The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-03-14 00:00:00

feared tit serious disturbances might arise ;lithe
high authority of the Synod was not interpoied to
prevent it. The Synad'resolved, that the affair did
not lie within their cognizance, and admonished the
busy church-council to be diligent in the perfor-
mance of their respedive duties, and to instrud the
common people that the erecting that statue was
alone in consequence of an old usage, utterly incon-
sequential in itself, and ought not to be rejeeted,
much less to occasion discussions in the church.
Ills wise determination was become the more ne-
cessary, as no less than 300 blind zealots, adherents
of J. Van Lcenwen, had entered into a written
agreement, wherein they engaged to support the
declaimer Let:meets, and the church council, and
not to receive the sacrament before the Idol (so they
called the statue) was destroyed. The seditious
Priests, .1. Van Leeuwen, and Pieter NO.nrode, were
dismissed from their offices, whereby the Magis-
trates taught the restless multitude, first to behold
this fine produCtion of art with indifference, and
next with satisfaction, not alone as an ornament to
the city, but to the whole republic.
It is already stated that, ia his heart, Erasmus was
an advocate fur the reformation, but much as lie dis-
approved the abuses and ignorance introduced into
the Church of Rome, he no less abhorred the indecent
rarTe with which wild-headed enthusiasts strove to
brilig about that revolution in religion. The man-
ner in which he wished the necessary reformation
to he carried into effe.l was as follows :—" The
evil, said Erasmus, would be easily cured, if the
chic Cs of both sides strove with upright hearts to
restore the pure religion of the er.•,:ngelists. The
great cause should be left to the decision of 50 or
100 men, deputed by all nations, that should be se-
leded for their holy lives, profound erudition, and
unbiassed minds. Those were to appoint a certain
number of their own body to form a cornmitt:e to
assemble at short notices. The propositions or
doetrines of the assembled theologists, must rest
within the walls of the school. Some of the doc-
trines in use must be destroyed, some altered into
admonitions, &c. Above all, he rejected a reforma-
tion to be brought about by force and uproar, amid
quarrels and dissentions, declaring such was his ab-
henence of discord, that the truth itself would dis-
please him, if it was tumultuous or seditious.
His property, which was considerable, he disposed
of by will : his library to .lohannes a Lases, a Pole ;
but on condition that he paid 200 florins : if he died
previous to Erasmus, or if he would not comply
with the terms, then the library was to be given to
Amerbach, who was a, liberty to dispose of the
books as he might think proper. His gold watch
he bequeathed to Lodewyk Berns; agolden spoon
and fork to Beatus Renanus ; one hundred and fifty
gold dollars to Petrus Virctus ; an equal sum to
Philip Montanus ; two hundred gold florins to his
servant Lambert, if he lived with nim at the time of
his death, and it had not been previously given to
him ; a silver bottle to Jan Brissius ; an hundred
gold florins to Pattl Volsitis ; an hundred and fifty
gold ducats to Sigismund Telenius ; two rings, the
ore without a stone, and the other of Turcuis, to
Jan Erasmus Frobenius, to whom he had stood as
sponsor at his baptism ; all his clothes, furniture,
&c. together with a silver cup, whereon was the
arms of the Archbishop of Menu, to Hieronimus
Frobenius ; a ring with the figure of a woman, and
a cup with a cover and some verses on the foot, to
Nicholas Episcorius ; a silver cup, with a figure
representing Fortune, to Everard Goclinus ; all the
overplus of his property, which was very consider-
able, he bequeathed to his three heirs above•men-
tioned, H. Frobenius, Bunifacius Amerbachius, and
Nicolas Episcopins.
Friday morning,--as—theKing's Guard was
marching from the parade, in St. James's Park, a
private of the nine of Smith, of Colonel Stevens's
company of the Ist battalion of the 3d regiment of
Foot Guards, was seized with a sudden fit of cough-
ing, broke a blood vessel, and instantly expired.
Friday Lord GRANTEE'S`, Colonel of the first
regiment of the Sorry Militia, ordered circular let-
ters to be sent to his officers, requesting their imme-
diate attendance at thehead-quarters, K in oston-upon-
Thames, as the corps will be embodied some day
next week; or to state their reasons for neglecting to
do so.
On Monday se'anight, as Mrs. Smith, of Great
Leighs, Essex, was boiling some fat in a saucepan, it
accidentally caught fire. Not knowing how to ex-
tinguish it, she carried it into the yard ; hut finding
the air rather increased than checked the fary of the
flames, she took it into the house again, and threw a
quantity of cold water upon it ; which caused so vio-
lent an explosion as to knock Mrs. Smith down back-
wards, and to scatter the fat, still blazing, all over
the room; some of which communicating with the
clothes of the maid-servant, set them on fire; and
the flames rapidly extending to those of an infant she
had in her arms, it was burnt in so dreadful a man-
ner, that it languished till Thursday, and then died.
• —An inquisition was held upon the body on Satur-
day last, when the Jury returned a verdict of Am.
elentul Death. We are sorry to add, that the maid-
' servant was so much burnt, that she lies with but lit-
tle hopes of recovery. Mrs. Smith received consi-
derable injury, but is thought to be out of danger.
The following circumstance took place this week
at Croscomb, near Wells :—A young man, servant
to a farmer, had been prevailed on by his worthless
father to purloin some hay ; he was caught in the
fad of putting it upon his father's shoulders. His.
mistress remonstrated with him on the enormity of
the offence, but promised him forgiveness upon the
hay being returned. However, the unhappy lad,
being struck with remorse, the same evening hung
himself in an out-house. The Coroner's Jury re-
turned without hesitation a verdid, filo de se—but
through the humanity of the churchwardens the ig-
nominious sentence of the law was dispensed with,
and the corpse was suffered to be buried in the bask
part of the churchyard.
We understand that the plan submitted by Ge-
neral BENTHAM to the Boast of Admiralty, at their
late visitation at Portsmouth and its vicinity, is ex-
peded to take place, with respect to clearing out the
Hospital-lake, and rendering it thereby completely
commodious, and suitable to receive a number of
his Majesty's smaller ships and vessels of war, to
be laid up there in a state of ordinary; in times of
peace and tranquillity ; by this we shall be able. to
retain a much greater navy at the central port than
heretofore : and the more so, as by the intended re-
moval of the bridge leading across the Lake, which
is already in a state of falling, the navigation of the
River can be extended much farther, and enabled
to answer the .most sanguine expectations of the
General, for the public good: