Title: Notes and Queries, Number 33, June 15, 1850
Author: Various
Release date: July 24, 2008 [eBook #26121]
Most recently updated: January 3, 2021
Language: English
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This text contains Greek κυων and Hebrew ל
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| No. 33.] | Saturday, June 15. 1850. | Price Threepence. Stamped Edition, 4d. |
Not less remarkable and interesting than the publication of Dr. Whichcote's Sermons by the noble author of the Characteristics, is a posthumous volume (though never designed for the press) under the following title:—
"Several Letters written by a Noble Lord to a Young Man at the University.
"Quo semel est imbuta recens servabit odorem Testa diu.—Hor. Epist. ii. 1.
"Printed for J. Roberts, near the Oxford Arms, in Warwick Lane, 1716. 8vo."
The young man was Michael Aynsworth, of University College, Oxford, afterwards vicar of Cornhampton, in Hampshire, and master of the Free School there. He was a native of Dorsetshire; his father, who was in narrow circumstances, living near Wimborne St. Giles's, the seat of Lord Shaftesbury, by whom the son seems to have been nobly patronised, on account of his inclination to learning and virtuous disposition.
The published letters are only ten in number; but I have an accurate manuscript transcript of fifteen, made from the originals by R. Flexman (who had been a pupil of Aynsworth) in 1768. The transcriber's account is as follows:—
"After Mr. Aynsworth's death, these letters remained in the possession of his daughter, and at her decease passed into the the hands of the Rev. Mr. Upton, the then vicar of Cornhampton; by him they were lent to my brother John Baker, of Grove Place, in Hampshire, who lent them to me. It will be perceived that the ten printed letters are not given as they were written, every thing of a private nature being omitted, and passages only given of other letters, just as the editor judged proper."
R. Flexman has made some remarks illustrative of the letters at the end of his transcript, and added some particulars relating to Lord Shaftesbury. He justly says,—
"I think these letters will show his lordship in a more favourable light with respect to the Christian religion than his Characteristics, which, though they may be condemned on that account, will ever remain a lasting monument of the genius of the noble writer. It is certain, too, the friends of Christianity are obliged to him for the publication of one of the best volumes of sermons that ever appeared in the English language. They are twelve in number, by Dr. Benjamin Whichcote. These sermons (as well as the preface, which is admirable) breathe such a noble spirit of Christianity, as I think will efface every notion that his lordship was an enemy to the Christian religion. In this preface he calls Dr. Whichcote (from his pleading in defence of natural goodness) the 'preacher of good nature.'"
What follows will, I think, be acceptable to your correspondents C H. and C. R. S.
"I have heard that the way in which Lord Shaftesbury got possession of the manuscript sermons was this:—Going one day to visit his grandmother, the Countess Dowager, widow of the first Earl, he found [Pg 34]her reading a manuscript; on inquiring what she was reading, she replied, that it was a sermon. His lordship expressed his surprise that she should take so much trouble as to read a manuscript sermon when there were such numbers in print. She said, she could find none so good as those she had in manuscript. Lord Shaftesbury then requested the favour of being allowed to peruse it, and having done so, he inquired of the Countess if she had any more, as he should like to read them all if she had. Having received and read them, he was so much pleased, that he resolved to print them; and having them prepared for the press, he published them with a preface recommending the sermons and highly praising the author."
It appears that the sermons were prepared for the press, at Lord Shaftesbury's instance, by the Rev. William Stephens, rector of Sutton, in Surrey; but the fact of the preface being by himself rests on the undoubted evidence of his sister, Lady Betty Harris (wife of James Harris of Salisbury, the author of Hermes), who mentioned having written it from her brother's dictation, he being at that time too ill to write himself.
The letters to Michael Aynsworth are very interesting, from their benevolent, earnest, and truly pious spirit, and might even now be read with advantage by a young student of theology: but, being very severe in many places upon the greater part of the body of the clergy called the Church of England, could have been by no means palatable to the High Church party,—
"Who no more esteem themselves a Protestant Church, or in union with those of Protestant communion, though they pretend to the name of Christian, and would have us judge of the spirit of Christianity from theirs; which God prevent! lest men should in time forsake Christianity through their means."
The eleventh letter in the MS. is important on account of the observations it contains on the consequences which must inevitably arise from Locke's doctrine respecting innate ideas. Locke had been tutor both to Lord Shaftesbury and his father:—
"Mr. Locke, much as I honour him, and well as I know him, and can answer for his sincerity as a most zealous Christian believer, has espoused those principles which Mr. Hobbes set on foot in the last century, and has been followed by the Tindals and all the other free authors of our time. 'Twas Mr. Locke that struck the home blow, (for Hobbes' character and base slavish principles of government took off the poison of his philosophy), struck at all fundamentals, threw all order and virtue out of the world, and made the very ideas of these (which are the same as those of God), unnatural and without foundation in our minds."
It is remarkable that the volume of Whichcote's Sermons printed by Lord Shaftesbury should have been republished at Edinburgh in 1742, with a recommendatory epistle, by a Presbyterian divine, Dr. Wishart, principal of the College of Edinburgh. In the very neat reprint of the collected sermons given by Dr. Campbell and Dr. Gerard, in 4 vols., 8vo., Aberdeen, 1751, prefixed to the third volume, we also find Lord Shaftesbury's preface.
Mickleham, June 4. 1850.
Sir,—The printed copy of a song which I inclose is believed, by those who are the best judges, to be the only copy, either printed or in manuscript, now in existence. That circumstance may, perhaps, render it acceptable to you: and I am not collector of curiosities, and I beg you would do what you please with it. The verses are plainly more modern than the motto: for there are, I think, two allusions to different plays of the immortal bard of Stratford-on-Avon. But perhaps you will think that he copied from it, as it is said he sometimes did from things not so good as his own. I do not believe, for my own part, that it was written till after the Great Rebellion. Bishop Christopherson, I take it, was a Roman Catholic, but resident in England, and we see that he wrote in English. The paper, you will observe, is foreign by the texture, as well as by the water-mark, which I cannot very well make out; but it seems to be a bust of somebody; while the type looks quite English, and therefore it is no proof that it was printed abroad.
As I give you my real name, I hope you will not consider me as holding, or wishing to recommend, such opinions as are contained in the verses: and by way of protest, you will allow me to subscribe myself, your obedient servant,
The Rebel.
"A New Song, or Balade, shewing the naughty conceits of Traytours; that all loial and true-hearted men may know and eschew the same.
"They counte Peace to be cause of ydelnes, and that it maketh men hodipekes and cowardes."—Bp. Christopherson, Exh. ag. Rebel. 1554.
"Printed with Permission of Superiours: And are to be had of the Printer, at his House hard by the sign of the Squirrel, over-against the way that leadeth to the Quay."
P.S. Query, What is a "hodipeke?" Is it a "hypocrite?" and should not "Phæbus," in the fourth verse, be "Phœbus?"
