Literature and the Arts.

Register of Books relative to Yorkshire, or written by Yorkshire Authors.

IN

N an age like the present, rich in Literature, and distinguished by its disquisitions on every science; when works of utility and taste, the productions of past ages, or the effusions of the day, are equally sought after; the Editors presume that a Register of the Works of Yorkshiremen, on whatever subject written; and of those which relate to its Topography, its Agriculture, its Trade, or to any other particular connected with the county, whether written by natives or strangers, will prove acceptable to their readers and as their wish is to make this list as perfect as possible, they solicit the assistance of their friends, in every part of this populous district, to furnish them with accurate information of whatever publications, whether ancient or modern, (restricted as above) they may occasionally meet with in their respective situations.

This Register, should the Northern Star meet with the support which its Editors anticipate, will go far" to preserve from oblivion the efforts of aspiring genius, and to rescue from the ravages of time the authors of works, useful in their day, but now almost forgotten,' and form a permanent record of the literature of the county.

They propose to commence the Register with the Topographical productions of the county; and these, were they in possession of the whole, they would arrange in the order in which they were published: but as their readers will readily allow such a distribution to be impossible, where they must wait the leisure of their friends for information; they must of necessity enter them indiscriminately, as they come to hand; adhering, as much as circumstances will allow, to their regular chronology.

790. DE PONTIFICIBUS ET SANCTIS ECCLESIÆ EBORACENSIS." This was a poem, written by Albinus Flaccus Alcuinus who was born in York, educated by Bede, and accompanied Charlemagne to the Council of Frankfort. His works were published in one volume folio, at Paris, in 1617; and that above-mentioned, by Gale, among Script, Ang. Oxon. in 1691.

1520. HISTORY OF CASTLEFORD, by Thomas de Castleford, a Monk of the Benedictine order. This book is now lost.

1626. "SPADACRENE ANGLICA; or, the English Spaw Fountaine ; being a Brief Account of the Acid or Tart Fountaine in the Forest of Knaresborough." By Edward Deane, M. D. London. Republished in 1736, by Dr. Stanhope.

1642.THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE PARLIAMENT TO THE KING, for leave to remove the Magazine at Hull to the Tower of London, &c. With the King's Answer." 4to.

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1643. THE RIDER OF THE WHITE HORSE AND HIS ARMY, their late good Success in Yorkshire, or a true and faithful Relation, of that fanious and wonderful Victory at Bradford," &c. London, 4to.

1648. ARTICLES FOR THE SURRENDER OF PONTEFRACT CASTLE,

March, 28th; alsc, Major General Lambert's Letter for demolishing the Castle.

4to.

1649. "An exact Relation of the TRIAL, &c. of John Morrice, Governor of Pontefract Castle, at the Assizes held at York, Aug. 23, 1649, whereunto is added the Speech of Cornet Blackburn, executed at the same time." Author unknown. R printed in the Somers' Tracts. 1652. THE YORKSHIRE SPA; or a Treatise of four famous Medicinal Wells, (viz.) The Spaw, or Vitrioline well; the Sulphur well; the Dropping or Petrifying well, and St. Margaret's well, near Knaresbrough, &c. by J. French, M. D. London. Reprinted at Halifax, in 1760. 1667.SCARBROUGH SPAU; or a Description of the Nature and Virtues of the Span at Scarbrough, by R. Wittie, M. D." 12mo. York. 1669. “HYDROLOGIA CHYMICA; or, the Chymical Anatomy of the Scarbrough and other Spa Waters, in Yorkshire, &c. by Dr. Willia m Simpson." London, 8vo.

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1669. PYROLOGIA MIMICA; or, an Answer to the Hydrologia Chymica of Wm. Simpson." London, 8vo.

1672. SCARBROUGH SPAGIRICALLY ANATOMISED, by Peter Shaw, M. D." London, 8vo.

(To be continued.)

ANALYTICAL CATALOGUE OF WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED, RELATIVE TO YORKSHIRE, OR WRITTEN BY YORKSHIRE AUTHORS.

1. YORKSHIRE; or ORIGINAL DELINEATIONS, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive of that County. The Result of personal Survey. By JOHN BIGLAND. Illustrated with four coloured maps, and twenty-five other engravings. Printed pages 958; price 38s. London, 1815. J. Harris.

This work, which was originally published as part of the Beauties of England and Wales, is now offered in a separate form; and from the known abilities of the Author, may be considered as the most luminous view of this extensive county, which has ever been laid before the eye of the public.

