to carry Charles-fort; but were bravely repulfed, and obliged to leave one of their boats behind them. The most vigorous effort was made against the Queen's-redoubt, the Anftruther, and the Argyle; and tho' they carried them, it was with a confiderable lofs, both by the obftinacy of the garrifon, and the fpringing of the mines: The Argyle was blown up; and three companies of French gre nadiers were deftroyed by three mines fpringing about the Queen's-redoubt. The taking of the Queen's-redoubt put the enemy into poffeffion of one of the communications of the fubterraneans; into which they poured a great number of men, who proceeded to the communications un der the Kane, and thereby might have proceeded to all the communications of the fubterraneans.

You feem to be pofitive that the enemy, by being in poffeffion of the houfes of St, Philip's town neareft our works, had the advantage of fooner approaching them without being perceived. But, Sir! confider: This form was begun in the night; under whofe cover, the troops, that were furtheft from the works, had an equal opportunity of advancing to a flated diftance, as thofe who were neareft: And accordingly, upon a fignal given, the whole body of the enemy made a general attack from every stated poft at once.

Neither can you fupport that infamous affertion, that a whole regiment flood ftill or inactive in the heat of the action for want of orders, or an officer to command them: For no one regiment was upon

fervice

1757. Years of the Birth and Death of CHRIST fettled.

fervice together. They were all blended
in parties with others. Where the enemy
made no impreffion upon our troops in
their attack, there the body of referve,
belonging to that party of troops, necef-
farily and properly stood ftill, or inactive.
But fuch a ftanding ftill, can neither be A
afcribed to inaction, according to your
malicious interpretation thereof, nor to a
want of orders, or a proper officer.

The ftorming lafted till day-light, when the enemy beat a parley for leave to carry off their dead, who lay in great numbers

441

accept of terms of capitulation, in order to preferve the remains of his brave garrifon, and the lives of a confiderable number of his majefty's fubjects of both fexes, that were in the caftle; and which, without diftinction, might have been thrown away in cafe of a general ftorm. And it was happy for them that he did fo: For, the enemy, the very next day after the capitulation, landed a reinforcement of four thousand men with ammunition at Cittadella." (See p. 3.)

about our works. And during the con- B To the AUTHOR of the LONDON

tinuance of this parley, lord By called a council of war; in which, after due confideration of the circumstances of the garrison, and of the measures propereft to be taken, the majority declared for a capitulation.

His lordship then confulted the officers of artillery, who all declared, that the works were in a fhattered, ruinous condition, and irreparable in the prefent itate of the garrifon.

C

Not content with thefe opinions, his lordship fent for all the captains not upon duty, who all agreed, that the garrison D was not in a condition to sustain another general attack. And the gentlemen of the council of war, as well as the officers of the artillery, and the captains, figned their opinion.

E

The body of the castle was greatly fhattered; many guns were difmounted; the embrafures were beat down; the palfifadoes were in many places broke to pieces; the garrifon was worn out with inceffant duty and watchings, infomuch, that many of them were fo overcome with fleep, that they could not ftand a little time to their arms without nodding. The F enemy being now in poffeffion of the fubterraneans, which communicate themselves under all the caftle, lord B-y would have been obliged to defend thefe alfo, had he stood another ftorm, or must have left the body of the place exposed to the enemy without refiftance. Lord By G had also been informed by fome prisoners, that marshal Richlieu, being alarmed by a report, that marfhal Belleifle was expected to come and take the command of the troops in Minorca out of his hand, would, in all probability, pay no regard to the lofs of mens lives to carry the place in a H fecond affault, thereby to prevent the difgrace of having the command taken from him.

Thefe confiderations, and the want of intelligence, after the difappearance of Mr. Byng, prevailed on lord B- -y to September, 1757.

SIR,

MAGAZINE.

HAVING feen a ferious letter in

your Magazine, for lait April, concerning the method I have taken in my aftronomy to fettle the years of the birth and death of Chrift, which is now reprinted with fome alterations in the fe cond edition of this work, if you think proper to infert the following extract of the fame as now printed, to fatisfy the author of the faid letter, you are entirely at liberty from, SIR,

THE

Your humble fervant,

JAMES FERGUSON,

HE vulgar Era of Chrift's birth was never fettled till the year 527; when Dionyfius Exiguus, a Roman ab bot, fixed it to the end of the 4713th year of the Julian period; which was certainly four years too late. For, our Saviour was undoubtedly born before the death of Herod the Great, who fought to kill him as foon as he heard of his birth. And, according to the teftimony of Jofephus (B. xvii. c. 8.) there was an eclipfe of the moon in the time of Herod's laft illness: Which very eclipse our aftronomical tables fhew to have been in the year of the Julian period 4710, March 13th, 3 hours 21 minutes after midnight, at Jerufalem. Now, as our Saviour must have been born fome months before Herod's death, fince in the interval he was carried into Egypt; the latest time in which we can poffible fix the true Era of his birth is about the end of the 4709th year of the Julian period. And this is four years before the vulgar Æra thereof.

