Notes and Queries, Number 24, April 13, 1850 eBook

Notes and Queries, Number 24, April 13, 1850

The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.

(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.

The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.

The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.

All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Section Page

Start of eBook1
C.1
QUERIES.2
MINOR QUERIES.4
C.5
C.7
C.9
REPLIES.13
C.14
C.18
C.18
V.20
MISCELLANIES.20
C.21
MISCELLANEOUS.23
BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES23
CONTENTS: 24

Page 1

C.

* * * * *

LYDGATE AND COVERDALE, AND THEIR BIOGRAPHERS.

Dan John Lydgate, as Warton truly observes, was not only the poet of his monastery, but of the world in general.  Yet how has he been treated by his biographers?  Ritson, in his Bibliographia Poetica, says, “he died at an advanced age, after 1446.”  Thomson, in his Chronicles of London Bridge, 2nd edition, p. 11., says, “Lydgate died in the year 1440, at the age of sixty;” and again, at p. 164. of the same work, he says, “Lydgate was born about 1375, and died about 1461!” Pitt says that he died in 1482; and the author of the Suffolk Garland, p. 247., prolongs his life (evidently by a typographical blunder), to about the year 1641!  From these conflicting statements, it is evident that the true dates of Lydgate’s birth and decease are unknown.  Mr. Halliwell, in the preface to his Selection from the Minor Poems of John Lydgate, arrives at the conclusion from the MSS. which remain of his writings, that he died before the accession of Edward IV., and there appears to be every adjunct of external probability; but surely, if our record offices were carefully examined, some light might be thrown upon the life of this industrious monk.  I am not inclined to rest satisfied with the dictum of the Birch MS., No. 4245. fo. 60., that no memorials of him exist in those repositories.

The only authenticated circumstances in Lydgate’s biography (excepting a few dates to poems), are the following:—­He was ordained subdeacon, 1389; deacon, 1393; and priest, 1397.  In 1423 he left the Benedictine Abbey of Bury, in Suffolk, to which he was attached, and was elected prior of Hatfield Brodhook; but the following year had license to return to his monastery again.  These dates are derived from the Register of Abbott Cratfield, preserved among the Cotton MSS.  Tiber, B. ix.

My object in calling the attention of your readers to the state of Lydgate’s biography is, to draw forth new facts.  Information of a novel kind may be in their hands without appreciation as to its importance.

I take this opportunity of noticing the different dates given of Myles Coverdale’s death.

Strype says he died 20th May, 1565, (Annals of Reformation, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 43., Oxf. ed.), although elsewhere he speaks of his as being alive in 1566.  Neale (Hist of Pur., vol. i. p. 185.) says, the 20th May, 1567.  Fuller (Church Hist., p. 65. ed. 1655) says he died on the 20th of January, 1568, and “Anno 1588,” in his Worthies of England, p. 198., ed. 1662.

The following extract from “The Register of Burials in the Parish Church of St. Bartholomew’s by the Exchange” sets the matter at rest.  “Miles Coverdall, doctor of divinity, was buried anno 1568., the 19th of February.”

That the person thus mentioned in the register is Miles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, there can be no doubt, since the epitaph inscribed on the tomb-stone, copied in Stow’s Survey, clearly states him to be so.  It is, perhaps, unnecessary to observe that the date mentioned in the extract is the old style, and, therefore, according to our present computation, he was buried the 19th of February, 1569.

Page 2

Can any of your correspondents throw any light upon the authorship of a work frequently attributed to Myles Coverdale, and thus entitled, “A Brieff discours off the Troubles begonne at Frankford in Germany, Anno Domini, 1554.  Abowte the Booke off common prayer and Ceremonies, and continued by the Englishe Men theyre, to the ende off Q. Maries Raigne, in the which discours, the gentle reader shall see the verry originall and beginninge off all the contention that hathe byn, and what was the cause off the same?” A text from “Marc 4.” with the date MDLXXV.  Some copies are said to have the initials “M.C.” on the title-page, and the name in full, “Myles Coverdale,” at the end of the preface; but no notice is taken of this impression in the excellent introductory remarks prefixed by Mr. Petheram to the reprint of 1846.  If the valuable work was really written by Myles Coverdale (and it is much in his style), it must have been interspersed with remarks by another party, for in the preface, signed, as it is said by Coverdale, allusion is made to things occuring in 1573, four years after his death.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

* * * * *

QUERIES.

SPECULUM EXEMPLORUM:—­EPISTOLA DE MISERIA CURATORUM.

Who was the compiler of the Speculum Exemplorum, printed for the first time at Deventer, in 1481?  A copy of the fourth edition, Argent, 1490, does not afford any information about this matter; and I think that Panzer (v. 195.) will be consulted in vain.  Agreeing in opinion with your correspondent “GASTROS” (No. 21. p. 338.) that a querist should invariably give an idea of the extent of his acquaintance with the subject proposed, I think it right to say, that I have examined the list of authors of Exempla, which is to be found in the appendix to Possevin’s Apparatus Sacer, tom. i. sig. [Greek:  b] 2., and that I have read Ribadeneira’s notice of the improvements made in this Speculum by the Jesuit Joannes Major.

Who was the writer of the Epistola de Miseria Curatorum? My copy consists of eight leaves, and a large bird’s-cage on the verse of the last leaf is evidently the printer’s device.  Seemiller makes mention of an Augsburg edition of this curious tract. (Biblioth.  Acad.  Ingolstad.  Incunab. typog. Fascic. ii. p. 142.  Ingolst. 1788.)

R.G.

* * * * *

THE SECOND DUKE OF ORMONDE.

The review of Mr. Wright’s England under the House of Hanover, illustrated by the Caricatures and Satires of the Day, given in the Athenaeum (No. 1090.), cites a popular ballad on the flight and attainder of the second Duke of Ormonde, as taken down from the mouth of an Isle of Wight fishmonger.  This review elicited from a correspondent (Athenaeum, No. 1092.) another version of the same ballad as prevalent in Northumberland.  I made a note of these at the time; and was lately much interested at receiving from an esteemed correspondent (the Rev. P. Moore, Rochenon, co.  Kilkenny), a fragment of another version of the same ballad, which he (being at the time ignorant of the existence of any other version of the song) had taken down from the lips of a very old man of the neighbourhood, viz.:—­

Page 3

“My name is Ormond; have you not heard of me? 
For I have lately forsaken my own counterie;
I fought for my life, and they plundered my estate,
For being so loyal to Queen Anne the great. 
Queen Anne’s darling, and cavalier’s delight,
And the Presbyterian crew, they shall never have their flight. 
I am afraid of my calendry; my monasteries are all sold,
And my subjects are bartered for the sake of English gold.
* * * * *
* * * * *
But, as I am Ormond, I vow and declare,
I’ll curb the heartless Whigs of their wigs, never fear.”

I do not quote the versions given in the Athenaeum, but, on a comparison, it will be seen that they all must have been derived from the same original.

The success of your queries concerning the Duke of Monmouth impel me to propose a few concerning the almost as unfortunate, and nearly as celebrated, second Duke of Ormonde.  Many scraps of traditionary lore relative to the latter nobleman must linger in and about London, where he was the idol of the populace, as well as the leader of what we should now call the “legitimist” party.

With your leave.  I shall therefore propose the following Queries, viz.:—­

1.  Who was the author of the anonymous life of the second Duke of Ormonde, published in one volume octavo, some years after his attainder?

2.  Was the ballad, of which the above is a fragment, printed at the time; and if so, does it exist?

3.  What pamphlets, ballads, or fugitive pieces, were issued from the press, or privately printed, on the occasion of the Duke’s flight and subsequent attainder?

4.  Does any contemporary writer mention facts or incidents relative to the matter in question, between the period of the accession of George I., and the Duke’s final departure from his residence at Richmond?

5.  Does any traditionary or unpublished information on the subject exist in or about London or Richmond.

JAMES GRAVES.

Kilkenny.

* * * * *

MAYORS.—­WHAT IS THEIR CORRECT PREFIX?