The earliest mention of the hippopotamus is in Herodotus, who in ii. 71. gives a detailed description of this inhabitant of the Nile. He is stated by Porphyry to have borrowed this description from his predecessor Hecatæus (Frag. 292. ap. Hist. Gr. Fragm., vol. i. ed. Didot). Herodotus, however, had doubtless obtained his account of the hippopotamus during his visit to Egypt. Cuvier (Trad. de Pline, par Grandsagne, tom. vi. p. 444.) remarks that the description is only accurate as to the teeth and the skin; but that it is erroneous as to the size, the feet, the tail and mane, and the nose. He wonders, therefore, that it should have been repeated, with few corrections or additions, by Aristotle (Hist. An., ii. 1. and 7.; viii. 24.) and Diodorus (i. 35.). Compare Camus, Notes sur l'Histoire des Animaux d'Aristote, p. 418.
None of the Greek writers appear to have seen a live hippopotamus; nor is there any account of a live animal of this species having been brought to Greece, like the live tiger which Seleucus sent to Athens. According to Pliny (H. N., viii. 40.) and Ammianus Marcellinus (xxii. 15.), the Romans first saw this animal in the celebrated edileship of Æmilius Scaurus, 58 B.C., when a hippopotamus and five crocodiles were exhibited at the games, in a temporary canal. Dio Cassius, however, states that Augustus Cæsar first exhibited a rhinoceros and a hippopotamus to the Roman people in the year 29 B.C. (li. 22.) Some crocodiles and hippopotami, together with other exotic animals, were afterwards exhibited in the games at Rome in the time of Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138-80. See Jul. Capitolin. in Anton. Pio, c. 10.) and Commodus, against his various exploits of animal warfare in the amphitheatre, slew as many as five hippopotami (A.D. 180-92. See Dio Cass. lxxii. 10. and 19.; and Gibbon, c. 4.). Firmus, an Egyptian pretender to the empire in the time of Aurelian, 273 A.D., once rode on the back of a hippopotamus (Flav. Vopiscus, in Firmo, c. 6.): but this feat was probably performed at Alexandria.
The hippopotamus being an inhabitant of the Upper Nile, was imperfectly known to the ancients. Fabulous anecdotes of its habits are recounted by Pliny, H. N., viii. 39, 40., and by Ælian, De Nat. An., v. 53. vii. 19. Achilles Tatius, who wrote as late as the latter half of the fifth century of our era, says that it breathes fire and smoke (iv. 2.); while Damascius, who was nearly his contemporary says that the hippopotamus is an unjust animal, and represents Injustice in the hieroglyphic writing; because it first kills its father and then violates its mother (ap. Phot. Bibl. cod. 242., p. 322., b. 36. ed. Bekker.).
Strabo (xv. 1.) and Arrian (Ind., c. 6.) say that the products of the Indian rivers are similar to those of Ethiopia and Egypt, with the exception of the hippopotamus. They add, however, that according to Onesicritus, even this exception did not exist: for that the hippopotamus was found in the rivers of India. The report of Onesicritus was doubtless erroneous.
Herodotus, Aristotle, and the other Greek writers constantly call this animal ἵπποϛ ποτάμιοϛ. The Latin writers use the improper compound hippo-potamus; which, according to the ordinary rule of Greek composition, means, not a river-horse, but a horse-river. The only Greek writer in whom I have found the compound word ἱπποπόταμοϛ is Damascius, who wrote in the sixth century. Achilles Tatius, who lived about the same time, calls the animal ἵπποϛ του Νείλου which is, he says, its Egyptian name. It seems probable that the [Pg 36]word hippopotamus is a Roman corruption of the Greek substantive and adjective, and is not a proper Greek word. Why this animal was called a horse is not evident. In shape and appearance it resembles a gigantic hog. Buffon says that its name was derived from its neighing like a horse (Quad., tom. v., p. 165.). But query whether this is the fact?
Bochart (Hierozoicon, P. ii., lib. v., c. 15, 16.) identifies the "behemoth" of Job (c. 40.) with the hippopotamus, and the "leviathan" with the crocodile. This view seems to be generally adopted by modern commentators. (See Winer, Bibl. Real-Wörterbuch, art. "Nilpferd.")
A Historia Hippopotami veterum Critica, by J. G. Schneider, is appended to his edition of Artedi Synonymia Piscium, p. 247.
The accounts of the hippopotamus since the revival of letters, beginning with that published by Federigo Zerenghi, a Neapolitan surgeon, in 1603 (see Buffon), appear to have been all derived from dead specimens, or from the reports of travellers in Africa. Query, Has there been a live hippopotamus in Europe since the reign of Commodus, with the exception of the young animal now in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park?
Folk Lore of South Northamptonshire.
Charming.—There are few villages in this district which are not able to boast a professor of the healing art, in the person of an old woman who pretends to the power of curing diseases by "charming;" and at the present day, in spite of coroners' inquests and parish officers, a belief in the efficacy of these remedies appears to be undiminished. Two preliminaries are given, as necessary to be strictly observed, in order to ensure a perfect cure. First, that the person to be operated upon comes with a full and earnest belief that a cure will be effected; and, secondly, that the phrases "please" and "thank you" do not occur during the transaction. The established formula consists in the charmer's crossing the part affected, and whispering over it certain mysterious words—doubtless varied according to the disorder, but the import of which I have never been able to learn; for as there is a very prevalent notion that, if once disclosed, they would immediately lose their virtue, the possessors are generally proof against persuasion or bribery. In some cases it is customary for the charmer to "bless" or hallow cords, or leathern thongs, which are given to the invalids to be worn round the neck. An old woman living at a village near Brackley has acquired a more than ordinary renown for the cure of agues by this means. According to her own account, she received the secret from the dying lips of her mother; who, in her turn, is said to have received it from her's. As this old dame is upwards of ninety, and still refuses to part with her charm, the probability of it perishing with her, forms a constant theme of lamentation among her gossips. It must not be imagined that these ignorant people make a trade of their supposed art. On the contrary, it is believed that any offer of pecuniary remuneration would at once break the spell, and render the charm of no avail; and though it must be admitted that the influence and position naturally accruing to the possessor of such attributes, affords a sufficient motive for imposture, yet I think, for the most part, they may be said to be the dupes of their own credulity, and as fully convinced of their own infallibility as can be the most credulous of their admirers.
The following are a few of the more common traditionary charms (used without having recourse to the charmer) at present current among the rural population of this district.
Warts.—Take one of the large black snails, which are to be found during summer in every hedgerow, rub it over the wart, and then hang it on a thorn. This must be done nine nights successively, at the end of which times the wart will completely disappear. For as the snail, exposed to such cruel treatment, will gradually wither away, so it is believed the wart, being impregnated with its matter, will slowly do the same.