Not contented with copying obsolete descriptions, and giving an abun dance of old matter in a new form, Mr. Bigland has travelled over the country he describes, and carefully collated and compared his previous information with the present state of every place. A Yorkshireman himself, he has done justice to his subject, and presented his countrymen with that infor mation on which they may safely rely.

His work is thus arranged.

A GENERAL HISTORY of Yorkshire, from the period of the first Roman invasion, to the battle of Hastings. In this part is an account of the Roman roads in Yorkshire; an illustration of several interesting Saxon customs; the boundaries, extent, and population of the county, and a sketch of its rivers.

THE NORTH RIDING, in the following order. Geographical Features: Soil, &c.; Minerals; Canals; Climate; Agricalture; Seats of Noblemen; Seats of Gentlemen,

Here the Author observes: " York and its Ainsty being a central sitnation between the three Ridings, we shall here begin our description of the principal towns, and other remarkable places in the county. From thence we shall proceed to describe those of the western, and afterwards those of the eastern part of the North Riding. The East Riding will come next under review. By this arrangement, the description of the maritime parts of the country, from the mouth of the Tees to the Humber, will be continued without any chasm or interruption; and the topographical sketch will terminate with the West Riding, which is entirely an inland country."

A copious History of the CITY OF YORK; including its Cathedral, Archbishops, Dukes, and eminent men.

Ainsty of York, Bishopthorpe Palace, Castle Howard, with the genealogy of the noble family of Howard.

Topography of the NORTH RIDING, beginning with Malton and ending with Ebberstone, a village about eleven miles from Scarbrough.

EAST RIDING. Divisions; Face of the Country; Noblemen and Gentlemen's Seats; Topography, beginning with Hunmanby and ending with Hemingbrough, a village six miles and a half north-west of Howden.

WEST RIDING. Division; Seats of the Nobility and Gentry; Geographical Features; Climate; Mineralogy; Soil, Agriculture, &c. Live Stock; Roads, and Manufactures. Topography, beginning with Selby and ending with Hatfield-Chace.

APPENDIX. Comprising additional observations, and articles received too late for insertion in their proper place.

The work is judiciously interspersed with local scenery and biography; and in every part is amusing and instructive.

As a specimen, we give the following quotation, being part of Mr. Bigland's description of

RICHMOND.

"Richmond is one of the greatest corn-markets in the county: being seated on the ntmost verge of the district in which grain is produced, the corn-factors and millers repair hither from Swaledale, Wensleydale, and other parts of the moors, to lay in stock for the consumption for that large extent of country, where grazing is the chief or only pursuit of the farmer. The want of water carriage, and of coal, is one of the greatest inconveniences of this part of the country; but the evil appears to be irremediable: the rocky nature of the bed of the Swale, and the sudden swells to which that river is liable from the rains that fall on the moors, are insuperable obstacles to any scheme for rendering it navigable; and every attempt that has yet been made for the finding of coal in this neighbourhood, bas proved unsuccessful.

"The town of Richmond is small; its population scarcely amounts to three thousand; but the situation is delightful; and the houses, most of which are of stone, are well built, and many of them spacious and lofty. It stands on a lofty eminence boldly rising from the Swale, which winds round the town and the castle in a semicircular direction. The market-place is spacious and handsome, being surrounded by good shops and houses; and the whole place has a very agreeable appearance. The chief trade of the town is in corn, seat from the market into the dales of the moors; and in lead, which is brought from the mines about fourteen miles westward from Richmond, and conveyed by land carriage to Boroughbridge and Yarm.

"The castle is on the south side of the town, overlooking the Swale, which runs in a deep valley beneath. Between the river and the site of the castle, is a walk of eight or nine feet in breadth, about sixty perpendicular above the bed of the Swale, and presenting to the eye a tremendous precipice, which must render it dangerous to pass this way in the dark. The ground on which the castle stands, is elevated forty or fifty feet above this walk, and is faced on that side with massy stones, resembling a natural rock. The eastern side of the castle yard is also skirted by the Swale; but here the descent, instead of being precipitous as on the south, slopes down for the space of forty or fifty yards to the river. The west side of this once almost impregnable fortress is faced with a deep valley, the ascent from which to the castle is exceedingly steep. On the north, the site af the castle is very little elevated above that of the town; and this is the only side on which it could have been accessible to an enemy.

"This castle yet appears majestic in ruins. The keep, of which the shell is almost entire, is about 100 feet high; and the walls are eleven feet thick: the lower story is sup ported by a vast column of stone in the middle, from which spring circular arches closing the top; the staircase goes only to the first chamber, the rest of it being dilapidated, as the floors of the two upper rooms are fallen in. In this keep is a well of excellent water. The ruins of several other parts of the castle yet remain. In the south-eastern corner of the area is a ruinous tower, in which is a dismal dungeon thirteen or fourteen feet deep, and undoubtedly intended as a place of confinement. The site of this castle contains nearly six acres, and belongs to his Grace the Duke of Richmond.

