tendant on old age? Look at Chaillot! View there an establishment, fupported by the favings of individuals, fo inconfiderable as to be scarcely noticed, much lefs felt in the bustle of active life, but which have raised for old age and infirmity a dwelling of independence, open to them as their right, and as the fruits of their prudence and economy. Health and contentment are depicted on every countenance; the charms of fociety, and the falubrity of this place, fo powerfully influence the condition of its peaceful inhabitants, that, to ufe M. Duchailla's own expreffion, "they never die !” You must now attend to M. Duchailla's own account of his esta blishment. Retreat for Old Age at Chaillot. After the obligation of acting justly towards all men, benevolence is the firft and moft facred duty of fociety. This confifts in exerting a parental care over all the individuals of the fame family, in affording them either refources in old age and infirmities, or procuring them fhelter, even during opulence, against the reverfes of fortune and events. But in order to attain these desirable objects, a method fhould be devifed to eftablifh this fuccour for indigence, without its becoming a burthen on the government. This cannot be better effected than by holding out a profpect to induftry, by which the prefent moment may be rendered fubfervient to the affiftance of the future; by which industry itself may generate the means of protection for the unfortunate, and, by an eafy and trifling economy, give a certain property to thofe, who, worn out by age, or become infirm, poffefs none. Several zealous and humane perfons, who wish to befriend the unfortunate, have united to execute this beneficent plan, which requires only a voluntary facrifice, according to a progreffion almoft imperceptible to perfons who are not even in eafy circumstances. Those who are reduced by infirmities or misfortune to a forrowful ftate of exiftence, and who dread to die in an hofpital, will find in the execution of this plan a fure afylum, the most confoling attentions, whatever may alleviate their condition, and procure them comfort and tranquillity for the rest of their days. The difference between this inftitution and hofpitals confifts in this : the fubfcriber has a right to the poffeffion of this property for life, acquired by his own economy and labour, and for which he is indebted neither to the compaffion, nor to the liberality of others. Here no act of benevolence humbles felflove, or mortifies pride. It is every man's own act, and prudence and reafon regulate the care, the exercife, the proportion, and the produce of the inftitution. This inftitution has a direct tendency to encourage morality, by habituating perfons to make a proper ufe of a fmall portion of their profits, or of the furplus of their labour, which is too often fquandered in debaucheries; it will animate them to be induftrious, as an infallible refource against adverfity, which is infeparable from old age without fortune. The number of hofpitals, and the expences which they occa fion, will be diminished; the vaft numbers of poor who are without a retreat will no longer be feen : this diftreffing fpectacle, which is continually increasing, and is difgraceful to humanity, may be transformed, with the greatest ease, into the fight of one active and induftrious family, always fure of refources for the prefent and the future. The plan which is at prefent fubmitted to the public is fimple and unexpenfive, its execution prompt, and within the abilities of any perfon. Reafon and calculation demonftrate that there should be an imperishable fource of beneficence. This inftitution of a fafe retreat for old age and infirmity is founded for perfons of all orders, and of both fexes without diftinction. Having given you the plan of this moft admirable inftitution, it will fcarcely be deemed an irreverent zeal on my part, when I exprefs a wish to fee the fyftem followed in England, with all thofe modifications which it will require to render it practicable there. Some years ago, Mr. Pitt fubmitted feveral proposals as amendments to the poor laws, one of which ftruck me forcibly for its ufe and moral tendency. It was to give occupation to the poor in their homefteads, inftead of dragging them to the workhoufe for employment. This was a generous and ufeful amendment, worthy of the great mind that conceived it: unfortunately, it was never adopted. The plan here propofed is not for that defcription of perfons called paupers, who may have juft claims on the national bounty, but for decayed perfons, who have toiled their day, and are refolved to toil no more; who conceive that there is a time for reft as well as for labour, and who, in contemplation of that moment, lay up fmall portions of their income to provide a refpectable home and retreat of their own, inftead of wearing themselves out by exertion. continual labour and The fmiles of fortune are often infidious, and those who have experienced her frowns need not be taught this leffon. A provifion of this nature muft, therefore, have a tendency to lighten the cares of the world, and to afford a multitude of confolatory reflections in the midft of forrow and difappointments. Perhaps we may be unconfcious of the fentiment when we are old; but, in the meridian of life, we cannot fo fail to perceive that numbers of the to For my own part, I wish to fee fuch an inftitution merely for the fake of maintaining a confciousnefs of independence, while tottering on the brink of the grave. If thofe with whom I am connected were weak and wicked enough neglect and treat me as an incumbrance, because I am