Wens.—After a criminal is dead, but still hanging, his hand must be rubbed thrice over the wen. (Vide Brand, vol iii. p. 153.) Many persons are still living who in their younger days have undergone the ceremony, always, they say, attended with complete success. On execution days at Northampton, numbers of sufferers used to congregate round the gallows, in order to receive the "dead-stroke," as it is termed. At the last execution which took place in that town, a very few only were operated upon, not so much in consequence of decrease of faith, as from the higher fee demanded by the hangman.
Epistaxis.—For stopping or preventing bleeding at the nose, a toad is killed by transfixing it with some sharp pointed instrument, after which it is inclosed in a little bag and suspended round the neck. The same charm is also occasionally used in cases of fever. The following passage From Sir K. Digby's Discourse on Sympathy (Lond. 1658) may enlighten us as to the principle:—
"In time of common contagion, they use to carry about them the powder of a toad, and sometimes a living toad or spider shut up in a box; or else they carry arsnick, or some other venemous substance, which draws unto it the contagious air, which otherwise would infect the party." p. 77.
Another for the Same.—If it be a man who suffers, he asks a female to buy him a lace, (if a [Pg 37]female she asks a man), without either giving money, saying what it is wanted for, or returning thanks when received. The lace so obtained must be worn round the neck for the space of nine days; at the expiration of which, it is said, the patient will experience no return of the disorder.
Cramp.—We still retain such a high sense of the efficacy of the form of the cross, that in case of spasms, or that painful state of the feet in which they are said to "sleep," it is commonly used, under the impression that it mitigates, if not entirely allays, the pain. Warts are also charmed away by crossing them with elder sticks: and a very common charm for the cramp consists in the sufferer's always taking care, when he pulls off his shoes and stockings, to place them in such a position as to form a resemblance to the "holy sign."
Another and very common charm resorted to for the cure of this painful disorder, consists in the wearing about the person the patella of a sheep or lamb, here known as the "cramp-bone." This is worn as near the skin as possible, and at night is laid under the pillow. One instance of a human patella being thus used has come under my notice, but I believe this to be by no means common.
Toothache.—Few ailments have more charms for its cure than this. In point of efficacy none are reckoned better than a tooth taken from the mouth of a corpse, which is often enveloped in a little bag, and hung round the neck. A double nut is also sometimes worn in the pocket for the same purpose.
Hooping-cough.—A small quantity of hair is taken frown the nape of the child's neck, rolled up in a piece of meat, and given to a dog, in the firm belief that the disease thereby becomes transferred to the animal. A friend informs me that the same charm is well known in Gloucestershire.
Rheumatism.—The right forefoot of a hare, worn constantly in the pocket, is considered a fine amulet against the "rheumatiz."
West.—In order to be rid of the painful tumour on the eyelid, provincially known as the west or sty, it is customary for the sufferer, on the first night of the new moon, to procure the tail of a black cat, and after pulling from it one hair, rub the tip nine times over the pustule. As this has a very cabalistic look, and is moreover frequently attended with sundry severe scratches, a gold ring is found to be a much more harmless substitute; and as it is said to be equally beneficial with the former, it is now more commonly used. This superstition is alluded to by Beaumont and Fletcher, Mad Lovers, v. 4.:—
"—— I have a sty here, Chilax.
Chi. I have no gold to cure it, not a penny."
Thorn.—The following word charm is used to prevent a thorn from festering:—
This will remind the reader of the one given by Pepys, vol. ii. p. 415.
I have a note, and should be glad to put a query, on the subject of a small octavo volume, of which the title is, "Indicis Librorum Expurgandorum, in studiosorum gratiam confecti, tomus primus; in quo quinquaginta auctorum libri præ cæteris desiderati emendantur. Per Fr. Io. Mariam Brasichellensem, sacri Palatii Apostolici Magistrum, in unum corpus redactus, et publicæ commoditati editus. Superiorum permissu, Romæ, 1607." Speaking of this index, Mendham says:—
"We now advance to perhaps the most extraordinary and scarcest of all this class of publications. It is the first, and last, and incomplete Expurgatory Index, which Rome herself has ventured to present to the world, and which, soon after the deed was done, she condemned and withdrew.... After a selection of some of the rules in the last edition of the Expurgatory Index, the editor in his address informs the reader, that, understanding the expurgation of books to be not the least important part of his office, and wishing to make books more accessible to students than they were without expurgation, he had availed himself of the labours of his predecessors, and, adding his own, issued the present volume, intending that a second, which was in great readiness, should quickly follow; (but, alas! it was not allowed so to do). Dated Rome, from the Apostolic Palace, 1607.... Nothing more remains on the subject of this Index, than to report what is contained in the inaccessible work of Zobelius, Notitia Indicis, &c., but repeated from by Struvius or Ingler, his editor, in the Bibliotheca Hist. Lit.—that Brasichellen or Guanzellus was assisted in the work by Thomas Malvenda, a Dominican; that another edition was printed at Bergomi in 1608; that when a fresh one was in preparation at Antwerp in 1612, it was suppressed; and that, finally, the author, like Montanus, found his place in a future index."
The second volume promised never appeared. The work, however, became exceedingly scarce; which induced Serpilius, a priest of Ratisbon, in 1723, to print an edition so closely resembling the original, as to admit of its being represented as the same. The imposition, however, being detected, another edition was prepared by Hesselius, a printer of Altorf, in 1745; and then the remaining copies of the former threw off their mask, and appeared with a new title-page as a second edition. The original and counterfeit editions of this peculiar work are sufficiently alike to deceive any person, who should not examine them in literal juxtaposition; but upon such examination, the deception [Pg 38]is easily apparent. The one, however, may be fairly considered as a fac-simile of the other. (See the Rev. Joseph Mendham's Literary Policy of the Church of Rome exhibited, &c., chap. iii. pp. 116-128.) Mendham adds, that "there is a copy of the original edition" of this index "in the Bodleian Library, Oxford," presented to Sir Thomas Bodley by the Earl of Essex, together with the Belgic, Portuguese, Spanish and Neapolitan Indices, all which originally belonged to the library of Jerom Osorius, but had become part of the spoil of the expedition against Cadiz in 1596. I am acquainted with the Bodleian copy of the original edition of this rare work; but I wish to put the Query—Where is a copy of the counterfeit edition of Serpilius to be seen, either with its original title-page, or as it appeared afterwards, when the mask was thrown off? I am not aware that any one of our public libraries (rich as several of them are in such treasures) contains a copy of this curious little impostor.
