3805.7 
belais, Bouchet, or any other writer men- 
tioned in the ¢* Illuftrations.’” 
a eerfie — 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SiR, 
EINGa fhort time fince in the neigh- 
bourhood of Hornchurch, in Effex, 
about fixteen miles from London, I took 
a walk into the village cemetery; I at 
length arrived at the church porch, againtt 
the door of which was faftened the follow- 
ing written notice, which, from motives 
of curiofity, I was prompted to copy ver- 
batim. Being a conftant reader of your 
inttruclive and amuling pages, I take the 
liberty of fending it for the entertainment 
and edification of fuch as may not have 
had the gratification of perufing it; and 
am, Sir, your's, &c. OBSERVATOR. 
Whereas feveral perfons who attend the 
Independent Meeting-houfe at Upminfter, 
through ignorance of the twenty-feventh 
canon of the Church of England, may 
prefent themfelves to receive the Sacra- 
ment in the parifh-church of Hornchurch, 
I beg leave to inform them, that agree- 
able to my duty and canonical oath, I fhall 
be obliged to refufe their communication 
with my regular parifhioners at that facred 
rite; and I give this public notice, to 
prevent any indecent contention upon the 
fubjeé&t, being fully perfuaded that xo one 
who for {cruple of confcience frequents 
the teaching of azy Diflenter from the 
efiablifhment, can, with a fizcere and bo- 
neft heart, defire to participate in that fa- 
cred office called the Communion of 
Chrift’s body and blood, according to the 
ceremonies of our Apoltclic Church, 
which they commonly and xnotorioufly de- 
prave by feparating trom it in its liturgical 
fervice, and favouring fchifmatics by 
their countenance of a convention not ac- 
knowledged by that very church in which 
they were baptiled. (Signed) 
W.H. REYNELL, Vicar.’ 
; ae : 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SiR, 
FRIEND to the memory of the late 
Mr. Smeaton, wifhes to be informed 
when it is likely the fecond volume of ‘his 
** Reports” will make its appearance. 
The firft, valuable as itis for the prac- 
tical {cience thercin contained, is yet im- 
perfe& by the want of the engravings, 
which the Committee of Civil Engineers 
promikd to f{upply with the fecond vo- 
lume. . 
Notice put up at Hornchurch—April Fools. ; 
5S 
He is unwilling to attribute its noe 
forthcoming to a want of fale for the for- 
mer volume; or fhould it prove fo, that 
ean only have arifen from the imperfeé 
{tate in which it is publifhed; or from 
the public not being properly made fen- 
fible of the great mais of important infor- 
mation it contains. 
He trufts the Committee will yet keep 
their promife in pubkithing the fecend vo- 
lume ; or that they will, at any rate, fur- 
nifh the purchafers of the firft with the 
engravings neceflary to complete it. 
An OLp CoRRESPONDENTe 
Sune ath, 1803. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazines 
SIR, 
N anfwer to the enquiries of Ignorans, 
p- 403, re(pecting the origin of April- 
fool’s day, and why the feaft of St. Va- 
lentine ia feleéted by lovers to make known 
their affe&tions, accept the following 
The firt of April is generally called 
All-fool’s day, a corruption, it fthould 
feem, of Auld, i. e. Old-tool’s-day ; ac- 
cordingly in the antient Roman Calendar, 
we find this obfervation: ‘* The feaft of 
Old-fools is removed to this day,” (No- 
vember the firft)}. This (Old-fools) feems 
to denote it to be a different day from the 
6* Feaft of Fools,’” which was held on the 
firft of January,’” of which a particular 
defcription may.be found in Du Cange’s 
learned Gloflary in Verbo Kalenda. 
All our antiquaries are filent concern- 
ing the firft of April. It owes its begin- 
ning probably to a removal, which was 
of frequent ufe in the crowded Roman 
Calendar. ‘* There is nothing hardly 
({ays the author of an Effay to Retrieve 
the Antient Celtic) that will bear a clear- 
er demonftration than that the primitive 
Chriftians, by way of conciliating the 
Pagans to a better worfhip, humoured 
their prejudices, by yielding to a confor- 
mity of names, and even of cuftoms, 
where they did not effentially interfere 
with the fundamestals of the Gofpei-doc- 
trine. This was done in order to quiet 
their poffeffion, and to fecure their tenure: 
an admirable expedient, and extremely fit, 
in thofe barbarous times, to prevent the 
people from returning to their old reji- 
gion. Amongft thefe, in imitation of the 
Roman Saturnalia, was the Feffum Fatu- 
orum, when part of the jollity of the fea- 
fon was a burlefque election of a mock 
pepe, mock cardinals, mock bifhops, at» 
tended with a thoufaud ridiculous and in- 
4 dycune 