helpless, I fhall know where to live without them; and if, after having paid my fubfcription regularly, circumftances fhould be fuch as not to render it neceffary for me to take advantage of this afylum, I shall enjoy, nevertheless, the lively gratification of having contributed the fupport of an institution, which is connected with the humanity, the honour, and the independence of mankind. to Since my first visit to Chaillot, I have had the most flattering account of the progrefs of the inftitution. The First Conful (who had before paid thirty fubfcriptions) has founded feveral places in the establishment, and has confided the fuperintendance of them to the Archbishop of Paris, an aged and respectable man, who, from his own experience of misfortune, will be able to felect fuch unfortunate perfons as deserve no longer to remain fo. The Archbishop, attended by a number of his clergy, thought proper to vifit Chaillot before he made a fingle nomination. He was struck with admiration at the beauty of the fituation, the purity of the air, the neatnefs of every apartment, and the order and decorum which When dinner was are obferved. on table, eighty-feven aged perfons of both fexes appeared, with expreflive of the countenances greatest happiness and fatisfaction: fome of them declared, they felt themselves as much at their eafe as when they were in their own families. The Archbishop imagined he he was the dean (the eldest) of the houfe; but, on examination, it was found that Madame de Gand, a widow, had the advantage of him. SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE RELICKS OF THE CELTIC LANGUAGE, STILL EXISTING IN ENGLAND. SIR, He was fo fenfibly affected at this To the Editor of the Universal Mag. ferene fpectacle, that he fhed tears, and expreffed his regret that he had not before been made acquainted with this afylum, for in that cafe the First Conful must have forced him out of it, to have raised him to the epifcopal fee of Paris. A fubfcription is the effential and indifpenfable condition of acquiring the right of admiffion, according to which every fubfcriber muft pay regularly and punctually ten-pence per month, from ten till thirty years of age; one fhilling and three-pence per month, from thirty to fifty; one fhilling and eightpence per month, from fifty to feventy years of age. Thefe different payments will amount to 45., which must be completely paid before a person can acquire the right of admiffion. Hence, if any one more than ten years of age fhould offer as a fubfcriber, he or The muft depofit, at the time of fubfcription, and according to his or her age, the fum which would have been paid if the fubfcription had commenced at ten. In order to give encouragement to benevolence, all perfous who may be difpofed to fubfcribe may transfer their right to as many perfons as they have made fubfcriptions, on condition that the perfon who fhall be benefited by the transfer fhall be, as nearly as poffible, of the fame age as his benefactor, and that he fhall not be admitted before he has reached feventy years of age, and paid the 451. This transferred fubfcription is extinguished by the death of the fubftitute. The funds are placed on fecurities, and fubjected to an administration which is in every refpect fafe and undeniable. IT has often occurred to me that fome acquaintance with the Welch or antient Celtic language would be of great ufe to the etymologist, and the ftudent, in enabling them to acquire a more perfect knowledge of the Greek and Latin, and even the modern European tongues. Many traces of this fingular and antient language are to be found in Spain, Germany, and England. A few of thofe to be met with in the proper names of our own and the neighbouring countries may be ealily pointed out, and they will generally be found extremely defcriptive and characteristic of the places they diftinguish-a merit which the more modern appellations can feldom boast. or The word Southwark, by which that borough has been known for many years, prefents to the etymologift, as it is at prefent written, no local defcription or meaning; but in the Celtic, Suth-ric, fouthern diftrict, we immediately difcover the fituation of that antient borough and that this is the real derivation of the name is obvious, from the pronunciation of the word being ftill precifely according to the Celtic writing. The name of our fifter kingdom, too, Hibernia, may perhaps be derived from Iber, weft, and Inn, an island; thus forming Iberinn, or Hiberinn, the western ifland. Surry has nearly the fame derivation as Southwark. The name of our celebrated countryman Garrick was probably in the original Gorrick. Gor, chief; rick, diftrict or county. That is, the chief of a principality. And Kenrick is as plainly derived from Kenn, head; and rick, diftri&t; i. e. the head of the district. Ꭰ The Scotch name Gordon feems compofed of Gor, head, and don, town; i. e. the chief man, or head of the town: don fignifying town in many inftances, as London, A. bingdon, Huntingdon, &c. The word Coffin appears to be derived from the Celtic Corph-in, or the receptacle for a Corph, or corpfe. In the French language, the word auil, eye, is evidently the Celtic huil; which fignified the fame part of the face.