8. Park Place, Oxford, May 29. 1850.
Can any of your readers inform me on what authority Sir George Buc, the poet, and Master of the Revels in the reign of James I., is recorded by his biographers to have been a native of Lincolnshire, and to have died in 1623? In the Biogr. Britann., and repeated by Chalmers, it is stated that he was born in Lincolnshire, in the sixteenth century, descended from the Bucs, or Buckes, of West Stanton and Herthill, in Yorkshire, and Melford Hall, in Suffolk, and knighted by James I. the day before his coronation, July 13, 1603. Mr. Collier, in his Annals of the Stage, vol. i., p. 374, says, that on the death of Edmund Tylney, in October, 1610, he succeeded him as Master of the Revels, and wrote his Treatise on the Office of the Revels prior to 1615. He also says,—
"In the spring of 1622, Sir George Buc appears to have been so ill and infirm, as to be unable to discharge the duties of his situation, and on the 2nd of May in that year, a patent was made out, appointing Sir John Astley Master of the Revels."—Biogr. Britann., p. 419.
Ritson says that he died in 1623. Chalmers supposed his death to have happened soon after 1622, and states that he certainly died before August 1629.
My reason for making these inquiries is, that I have in my possession a 4to. manuscript volume, believed to be in the handwriting of this Sir George Buc, which is quite at variance with these statements in several particulars. The volume which is without a date in any part, and has only the initials of the author, is entitled The Famous History of Saint George, England's brave Champion. Translated into Verse, and enlarged. The three first Chapters by G. B. His first Edition. It is extended to nineteen chapters, and comprehends also the histories of the other six champions, as well as that of St. George. It is contained in a thick 4to. volume of 524 closely written pages, in Russia, and was formerly in the collection of the Duke of Roxburghe, whose arms are on the sides; and afterwards in that of Mr. Heber. This MS. is entirely in the handwriting of Sir George Buc, as prepared by him for publication. The initials "G. B." correspond with those of his name, and the handwriting, having been compared, is found to be exactly similar to a MS. inscription, in Sir George Buc's handwriting, prefixed to a copy of his poem Δαϕνὶϛ Πολυδτέϕανοϛ 4to., 1605, presented by him to Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, and preserved at Bridgewater House; a fac-simile of which is given by Mr. Collier in his privately printed catalogue of that library, p. 41.
The volume commences with a sort of metrical preface, entitled The Muse's Apologie, in which he says,—
And again:—
The work is dedicated "To the vertuous Lady and his most honoured friend, the Lady Bacon, at Readgrave Hall, in Suffolk, wife to Sr Edmond Bacon, Prime Baronett of England," commencing thus:—
"Faire madam,—Having nothing at present, I thought was fitt (living at so far distance) to present to yr ladyship," &c.
The distance here alluded to was probably caused by the author's residence in London at that time. This is followed by some lines "To the Courteous Reader," beginning,—
and by others, entitled "The Autor," signed "Vale, G. B.;" after which are added the following lines:—
We know from Mr. Collier's Bridgewater Catalogue, that Sir George Buc had been indebted to [Pg 39]Lord Ellesmere for certain favours shown him, probably in some Chancery suit, to which he here seems to allude, as if still suffering in his pocket from its ill consequences.
My first quotation from the poem itself is one of some importance, as serving to show the probable time at which it was written. On the reverse of fol. 9., at the commencement of the poem, an allusion is thus made to the destruction of Troy:—
So also, again, on the reverse of fol. 11., in reference to the abuses and profanations committed by Cromwell's soldiery in St. Paul's Cathedral, he says:—
And again, at the commencement of the eighth chapter, fol. 104.:—
At the end of the poem he again alludes to his great age, and to the time which had been occupied in writing it, and also promised, if his life should be prolonged, a second part, in continuation, which, however, appears never to have been accomplished:—
Cromwell died Sept. 3. 1658, and was interred in Westminster Abbey; but his bones were not removed and buried at Tyburn till the 30th of January, 1660; very soon after which it is most probable that this poem was written. Now if the author was, as he says, seventy-six at this time, he must have been born about 1583 or 1584, which will rightly correspond with the account given by Chalmers and others; and thus he would be about twenty-two or twenty-three years of age when he wrote his first poem of Δαϕνὶϛ Πολυδτέϕανοϛ, twenty-seven when he succeeded to the office of Master of the Revels. There appears to be no reason for supposing, with Ritson, that The Great Plantagenet, which was the second edition of that poem, and published in 1635, was done "by some fellow who assumed his name;" but that the variations, which are very considerable, were made by the author himself, and printed in his lifetime. The Dedication to Sir John Finch, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, signed "George Buck," and written exactly in his style; the three sets of commendatory verses addressed to the author by O. Rourke, Robert Codrington, and George Bradley, not in the first edition of the poem "Upon King Henrie the Second, the first Plantagenet of England," &c., added to this impression; all tend to show that the author was then living in 1635. We learn by the above quotations from his MS. poem, that his days were further prolonged till 1660.
Perhaps some of your numerous readers may be able to discover some corroborative proofs of this statement from other sources, and will be kind enough to favour me, through your paper, with any evidence which may occur to then, bearing upon the subject of my inquiries.
Stand Rectory.
The things of Spain are peculiar to a proverb, but they are not so exclusively national but we may find some connection with them in things of our own country. Any information from readers of Notes and Queries, on a few Spanish things which I have long sought for in vain, would prove most acceptable and useful to me.
1. In Catalogi Librorum Manuscriptorum, Angliæ et Hiberniæ, &c., under "Library of Westminster Abbey," at p. 29., I find mentioned the following MS.: Una Resposal del Reverend Padre Thomaso Cranmero. It is not now in that library—is it in any other? I suppose it may be a translation, made by Francisco Dryander or Enzinas, translator of the Spanish New Testament, 1543, of—"An Answer by the Right Rev. Father in God, Thomas, Abp. of Canterbury, unto a crafty and sophistical cavillation devised by Stephen Gardener," &c. Dryander came to this country with Bucer, recommended to Cranmer by Melancthon, and resided two months in the Archbishop's house before he went to Cambridge to lecture in Greek.
2. Ferdinando de Tereda, a Spanish Protestant, came to this country in 1620. The Lord Keeper Williams took him into his house to learn Spanish of him, in order to treat personally with the Spanish ambassador about the marriage of Prince [Pg 40]Charles and the Infanta. At this instance, Tereda translated the English Liturgy into Spanish (1623), and was repaid by presentation to a prebend at Hereford. On the death of James, in 1625, he left, as he says, the Court, before the Court left him, and retired to Hereford. Here he adds: "I composed a large volume De Monachatu, in Latin; another De Contradictionibus Doctrinæ Ecclesiæ Romanæ, in the same language; and a third, entitled Carrascon, also in Latin." In 1631-2 he vacated his prebend, and went, I conjecture, to Holland, where he printed Carrascon in Spanish (1633), being a selection from the Latin. In the preface to this, which recently had been reprinted, he proposed to print the other works which he had prepared, if the Spanish Carrascon brought him "good news." Do his Latin works exist either in print or in manuscript?