In the former edition of this book, I endeavoured to afcertain the time of Christ's death; by fhewing in what year, about the reputed time of the paffion, there was a paffover full moon on a Friday: On which day of the week, and at the time of the pallover, it is evident from Mark Kkk

XV.

442

Opinions about the Time of CHRIST's Death.

B

Sept.

complishment of that prophecy with the expiation of fin, thofe weeks cannot well be fuppofed to end at any other time. And both these authors agree that this was Artaxerxes Longimanus, not Artaxerxes Mnemon. The doctor thinks that the laft of thofe annual weeks was equally divided between John's ministry and Jefus Christ's. And as to the half week, mentioned by Daniel, chap. ix. v. 27. Sir Ifaac thinks it made no part of the above feventy; but only meant the three years and an half in which the Romans made war upon the Jews, from fpring in A, D. 67, to autumn in A. D. 70. when a final period was put to their facrifices and oblations by deftroying their city and fanctuary, on which they were utterly dif perfed. Now, both by the undoubted canon of Ptolemy, and the famous Æra C of Nabonaffar, which is fo well verified by eclipfes that it cannot deceive us, the beginning of thefe feventy weeks, or the feventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, is pinned down to the year of the Julian period 4256: From which count 490 years to the death of Chrift, and the fame will fall in the above year of the Julian period 4746: Which would feem to afcertain the true year beyond difpute.

xv. 42. that our Saviour was crucified.
And in computing the times of all the
pallover full moons from the 20th to the
40th year of Chrift, after the Jewith man-
ner, which was to add 14 days to the
time when the new moon next before the
pafover was firtt vifible at Jerufalem, in A
order to have their day of the paffover
full moon, I found that the only paffover
full moon which fell on a Friday, in all
that time, was in the year of the Julian
period 4745, on the third day of April:
Which year was the 33d year of Chrift's
age, reckoning from the vulgar Era of
his birth, but the 37th counting from
the true Ara thereof: And was also
the last year of the 402d olympiad, in
which very year Phlegon an heathen wri-
ter tells us, there was the most extraordi
nary eclipfe of the fun that ever was known,
and that it was night at the fixth bour of
the day. Which agrees exactly with the
time that the darknefs at the crucifixion
began, according to the three evangelists
who mention it: And therefore muit
have been the very fame darkness, but
mistaken by Phlegon for a natural eclipfe
of the fun; which was impoffible on two D
accounts, 1. Because it was at the time of
full moon; and, 2. Because whoever takes
the pains to calculate, will find that there
could be no regular and total eclipfe of the
fun that year in any part of Judea, nor
any where between Jerufalem and Egypt:
So that this darkness inuft have been quite E
out of the common courfe of nature.

From the coincidence of these characters
I made no doubt of having the true year
and day of our Saviour's death. But ha-
ving very lately read what fome eminent
authors have wrote on the fame fubject,
of which I was really ignorant before; F
and heard the opinions of other candid
and ingenious enquirers after truth (which
every honest man will follow. wherever it
leads him) and who think they have
strong reafons for believing that the time
of Chrift's death was not in the year of
the Julian period 4746, but in the year G
4743 I find difficulties on both fides,
not eally got over: And fhall therefore
ftate the cafe both ways as I can; leaving
the reader to take which fide of the quel
tion he pleafes.

But as Jofephus's eclipfe of the moon in a great measure fixes our Saviour's birth to the end of the 4713th year of the Julian period, and a Friday paffover full moon fixes the time of his death to the third of April in the 4746th year of that period, the fame as above by Daniel's weeks, this fuppofes our Saviour to have been crucified in the 37th year of his age. And St. Luke, chap. iii. ver. 23. fixes the time of Chrift's baptifm to the beginning of his 30th year, it would hence feem that his publick miniftry, to which his baptifin was the initiation, lasted feven years. But as it would be very difficult to find account in all the Evange lifts of more than four paffovers which he kept at Jerufalem, during the time of his miniftry, others think that he fuffered in the vulgar 30th year of his age, which was really the 338; namely in the year of the Julian period 4743. And this o pinion is farther ftrengthened by confidering that our Saviour eat his last pafchal fupper on a Thurfday evening, the day

Both Dr. Prideaux and Sir Ifaac Newton are of opinion that Daniel's feventy H immediately before the crucifixion: And

weeks, confifting of 490 years (Dan. chap.
ix. v. 23-26.) began with the time when
Ezra received his commiffion from Artax-
erxes to go to Jerufalem, which was on
the feventh year of that king's reign (Ez-
ra ch. vii, v. 11—26.) and ended with the
death of Chrift. For, by joining the ac-
• Mutt. xxvii. 45. Mark xv. 43. Luke xxiii. 44.

that as he fubjected himself to the law, he
would not break the law by keeping the
paffover on the day before the law pre-
fcribed; neither would the priests have
fuffered the lamb to be killed for him be-
fore the fourteenth day of Nifan when it

I

was

1757.