---Mort, death, in the fame manner, comes from the antient mart; or, as the Germans and Dutch would pronounce it, maaght. Kendal, if refolved into its original Celtic etymology, is extremely defcriptive of its fituation, which is in the midst of a valley; and accordingly we find that Ken fignifies chief, and dal, or dale, a valley; i. e. a great valley and Gorhambury, in Hertfordshire, has not received the leaft alteration from its antient title, which is, Gor, great or chief; hambury, or ambury, monaftery, or abbey; probably from belonging to the great abbey of St. Alban's. Pendennis was, perhaps, compofed from Pen-d'-innis; i. e. head of the island, as the word pen originally fignified hill, as well as head and Pendennis being a very high and commanding hill, might with much propriety be fo named. Burns, the Scotch poet, affords us another Celtic derivation, his name being plainly Bourn; a limit, in which fenfe we find it ufed in Shakspeare. In the German, we have Haller, which is the fame as the Welch haller, or caller, a fcholar. And Koningtein, or the chief city.-Margrave alfo feems a probable derivation from Mar, great, and grave, or graave, a magiftrate; i. e. chief magiftrate; for it is well known that all Gothic titles, or dignities, were attached to parti cular duties, or offices; for in ftance, Marquis, or Lord of the Marches. Koning fburg, the name of more than one city in Germany, is clearly the king's town, or refidence of the king; Koning, king, burg, or berg, town. Goritz is as evidently derived from Gor, great or chief, and itz, town or city. Margate appears to be derived from Mar, great; and gate, an inlet, port, or key; that is, the great key, or inlet, to the county of Kent. Marpurg, a ftrong town in Germany, may derive in the fame way, from Marburg; i. e. the great town. Marcille, a town of Lorraine, is another derivation from the Celtic, and fignifies the fame as Marpurg. Thefe inftances might perhaps be greatly increased, but they are sufficient to fhew that the traces of the language fpoken by our Gothic ancestors are not fo completely obliterated, as to prevent us from recovering a great part of it; in which attempt we hall find the modern Welch (its moft immediate defcendant) of vaft ufe to us in our researches. That a confiderable portion of the present English, French, German, and other European languages may be traced up to this antient fource, will be extremely evident to any linguift, who would take the trouble of investigating the radical principles of each language; and I am perfuaded much light might be thrown on the antient hiftory and cuftoms of Europe, by following the clue which the Celtic language would afford to men of learning and genius; and it would give me much pleafure to fee this idea pursued by the fcientific and philofophical characters with which the prefent age abounds, as I am convinced the fphere of fcience would thereby be confiderably enlarged. I remain, Sir, &c. R. A. HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHI CAL QUERIES. To the Editor of the Univerfal Mag. SIR, AS you have declared your intention of beginning a New Series, and accommodating your Magazine to the improvement of the present generation, I flatter myself that the fcheme which I take the liberty of recommending to your notice will meet with your approbation, and be for the benefit of your readers. In a family of my acquaintance it is attended with the beft confequences; and the fame advantages may be universally spread. All the world is anxious for novelty, and every day, indeed, produces fomething to excite attention; but the mind which is merely qualified to receive the impreffions that are daily made on it, and has not cultivated its powers by reflection on the past, can take but little delight in daily occurrences, and is ftupified rather than improved by those appearances which are calculated to ftimulate its dormant powers. To remedy this defect, and to improve every action of nature to fome good purpose, in the family I have mentioned, it is the daily practice to excite enquiry by fome questions which bring to recollection important facts, or lead to the explanation of the phænomena of nature. Thus every fcience in its turn contributes to amufement, and every thing that has occurred, or does occur, fuggefts a question, on which, in the long winter evenings, which, in the long winter evenings, the time is affuredly paffed in innocence, if not with profit. As a fpecimen of my budget, I have fent you a few queftions, to which I fhall in the next month furnish you with the answers. In the mean time, I recommend it to the readers of your Magazine to write down their thoughts upon them, that, in the comparifon together of our refpective opinions, if we do not agree, we may be led to they give rife? Why is it abfurd to fuppofe, that any of the ftones, which are faid in various places to have fallen from heaven, could have fallen from the moon? Why could not a man, if he were mounted on the famous horfe in Don Quixote, that would convey him to any place, keep his feat till he arrived at the moon; or if a deep well were made to the center of the earth, why could he not fall to the bottom of it? Where is the injuftice in making perfons of the fame annual income contribute the fame annual fum to the wants of government * ? POLYHISTOR. ON THE PRINCIPLES OF DRAMATo the Editor of the Univerfal Mag. TIC COMPOSITION. SIR, THE real and rational principles upon which all dramatic compofitions fhould be formed, are, 1ft. To convey leffons of morality to mankind, by painting in vivid coand the deformity of vice. 2dly. lours the beauty and utility of virtue, To blend amufement with inftruc tion, in fuch a manner as to make thofe precepts palatable to the fickly taste of mankind, which in a naked and undisguised shape would fail of producing a proper effect on the minds of the multitude. And, thirdly, In all defcriptions and paintings of the human mind, to *For an answer to this query, Polyhiftor is referred to p. 7 of the prefent number. Ed. |