3. Juan de Nicholas y Sacharles was another Spanish Protestant, who came to this country in 1618. He translated the Bouclier de la Foi, by P. Moulin, into Spanish; he presented it, I conjecture in MS., to Prince Charles about the year 1620. Is such a MS. known to exist in any of our libraries?
4. The recent History of Spanish Literature, by George Ticknor, has made us generally acquainted, that the author of the clever "Dialogo de las Lenguas," printed in Origines de la Lengua Española by Gregorio Mayans y Siscar, was Juan de Valdes, to whom Italy and Spain herself owed the dawning light of the religious reformation which those countries received. Spaniards well informed in their own literature have of course been long aware of the authorship of the "Dialogo de las Lenguas." But few even of them are aware that Mayans y Siscar could not, even at so late a period, venture to reprint the work, as it was written by Juan de Valdes. He suppressed various passages, for the Inquisition was in his day too jealous and powerful for him to risk offence. Notwithstanding, and as una cosa de España, he printed a few copies privately, entire. Expurgated books are always unsatisfactory mutilations. Does any Manuscript of the "Dialogo de las Lenguas" exist in this country, in any public or private library?
I shall be glad to ascertain, if possible, through the medium of your columns, who is now the possessor of a volume of elaborate Drawings of York Cathedral, which were made by the late John Carter, F. S. A., for Sir Mark M. Sykes, Bart. Mr. Carter was paid a large sum on account of these drawings during the progress of his task, but after the death of the baronet, he demanded such an extravagant price that the executors declined to take the volume. At the sale of the artist's effects it was sold to Sir Gregory Page Turner, Bart., for 315l. It again came to the hammer, and was purchased by John Broadley, Esq., at whose sale it was disposed of for 100l. I cannot ascertain the purchaser on the last occasion, and am very desirous to learn where the drawings are now to be found.
The same artist also prepared a series of drawings illustrative of English costume from the earliest period. This volume was executed for Thomas Lister Parker, Esq., but, like the former, has passed into the custody of other persons, and I am now ignorant of its possessor.
I have not yet received any reply to my inquiry in Vol. i. p. 122., respecting a large bronze medal of Dr. Stukeley, with a view of Stonehenge on the reverse, evidently executed soon after his decease. I believe it to be unique, but should be glad to know if dies were ever engraved from this design.
Burton Street, June 1. 1850.
"Imprest" and "Debenture."—When a person fulfilling any employment under any of the Government Boards has occasion to draw "money on account," an "imprest," addressed to the pay-master under that Board, is issued for the required sum; but when the final payment is made upon the "closing of the account," the "debenture" takes the place of the "imprest." Out of what verbal raw material are these words manufactured? I know of no other use of the word "imprest" as a substantive; and though we see "debenture" often enough in railway reports, I cannot perceive the analogy between its meanings in the two cases.
Home, May 17.
Cosin's MSS.—Basire, in his Brief of the Life, &c. of Bishop Cosin, appended to his Funeral Sermon (Lond. 1673, p. 69.), after noticing several MS. works of Cosin's, some of which have not yet seen the light, adds, "These remains are earnestly recommended to his pious executor's care for publication."
Can any of your correspondents kindly inform me, who are the lineal representatives of Cosin's pious executor? Basire mentions three "imperfect" works of Bishop Cosin's in manuscript: viz. Annales Eccles., Historia Conciliorum, Chronologia Sacra. Is it known what has become of them? They appear to have fallen, with other MSS., into the hands of his executor.
Barclay's Argenis.—What are the latest editions of this romance—the best, in Cowper's opinion, ever written, which Coleridge laments as being so [Pg 41]little known, and which has been translated, I believe, into all the European languages? What are the principal as well as the latest English translations?
Clergy sold for Slaves.—Walker, in his Sufferings of the Clergy, says, "There was a project on foot to sell some of the most eminent" (of the masters of colleges, doctors in divinity, &c.) "to the Turks for slaves; and a considerable progress was made in that horrid purpose." And, writing of Dr. Ed. Layfield, under the head of "London Cathedrals," Walker again says, that "at last, in the company of others, he was clapt on shipboard under hatches;" and that "they were threatened to be sold slaves to the Algerines, or to some of our own plantations." Again, it is recorded in Bishop Cosin's life, that by his will "he gave towards the redemption of Christian captives at Algiers, 500l.; towards the relief of the distressed loyal party in England, 800l.:"—upon which I should be glad to put a Query; viz., Is there sufficient ground for supposing, that any of the loyal party were really sold for slaves during the rebellion? If otherwise, will Cosin's bequest throw any light upon R. W. B.'s Query, vol. i., p. 441.?
Meaning of Pallet.—About a mile from Hume Castle, on the Scotch border, is a rock hill, which is called Hume Pallet.
The only other name of the kind in this district is Kilpallet, in the heart of the Lammermuir hills, on the borders of Berwickshire and East Lothian. There was at this latter place once a religious house of some kind, and a burying ground, now hardly visible.
What is the meaning of the word Pallet?
Tobacco in the East.—Can any of your readers inform me whether tobacco is indigenous to any part of Asia? Also, whether the habit of smoking (opium or tobacco), now universal over the East, dates there from before the discovery of America? And if not, from what period?
Stephanus Brulifer.—Can any of your correspondents kindly refer me to a library containing a copy of Stephanus Brulifer, in lib. iv. Sentent. Seraphici Doctoris Bonaventuræ, 8vo. Basil. 1507?
To discover the origin of this phrase, your correspondent (Vol. ii., p. 8-9.) need not go further than to his Bible.
"Sepultura asini sepelietur, putrefactus et projectus extra portas Jerusalem."—Jerem. xxii. 19.: cf. xxxvi. 30.
With regard to the extract given by Ducange, at the word "Imblocatus," from a "vetus formula Excommunicationis præclara," it is evident that the expressions,—
"Sint cadavera eorum in escam volatilibus cœli, et bestiis terræ, et non sint qui sepeliant eos,"
have been derived from S. Jerome's Latin version from the Hebrew of Psal. lxxix. 2, 3.:
"Dederunt cadavera servorum tuorum escam volatilibus cœli; carnes sanctorum tuorum bestiis terræ. Effuderunt sanguinem eorum quasi aquam in circuitu Hierusalem, et non erat qui sepeliret."—Vide Jacobi Fabri Stapulensis Quincuplex Psalterium, fol. 116. b., Paris, 1513; Sabatier, tom. ii. p. 162. Ib. 1751.
The use of this term in the denunciation against Jehoiakim, more than six centuries B.C., and the previous enumeration of crimes in the 22nd chapter of Jeremiah, would seem sufficiently to account for its origin and use in regard to the disposal of the dead bodies of excommunicated or notorious malefactors, by the earliest Christian writers or judges. The Hebrew name of the ass, says Parkhurst, is "derived from its turbulence when excited by lust or rage;" and the animal was also made the symbol of slothful or inglorious ease, in the case of Issachar, B.C. 1609: Genesis, xlix. 14. It is thus probable some reference to such characteristics of the brute and the criminal, rather than any mere general allusion to throwing the dead bodies of inferior or unclean animals (of which the dog was a more common type) under any rubbish beyond the precincts of the city, may have been intended, by specifying this animal in prescribing an ignominious sepulture.