"The country round Richmond is extremely picturesque; the valley of Swaledale is in many places skirted with perpendicular rocks almost covered with trees and shrubs. From the hills, on the north-west side of the town, the eye is regaled with the most magnificent prospects. Richmond and its castle, though seated on a precipitous hill more than 100 feet above the bed of the Swale, when seen from these elevations seem to be sunk in a deep valley. The eye ranges over the country adjacent to the Tees, with Cleveland and the Vale of York; and the Eastern and the Western Moors, rising in mountainous grandeur, form a magnificent contrast to those extensive plains. Richmond, indeed, is admired by tourists for its romantic beauties; by many it is thought preferable to Richmond in Surry: the latter is a kind of fairy-land, where all the scenery is mild and pleasing; but the views in the environs of Richmond, in Yorkshire, are marked with grandeur and sublimity.

"From Richmond to Catterick bridge, a distance of four miles, the Swale, with its rocky and well-wooded banks, exhibits a variety of picturesque scenery. Near the village of Easeby, about a mile and a half from Richmond, the banks of the river are adorned with the venerable remains of the ancient monastery. The southern part of these ruins, facing the Swale, are covered with ivy: the most entire part is towards the east, where the pointed arches of five Gothic windows remain in a perfect state. An arched gateway, which forms the entrance from the north, is also entire; and the arch is circular."

AN ACCOUNT OF THE YORK SAVING BANK, instituted June 1816. Drawn up and published at the request of the Directors, by S. W. Nicoll, Esq. York, printed for W. Alexander, P. P. 56, price 1s. 6d.

"The Saving, or Provident Bank," says Mr Nicoll, in the opening of his Little Book, "is an Institution planned for the benefit of the Poor; its regulations vary in various places, but the general scheme is this, -any sum not less than a shilling, may be deposited at the pleasure of the contributor; when the deposits rise to a certain amount, usually one pound, or thereabouts, they begin to hear interest, both principal and interest may be

withdrawn at the pleasure of the contributor; if the interest is permitted to remain like any other deposit, it bears interest too. In Scotland, the contributions are generally placed out in the public Banks; in England they are almost universally placed in the Funds. The commencement, progress, and present state of the York Saving Bank, form the subjet of the present tract.

#Respecting its commencement, the difficulties to be overcome were many-the inducements to proceed, small-yet, a single twelve-month has seen the establishment, if not complete, well-organized, and the number of contributors, though not large, considering the population of York, daily increasing."

The History commences with a copy of the first hand-bill, dated March 19, 1816. The transactions of the first, and several subsequent meetings are then detailed, and a copy is given of the Resolutions which first brought the measure into a tangible form. An address, as it appeared in the York Herald, on the advantages of Saving Banks, and another published as a handbill, the former dated June 26th, the latter June 29th, 1816, are then introduced, which are followed by an account of the proceedings of the Directors, and a copy of the Rules by which the society is at present governed, and the names of the present Directors. The remainder is a well written, and what is more, a well intentioned discussion on the advantages of Saving Banks in general, and an Appendix on the management of the York Saving Bank in particular; with copies of its Cash Book or Journal, Depositor's Ledger, and General Ledger.

This little performance appears calculated to produce a great deal of good: its motives are laudable; and while detailing the transactions of a company of Philanthropists in York, it seems to address itself to the other towns, not of the county only, but of the whole kingdom, in that energetic speech of the Founder of Christianity." Go thou and do likewise."

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CHEAP MANURE, produced by the newly discovered methods of BURNING CLAY, compiled from the best authorities; with a few Hints on the Advantages of cutting Wheat early. P. P. 32, price 1s. York, 1817. W. Alexander.

This little work, which pretends to no higher a name than that of a compilation, ought to be ranked among those which have utility at a small expence, to recommend them. It is chiefly composed of well authenticated acCounts of experiments, from many expensive publications, illustrated by the observations of the Author, and appears in every respect to fulfil the promise of its title. It divides itself into the burning of clay in kilns: burning clay with lime, (without the use of coal) and burning clay in heaps, for each of which it gives particular directions. The hints on cutting wheat early ap

pear to be worth attending to.

Authors who are desirous of having an analysis of their works appear in this miscellany are requested to forward a copy of cach of their respective publications, (free of carriage) to the Editors, when it will be attentively perused, earefully preserved, and returned according lo direction.