I wish to ask, of any of your numerous readers, what may be considered the most proper official prefix for Mayors, whether Right Worshipful or Worshipful?  Opinions, I find, differ upon the subject.  In the Secretary’s Guide, 5th ed. p. 95. it is said that Mayors are Right Worshipful; the late Mr. Beltz, Lancaster Herald, was of opinion that they were Worshipful only; and Mr. Dod, the author of a work on Precedence, &c., in answer to an inquiry on the point, thought that Mayors of cities were Right Worshipful, and those of towns were only Worshipful.  With due deference, however, I am rather inclined to think that all Mayors, whether of cities, or of towns, ought properly to be styled “the Right Worshipful” for the following reason:—­all Magistrates are Worshipful,

Page 4

I believe, although not always in these days so designated, and a mayor being the chief magistrate ought to have the distinctive “Right” appended to his style.  And this view of the subject derives some support from the fact of a difference being made with regard to the Aldermen of London (who are all of them magistrates), those who have passed the chair being distinguished as the Right Worshipful, whilst those below the chair are styled the worshipful only; thus showing that the circumstance of being Mayor is considered worthy of an especial distinction.  Probably it may be said that custom is the proper guide in a case like this, but I believe that there is no particular custom in some towns, both prefixes being sometimes used, and more frequently none at all.  It seems desirable, however, that some rule should be laid down, if possible, by common consent, that it may be understood in future what the appropriate Prefix is.  I shall be glad if some of your heraldic or antiquarian readers will give their opinions, and if they know of any authorities, to quote them.

J.

* * * * *

QUEVEDO—­SPANISH BULL-FIGHTS.

The clear and satisfactory reply that “MELANION” received in No. 11. to his query on the contradictions in Don Quixote, tempts me to ask for some information respecting another standard work of Spanish literature, written by a cotemporary of the great Cervantes.

How is it, that in the Visions of Don Quevedo, a work which passes in review every amusement and occupation of the Spanish people, the national sport of bull-fighting remains entirely unnoticed?

The amusement was, I presume, in vogue during the 16th and 17th centuries; and the assignations made, and the intrugues carried on, within the walls of the amphitheatre would have supplied many an amusing, moralising penitent, male and female, to the shades below—­the “fabulae manes” with whom Quevedo held converse.  As my copy of the Visions is an anonymous translation, and evidently far from being a first-rate one, I shall not be surprised if I receive as an answer,—­“Mistaken as to your fact, read a better translation:”  but as in spite of its manifold, glaring defects, I have no reason to suspect that the text is garbled, I think I may venture to send the query.

In “Vision 7.”  I find Nero accusing Seneca of having had the insolence to use the words, “I and my king.”  I have often heard of Henry VIII., Wolsey, and “Ego et rex meus;” but as I never heard Quevedo quoted as an illustration, I look upon this as one of the suspicious passages in my copy of his work.

C. FORBES.

Temple.

* * * * *

MINOR QUERIES.

Page 5

Gilbert Browne.—­“G.C.B.” is desirous of information respecting the family from which was descended Gilbert Browne of the Inner Temple, who died about a century ago, and was buried in North Mymms Church, Herts, where there is a monument to him (vide Clutterbuck’s History); also as to the arms, crest, and motto, as borne by him, and whether he was in any way related to Michael Browne of Hampton Court, Herefordshire, who married Elizabeth Philippa, daughter of Lord Coningsby, as stated in Collins’s Peerage.  He also desires information as to any enrolment of arms previous to the Visitations, by which the bearings of families who had grants of land from the Conqueror may be ascertained; as, for instance, a family who began to decay about the end of the 14th century, having previously been of great rank and position.

The Badger.—­Can any body point out to me any allusion, earlier than that in Sir T. Browne’s Vulgar Errors, to the popular idea that the legs of the badger were shorter on one side than on the other, whence Mr. Macaulay says, “I think that Titus Oates was as uneven as a badger?”

W.R.F.

Ecclesiastical Year.—­Note in an old parish register, A.D. 1706.  “Annus Domini Secundum Ecclesiae Anglicanae Supputationem incipit 25to Mensis Martij.”

Query the authority for this? the reason seems easy to define.

NATHAN.

Sir William Coventry.—­Pepys mentions in his Diary, that Sir William Conventry kept a journal of public events.  Is anything known of this journal?  It is not known of at Longleat, where are several papers of Sir William Conventry’s.

A MS. letter from Lord Weymouth to Sir Robert Southwell, giving an account of Sir W. Conventry’s death, was sold at the sale of Lord de Clifford’s papers in 1834.  Can any of your readers inform me where this letter now is?

C.

Shrew.—­Is shrew, as applied to the shrew-mouse, and as applied to a scolding woman, the same word?  If so, what is its derivation?

The following derivations of the word are cited by Mr. Bell. Saxon, “Schreadan,” to cut; “Schrif,” to censure; “Scheorfian,” to bite; “Schyrvan,” to beguile. German, “Schreiven,” to clamour; none of which, it is obvious, come very near to “Schreava,” the undoubted Saxon origin of the word shrew.

Now it was a custom amongst our forefathers to endeavour to provide a remedy against the baneful influence of the shrew-mouse by plugging the wretched animal alive in a hole made in the body of an ash tree, any branch of which was thenceforth held to be possessed of a power to cure the disease caused by the mouse.  It thereupon occurred to me that just as brock, a still existing name for the badger, is clearly from the Saxon broc, persecution, in allusion to the custom of baiting the animal; so schreava

Page 6

might be from schraef, a hollow, in allusion to the hole in the ash tree; and on that supposition I considered “shrew,” as applied to a woman, to be a different word, perhaps from the German schreyen, to clamour.  I have, however, found mentioned in Bailey’s Dictionary a Teutonic word, which may reconcile both senses of “shrew,”—­I mean beschreyen, to bewitch.  I shall be obliged to any of your subscribers who will enlighten me upon the subject.

W.R.F.

A Chip in Porridge.—­What is the origin and exact force of this phrase?  Sir Charles Napier, in his recent general order, informs the Bengal army that

    “The reviews which the Commander-in-Chief makes of the troops
    are not to be taken as so many ‘chips in porridge.’”

I heard a witness, a short time since, say, on entering the witness-box—­

  “My Lord, I am like a ‘chip in porridge’; I can
  say nothing either for or against the plaintiff.”

Q.D.

Temple Stanyan.—­Who was Temple Stanyan, concerning whom I find in an old note-book the following quaint entry?

    “Written on a window at College, by Mr. Temple Stanyan, the
    author of a History of Greece:—­

  “Temple Stanyan, his window. 
  God give him grace thereout to look! 
  And, when the folk walk to and fro’,
  To study man instead of book!”

A.G.

Tandem.—­You are aware that we have a practical pun now naturalised in our language, in the word “tandem.”  Are any of your correspondents acquainted with another instance?

[Greek:  Sigma].

As lazy as Ludlum’s dog, as laid him down to bark.”—­This comparison is so general and familiar in South Yorkshire (Sheffield especially) as to be frequently quoted by the first half, the other being mentally supplied by the hearer.  There must, of course, be some legend of Ludlum and his dog, or they must have been a pair of well-known characters, to give piquancy to the phrase.  Will any of your readers who are familiar with the district favour me with an explanation?

D.V.S.

Anecdote of a Peal of Bells.—­There is a story, that a person had long been absent from the land of his nativity, where in early life, he had assisted in setting up a singularly fine peal of bells.  On his return home, after a lapse of many years, he had to be rowed over some water, when it happened that the bells struck out in peal; the sound of which so affected him, that he fell back in the boat and died!  Can any of your readers give a reference where the account is to be met with?

H.T.E.

Sir Robert Long.—­“ROSH.” inquires the date of the death of Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Long, who founded, in 1760, a Free School at Burnt-Yates, in the Parish of Ripley, co.  Yorks., and is said to have died in Wigmore Street, London, it is supposed some years after that period.

Page 7

Dr. Whichcot and Lord Shaftesbury.—­It is stated in Mr. Martyn’s Life of the First Lord Shaftesbury, that Dr. Whichcot was one of Shaftesbury’s most constant companions, and preached most of his sermons before him; and that the third Earl of Shaftesbury, the author of the Characteristics, is said to have published a volume of Whichcot’s sermons from a manuscript copy of the first Lord Shaftesbury’s wife.  Can any of your readers give any further information as to the intimacy between Whichcot and Shaftesbury, of which no mention is made in any memoir of Whichcot that I have seen?

C.

Lines attributed to Henry Viscount Palmerston.—­Permit me to inquire whether there is any better authority than the common conjecture that the beautiful verses, commencing,—­

  “Whoe’er, like me, with trembling anguish brings
  His heart’s whole treasure to fair Bristol’s springs,”

were written by Henry Viscount Palmerston, on the death of his lady at the Hot-wells, June 1 or 2, 1769.  They first appeared p. 240. of the 47th vol. of the Gentleman’s Magazine, 1777.

They also have been attributed to Dr. Hawkeworth, but his wife survived him.  There is a mural tablet under the west window of Romsey Church, containing some lines to the memory of Lady Palmerston, but they are not the same.  Perhaps some of your correspondents are competent to discover the truth.

INDAGATOR.

Gray’s Alcaic Ode.—­Can any of your readers say whether Gray’s celebrated Latin ode is actually to be found entered at the Grande Chartreuse?  A friend of mine informs me that he could not find it there on searching.

