The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-30 00:00:00

JOHN KNOX'S HOUSE.

Several paragraphs have lately appeared in the Edin-
burgh papers, expressive of a doubt whether it is not
intended to pull down the curious old house at the head
of the Canongate, celebrated as being the residence of
John Knox. A correspondent of the Courant of Satur-
day thus notices the rumour, beginning first with a simi-
lar report respecting Shakspere's house :--
"It is reported in the Worcester Journal that there is
an intention to remove the house in Stratford-on-Avon,
in which Shakspere was born, married, lived, and died.
Can such an act of barbarism be thought of, or permitted
in civilised and high-minded England ? It would bring
disgrace not only on the country, but upon the age in
which we live. This surely cannot be. If it be true,
the authors of such an outrage ought to be banished
from England to some other country. But whither
could they be sent to ? Even young Australia would
reject them with scorn and loathing. I know no place
where such barbarians would be safe, excepting in the
metropolis of Scotland, where a similar outrage, it is
currently reported, is meditated, and where they may in
consequence be protected by sympathising friends, with
tastes and feelings as barbarous as their own.
" It is rumoured that the house in the city of Edin-
burgh, in which the great Scottish Reformer, John
Knox, lived and died, is to be treated in a similar man-
ner, and that the destruction is to be brought about by
men who profess almost to worship his memory, and
who have the name of John Knox, and his deeds, and
his reforms, and his doctrines seldom out of their
mouths." ,

Our impression of the arrangements formerly an-
nounced with respect to Knox's house, is quite different
from the above. The Free Church party,
as we under-
stood, intended erecting a Knox monument and church,
and inclosing the present ancient building with a view
to its preservation. If this plan has been depat ted from,
we hope the citizens of Edinburgh will instantly
exert themselves and try to save the venerable struc-
ture. It possesses a strong national interest, and is a
curious specimen of the domestic architecture of a
former age. " The Reformer was lodged here," says Mr.
Robert Chambers, " by the magistrates, in 1560, on being
appointed parish minister of Edinburgh. It had previ•
ously been the residence of George Durie, abbot of Dun-
fermline. On the last day of October 1561, the provost,
bailies, and counsail, ordanis the dene of gyld, with all
diligence, to mak ane warrne studye of dailies to the mi-
nister, Johne Knox, within his hous, abone the hail of
the same with lyht and windokis thereunto, and all other
necessaris.' Knox probably lived here, while in town,
till his death, November 24, 1572. A window is shown,
from which he used to preach to the people on the street,
and there is an effigy of him in the attitude of preaching,
upon the corner of the building." Can any party seri-
ously contemplate the demolition of a building thus
hallowed and endeared to the people of Scotland?—a
memorial, too, of the times when Scotland was an inde-
pendent kingdom, and the force of the national character
—rugged, but fervid and undaunted—achieved the great
triumph of the Reformation.

The correspondent of the Courant is entirely wrong
in his allusions to Shakspere. New Place, the house in
which the poet died, was pulled down in 1757, and the
people of Stratford-on-Avon had the good taste to hoot
the barbarian who did it out of the town. Where the
poet was . married is not known, to the great perplexity
and mortification of .various antiquaries who have busied
and puzzled themselves for years about the point. His
marriage license he obtained at Worcester, but there is
no record of the ceremony. The exact locality of Strat-
ford-on-Avon where he was born is also a matter of
doubt. The small tenement shown as his birth-place
was undoubtedly his property; he inherited it from his
father, and bequeathed it by his will to his eldest
daughter; but Shakspere's father had two other small
houses in the town, and there is nothing but tra-
dition to vouch for the popular belief. The old
dwelling, however, is an interesting relic ; it was
once the property of the greatest of Englishmen
and of poets ; and it has been visited by thousands of
pilgrims from all parts of the world. Its walls are low
and humble, but its strong oak beams and floors promise
two or three centuries more duration. It may be sold,
but scarcely, we think, taken down. Its value as a show
house, if not its importance in the eyes of the inhabitants,
will save it from destruction. It might be well, however,
for the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, who pro-
tect and repair the ruins of castles and cathedrals, to ex-
tend their care to such relics of genius as this
Shakspearian mansion. By directing their attention to
the few ancient historical and memorable houses in the
kingdom, likely to be sold or pulled down, they might,
from time to time, at small expense, gratify strangers,
both foreigners and natives of this country, and thus
perpetuate interesting memorials of our national glory.
We were mortified, some years since, to find the only re-
maining Milton house in London (one in which the poet
lived eight years, and where he must have commenced
" Paradise Lost") converted into a miserable chandler's
shop. To pay homage to intellect and genius, even in
the way we have mentioned, would be graceful and be-
coming in a great nation. If Alexander spared the
house of Pindar, amid the tumult of war, when he
destroyed the temples and towers of Thebes, we might
well do something, in these days of peace, to save the
" Muses' bowers" from desolation.—lnverness Courier.

RACING CHANGES The rumour noticed in our
last, that Mr. Mostyn's horses were about to be removed
to John Scott's stables, turns out to be premature.
We regret to announce that Admiral Sir George
Cockburn, G.O 8., has had a dangerous attack of para-
lysis. The Gallant Admiral still lies in a precarious
state.— United Service Gazette.