It can hardly have escaped the notice of your Querist (although the instance is not one adduced by Ducange), that the phrase, "burial of an ass" קְבוּרַת חֲמוֹר for "no burial at all," is as old as the time of the prophet Jeremiah. (Vide chap. xxii. 19.) The custom referred to being of religious origin, might lead us to the sacred books for the origin of the phrase denoting it; and it seems natural for the Christian writers, in any mention of those whose bodies, like that of Jehoiakim, were for their sins deprived of the rites of sepulture, to use the striking phrase already provided for them in Scripture; and as natural for that phrase to continue in use even after the somewhat more civilised custom of "imblocation" had deprived it of its original reference to "the dead body's being cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost." (Jer. xxxvi. 30.)
This phrase is, I think, accounted for by the ass being deprived of interment in consequence of the uses made of its dead carcass. After a description of the adaptation of his bones to instrumental music, Aldrovandus continues as follows:—
"De corio notissimum, post obitum, ne quid asini unquam conquiescat, foraminibus delacerari, indeque factis cribris, assiduæ inservire agitationi; unde dicebat Apuleius: cedentes hinc inde miserum corium, nec cribris jam idoneum relinquunt. Sed et Albertus pollicetur asinorum corium non solum utile esse ad soleas calceorum faciendas, sed etiam quæ ex illa parte fiunt, in qua onera fuerunt, non consumi, etsi ille qui utitur, eis continuo peregrinando in lapidibus portaverit, et tandem ita indurare ut pedes sustinere nequeant."—De Quadruped., p. 351.
Four Popes of the name have filled the chair of St. Peter.
The first suffered martyrdom under Aurelian. He is honoured with a festival at Rome on the 29th May.
The second also received the crown of martyrdom, under Constantine. His festival is kept on the 29th July.
The third is commemorated as a holy confessor on the 25th February. He was a collateral ancestor of Pope St. Gregory the Great, who mentions him in his writings.
Gregory had three aunts by the father's side, who all became nuns. One of them, Tarsilla, a lady of pious and beatified life, and of very advanced age, had one night a vision of Pope Felix, who was then dead. He seemed to point towards the mansions of eternal glory, and to invite her to enter. She soon after sickened, and her end visibly approached. While a number of her friends were standing around her couch, she suddenly exclaimed, looking upwards, "Stand aside, stand aside, Jesus is coming;" and with a look of ineffable love, she presently expired. This story is related by St. Gregory.
This Pope is the best known of the four on account of his relationship to St. Gregory.
The fourth of the name was also a confessor. His festival occurs on the 30th January.
Edinburgh, May 27. 1850.
I beg to offer the following remarks in reply to the numismatic queries of E. S. T. (Vol. i., p. 468.):—
1. I can only account for the Macedonian coin being struck in lead, by supposing it to be the work of an ancient forger.
2. Third brass coins of Tiberius are not uncommon; I have one in my cabinet of the sort described. Obv. head of Tiberius, TI. CAESAR. DIVI. AVG. F. AVGVSTVS; Rev. the altar of Lyons, ROM. ET. AVG.
3. The coin of Herennia Etruscilla is probably a base or plated denarius, the silver having been worn off. Silver coins sometimes acquire a black tarnish, so that they are not to be distinguished from brass without filing the edge, or steeping them in acid. If a genuine brass coin, it should have the S. C. for Senatus Consultum.
4. The coin of Macrinus was struck at Antioch in Syria, of which famous city there exists a regular series of imperial coins from Augustus to Valerian. One in my possession has Δ above the S. C., and Ε below for ΔΗΜΑΡΧ. ΕΞΟΥΣΙΑΣ, Tribunitia Potestate. May not these be the letters described by E. S. T. as L. C.?
Coins of Constantius II.—Can any numismatist kindly inform me by what marks the coins of Constantius II., the son of Constantine the Great, are distinguished from those of Constantius Gallus, his nephew? Mr. Akerman, in his Rare and Inedited Roman Coins, gives the following titles as common to both, but does not afford any rule for appropriating their coins:—
CONSTANTIVS. NOB. CAES.
FL. IVL. CONSTANTIVS. NOB. CAES.
D. N. CONSTANTIVS. NOB. C.
D. N. CONSTANTIVS. NOB. CAES.
(Vol. i., p. 382.)
I feel obliged by the extract from the Doctor given by J. M. B. (Vol. i., p. 475.), though it only answers by a kind of implication the Query I proposed. That implication is, that, instead of Ludlum and his dog being personages of distinction in their own way and in their own day, the proverb itself is merely one framed on the principle of alliteration, and without precise or definite "meaning." This is very full of meaning, as anyone may convince himself by observing the active energy of every muscle of all dogs in the act of barking. What can typify "laziness" more emphatically than a dog that "lays him[self] down to bark?"
A jingle of some kind is essential to a proverb. If a phrase or expression have not this, it never "takes" with the masses; whilst, having this, and being capable of any possible and common application, it is sure to live, either as a proverb or a "saw," as the case may be. Alliteration and rhyme are amongst the most frequent of these "jingles;" and occasionally a "pun" supplies their place very effectively. We find these conditions fulfilled in the proverbs and saws of every people in the eastern and western world, alike in the remotest antiquity and in our own time. But are they therefore "without meaning?" Do not these qualities help to give them meaning, as well as to preserve them through their long and varied existence?
But there is another principle equally essential [Pg 43]to the constitution of a legitimate and lasting proverb; or rather two conjointly, metre and euphony. These may be traced in the proverb as completely as in the ballad; and precisely the same contrivances are employed to effect them in both cases where any ruggedness in the natural collocation of the words may present itself. For instance, change in the accent, the elision or the addition of a letter or syllable, the lengthening of a vowel, transposition, and a hundred other little artifices. The euphony itself, though sometimes a little imperfect, is also studied with the same kind of care in the older and purer proverbs of all languages.
Attention to metre and euphony will generally enable us to assign, amongst the forms in which we pick up and note any particular proverb, the original and legitimate one; especially when combined with brevity and "pith." As a case in point, our friend Ludlum will serve our purpose for comparison. Who does not see at a glance, taking account of the principles which govern the construction of a proverb, that the Sheffield version, as I gave it, must be more genuine than Southey's version, quoted by J. M. B.? Besides this, I may add, that a friend, whose early days were spent in Sheffield, has told, me (since the Query was proposed) that he has heard his mother tell some legend of "the fat Miss Ludlum." After all, therefore, the proverb may be founded on a fat old maid and her fat poodle. I can hardly, then, deem my inquiry answered.