C.B.

Abbey of St. Wandrille.—­Will “GASTROS” kindly allow me to ask him a question?  Does the Chronicle of the Abbey of St. Wandrille, which he mentions (No. 21. p. 338.), include notices of any of the branches of that establishment which settled in England about the time of the Conquest; and one of which, the subject of my query, formed a colony at Ecclesfield, near Sheffield?

I feel an interest in this little colony, because my early predecessors in this vicarage were elected from its monks.  Moreover, some remains of their convent, now incorporated into what is called “the hall,” and forming an abutment which overlooks my garden, are affording an appropriate domicile to the curate of the parish.

ALFRED GATTY.

Ecclesfield, March 26. 1850.

Queries as to “Lines on London Dissenting Ministers” of a former Day.—­Not having made Notes of the verses so entitled, I beg to submit the following Queries:—­

1.  Does there exist any printed or manuscript copy of lines of the above description, in the course of which Pope’s “Modest Foster” is thus introduced and apostrophised:—­

  “But see the accomplish’d orator appear,
  Refined in judgment, and in language clear: 
  Thou only, Foster, hast the pleasing art
  At once to charm the ear and mend the heart!”

Page 8

Other conspicuous portraits are those of THOMAS BRADBURY, ISAAC WATTS, and SAMUEL CHANDLER.  The date of the composition must be placed between 1704 and 1748, but I have to solicit information as to who was its author.

2.  Has there been preserved, in print or manuscript, verses which circulated from about 1782-1784, on the same body of men, as characterised, severally, by productions of the vegetable world, and, in particular, by flowers?  The bouquet is curious, nor ill-selected and arranged.  One individual, for example, finds his emblem in a sweet-briar; another, in a hollyhock; and a third, in a tulip.  RICHARD WINTER, JAMES JOUYCE, HUGH WASHINGTON, are parts of the fragrant, yet somewhat thorny and flaunting nosegay.  These intimations of it may perhaps aid recollection, and lead to the wished-for disclosure.  It came from the hand, and seemed to indicate at least the theological partialities of the lady[1] who culled and bound together the various portions of the wreath.

W.

[Footnote 1:  A daughter of the late Joseph Shrimpton, Esq., of High Wycombe.]

Dutch Language.—­“E.  VEE” will be indebted to “ROTTERODAMUS,” or any other correspondent, who can point out to him the best modern books for acquiring a knowledge of the Dutch language,—­an Anglo-Dutch Grammar and Dictionary.

Horns.—­1.  Why is Moses represented in statues with horns?  The idea is not, I think, taken from the Bible.

2.  What is the reason for assigning horns to a river, as in the “Tauriformis Aufidus.”

3.  What is the origin of the expression “to give a man horns,” for grossly dishonouring him?  It is met with in late Greek.

L.C.

Cambridge, March 27.

Marylebone Gardens.—­In what year did Marylebone Gardens finally close?

NASO.

Toom Shawn Cattie.—­I find these words (Gaelic, I believe, from Tom John Gattie) in an old Diary, followed by certain hieroglyphics, wherewith I was wont to express “recommended for perusal.”  I have lost all trace of the recommender, and have hunted in vain through many a circulating library list for the name, which I believe to be that of some book or song illustrating the domestic life of our Western Highlanders.  Can any of your readers assist me in deciphering my own note?

MELANION.

Love’s Last Shift.—­In the first edition of Peignot’s Manuel du Biblioplide, published in 1800, the title of Congreve’s “Mourning Bride” is rendered “L’Epouse du Matin.”  Can any of your readers inform me whether it is in the same work that the title of “Love’s Last Shift” is translated by “Le dernier Chemise de l’Amour?” if not, in what other book is it?

H.C.  DE ST. CROIX.

Cheshire-round.—­“W.P.A.” asks the meaning of the above phrase, and where it is described.

Page 9

Why is an Earwig called a “Coach-bell?"—­Your correspondents, although both kind and learned, do not appear to have given any satisfactory answer to my former query—­why a lady-bird is called Bishop Barnaby?  Probably there will be less difficulty in answering another entomological question—­Why do the country-people in the south of Scotland call an earwig a “coach-bell?” The name “earwig” itself is sufficiently puzzling, but “coach-bell” seems, if possible, still more utterly unintelligible.

LEGOUR.

Chrysopolis.—­Chrysopolis is the Latin name for the town of Parma, also for that of Scutari, in Turkey.  Is the etymological connection of the two names accidental? and how did either of them come to be called the “Golden City?”

R.M.M.

Pimlico.—­In Aubrey’s Surrey, he mentions that he went to a Pimlico Garden, somewhere on Bankside.  Can any of your correspondents inform me of the derivation of the word “Pimlico,” and why that portion of land now built on near to Buckingham House, through which the road now runs to Chelsea, is called Pimlico?

R.H.

April 1. 1850.

Zenobia.—­I have read somewhere that Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, was of Jewish origin, but am now at a loss to retrace it.  Could any of your correspondents inform me where I have read it?

A. FISCHEL.

Henry Ryder, Bishop of Killaloe.—­“W.D.R.” requests information in reference to the paternity of Henry Ryder, D.D., who was born in Paris, and consecrated Bishop of Killaloe in 1692.

Belvoir Castle.—­In the Harleian Miscellany, vol. iv. p. 527., is a Pindaric Ode upon Belvoir Castle, which Mr. Nichols reprinted in his History of the Hundred of Framland. Can any of your readers inform me who was the author of this very singular production?

T.R.  Potter.

St. Winifreda.—­Can any of your readers refer me to any history or recent discoveries relative to St. Winifreda?

B.

Savile, Marquis of Halifax.—­It is stated in Tyers’s Political Conferences (1781), that a Diary of his was supposed to be among the Duke of Shrewsbury’s MSS.; and when Mr. Tyers wrote, in the hands of Dr. Robertson.  Can any of your readers give information about this Diary?

C.

Salt at Montem.—­Will you allow me, as an old Etonian, to ask the derivation of “salt,” as it used to be applied to the money collected at Eton Montem for the Captain of the Colleges?  Towards investigating the subject, I can only get as far as Salt Hill, near Slough, where there was a mount, on which, if I remember rightly, the Captain waved a flag on Montem day.  A brief account of the origin of Montem would be interesting; and it is especially worth noting now that the pageant is suppressed.

A.G.

Ecclesfield, March 14, 1850.

Page 10

Ludlow’s Memoirs.—­“C.” is anxious to learn if the manuscript of Ludlow’s Memoirs is known to exist, or to receive any information as to where it might probably be found.

Ludlow died at Vevay, in Switzerland, in 1693, and the Memoirs were published at Vevay shortly after.

There is no will of Ludlow’s in Doctor’s Commons.

Finkle or Finkel.—­I should be glad if any of your numerous correspondents could give me the derivation and meaning of the word Finkle, or Finkel, as applied to the name of a street.  There is a street so designated in Carlisle, York, Richmond in Yorkshire, Kendal, Sedberg, Norwich (in 1508 spelt Fenkyl, and in 1702 Fenkel), and, I believe, in many other of our more ancient cities and towns.  In the township of Gildersome, a village some few miles from Leeds, there is an ancient way, till lately wholly unbuilt upon, called Finkle Lane; and in London we have the parish of St. Benedict Finck, though I do not imagine that the latter is any way synonymous with the word in question.  The appellation of Finkle is, without doubt, a descriptive one; but the character of the lane so styled in Gildersome seems to negative the idea that it has any reference to the peculiarity of trade or class of persons carried on or inhabiting the locality distinguished by this title.

W.M.

Cowgill, March 13. 1850.

Coxcombs vanquish Berkeley, &c.—­In Lewis’s Biography of Philosophy (vol. iv. p. 7.) occurs the following quotation:—­

  “And coxcombs vanquish Berkeley with a grin.”

Who is the author of this line? for I cannot find it in Pope, to whom a note refers it.

R.F.  Johnson.

Derivation of Sterling.—­What is the derivation of Sterling?  Some authors say from “Easterling,” a race of German or Dutch traders; but is it not more likely from “steer,” a bull, or ox, viz. a coin originally stamped with a figure of that animal?  Of this, and parallel cases, we have many instances among the ancients.  I find also, that, in a decree issued in the time of Richard I., the word is used, and explained by “peny” as a synonym.  Now peny or penny is clearly from pecunia, and that from pecus, so that we have the two words brought side by side, one through the Latin, and the other through the Saxon language.

R.F.  Johnson.

Hanging out the Broom.—­In some parts of England a singular custom prevails.  When a married woman leaves home for a few days, the husband hangs a broom or besom from the window.  When, how, and where did this originate, and what does it signify?

R.F.  Johnson.

