The Natural History of Wiltshire eBook

John Aubrey
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 257 pages of information about The Natural History of Wiltshire.

The Natural History of Wiltshire eBook

John Aubrey
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 257 pages of information about The Natural History of Wiltshire.
The Board of Agriculture published a few maps in 1794, containing delineations of soils, &c.; and in 1815 Mr. William Smith produced the first map of the strata of England and Wales.  Since then G. B. Greenough, Esq. has published a similar map, but greatly improved; and numerous others, representing different countries and districts, have subsequently appeared. — J. B.]
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The great snailes* on the downes at Albery in Surrey (twice as big as ours) were brought from Italy by ..-.., Earle Marshal about 1638.
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Of the INDOLES of the Irish. — Mr. J. Stevens went from, Trinity College in Oxford, 1647-8, to instruct the Lord Buckhurst in grammar; afterwards he was schoolmaster of the Free Schoole at Camberwell; thence he went to be master of Merchant Taylors’ Schoole; next he was master of the schoole at Charter House; thence he went to the Free Schoole at Lever Poole, from whence he was invited to be a schoole master of the great schoole at Dublin, in Ireland; when he left that he was schoolmaster of Blandford, in Dorset; next of Shaftesbury; from whence he was invited by the city of Bristoll to be master of the Free Schoole there; from thence he went to be master of the Free Schoole of Dorchester in Dorset, and thence he removed to be Rector of Wyley in Wilts, 1666.

* Bavoli, (i.e.) drivelers.-J.  Evelyn.

CHOROGRAPHIA:  LOCAL INFLUENCES. 11

He is my old acquaintance, and I desired him to tell me freely if the Irish Boyes had as good witte as the English; because some of our severe witts have ridiculed the Irish understanding.  He protested to me that he could not find but they had as good witts as the English; but generally speaking he found they had better memories.  Dr. James Usher, Lord Primate of Ireland, had a great memorie:  Dr Hayle (Dr. of the Chaire at Oxford) had a prodigious memorie:  Sir Lleonell Jenkins told me, from him, that he had read over all the Greeke fathers three times, and never noted them but with his naile.  Mr. ....  Congreve, an excellent dramatique poet.  Mr. Jo.  Dodwell hath also a great memorie, and Mr. ....  Tolet hathe a girle at Dublin, mathematique, who at eleven yeares old would solve questions in Algebra to admiration.  Mr. Tolet told me he began to instruct her at seven yeares of age.  See the Journall of the R. Society de hoc.
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As to singing voyces wee have great diversity in severall counties of this nation; and any one may observe that generally in the rich vales they sing clearer than on the hills, where they labour hard and breathe a sharp ayre.  This difference is manifest between the vale of North Wilts and the South.  So in Somersettshire they generally sing well in the churches, their pipes are smoother.  In North Wilts the milkmayds sing as shrill and cleare as any swallow sitting on a berne:-

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Project Gutenberg
The Natural History of Wiltshire from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.