J. M. B. quotes two others from the Doctor; one for the purpose, as would appear by his marking the words, to illustrate the alliterative principle. The following are variations which I have heard:—"As proud as the cobbler's dog, that took [or as took—the most general vernacular form, for the sake of euphony] the wall of a dung-cart, and got crushed for his pains." "As queer as Dick's hatband as went nine times round and wouldn't tie."
On these I will only remark, that few persons would pronounce dung-cart as J. M. B. implies, even for alliteration; and, indeed, when so even marked to the eye, it is not without an effort that we can read accordingly. As to Dick's hatband, it is expressed in a peculiarly clumsy and round-about manner by Southey.
One word more. J. M. B. quotes as a proverb—one of those without meaning—"As busy as Batty;" and says, "no one knows who Batty was." Surely, the inference that Batty was not a real personage in some distant age—that he was a mere myth—must be a non sequitur from the premises before us. Perhaps Mr. Batty was a person of notable industry—perhaps remarkable for always beings in a "fluster"—perhaps the rural Paul Pry of his day and district. He has left, too, a large progeny; whether as regards the name alone, or whichever of the characters he bore.
This jingle upon words partakes largely of the character of the pun. It, however, reminds me of a mode of speech which universally prevailed in the north of Lincolnshire thirty years ago, and which probably does so yet. A specimen will explain the whole:—"I'm as throng as throng." "He looks as black as black." "It's as wet as wet." I have heard this mode used so as to produce considerable emphasis; and it is more than possible, that some of the jingles have thus originated, and settled into proverbs, now without any obvious meaning, but originally very forcible ones.
Shooter's Hill, May 18.
Lord John Townshend's Poetical Works (Vol. ii., p. 9.)—were never, I believe, collected, nor indeed distinctly known, though they well deserve to be. He told me himself that he wrote "Jekyl," in what is called The Rolliad; and he mentioned some other of his contributions; but I did not make a note, and regret that I can say no more. Mr. Rogers or Lord Lansdowne might.
When Easter ends.—Mr. H. Edwards, in this day's number (No. 31., p. 9.), asks when Easter ends. I fancy this question is in some degree answered by remarking, that it, together with other festivals of the Church, viz. The Nativity, &c., are celebrated for eight days, which is the octave. The reason, says Wheatley, of its
"Being fixed to eight days, is taken from the practice of the Jews, who, by God's appointment, observed the greater festivals, some of them for seven days, and one, the Feast of Tabernacles, for eight days. And therefore the Primitive Christians lengthened out their higher feast to eight days."
If this be true, Easter will end on the conclusion of the Sunday after Easter day; but whether our present Parliament is sufficiently Catholic to admit this, in the interpretation of the Act, is questionable.
In the Spanish Church Easter continues till the feast of Whitsuntide is past; and during this period all fasts are forbidden.
The Romish Church has ten high festivals having octaves.
I trust this slight sketch may in some way help Mr. Edwards to a conclusion.
When does Easter end? (Vol. ii., p. 9.).—In the case stated, at 12 o'clock on the night of Easter Sunday.
Holdsworth and Fuller.—In A. B. R.'s communication (Vol. i., p. 484.) some symptoms of inaccuracy must be noted before a satisfactory reply can be given to his Query.
1. He has erred in adopting the spelling of Holdsworth's name (viz. Holsworth) which appears in the title-page of The Valley of Vision. 2. This work is very incorrectly styled "the sermon," inasmuch as it consists of twenty-one sermons. 3. My copy bears date 1661, not 1651. 4. If Holdsworth's hand was "legible only to himself," we may sincerely commiserate the misfortune of his nephew, Dr. Richard Pearson, who had to prepare for the press 737 folio pages of his Prælectiones Theologicæ, &c.: Lond. 1661. 5. There is not the smallest reason for thinking it "probable" that Dean Holdsworth "preached other men's sermons." Respecting our great Caroline divines it would seldom have been right to say—
Now, as to what Dr. Holdsworth really wrote, and with regard to that for which he is not responsible, it is to be observed, that he was so averse to the publication of any of his works, that he printed but a single sermon (on Psalm cxliv. 15.), and that not until he had been three times urged to the task by his royal master King Charles I. The pagination of this discourse is quite distinct from that of the twenty unauthentic sermons which follow it in the quarto volume, and which commence at signature B. These are thus described by Dr. Pearson, ad Lectorem: "Cæteræ quæ prostant Anglicè venales, à prædone illo stenographico tam laceræ et elumbes, tam miserè deformatæ sunt, ut parum aut nihil agnoscas genii et spiritûs Holdsworthiani."
Gookin (Vol. i., pp. 385, 473, 492.).—Vincent Gookin was nominated by Cromwell one of the six representatives of Ireland in the Barebones Parliament; and he was returned for Bandon and Kinsale (which together sent one member) in each of the three subsequent Cromwellian Parliaments.
Lord Orrery, writing to the Duke of Ormond, June 15, 1666, speaks of Captain Robert Gooking, as one of the chief persons in the west of Cork county, and describes him as rich and having good brains, loyal, and ready to fight against French or Irish, as every thing he has depends on his new title. (Orrery's State Letters, ii. p. 13. Dublin edition.) A little further on (p. 43.), Lord Orrery names the same Robert Gooking as recommended by the chief gentlemen in the west of Cork to be captain of a troop of horse in the militia.
"Brozier" (Vol. i., p. 485.), "Sock," "Tick."—I well remember the phrase, "brozier my dame," signifying to "eat her out of house and home." I had forgotten that a boy at Eton was "brozier," when he had spent all his pocket-money. As a supplemental note, however, to Lord Braybrooke's remarks upon this latter signification, I would remind old Etonians of a request that would sometimes slip out from one in a "broziered" state, viz. that a schoolfellow would sock him, i.e. treat him to sock at the pastrycook's; and this favour was not unfrequently granted on tick, i.e. on credit with the purveyor of sweets.
In reply to your noble correspondent's Query, I beg to say that Halliwell, in his Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, both spells and defines thus: "Brosier. A bankrupt. Chesh." Mr. H. says no more; but this seems to decide that the word does not exclusively belong to Eton. I could have fancied that on such classic ground it might possibly have sprung from βρώσκω, fut. -σω], to devour.
Is sock only a corruption of suck, indicating a lollipop origin? or what is its real etymological root?
Richardson most satisfactorily says, that to "go on tick" is to give a note or ticket instead of payment.
Ecclesfield, May 27. 1850.
This Eton phrase, the meaning of which is very correctly explained Lord Braybrooke (Vol. i., p. 485.), appears to be connected with the Cheshire provincialism, which is thus interpreted in Wilbraham's Cheshire Glossary:—
"'Brosier, s. a bankrupt.' It is often used by boys at play, when one of them has nothing further to stake."