Trunck Breeches.—­Barba Longa.—­Mercenary Preacher.—­In reading Smith’s Obituary, edited by Sir H. Ellis for the Camden Society, I find the following entries:—­

    “1640.  May 29th, old M’r Grice, in Aldersgate S’t, who wore
    trunck breeches, died.”

Page 11

    “1646.  Oc’r 1.  William Young, Chandler, within Aldersgate, a
    discreet Juryman, and Barba Longa, died.”

    “Fe’r 21., old M’r Lewis, the Mercenary Preacher, buried.”

Can any of your correspondents explain the meaning of “Trunck Breeches,” “Barba Longa,” and “Mercenary Preacher?”

X.Y.Z.

Suffolk, March 4.

Apposition.—­Can any one give me a little information upon the following passage?—­

  “Quin age, te incolumi potius (potes omnia quando,
  Nec tibi nequiequam pater est qui sidera torquet)
  Perficias quodcunque tibi nunc instat agendum.”

      Hieronym.  Vid.  Christ. lib. i. 67.

I want to know in what case te incolumi is; and, if in the ablative absolute, can any one bring a parallel construction from the writers of the Augustan age, where the law of apposition appears to be so far violated?

A.W.

Pamphlets respecting Ireland.—­“J.” wishes to be informed where copies may be found of the following pamphlets, described in Ware’s Irish Writers, under the head “Colonel Richard Laurence,” and “Vincent Gookin, Esq.,” son of Sir Vincent Gookin, who, in the year 1634, published “a bitter invective, by way of letter, against the nation.”  Vincent Gookin’s pamphlet is dated London, 1655, 4to.  Any particulars relative to his family and descendants will oblige.

The title of Col.  R. Laurence’s book is,—­

“The interest of Ireland in the first Transplantation stated; wherein it set forth the benefit of the Irish Transplantation:  intended as an Answer to the scandalous seditious Pamphlet, entitled ‘The Great Case of Transplantation Discussed.’  London, 1655.”

The author of the pamphlet was Vincent Gookin, Esq., Surveyor-General of Ireland.  He did not, at first, put his name to it; but when Laurence’s answer appeared, he then owned himself as the author of it, and published a pamphlet under this title:—­

    “The Author and Case of Transplanting the Irish into Connaught
    Vindicated from the unjust Aspersion of Colonel Richard
    Laurence and Vincent Gookin, Esq.  London, 1655.”

Portrait of Sir John Poley.—­Perhaps some of your numerous correspondents can answer whether the portrait of Sir John Poley in Bexstead Hall, alluded to No. 14. p. 214., has been engraved.

J.

February 5.

Tace is Latin for a candle.”—­Whence is this expression derived, and what is its meaning?  I met with it, many years ago, in a story-book, and, more lately, in one of the Waverley Novels, in which particular one I do not just now recollect.  It seems to be used as an adage, coupled with an admonition to observe silence or secrecy.

W.A.F.

Poins and Bardolph.—­Can any of your correspondents skilled in Shakspearian lore inform me whence Shakspeare took the names Poins and Bardolph for the followers of Prince Hal and Falstaff?

Page 12

C.W.S.

Flemish Work on the Order of St. Francis.—­Can any of your correspondents tell me any thing about, or enable me to procure a copy of, a book on the order of St. Francis, named, Den Wijngaert van Sinte Franciscus va Schoonte Historien Legenden, &c. A folio of 424 leaves, beautifully printed.  The last page has,—­

    “Gheprent Thantwerpen binnen die Camer poorte Int huys va
    delft bi mi, Hendrich Eckert van Homberch.  Int iaer ons heeren
    M.CCCCC. efi XVIII. op den XII. dach va December.”

The only copy I ever saw of it, which belonged to a friend of mine, had the following note on a fly-leaf in an old and scarcely legible hand:—­

“Raer boeck ende seer curieus als gebouwt synde op de Wijsen voor meesten deel op de fondamenten van den fameus ende extra raer boeck genoempt Conformitatis Vita S. Francisci cum Vita Jesu Christi, de welch in dese diehwils grateert wordt gelijck gij in lesen sult andesvinden maer onthout wer dese latijn spreckwoordt, Risum teneatis amici.”

Jarlzberg.

Le Petit Albert.—­Can any of your correspondents give me any information respecting a book entitled Secrets Merveilleux de la Magie Naturelle et Cabalistique du Petit Albert, et enrichi du fig. mysterieuses, et de la Maniere de les faire.  Nouvelle Edition, cor. et aug.  A Lion, 1743. 32mo.?  The avertissement says,—­

“Voici une nouvelle edition du Livres des merveilleux Secrets du Petit Albert, connu en Latin sous le titre d’Alberte Parvi Lucii, Libellus de Mirabilibus Naturae Arcanis.  L’auteur a qui on l’attribue, a ete un de ces grands-hommmes qui par le peuple ignorant ont ete accusez de magie.  C’etoit autrefois le sort de tous les grands esprits qui possedoient quelque chose d’extraordinaire dans les sciences, de les traiter de magiciens.  C’est peut-etre par cette raison, que le petit tresor est devenu tres rare, parceque les superstitieux ont fait scrupule de s’en servir; il s’est presque comme perdu, car une personne distinguee dans le monde a eu la curiosite (a ce qu’on assure) d’en offrir plus de mille florins pour un seul exemplaire, encore ne l’a-t-on pu decouvrir que depuis peu dans la bibliotheque d’un tres-grand homme, qui l’a bien voulu donner pour ne plus priver le public d’un si riche tresor,” &c.

Who was Albertus Parvus? when and where was his work published?

Jarlzberg.

English Translations of Erasmus’ Encomium Moriae.—­An English translation of The Praise of Folly (with Holbein’s plates), I think by Denham, Lond. 1709, alludes to two previous translations; one by Sir Thomas Challoner, 1549; the other it does not name.  I should like to know whose is the intermediate translation, and also what other translations have been made of that curious work?

Jarlzberg.

Page 13

Symbols of the Four Evangelists.—­St. Matthew an angel; St. Mark, a lion; St. Luke, an ox; St. John, an eagle.  It is on account of its being a symbol of the Resurrection that the lion is assigned to St. Mark as an emblem; St. Mark being called the historian of the Resurrection. (This title he probably obtained from his gospel being used on Easter Day.) The reason why the lion is taken as a symbol of the Resurrection is to be found in the fabulous history of the animal; according to which the whelp is born dead, and only receives life at the expiration of three days, on being breathed on by its father.—­What are the reasons assigned for the other three Evangelists’ emblems?

Jarlzberg.

Portrait by Boonen.—­Can any of your correspondents state the precise time when Boonen, said to be a pupil of Schalcken, flourished?  And what eminent geographer, Dutch or English, lived during such period?  This question is asked with reference to a picture by Boonen,—­a portrait of a singular visaged man, with his hand on a globe, now at Mr. Peel’s in Golden Square; the subject of which is desired to be ascertained.  It may be the portrait of an astrologer, if the globe is celestial.

Z.

Beaver Hats.—­On the subject of beaver hats, I would ask what was the price or value of a beaver hat in the time of Charles II.?  I find that Giles Davis of London, merchant, offered Timothy Wade, Esq., “five pounds to buy a beaver hat,” that he might he permitted to surrender a lease of a piece of ground in Aldermanbury. (Vide Judicial Decree, Fire of London, dated 13.  Dec. 1668.  Add.  MS. 5085. No. 22.)

F.E.

* * * * *

REPLIES.

BLUNDER IN MALONE’S SHAKSPEARE.

I regret that no further notice has been taken of the very curious matter suggested by “Mr. Jebb” (No 14. p. 213.), one of the many forgeries of which Shakspeare has been the object, which ought to be cleared up, but which I have neither leisure nor materials to attempt; but I can afford a hint or two for other inquirers.

1.  This strange intermixture of some John Shakspeare’s confession of the Romish faith with William Shakspeare’s will, is, as Mr. Jebb states to be found in the Dublin edition of Malone’s Shakspeare, 1794, v. i. p. 154.  It is generally supposed that this Dublin edition is a copy (I believe a piracy) of the London one of 1790; but by what means the three introductory paragraphs of John Shakspeare’s popish confession were foisted into the real will of William is a complete mystery.

Page 14

2.  Malone, in a subsequent part of his prolegomena to both of those editions (Lond. v. i. part II. 162., and Dublin, v. ii. p. 139.), printed a pretended will or confession of the faith of John Shakspeare, found in a strange, incredible way, and evidently a forgery.  This consisted of fourteen articles, of which the first three were missing.  Now the three paragraphs foisted into William’s will would be the kind of paragraphs that would complete John’s confession; but they are not in confession.  Who, then, forged them? and foisted them—­which Malone had never seen—­into so prominent a place in the Dublin reprint of Malone’s work?

