Star.
London, England, 1821-11-01 00:00:00

THE SUPPORT OF GAELIC SCHOOLS.

Wbo has not beard of Scotia's race renown'd,
How on her sons the showers of science fall?
Who has not heard, how learning's page profound'
Is there unfolded to the eyes of all?
Tet, ah ! some portions of this favoured spot,
Lie still enwrapp'd in error's wildering gloom:
in many a Highland glen, and Isle remote,
No rays of Truth th' untutored mind illume!
•
The youth, whose sires in every land have bled, .
Who stem the tide when battle's billows roll,
Whose fame in arms through every clime has sped,
From Afric's band to Zembla's frozen pole,
Unheeded sail through Life's unconstant sea,
Where tempests rise and endless toils molest;
No Chart* at hand directs them where to flee;
No Guide I. conducts them to the port of rest!
Cold is their heart to scientific lore;
Cold to the themes that fired the angelic band,
Who sung of Mx the favoured Virgin bore,
To bear the branch of peace to every land !
Yet, on these Isles first dawn'd Religion's light;
And learning flourided on lon's plain :
Bet ak ! her sun bath set in deepest night,
And ruin, darkness, desokition reign I§
Then, ye, whose breast Benevolence inspires,
From whom the tale of woe draws forth the tees;
Let Pity's torch light up the friendly fires,
To warm the heart of yonder mountaineer!
Oh ! aid, Philanthropy, to spread the Chart
And aid, Benevolence, the Guide to send:
The light of science to those Isles impart—
The hardy Highlander at length befriend !
• In some populous districts of the Highlands, not one in
sixty, or one in a hundred, can read either Gaelic or English ;
and in one parish, according to the report of the Clergyman, out
of a population of 7000 persons scarcely 700 possess even a smat-
tering of book knowledge, and are, in consequence, incapable of
reading a single passage of Sacred Scripture—the Chart of our
salvation.
t The inhabitants of some remote parts of the highlands and
Islands bear a Sermon only four times in the course of a year,
or perhaps once in six months.
$ The Gospel was first preached in the Western Islands, by
scene of the Disciplesy of the Apostle JOHN..
§ See J 01013014 s Journey to the Hebrides.

THE NUMBER XlV.—Amongst the valuable fruits
of the labours of those who waste their time in search-
ing for curious coincidences, we find the discovery
of the influence possessed by the number XIV. over
all the affairs of Henry IV. of France. Ile was born
fourteen centuries, fourteen decades, and fourteen
years after CHRIST ; he came into the world on the
14th of DeCember, and quitted it for a better on
the 14th of May ; there are fourteen letters in his
same (Henri de Bourbon), and he lived four times
fourteen years, fourteen weeks, and fourteen days.—
Louis XIII. was equally entangled with the number
XIII. he had thirteen letters inhis name—so had Ann
d'Autriche, to whom he was married ; the marriage
was concluded on when he was thirteen years of
age; he was the thirteenth Louis of France, she, the
thirteenth Infanta of her name in the Royal House
of Spain, and both of them were born the 'same month
and the same year. The historian who recorded
these singular facts, does not inform us, whether
either of them died in consequence of making the
thirteenth at table.
A man died a few days since at Ghent, named
Jacques de Wever, a native of Wesel, in Prussia—
. He was supposed to be in a state of indigence, and
received alms; but, after his death, opening a chest
In chamber, there was found several, bags of
money, and it was discovered that he had died worth
49,000 francs (4.:1666 13s. 4d.)
Bow- STREET.—Yesterday Michael Roche, a fellow
nearly 60 years of age, with red hair, and of most
fecocious aspect, was brought up, charged with se-
veral robberies, and with attempting to stab Mrs.
Lane, the wife of a respectable tradesman in Chan-
dos-street. The prisoner was brought up handcuffed
in the custody of a constable, who produced an enor-
mous case-knife which he had taken from him. It
was nearly a foot in length, and very sharp at the
point. It appeared, that on Friday evening last the
prisoner went into Mr. Lane's shop, where there was
only a little girl attending, and having asked some
trifling question, he took a large piece of soap from
the counter, and put it into his basket; the girl de-
sired him to put it back, or she would call her mo-
ther; upon which the prisoner drew the large knife
from his basket, and brandishing it over her head,
swore he would cut her head off if she made a noise.
The child shrieked for help, .and Mrs. Lane came
out ;the moment she made her appearance the ruf-
fian rushed at her, and made a thrust at her stomach
with the knife, which very fortunately struck against
the broad whalebone in front of her stays and glanced
off. He was about to repeat the thrust, when his
arms were seized from behind by Mr. Parr, a neigh-
bour, who had been attracted to the spot by the
screams of the child. A desperate scuffle ensued,
which ended in the escape of the prisoner from the
-shop with his basket. On Tuesday evening, he went
into a shoemaker's shop in Church-coan, and offered
a dozen bottles of Harvey's fish sauce for sale. The
shoemaker refused to deal ss ith him, but he con-
trived to carry off a pair of boots, which he was
adroit enough to conceal in his basket while praising
the virtues of the fish sauce. He was soon after-
wards taken into custody, and it was then discovered
that he had stolen the fish sauce from Mrs. Lazenby's,
in Edward-street, Porttnan-square.--He was cons*,
mined for re-examination on a future day.
'QUEEN-SQUARECAUTIONTOOUT•PENSIONERS,.....
Yesterday a blind man, named Kite'', an out-pen-
sioner of Chelsea, at Is. 3d. per day, was brought up
by an officer, and charged with begging in the streets.
This man had been frequently carried to this Office
for the same offence, and as often let off without pu-
nishment, on account of his being blind ; but such
was his attachment to his old profession of a soldier,
that he always fought well before he could be se-
cured.—Mr. WHITE ordered him to be confined for
three months in Bridewell on bread and water, and
directed that his pension might be stopped for that
time, to meet the expense of his board and lodging.
The gallant veteran was by no means satisfied with

the later part of the worth); Magistrate's decision.
HATTON-GARDENr-Yesterday Messrs. T. and B.
Capper, coal-merchants, in Beaufort-buildings, ap-
peared to an information, charging them with send-
ing ontMine sacks of coals, each sack being deficient
in the legal length, which subjected them to a penalty
4 40s. on each :sack.—They were convicted in the
mitigated penalty of 20s. on each sack, amounting
to L 9, which.-paid, and the sacks eve in pieces.