:

Mr. FORECASTLE'S JOURNAL.

was killed for all the people, Exod. xii.
ver. 6. And hence they infer that he kept
this paffover at the fame time with the rest
of the Jews, in the vulgar 30th year of
his age At which time it is evident by
calculation that there was a paffover full
moon on Thursday, April the 6th. But A
this is preffed with two difficulties.
1. It
drops the last half of Daniel's 70th week,
as of no moment in the prophecy; and,
2. It fets afide the teftimony of Phlegon,
as if he had miftaken almoft a whole o-
Jympiad.

B

Others again endeavour to reconcile the whole difference, by fuppofing, that as Chrift expreffed himself only in round numbers concerning the time he was to lie in the grave, Matt. xii. 40. fo might St. Luke poffibly have done with regard to the year of his baptifm: Which would really feem to be the cafe when we confi- C der the Jews told our Saviour, fometime before his death, Thou art not yet fifty years old, John vii. 57. which indeed was more likely to be faid to a perfon near forty than to one but juft turned of thirty. And as to his eating the above paffover on Thursday, which must have been on the D Jewith full moon day, they think it may be easily accommodated to the 37th year of his age, fince, as the Jews always began their day in the evening, their Friday of courfe began on the evening of our Thurfday. And it is evident, as beforementi oned, that the only Jewifh Friday full E moon, at the time of their paffover, was in the vulgar 33d, but the real 37th year of Chrift's age; which was the 4746th year of the Julian period, and the latt year of the 202d Olympiad.

To the AUTHOR of the LONDON

SIR,

S

MAGAZINE.

As your Magazine is defigned for a

mufement as well as inftruction, the inferting the following journal (wherein you will find no hearfay, 'tis reported; but matter of fact) will much oblige Your humble fervant,

SIMON FORECASTLE.

Sunday.
we were drove down to pray-
ers; the chaplain's task was finished in
about 25 minutes, in the prayers 15, and
fermon 10; at one the captain turned off
his cook for giving the ducks four turns
too much, fwearing, that they were not
fit for dogs to eat, and Jack Wait un-
derwent the like fate for fpilling a few
drops of claret on the fine carpet;
but by making intereft with fome of

IT being calm, and little to do,

443

the captain's favourites, they were both restored; at five the officers were bufily employed at backgammon, tho' they had' grace enough to push about the dumb men. I think the chaplain was not among

them.

Monday. In the morning early we taped a caík of beer, d-nd ftuff! the ftingy dog of a brewer not having afforded the due quantity of wormwood, whereby feveral cans had their ribs moft miferably broke, thro' whofe fides the purfer was undefervedly wounded; at 10 the boatfwain cracked a bifcuit on his elbow; at 11 Dick Careless cut his finger, and at two, the doctor's mate gave him a vomit; at five the officers at their ufual diverfions, hazard and backgammon, but with naked men: Several volleys of firit rate oaths frequently burst thro' the crevices of the cabbins, and about feven the fecond lieutenant came forth looking like a thunder cloud; when Tom Titter happened to fmile, at which the lieutenant hit him fuck a knock on the pate, that, if his full had not been as thick, and as tough as one of our Norfolk cheeses, egad he would certainly have cracked it.

Tuesday. A fine morning, clear wea ther, we faw the boltfprit right a-head: At nine Sam. Stutter was ordered to the top-maft head to look out, who foon after cried out, a f, f, f, a fail :—Where? Off the lee, lee, leeward bow: How far off! As far as I ca, ca, ca, ca, can fee, and, and, and, another a little farther than that.

We bore down upon her, and towards the evening came within the reach of our fpy-glaffes, when our first lieutenant having taken a good aim, fwore, z—nds a 74 gun fhip with French colours! The F captain's hand trembled fadly, fadly; a fhort debate arofe, when our third lieutenant (a brave old experienced officer, one who deferved a better poft, but, alas! is fo unhappy as not to be related to even i third cousin of a vote in a corporation) faid, Sir, fhall not we fight them, cannot G 400 English boys, whole hearts are made of fuch stuff as our fhip, fight 600 soup meagre, wifhy-wafhy, pullet-hearted Frenchmen? Let us fight them captain, let us fight them! To which the captain replied, if we fight them we run a great rifk, and fhould I throw away his majefty's fhip, what would become of me? Why, Sir, I fhould be broke: The brave man was about to reply, when he was or dered to his cabbin, and immediately after the fhip to haul clofe on a wind, which was done; we foon tacked, and faw the enemy no more, Kkk z

H

444

Sept.

A WEEK'S TRANSACTIONS at SE A. Wednesday. We had a violent ftorm at N. W. half W. early in the morning, which broke the ftraps of the main sheet and clue garnet blocks, with feveral of the laniyards of the fore shrouds, fplit the foretopfail all to bits, and damaged moft of the running rigging; at 12 the ftorm A ceafed, we unbent the foretopfail and bent another, and were all bufily employed in repairing the rigging all that day. During the hurry, our fellows received but little damage; one by a fall had the sheathing of his face ftripped off, and another fell out of the windward shrouds on deck, and B

dren, and nothing for them, but a wicked
world to ftruggle with. The doctor was
well paid for his bribe, and her fervices;
at night George Guzzle and I eat a flice
of locker beef, fmoked two pipes, knocked
off two cans of flip, and drank Saturday.
Thus ends my journal.

Obfervations made upon the BRIMSTONE-
HILL, in the land of Guadelupa.
Continued from p. 395..

The SECOND JOURNEY.

received a large lacerated wound in his MY curiofity was not fatisfied; I

jacket, and a dislocation of one of his fhoe heels, as I think the doctor's mate termed it.

Thursday. A brisk gale; at eight Tom Tinfel a midshipman, walking on the quarter deck, with his brother Jack-a-napes C on his fhoulder; pug, in a funny fit, on a fudden, flung his laced hat and jemmy wig overboard, which were both drowned, and skipping into the mizen shrouds, ran up the round top, and laughed as heartily at doing mifchief, as any one of a fuperior nature; at 12 Tim Idle crawled upon D deck, having been confined to a cradle and watergruel for three weeks, looking as pale as a ghoft and as filly and freaking as a door off the hinges: The boatswain hailed him, with what cheer, my boy! Tira fhaking his head, groaned out, oh! the damnation brimftone b-h.

E

Friday. In the morning Joe Wilful was put in irons, for beating his commanding officer-at fwearing; at 12 we faw a fail, chaced, and took her: She proved to be a St. Domingo man, loaden with fugar, rum, &c. we hoifted out a puncheon of rum; great was our joy, and F much heightened by the fight of the puncheon, and tafte of the rum, infomuch, that half of the fhip's crew were drunk before night: One of our men fell down the hatchway in the night, and very much bruifed his fhoulder, &c. the doctor was fent for, but could not come, being en- G gaged, the mates were a bed non comp. ment. but the doctor's boy, a little arch brat, clapped on a blistering plaister, saying, that will draw out the bruife well enough.

Saturday. We brought too a floop bound to Plymouth, on board of which we H fhipped a girl, who at our departure from thence was handsomely feed by our doctor to get on board and conceal herself for fome days. She was a tight, well built, and well rigged firefhip; the daughter of

wanted to make more accurate obfervations, and take a more exact view of this mountain. We climbed up a second time with the fame and still greater difficulties, because we took the road that leads to the middle of the mountain. This road is called Tarare, and was to bring us to the pool near the great cleft and the great cavern. I had provided myfelf with all neceffaries for making

obfervations.

We arrived at the little plain, where the pool is. The three times I have seen it, it was little more than 20 or 25 feet fquare, and contained but little water, which was very ill tasted, and fo impregnated with alum, as not to be fit to drink.. It is fituated oppofite to the great cleft, about an hundred paces from the great. cavern, that is under the cleft. As I intended to lie there, when we got to the place, we picked up fome wood, kindied a fire, made bundles of fern, and fetched water from the head of the river St. Lewis.

We took up our lodging in that great cavern, that anfwers perpendicularly to the cleft of the mountain. It has, no doubt, been formed by the fame earthquake, that fplit the mountain in two parts nearly equal. The parting goes north and fouth; to the north is the cleft and the cavern, in the middle the abyss, and to the fouth the burning gulph; the whole on a direct line.

This cave appears, at first fight, very deep, but you get down with ease. At the entrance it may be about 20 or 25 feet wide, as much in height, and about 60 paces deep. At the bottom is a kind of pool, formed by the waters, that drain or ouze from different parts of the vault. The bottom of this pool appears to be an exceeding fine miry earth, like clay mixed with afhes. The water, that diftills in thefe places, is very acid, aftringent, sharp, and taftes of alum. The water of the other pool on the outfide is much of the

a poor curate, who dyed and left fix chil-fame nature, but contains fewer falts;

元