3.  Malone, in his inquiry into the Ireland forgeries, alludes to this confession of faith, admits that he was mistaken about it, and intimates that he had been imposed on, which he evidently was; but he does not seem to know any thing of the second forgery of the three introductory paragraphs, or of their bold introduction into William Shakspeare’s will in the Dublin edition of his own work.

It is therefore clear that Mr. Jebb is mistaken in thinking that it was “a blunder of Malone’s.”  It seems, as far as we can see, to have been, not a blunder, but an audacious fabrication; and how it came into the Irish edition, seems to me incomprehensible.  The printer of the Dublin edition, Exshaw, was a respectable man, an alderman and a Protestant, and he could have no design to make William Shakspeare pass for a papist; nor indeed does the author of the fraud, whoever he was, attempt that; for the three paragraphs profess to be the confession of John.  So that, on the whole, the matter is to me quite inexplicable; it is certain that it must have been a premeditated forgery and fraud, but by whom or for what possible purpose, I cannot conceive.

C.

* * * * *

HINTS TO INTENDING EDITORS.

Beaumont and Fletcher; Gray; Seward; Milton.—­By way of carrying out the suggestion which you thought fit to print at page 316, as to the advantages likely to arise from intimations in your pages of the existence of the MS. annotations, and other materials suitable to the purposes of intending editors of standard works, I beg to mention the following books in my possession, which are much at the service of any editor who may apply to you for my address, viz.:—­

1.  A copy of Tonson’s 10 vol. edit. of Beaumont and Fletcher (8vo. 1750), interleaved and copiously annotated, to the extent of about half the plays, by Dr. Hoadly.

2.  Mr. Haslewood’s collection of materials for an edit. of Gray, consisting of several works and parts of works, MS. notes, newspaper cuttings, &c., bound in 6 vols.

3.  A collection of works of Miss Anne Seward, Mr. Park’s copy, with his MS. notes, newspaper cuttings, &c.

Page 15

As a first instalment of my promised notes on Milton’s Minor Poems, I have transcribed the following from my two copies, premising that “G.” stands for the name of Mr. Gilchrist, and “D.” for that of Mr. Dunster, whose name is misprinted in your 316th page, as “Duns_ton_.”

Notes on Lycidas.

On l. 2. (G.):—­

“O’er head sat a raven, on a sere bough.”

Jonson’s Sad Shepherd, Act.  I. Sc. 6.

On l. 26. (D.):—­

            “Whose so early lay
  Prevents the eyelids of the blushing day.”

Crashaw’s Music’s Duel.

On l. 27. (D.):—­

“Each sheapherd’s daughter, with her cleanly peale,
was come afield to milke the morning’s meale.”

Brown’s Britannia’s Pastorals, B. iv.  Sc. 4. p. 75. ed. 1616.

On l. 29. (G.):—­

  “And in the deep fog batten all the day.”

Drayton, vol. ii. p. 512. ed. 1753.

On l. 40. (G.):—­

  “The gadding winde.”

Phineas Fletcher’s 1st Piscatorie Eclogue, st. 21.

On l. 40. (D.):—­

  “This black den, which rocks emboss,
  Overgrown with eldest moss.”

Wither’s Shepherd’s Hunting, Eclogue 4.

On l. 68. (D.) the names of Amaryllis and Neaera are combined together with other classical names of beautiful nymphs by Ariosto (Orl.  Fur. xi. st. 12.)

On l. 78. (D.) The reference intended by Warton is to Pindar, Nem.
Ode vii. l. 46.

On l. 122. (G.):—­

  “Of night or loneliness it recks me not.”

Comus, l. 404.

On l. 142. (G.):—­

  “So rathe a song.”

Wither’s Shepherd’s Hunting, p. 430. ed. 1633.

On l. 165. (G.):—­

  “Sigh no more, ladies; ladies, sigh no more.”

Shakspeare’s Much Ado, ii. 3.

On l. 171. (G.):—­

  “Whatever makes Heaven’s forehead fine.”

Crashaw’s Weeper, st. 2.

J.F.M.

* * * * *

REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES.

Depinges (No. 18. p. 277., and No. 20. p. 326.).—­I have received the following information upon this subject from Yarmouth.  Herring nets are usually made in four parts or widths,—­one width, when they are in actual use, being fastened above another.  The whole is shot overboard in very great lengths, and forms, as it were, a wall in the sea, by which the boat rides as by an anchor.  These widths are technically called “lints” (Sax. lind?); the uppermost of them (connected by short ropes with a row of corks) being also called the “hoddy” (Sax. hod?), and the lowest, for an obvious reason, the “deepying” or “depynges,” and sometimes “angles.”

At other parts of the coast than Yarmouth, it seems that the uppermost width of net bears exclusively the name of hoddy, the second width being called the first lint, the third width the second lint, and the fourth the third lint, or, as before, “depynges.”

Page 16

W.R.F.

Laerig.—­Without contraverting Mr. Singer’s learned and interesting paper on this word (No. 19. p. 292.), I hope I shall not be thought presumptuous in remarking that there must have been some other root in the Teutonic language for the two following nouns, leer (Dutch) and lear (Flemish), which both signify leather (lorum, Lat.), and their diminutives or derivatives leer-ig and lear-ig, both used in the sense of tough.

Supposing the Ang.-Sax. “laerig” to be derived from the same root, it would denote in “ofer linde laerig,” the leather covering of the shields, or their capability to resist a blow.

I will thank you to correct two misprints in my last communication, p. 299.; pisan for pison, and [Greek:  ’Ioannaes [o=omicron]] for [Greek:  ’Ioannaes [o=omega]].

By the by, the word “pison” is oddly suggestive of a covering for the breast (pys, Nor.  Fr.).  See Foulques Fitzwarin, &c.

B.W.

March 16th.

Laerig (No. 19. p. 292.).—­The able elucidation given by Mr. Singer of the meaning of this word, renders, perhaps, any futher communication on the point unnecessary.  Still I send the following notes in case they should be deemed worthy of notice.

    “Ler, leer—­vacuus.  Berini Fabulae, v. 1219.  A.-S. ge-laer.”

Junii Etymol.  Anglicanum.

    “Lar, laer—­vacuus.”

Schilteri Glossarium Teutonicum.

Respecting “Lind,” I find in the version by Thorkelin of De Danorum Rebus Gestis Poema Danicum Dialecto Anglo-Saxonica (Havniae, 1815), that “Lind haebbendra” is rendered “Vesilla habens;” but then, on the other hand, in Biorn Haldorsen’s Islandske Lexicon (Havniae, 1814), “Lind” (v. ii. p. 33) is translated “Scutum tiligneum.”

C.I.R.

Vox et praeterea nihil (No. 16. p. 247.).—­The allusion to this proverb, quoted as if from the Anatomy of Melancholy, by “C.W.G.”  (No. 16. p. 247.), may be found in Addison’s Spectator, No. 61, where it is as follows:—­

    “In short, one may say of the pun as the countryman described
    his nightingale—­that it is ‘vox et praeterea nihil.’”

The origin of the proverb is still a desideratum.

Nathan.

Vox et praeterea nihil (No. 16. p 247.).—­In a work entitled Proverbiorum et Sententiarum Persicarum Centuria, a Levino Warnero, published at Amsterdam, 1644, the XCVII. proverb, which is given in the Persian character, is thus rendered in Latin,—­

    “Tympanum magnum edit clangorem, sed intus vacuum est.”

And the note upon it is as follows:—­

    “Dicitur de iis, qui pleno ore vanas suas laudes ebuccinant. 
    Eleganter Lacon quidam de luscinia dixit,—­

  [Greek:  Ph_ona tu tis essi kai ouden allo,]
  Vox tu quidem es et aliud nihil.”

This must be the phrase quoted by Burton.

Page 17

HERMES.

Supposed Etymology of Havior (No. 15. p. 230., and No. 17. p. 269.).—­The following etymology of “heaviers” will probably be considered as not satisfactory, but this extract will show that the term itself is in use amongst the Scotch deerstalkers in the neighbourhood of Loch Lomond.

“Ox-deer, or ‘heaviers,’ as the foresters call them (most likely a corruption from the French ’hiver’), are wilder than either hart or hind.  They often take post upon a height, that gives a look-out all round, which makes them very difficult to stalk.  Although not so good when December is past, still they are in season all the winter; hence their French designation.”—­Colquhoun’s Rocks and Rivers, p. 137.  (London, 8vo. 1849.)

C.I.R.

Havior.—­Without offering an opinion as to the relative probability of the etymology of this word, offered by your various correspondents (No. 17. p. 269.), I think it right that the use of the word in Scotland should not be overlooked.

