ur mild ancestors, the Saxons.
Whether she raised her hammer for the plundering Dane is uncertain, his
reign being short; and, lastly, for the resolute and surly Norman.

It does not appear that Birmingham, from its first formation, to the
present day, was ever the habitation of a gentleman, the lords of the
manor excepted. But if there are no originals among us, we can produce
many striking likenesses--The smoke of Birmingham has been very
propitious to their growth, but not to their maturity.

Gentlemen, as well as buttons, have been stamped here; but, like them,
when finished, are moved off.

They both originate from a very uncouth state, _without form or
comeliness_; and pass through various stages, uncertain of success. Some
of them, at length, receive the last polish, and arrive at perfection;
while others, ruined by a flaw, are deemed _wasters_.

I have known the man of opulence direct his gilt chariot _out_ of
Birmingham, who first approached her an helpless orphan in rags. I have
known the chief magistrate of fifty thousand people, fall from his
phaeton, and humbly ask bread at a parish vestry.

Frequently the wheel of capricious fortune describes a circle, in the
rotation of which, a family experiences alternately, the heighth of
prosperity and the depth of distress; but more frequently, like a
pendulum, it describes only the arc of a circle, and that always at
the bottom.

Many fine estates have been struck out of the anvil, valuable
possessions raised by the tongs, and superb houses, in a two-fold sense,
erected by the trowel.

The paternal ancestor of the late Sir Charles Holte was a native of this
place, and purchaser, in the beginning of Edward the Third, of the
several manors, which have been the honour and the support of his house
to the present time.

Walter Clodshale was another native of Birmingham, who, in 1332,
purchased the manor of Saltley, now enjoyed by his maternal descendant,
Charles Bowyer Adderley, Esq.

Charles Colmore, Esq; holds a considerable estate in the parish; his
predecessor is said to have occupied, in the reign of Henry the Eighth,
that house, now No. 1, in the High-street, as a mercer, and general
receiver of the taxes.

A numerous branch of this ancient family flourishes in Birmingham at
this day.

The head of it, in the reign of James the First, erected New-hall, and
himself into a gentleman. On this desirable eminence, about half a mile
from the buildings, they