KERSAL MOOR.—This spot, which for nearly 100
years has been used as a racecourse, will never again, in
all probability, witness the scenes which have contributed
to its renown. It will be seen, on reference to an ad-
vertisement, that the whole of the building materials of
the stands and booths are to be sold by auction on Fri-
day next.—Manchester Examiner.
Some time ago, a denizen of the gocd town c,f
Kendal who was rather addicted to Bacchanalian revel-
ries, on returning late to his home, found his wife seated
by the fire, anxiously awaiting his arrival. As is too
often the case under the circumstances, the intemperate
husband at first assailed his wife with hard words, and
then proceeded to harder blows. On the good woman
Imkilndalyw rtehmoounssetrdatin
g nowt,wibtuht hthimou,san ad,
tahlilnegkiinng, that she
er he retorted,
had said nothing to provoke his ang "Nea,
Kendal Mercury.
RE-OPENING OP ST. JAMES'S CHURCH, dPevIiCICI'A'-:
DILLY.—This fine ecclesiastical structure, which, for a
considerable. time past, has been undergoing repair, and
redecoration, with the addition of a painted window, was
re-opened for public worship yesterday morning. The
most noticeable featUre is the painted window. This
portion of the renovation of St. James's has long been
contemplated, it having been proposed so far back as
thirty or forty years ago to fill up the window with a
copy of the Transfiguration of Raffaele ; but various
circumstances occurred to prevent the execution of the
design, and it was only recently that effective steps were
taken to carry out the long-contemplated improvements
by the appointment of a committee, strengthened with
the requisite funds. It appears that the views of the
committee were more ambitious than the result of their
labours would manifest, as it is stated that they origi-
nally fixed on a very beautiful sketch in the modern
style, by Corbould, representing, in various compart-
ments, the Birth and Death of our Saviour. The Bishop.
of London, however, having expressed a strong opinion
in favour of a more ancient style of art, the design,
which has been so effectively carried out by Mr. Wiles,
was selected. The beautiful carvings of Gibbons over
the altar have been judiciously touched, bringing out
more forcibly the exquisite richness of the foliage, and a
rail of marble has been added round the altar.
We regret to -record the death of Lady Elizabeth
Whitbread; the last survivor of the children of the first
Earl Grey, sister of the late and aunt of the present
Earl. She was married in 1788 to the late Samuel
Whitbread, of Cardington, county of Bedford, Esq., by
whom she had five children, the eldest, a son, who died
young; W. H. Whitbread, of Southill, Esq., for many
years Member for Bedford; Elizabeth, who died in 1845,
married to Captain the Honourable W. Waldegrave,
now Earl Waldegrave; Samuel C. Whitbread, of Car-
dington, county of Bedford, Esq., who represented the
county of Middlesex in two Parliaments; and Emma
Laura, who married the present Speaker of the House
of Commons. After Mr. Whitbread's death, Lady
Elizabeth lived in retirement at Kensington, respected
and beloved by all who knew her, and in the constant
exercise of an active benevolence and unostentatious
charity.
THE EXTRAORDINARY RAILWAY ADVENTURE.—
Mr. Markham, the gentleman whose violent attack on a
fellow passenger, and extraordinary escape from a rail-
way train while labouring under an attack of brain fever,
recently attracted so much of public observation, is now
restored to perfect health, and has left town to rejoin his
family.—Britannia.
Mr. Commissioner Burge has suspended for eigh-
teen months the certificate of Mr. W. 11. Tempest, late
of Leeds, sharebroker, who had engaged in railway
transactions, without adequate capital.
CONTEMPLATED CHANGES IN THE COURT OP BANK,
RUPTCY.—A correspondent states that rumours are pre
valent that the Lord Chancellor meditates some impor-
tant changes in the Courts of Bankruptcy; among
others are the reduction of the number of commissioners
from six to four, and the appointment of but one instead
of two official assignees to each court. Two of the
existing commissioners, it is said, will be offered the in-
solvency cases, which are to be transferred to Portugal-
street.—Sunday paper.
TRINITY COLLEGE.—We are given to understand
that a commemoration of the foundation of this college
will be holden during the ensuing month, upon a scale
of considerable grandeur. The invitations amount to
600, and amongst the invited guests are Prince Albert,
all the peers, the judges, bishops, and members of Par-
liament, who have been graduated from the college, and
all the resident Masters of Arts. We believe it as yet
undecided whether ladies are to be invited.—Cambridge
Independent Press.
THREE MEN BURIED ALIVE.—On Friday, the
13th inst., at Sewell, in the parish of Houghton Regis,
three labourers employed in moving earth for the new
branch railway from the London and North-Western line
to Dunstable, were buried alive by the falling in of a
considerable body of earth. Their fellow-labourers,
however, succeeded in digging . thorn out in about ten
minutes, unhurt, with the exception of some bruises.—
Bedford County IVems.
THE GAME LAWS.—During the past week no less
than thirteen prisoners were committed to the House of
Correction in this town by .the Buckinghamshire magis-
trates, charged with poaching and trespassing in search
of game, viz., two for one month, five for two months,
two for three months, and four for six weeks. During
the week previously to the last, 13 prisoners were also
committed to the House of Correction for offences
against the game-laws, their terms of imprisonment
varying from seven days up to three months. Twenty-
, six poachers committed within 14 fortnight.---Bucks
Gazette.