In Jamieson’s admirable Dictionary, the following varieties of spelling and meaning (all evidently of the same word) occur:—­

    “Aver or Aiver, a horse used for labour; commonly an old
    horse; as in Burns—­

    “’Yet aft a ragged cowte’s been kenn’d To mak a noble
    aiver.’

    “’This man wyl not obey....  Nochtheles I sall gar hym draw lik
    an avir in ane cart’—­Bellend.  Chron.

    “’Aiver, a he-goat after he has been gelded:  till then he is
    denominated a buck.

    “Haiver, haivrel, haverel, a gelded goat (East Lothian,
    Lanarkshire, Sotherland).

    “Hebrun, heburn, are also synonymes.

    “Averie, live-stock, as including horses, cattle, &c.

    “‘Calculation of what money, &c. will sustain their Majesties’
    house and averie’—­Keith’s Hist.

    “’Averia, averii, ’equi, boves, jumenta, oves, ceteraque
    animalia quae agriculturae inserviunt.’”—­Ducange.

Skene traces this word to the low Latin, averia, “quhilk signifies ane beast.”  According to Spelman, the Northumbrians call a horse aver or afer.

See much more learned disquisition on the origin of these evidently congenerous words under the term Arage, in Jamieson.

EMDEE.

Mowbray Coheirs (No. 14. p. 213.).—­Your correspondent “G.” may obtain a clue to his researches on reference to the private act of parliament of the 19th Henry VII., No. 7., intituled, “An Act for Confirmation of a Partition of Lands made between William Marquis Barkley and Thomas Earl of Surrey.”—­Vide Statutes at Large.

W.H.  LAMMIN.

Page 18

Spurious Letter of Sir R. Walpole (No. 19. p. 304.)—­“P.C.S.S.”  (No. 20. p. 321.) and “LORD BRAYBROOKE” (No. 21. p. 336.) will find their opinion of the letter being spurious confirmed by the appendix to Lord Hervey’s Memoirs, (vol. ii. p. 582.), and the editor’s note, which proves the inaccuracy of the circumstances on which the inventor of the letter founded his fabrication.  In addition to Lord Braybrooke’s proofs that Sir Robert was not disabled by the stone, for some days previous to the 24th, from waiting on the king, let me add also, from Horace Walpole’s authority, two conclusive facts; the first is, that it was not till Sunday night, the 31st January (a week after the date of the letter) that Sir Robert made up his mind to resign; and, secondly, that he had at least two personal interviews with the king on that subject.

C.

Line quoted by De Quincey.—­“S.P.S.” (No. 22. p. 351.) is informed that

  “With battlements that on their restless fronts
  Bore stars"...

is a passage taken from a gorgeous description of “Cloudland” by Wordsworth, which occurs near the end of the second book of the Excursion.  The opium-eater gives a long extract, as “S.P.S.” probably remembers.

A.G.

Ecclesfield, March 31. 1850.

Quem Jupiter vult perdere prius dementat.—­Malone, in a note in Boswell’s Johnson (p. 718., Croker’s last edition), says, that a gentleman of Cambridge found this apophthegm in an edition of Euripides (not named) as a translation of an iambic.

  “[Greek:  On Theos Delei hapolesai, pr_ot’ hapophrenoi.]”

The Latin translation the Cambridge gentleman might have found in Barnes; but where is the Greek, so different from that of Barnes, to be found?  It is much nearer to the Latin.

C.

Bernicia.—­In answer to the inquiry of “GOMER” (No. 21. p. 335.), “P.C.S.S.” begs leave to refer him to Camden’s Britannia (Philemon Holland’s translation, Lond. fol. 1637), where he will find, at p. 797., the following passage:—­

“But these ancient names were quite worn out of use in the English Saxon War; and all the countries lying north or the other side of the arme of the sea called Humber, began, by a Saxon name, to be called [Old English:  Northan-Humbra-ric] that is, the Kingdome of Northumberland; which name, notwithstanding being now cleane gone in the rest of the shires, remayneth still, as it were, surviving in Northumberland onely; which, when that state of kingdome stood, was known to be a part of the Kingdome of Bernicia, which had peculiar petty kings, and reached from the River Tees to Edenborough Frith.”

At p. 817.  Camden traces the etymology of Berwick from Bernicia.

P.C.S.S.

Page 19

Caesar’s Wife.—­If the object of “NASO’S” Query (No. 18. p. 277.) be merely to ascertain the origin of the proverb, “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion,” he will find in Suetonius (Jul.  Caes. 74.) to the following effect:—­

“The name of Pompeia, the wife of Julius Caesar, having been mixed up with an accusation against P. Clodius, her husband divorced her; not, as he said, because he believed the charge against her, but because he would have those belonging to him as free from suspicion as from crime.”

J.E.

    [We have received a similar replay, with the addition of a
    reference to Plutarch (Julius Caesar, cap. 10.), from several
    other kind correspondents.]

Nomade (No. 21. p. 342.).—­There can be no doubt at all that the word “nomades” is Greek, and means pastoral nations.  It is so used in Herodotus more than once, derived from [Greek:  nomos], pasture:  [Greek:  nem_o], to graze, is generally supposed to be the derivation of the name of Numidians.

C.B.

Gray’s Elegy.—­In reply to the Query of your correspondent “J.F.M.”  (No. 7. p. 101.), as well as in allusion to remarks made by others among your readers in the following numbers on the subject of Gray’s Elegy, I beg to state that, in addition to the versions in foreign languages of this fine composition therein enumerated, there is one printed among the poem, original and translated, by C.A.  Wheelwright, B.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, published by Longman & Co. 1811. (2d. edition, 1812.) If I mistake not, the three beautiful stanzas, given by Mason in his notes to Gray, viz. those beginning,—­

  “The thoughtless world to majesty may bow,”
  “Hark! how the sacred calm that breathes around,”
  “Him have we seen,” &c.

(the last of which is so remarkable for its Doric simplicity, as well as being essential to mark the concluding period of the contemplative man’s day) have not been admitted into any edition of the Elegy.

With the regard to the last stanza of the epitaph, its meaning is certainly involved in some degree of obscurity, though it is, I think, hardly to be charged with irreverence, according to the opinion of your correspondent “S.W.” (No. 10. p. 150.).  By the words trembling hope, there can be no doubt, that Petrarch’s similar expression, paventosa speme, quoted in Mason’s note, was embodied by the English poet.  In the omitted version, mentioned in the beginning of this notice, the epitaph is rendered into Alcaics.  The concluding stanza is as follows:—­

  “Utra sepulti ne meritis fane,
    Et parce culpas, invide, proloqui,
  Spe nunc et incerto timore
    Numinis in gremio quiescunt.”

ARCHAEUS.

Wiesbaden, Feb. 16. 1850.

Page 20

Cromwell’s Estates (No. 18. p. 277., and No. 21. p. 339.).—­I am much obliged to “SELEUCUS” for his answer to this inquiry, as far as regards the seignory of Gower.  It also throws a strong light on the remaining names; by the aid of which, looking in Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire, I have identified Margore with the parish of Magor (St. Mary’s), hundred of Caldecott, co.  Monmouth:  and guess, that for Chepstall we must read Chepstow, which is in the same hundred, and the population of which we know was stout in the royal cause, as tenants of the Marquis of Worcester would be.

Then I guess Woolaston may be Woolston (hundred of Dewhurst), co.  Gloucester; and Chaulton, one of the Charltons in the same county, perhaps Charlton Kings, near Cheltenham; where again we read, that many of the residents were slain in the civil war, fighting on the king’s side.

This leaves only Sydenham without something like a probable conjecture, at least:  unless here, too, we may guess it was miswritten for Siddington, near Cirencester.  The names, it is to be observed, are only recorded by Noble; whose inaccuracy as a transcriber has been shown abundantly by Carlyle.  The record to which he refers as extant in the House of Commons papers, is not to be found, I am told.

Now, if it could be ascertained, either that the name in question had been Cromwell’s, or even that they were a part of the Worcester estates, before the civil war, we should have the whole list cleared,—­thanks to the aid so effectually given by “SELEUCUS’S” apposite explanations of one of its items.

Will your correspondents complete the illustrations thus well begun?

V.

Belgravia, March 26.

* * * * *

MISCELLANIES.

Franz von Sickingen.—­Your correspondent “S.W.S.” (No. 21. p. 336.) speaks of his having had some difficulty in finding a portrait of Franz Von Sickingen; it may not therefore, by uninteresting to him to know (if not already aware of it) that upon the north side of the nave of the cathedral of Treves, is a monument of Richard Von Greifenklan, who defended Treves against the said Franz; and upon the entablature are portraits of the said archbishop on the one side, and his enemy Franz on the other.  Why placed there it is difficult to conceive, unless to show that death had made the prelate and the robber equals.

W.C.

* * * * *

BODY AND SOUL.

(FROM THE LATIN OF OWEN.)

  The sacred writers to express the whole,
  Name but a part, and call the man a soul
  We frame our speech upon a different plan,
  And say “some_body_,” when we mean a man. 
  No_body_ heeds what every_body_ says,
  And yet how sad the secret it betrays!

Page 21

RUFUS.

* * * * *

Laissez faire, laissez passer.”—­I think your correspondent “A MAN IN A GARRET” (No. 19. p. 308.) is not warranted in stating that M. de Gournay was the author of the above axiom of political economy.  Last session Lord J. Russell related an anecdote in the House of Commons which referred the phrase to an earlier date.  In the Times of the 2nd of April, 1849, his Lordship is reported to have said, on the preceding day, in a debate on the Rate-in-Aid Bill, that Colbert, with the intention of fostering the manufactures of France, established regulations which limited the webs woven in looms to a particular size.  He also prohibited the introduction of foreign manufactures into France.  The French vine-growers, finding that under this system they could no longer exchange their wine for foreign goods, began to grumble.  “It was then,” said his Lordship, “that Colbert, having asked a merchant what he should do, he (the merchant), with great justice and great sagacity, said, ’Laissez faire et laissez passer’—­do not interfere as to the size and mode of your manufactures, do not interfere with the entrance of foreign imports, but let them compete with your own manufactures.”

Colbert died twenty-nine years before M. de Gournay was born.  Lord J. Russell omitted to state whether Colbert followed the merchant’s advice.

C. ROSS.

College Salting and Tucking of Freshmen (No. 17. p. 261., No. 19. p. 306.).—­A circumstantial account of the tucking of freshmen, as practised in Exeter College, oxford, in 1636, is given in Mr. Martyn’s Life of the First Lord Shaftesbury, vol. i. p. 42.

“On a particular day, the senior under-graduates, in the evening, called the freshmen to the fire, and made them hold out their chins; whilst one of the seniors, with the nail of his thumb (which was left long for that purpose), grated off all the skin from the lip to the chin, and then obliged him to drink a beer-glass of water and salt.”

Lord Shaftesbury was a freshman at Exeter in 1636; and the story told by his biographer is, that he organised a resistance among his fellow freshmen to the practice, and that a row took place in the college hall, which led to the interference of the master, Dr. Prideaux, and to the abolition of the practice in Exeter College.  The custom is there said to have been of great antiquity in the college.

The authority cited by Mr. Martyn for the story is a Mr. Stringer, who was a confidential friend of Lord Shaftesbury’s, and made collections for a Life of him; and it probably comes from Lord Shaftesbury himself.

C.

Byron and Tacitus.—­Although Byron is, by our school rules, a forbidden author, I sometimes contrive to indulge myself in reading his works by stealth.  Among the passages that have struck my (boyish) fancy is the couplet in “The Bride of Abydos” (line 912),—­

Page 22

  “Mark! where his carnage and his conquests cease! 
  He makes a solitude, and calls it—­peace!”

Engaged this morning in a more legitimate study, that of Tacitus, I stumbled upon this passage in the speech of Galgacus (Ag. xxx.),—­

  “Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem adpellant.”

Does not this look very much like what we call “cabbaging?” If you think so, by adding it to the other plagiarisms of the same author, noted in some of your former numbers, you will confer a great honour on

A SCHOOLBOY.

The Pardonere and Frere.—­If Mr. J.P.  Collier would, at some leisure moment, forward, for your pages, a complete list of the variations from the original, in Smeeton’s reprint of The Pardonere and Frere, he would confer a favour which would be duly appreciated by the possessors of that rare tract, small as their number must be; since, in my copy (once in the library of Thomas Jolley, Esq.), there is an autograph attestation by Mr. Rodd, that “there were no more than twenty copies printed.”

G.A.S.

Mistake in Gibbon (No. 21. p. 341.).—­The passage in Gibbon has an error more interesting than the mere mistake of the author.  That a senator should make a motion to be repeated and chanted by the rest, would be rather a strange thing; but the tumultuous acclamations chanted by the senators as parodies of those in praise of Commodus, which had been usual at the Theatres (Dio), were one thing; the vote or decree itself, which follows, is another.

There are many errors, no doubt, to be found in Gibbon.  I will mention one which may be entertaining, though I dare say Mr. Milman has found it out.  In chap. 47. (and see note 26.), Gibbon was too happy to make the most of the murder of the female philosopher Hypatia, by a Christian mob at Alexandria.  But the account which he gives is more shocking than the fact.  He seems not to have been familiar enough with Greek to recollect that [Greek:  haneilon] means killed.  Her throat was cut with an oyster-shell, because, for a reason which he has very acutely pointed out, oyster-shells were at hand; but she was clearly not “cut in pieces,” nor, “her flesh scraped off the bones,” till after she was dead.  Indeed, there was no scraping from the bones at all.  That they used oyster-shells is a proof that the act was not premeditated.  Neither did she deserve the title of modest which Gibbon gives her.  Her way of rejecting suitors is disgusting enough in Suidas.

C.B.

Public Libraries.—­In looking through the Parliamentary Report on Libraries, I missed, though they may have escaped my notice, any mention of a valuable one in Newcastle-on-Tyne, “Dr. Thomlinson’s;” for which a handsome building was erected early last century, near St. Nicholas Church, and a Catalogue of its contents has been published.  I saw also, some years ago, a library attached to Wimborne Minster, which appeared to contained some curious books.

Page 23

The Garrison Library at Gibraltar is, I believe, one of the most valuable English libraries on the continent of Europe.

W.C.T.

Edinburgh, March 30. 1850.

* * * * *

NOSCE TEIPSUM,—­AN EXCEPTION.

(FROM THE CHINESE OF CONFUCIUS, OR ELSEWHERE.)

  I’ve not said so to you, my friend—­and I’m not going—­
  You may find so many people better worth knowing.

RUFUS.

* * * * *

MISCELLANEOUS.

NOTES ON BOOKS, CATALOGUES, SALES, ETC.

Mr. Thorpe is preparing for publication a Collection of the Popular Traditions or Folk Lore of Scandinavia and Belgium, as a continuation of his Northern Mythology and Superstitions, now ready for the press.

Mr. Wykeham Archer’s Vestiges of Old London, of which the Second Part is now before us, maintains its character as an interesting record of localities fast disappearing.  The contents of the present number are, the “House of Sir Paul Pindar, in Bishopgate Without,” once the residence of that merchant prince, and now a public-house bearing his name; “Remains of the East Gate, Bermondsey Abbey;” which is followed by a handsome staircase, one of the few vestiges still remaining of “Southhampton House,” the residence of the Wriothesleys, Earls of Southampton.  A plate of “Street Monuments, Signs, Badges, &c.,” gives at once variety to the subjects, and a curious illustration of what was once one of the marked features of the metropolis.  “Interior of a Tower belonging to the wall of London,” in the premises of Mr. Burt, in the Old Bailey, presents us with a curious memorial of ancient London in its fortified state; it being the only vestige of a tower belonging to the wall in its entire height, and with its original roof existing.  The last plate exhibits some “Old Houses, with the open part of Fleet Ditch, near Field Lane;” and the letter-press illustration of this plate describes a state of filth and profligacy which we hope will soon only be known among us as a thing that has been.

We have received the following Catalogues:—­Messrs. Williams and Norgate’s (14.  Henrietta Street) German Catalogue, Part I. comprising Theology, Ecclesiastical History, and Philosophy; John Petheram’s (94.  High Holborn) Catalogue, Part CX.  No. 4. for 1850, of Old and New Books; John Miller’s (43.  Chandos Street) Catalogue, Number Four for 1850 of Books Old and New; and E. Palmer and Son’s (18.  Paternoster Row) Catalogue of Scarce and Curious Books.

* * * * *

BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES

WANTED TO PURCHASE.

(IN CONTINUATION OF LISTS IN FORMER NOS.)

DEAN MILNER’S LIFE OF JOSEPH MILNER.

PECK’S CATALOGUE OF THE DISCOURSES WRITTEN BOTH FOR AND AGAINST POPERY
IN THE TIME OF JAMES II. 4vo. 1735.

Page 24

LETTER TO SIR JAMES M’INTOSH in Reply to some Observations made in the
House of Commons on the Duel between Sir Alexander Boswell and James
Stuart, Esq., of Duncarn.

ODD VOLUMES.

PARISH CHURCHES. by BRANDON.  Parts 1. and 2.

HOMER:  OPERA.  Glasgow. 1814.  Vol.  IV.  Large paper, uncut.

MOYEN AGE MONUMENTALE DE M. CHAPUY.  Paris. 1841, &c. (C.W.B. wishes to complete his set.)

