Star.
London, England, 1830-10-07 00:00:00

PRIOR PARK " ROMAN CATHOLIC" COLLEGE.

The beautifully situated mansion, heretofore so well known as "Prior
Park House," is now a " Roman Catholic College." As it has been
recently mentioned as attracting increased attention, from rumours
that it had been likely to become the residence of Charles X. or of La.
til, the ex-Archbishop of Rheims, some particulars of the preparations
now going on, for the purpose of adapting it to a Roman Catholic Col.
lege, &c. may not be unacceptable. It is a fine, large, handsome
building, commanding an excellent view of Bath, and surrounded with
admirably arranged park.grounds, consisting of between 2 or 300 acres,
built by Ralph Alien, who was originally in a very humble capacity
in the Bath Post Office, but who came into the peasession of
immense wealth, in consequence of having successfully planned the
" Cross (Roads) Posts." It was the occasional residence of Pope, of
Fielding, who there wrote " Tom Jones," and of Bishop %Warburton ;
but, in more recent times, after having been occupied by a Quaker,
named Thomas, it long remained unoccupied, in consequence of real or
imaginary defects in the title. About three months ago, Dr. Baynes,
a Roman Catholic Priest, the" Bishop ",of this district, purchased it;
and he is now busily engaged in converting it into a Roman Catholic
College ! It has an immense number of spacious rooms, &c. and a
chapel, forming one end or wing of it, and there are numerous out.
buildings. Beyond these they are now building a refectory, a doe.
mitory, studies, &c. in a style which will correspond with the plain
and solid character of the other parts of the original mansion, or
" college." Upwards of one hundred men are daily occupied upon
these works. The chapel is already converted into a Roman Catholic
chapel, with rows of new wainscot seats for the scholars, a new organ,
furnished by Loder. The old pulpit has been removed, and, in its
stead appears a "throne" for Bishop Baynes, and which has a rich
canopy, cushion; &e. The old altar-piece has disappeared, and a new
marble one, surmounted by a tabernacle, is erected on its site. The
marble is scagliola in the centre, surrounded with black and white
veined marble. The marble is said to have been all brought from
Italy. The whole is beautiful, and the altar-piece is exquisitely
worked. The tabernacle which surmounts it was originally in
Bishop Baynes' private chapel : it is richly and most exquisitely
wrought. The further wing of the building is the residence of
Bishop Baynes. In the centre of the building a library is form-
ing ; there are not only the books of the present, and the late
Roman Catholic Bishops of Bath, but, amongst them, many presenta-
tions. Large portions of them are at present in heaps, till additional
shelves can be arranged ; amongst them, however, are immense piles of
publications, such as might not be expected to be found in a " College°
library—namely, political pamphlets and periodicals, the " Catholic
Advocate," " L'Amide la Religion et du Roi," &c. urging Catholic
emancipation, the rights of the Roman Catholic Church, &c. The new
buildings will be finished by Christmas. There is an intermediate
house, prettily situated, that is occupied by tutors, as is the " Priory,*
a fine and romantic, but old building, at a short distance from the Col-
lege. The old tower, or " observatory," on the summit of the grounds
remains " walled up," but it is to opened and adapted to rcientific pur.
poses. No where does there appear to be any want of the " sinews of
war," nor of the disposition and capacity to enter into a formidable ri-
valry with Protestant instructors and establishments. At all events,
" Prior Park College" seems likely to become an imposing and powerful
Catholic seat of learning.

GASILICK.—The charge for garlick and onions for the
workmen employed in building the great pyramid amounted to 1,600
silver talents—tBlo,ooo pounds sterling ! See HE RODOT US, LuSerpe,
125. All those who bad eaten garlick, were forbidden to enter the
temple of the Mother of the Gods. Stilpo, the disciple of Euclid, paid
PO little regard to this prohibition, that he not only entered the temple
after having eating garlick, but even lay in it. He thought be saw the
goddess, who said to him, "Stilpo, do you, who are a philosopher,
violate the sacred laws?" He imagined that he answered her, " Give
me something better so eat, and I promise you to leave garlick." See
ATI!EN.LUS, book 10, ch. b.—Purrs. reports, book 19, ch. 5, that
onions and garlick were reckoned among the deities of Egypt. See also
lithruicrus FELIX, ch. 28, and DIOSCOIIIDZS, book 1. HASSE 1..
QUIST, however, says, p. 290, " that gullet does not grow in Egypt,
and, though it is much used, it is brought from the islands of the Archi-
pelago." Niebuhr states that garlick is made use of by the modern
Arabs as a preservative against the deadly quality of their hot winds.
—J. J. W.

- - - -
In " Andrews' Anecdotes," published in 1789, is a letter
from a gentleman on his travels, containing a description of a " human
curiosity," then residing at Lewes, in Sussex :—" This human curio-
sity is a Mr. a hbaldeston, an attorney's clerk, and, in spite of all popu-
lar prejudices against his profession, an honest' man. This you will
allow to be a curiosity ; but that is not all. This limb of the law is mar-
ried, and has, at least, half-a-dozen children, all of whom, with as many
'couple of hounds and a brace of hunters, he maintains out of not a
penny more than sixty pounds a-year. And, if possible, to increase
the miracle, he did this in London for many years, paying every body
their own, and keeping a tight coat for Sundays and holydays. But I
I will try to explain this seeming paradox, After the expiration of the
time which Dlr. 0. owed his master, he acted as an accountant for the
butchers in Clue market, who paid him in offal; the choicest morsels
of this he selected for himself and family, and with the rest he fed his
dogs, which be kept in his garret. His horses were lodged in the cellar,
and fed'on grains from a neighbouring brewhouse, sad with damaged
corn, with which he was supplied by a corn-chandler, whose books he
kept in order. Once or twice a week in the season he hunted, and by
giving a hare now and then to the fanners over whose grounds he sported,
secured their good-will and permission. Besides which, several gentle-
men, struck with his extraordinary economy, winked at his going over
their manors with his moderate peek. Curiosity led me to visit this
extraordinary party about dinner time. The two-legged party of it
w.re clean, though not superfluously clothed, and doomed to live like
brothers with the surrounding animals; Mr. 0. himself seemed and
acted like the father of the quadrupeds, as well as the bipeds; and,
as such, decided with the utmost impartiality ; for, Master Jockey
having taken a bone from 'fowler, he commanded instant restitution ;
and, on the other hand, Doxy having snatched a plum of lira from
bliss Dorothea, was obliged, upon the spot, to return it to the young
lady. On inquiry, I found that Mr. 0. was the yosusgest sea of a goW
family, but small fortune, in the north of England, and that, having
married imprudently one of his father's servants/ be was turned out et
doors, with no other fortune than a southern hound big with pup, whose
offspring has since been a source of profit and amusement to him. This
extraordinary character subsequently resided with the ease family at.
Croydon, in Surrey.