***Letters, stating particulars and lowest price, carriage free, to be sent to MR. BELL.  Publisher of “NOTES AND QUERIES,” 186.  Fleet Street.

* * * * *

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

W.R.F. and T.P. are assured that the omissions of which they complain have arisen neither from want of courtesy nor want of attention, as they would be quite satisfied if they knew all the circumstances of their respective cases.

NOTES AND QUERIES may be procured by the Trade at noon on Friday; so that our country Subscribers ought to experience no difficulty in receiving it regularly.  Many of the country Booksellers are probably not yet aware of this arrangement, which enables them to receive Copies in their Saturday parcels.  Part V. is now ready.

ERRATUM.  By a provoking accident, some few copies of the last No. were worked off before the words “Saxoniae,” “Saxonia” and “audactes,” in p. 365. col. 2. were corrected to “Saxoni_ce_” and “audacte_r_.”

* * * * *

THE EDINBURGH REVIEW,

No.  CLXXXIV., is Published THIS DAY.

CONTENTS: 

1.  NATIONAL OBSERVATORIES—­GREENWICH. 2.  SYDNEY SMITH’S SKETCHES OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY. 3.  SUPPLY OF WATER TO THE METROPOLIS. 4.  LANDOR’S POETRY. 5.  THE POLYNESIANS—­NEW ZEALAND. 6.  BRITISH AND CONTINENTAL TAXATION. 7.  THE VILLAGE NOTARY—­MEMOIRS OF A HUNGARIAN LADY. 8.  LEWIS ON THE INFLUENCE OF AUTHORITY IN MATTERS OF OPINION. 9.  AGRICULTURAL COMPLAINTS. 10.  GERMANY AND ERFURT.

London:  LONGMAN AND CO.  Edinburgh:  A. AND C. BLACK.

* * * * *

Now Publishing,

THE CHURCHES OF THE MIDDLE AGES.  By HENRY BOWMAN and JOSEPH S. CROWTHER, Architects, Manchester.  To be completed in Twenty Parts, each containing Six Plates, Imperial folio.  Issued at intervals of two months.  Price per Part to Subscribers, Proof, large paper, 10s. 6d.; Tinted, small paper, 9s.; plain, 7s. 6d.  Parts 1 to 7 are now published, and contain illustrations of Ewerby Church, Lincolnshire; Temple Balsall Chapel, Warwickshire; and Heckington Church, Lincolnshire.

On the 1st of July next, the price of the work, to Subscribers, whose names may be received after that date, will be raised as follows:—­Proofs, tinted, large paper, per Part 12s.; tinted, small paper, 10s. 6d.; Plain, 9s.

Page 25

“Ewerby is a magnificent specimen of a Flowing Middle-Pointed Church.  It is most perfectly measured and described:  one can follow the most recondite beauties of the construction, mouldings and joints, in these Plates, almost as well as in the original structure.  Such a monograph as this will be of incalculable value to the architects of our Colonies or the United States, who have no means of access to ancient churches.  The Plates are on stone, done with remarkable skill and distinctness.  Of Heckington we can only say that the perspective view from the south-east presents a very vision of beauty; we can hardly conceive anything more perfect.  We heartily recommend this series to all who are able to patronize it.”—­Ecclesiologist, Oct. 1849.
“This, if completed in a similar manner to the Parts now out, will be a beautiful and valuable work.  The perspective of St. Andrew’s, Heckington, is a charming specimen of lithography, by Hankin.  We unhesitatingly recommend Messrs. Bowman and Crowther’s work to our readers, as likely to be useful to them.”—­Builder, Sept. 29. 1849.
“The fourth and fifth parts of Messrs. Bowman and Crowther’s ‘Churches of the Middle Ages’ are published, and fully support our very favourable impression of the work.  As a text-book, this work will be found of the greatest value.”—­Builder, Jan. 19. 1850.

London:  GEORGE BELL, 186.  Fleet Street.

* * * * *

SOCIETY OF ARTS PRIZE PATTERN.

[Illustration]

  12 CUPS AND SAUCERS.
  12 COFFEE CUPS.
   6 BREAKFAST CUPS AND SAUCERS.
  12 PLATES.
   2 CAKE PLATES.
   1 SUGAR BOX.
   1 BOWL.
   1 MILK JUG.
   6 EGG CUPS.

Packed in small hamper, ready for delivery, in buff earthenware, 21s. the set; in white china, 2l. 12s. 6d. the set.  Post-office Orders from the country will be immediately attended to.

JOSEPH CUNDELL, 21.  Old Bond Street.

* * * * *

Now ready, containing 149 Plates, royal 8vo. 28s.; folio, 2l. 5s.; India Paper, 4l. 4s.

THE MONUMENTAL BRASSES of ENGLAND; a Series of Engravings upon Wood, from every variety of these interesting and valuable Memorials, accompanied with Descriptive Notices.

By the Rev. C. BOUTELL, M.A., Rector of Downham Market.

Part XII., completing the work, price 7s. 6d.; folio, 12s.; India paper, 24s.

By the same Author, royal 8vo., 15s.; large paper, 21s.

MONUMENTAL BRASSES and SLABS; an Historical and Descriptive Notice of the Incised Monumental Memorials of the Middle Ages.  With upwards of 200 Engravings.

Page 26

“A handsome large octavo volume, abundantly supplied with well-engraved woodcuts and lithographic plates; a sort of Encyclopaedia for ready reference....  The whole work has a look of painstaking completeness highly commendable.”—­Athenaeum.
“One of the most beautifully got up and interesting volumes we have seen for a long time.  It gives in the compass of one volume an account of the History of those beautiful monuments of former days....  The illustrations are extremely well chosen.”—­English Churchman.

A few copies only of this work remain for sale; and, as it will not be reprinted in the same form and at the same price, the remaining copies are raised in price.  Early application for the Large Paper Edition is necessary.

By the same Author, to be completed in Four Parts,

CHRISTIAN MONUMENTS in ENGLAND and WALES:  an Historical and Descriptive Sketch of the various classes of Monumental Memorials which have been in use in this country from about the time of the Norman Conquest.  Profusely illustrated with Wood Engravings.  Part I. price 7s. 6d.; Part II. 2s. 6d.

“A well conceived and executed work.”—­Ecclesiologist.

* * * * *

MATERIALS for making RUBBINGS of MONUMENTAL BRASSES and other Incised Works of Art.

Heel Ball, in cakes, at 8d. and 1s. each.

White paper, in rolls, each 12 yards in length, and
s. d.
57 inches wide                   6  0
47     do.                       5  0
40     do.                       4  0
23     do.                       1  6
do.    do., a thinner quality    1  0

Also, RICHARDSON’S METALLIC RUBBER, in cakes, price 1s. 6d.:  Double cakes, 2s. 6d.

And PREPARED PAPER, s. d.
34 inches long by 24 inches wide, per quire 4 6
30 do. 23 do. 3 6
In rolls, each 12 yards in length and
23 inches wide 3 6
35 do. 6 6

London:  GEORGE BELL, 186.  Fleet Street.

* * * * *

Just Published, 2 vols. 8vo., 20s. cloth,

THE WORKS OF VIRGIL, TRANSLATED (in blank verse).  The first four
Pastorals, the Georgics, and the first four AEneids, by the Rev. RANN
KENNEDY.  The last six Pastorals and the last eight AEneids by CHARLES
RANN KENNEDY.  Dedicated to H.R.H. the Prince Albert.

London:  GEORGE BELL, 186.  Fleet Street.

* * * * *

Preparing for immediate Publication, in 2 vols. small 8vo.

THE FOLK-LORE of ENGLAND.  By WILLIAM J. THOMAS, F.S.A., Secretary of the Camden Society, Editor of “Early Prose Romances,” “Lays and Legends of all Nations,” &c.  One object of the present work is to furnish new contributions to the History of our National Folk-Lore; and especially some of the more striking Illustrations of the subject to be found in the Writings of Jacob Grimm and other Continental Antiquaries.

Page 27

Communications of inedited Legends, Notices of remarkable Customs and Popular Observances, Rhyming Charms, &c. are earnestly solicited, and will be thankfully acknowledged by the Editor.  They may be addressed to the care of Mr. BELL, Office of “NOTES AND QUERIES,” 186.  Fleet Street.

* * * * *

Printed by THOMAS CLARK SHAW, of No. 8.  New Street Square, at No. 5.  New Street Square, in the Parish of St. Bride in the City of London; and published by GEORGE BELL, of No. 186.  Fleet Street, in the Parish of St. Dunstan in the West, in the City of London, Publisher, at No. 186.  Fleet Street aforesaid.—­Saturday, April 18. 1850.