The noun brosier, as Mr. Wilbraham indicates, seems to be derived from the old word brose, or, as we now say, bruise. A brosier would therefore mean a broken-down man, and therefore a bankrupt. The verb to brosier, as used at Eton, would easily be formed from the substantive. In the mediæval Latin, ruptura and ruptus were used to signify bankruptcy and a bankrupt. See Duncange, Gloss. in vv.
The word brozier, or (as I always heard it pronounced) brosier, does not, or did not exclusively belong to Eton. It was current at Hackney School, an establishment formerly on the site of the present Infant Orphan Asylum, and had the precise meaning attributed to it by Lord Braybrooke. It was used both as a verb and as a substantive, but of its origin and etymology I am ignorant. The last master of Hackney School was the Rev. Dr. Heathcote, who died, I believe, about 1820. The schoolhouse was a very large and a very old building. May I take this opportunity of asking if anything is known of its history? There was a tradition prevalent among the boys, that it had been an hospital in the time of the Plague.
I recollect there was another singular word [Pg 45]current at Hackney, viz. "buckhorse," for a smart box on the ear.
[Buckhorse was a celebrated bruiser, whose name has been preserved in this designation of a blow, in the same way as that of his successor "Belcher" has been in that of the peculiar style of silk handkerchief which he always wore.]
Symbols of Four Evangelists.—Among the several replies to Jartzberg's Query (Vol. i., p. 385.), I do not observe any notice of Sir T. Brown's account of the symbols of the four Evangelists. I will therefore copy part of a note I have on the subject, though see it is unfortunately without any other reference than the name of the author.
After giving Jonathan's opinion of the four principal or legionary standards among the Israelites, Sir T. Brown adds:
"But Abenegra and others, besides the colours of the field, do set down other charges,—in Reuben's, the form of a man or mandrake,—in that of Judah, a lion,—in Ephraim's, an ox; in Dan's, the figure of an eagle. And thus, indeed, the four figures in the banners of the principal squadrons of Israel are answerable unto the Church in the vision of Ezekiel, every one carrying the form of all these.... And conformable hereunto, the pictures of the Evangelists (whose Gospels are the Christian banners) are set forth with the addition of a man or angel, an ox, a lion, and an eagle. And these symbolically represent the office of angels and ministers of God's will, in whom is required, understanding as in a man, courage and vivacity as in a lion, service and ministerial officiousness as in the ox, expedition or celerity of execution as in the eagle."
Catacombs and Bone-houses (Vol. i. p. 171.).—Part I. of a History of the Hundred of Rowell by Paul Cypher (published by J. Ginns, Rowell,) has recently fallen in my way, and as I understand the writer is a medical gentleman residing in the village (or town), I condense from the account of the "Bone Caverns," p. 39-42., such particulars as may answer the Query of Rev. A. Gatty.
The number of skeletons, as is asserted by those who have taken the trouble to calculate, is 30,000. The vault in which they are deposited is a long cryptiform structure, with a low groined roof, and the bones are carefully packed in alternate strata of skulls, arms, legs, and so forth. They seem to have been discovered by a gravedigger about 150 years since. Nothing is known with certainty respecting the date of this vast collection. Some conjecture that the remains here deposited are the consequence of a sanguinary battle in very early times, and profess to discover peculiarities in the osseous structure, showing a large proportion of the deceased to have been natives of a distant land; that all were in the prime of life; and that most of the skulls are fractured, as though with deadly weapons. Others, again, say they are the remains of the slain at Naseby.
"I have examined carefully and at leisure the crania, and can discover none but the mesobreginate skulls common to these islands.... I have discovered more than one skull, in which the alveolar sockets were entirely absorbed,—an effect of age rarely produced under eighty years, I should imagine. And as to the marks of injury visible on some, they will be attributed, I think, by the impartial observer, rather to the spade and foot of the sexton, than the battle-axe and stout arm of the ancient Briton."
As to the supposition that these relics were brought from Naseby, it is sufficient to observe that the number of the slain in that engagement did not exceed one thousand.
"That most of these bodies were lying in the earth for a number of years is proved, I think, by these several circumstances: First, a careful examination of the interior of many of the skulls, shows that roots have vegetated within them, the dry fibres of which I have often observed; next, the teeth are nearly all absent, and it is notoriously one of the first effects of inhumation upon the osseous system, by which the teeth are loosened; and lastly, we have two sources from which bodies may have been exhumed and reinterred beneath the mother church; and those are the Chapel of the Virgin and that moiety of the original graveyard, which has evidently at some long distant time, been taken from the church."
Human bones have been dug up in front of Jesus Hospital, to the south-east of the church-yard. At the eastern extremity of the cavern is a rude sketch apparently intended to represent the Resurrection.
Tace Latin for a Candle (Vol. i., p. 385).—I am not aware of "Tace is Latin for a candle" in any earlier book than Swift's Polite Conversation; but it must have been threadbare in his time, or he would not have inserted it in that great collection of platitudes:—
"Lord Smart. Well, but after all, Tom, can you tell me what is Latin for a goose?
"Neverout. O, my Lord, I know that; why, Brandy is Latin for a goose, and Tace is Latin for a candle."
Members for Durham—why none prior to 1673-4 (Vol. ii., p. 8.).—Because Durham was an episcopal palatine, which had jurisdictions, and even, in olden times, a Parliament of its own. Several bills were brought in between 1562 and 1673, to give M.P.'s to both county and city; but an act was only passed in the latter year. The first writ was moved, it is said, in 1675; but the first return is dated in Whitworth, 1679. (Oldfield's Parl. Hist., iii. 425.)
"A Frog he would," &c.—I am in my sixth decade, and pretty far on in it too; and I can recollect [Pg 46]this jingle as long as I can recollect anything. It formed several stanzas (five or six at least), and had its own tune. There was something peculiarly attractive and humorous to the unformed ear and mind in the ballad, (for as a ballad it was sung,) as I was wont to hear it. I can therefore personally vouch for its antiquity being half a century. But, beyond this, I must add, that my early days being spent in a remote provincial village (high up the Severn), and the ballad, as I shall call it, being universally known, I cannot help inferring that it is of considerable antiquity. Anything of then recent date could hardly be both generally known and universally popular in such a district and amongst such a people. Whether it had a local origin there or not, it would be difficult to say but I never heard it spoken of as having any special application to local persons or affairs. Of course there are only two ways of accounting for its popularity,—either its application, or its jingle of words and tune. If I may venture a "guess," it would be, that it had originally a political application, in some period when all men's minds were turned to some one great politico-religious question; and this, not unlikely, the period of the Cavaliers and Roundheads. We know how rife this kind of warfare was in that great struggle. Or again, it might be as old as the Reformation itself, and have a reference to Henry the Eighth and Anna Boleyn.
would not inaptly represent the "wide-mouthed waddling frog" Henry—"mother church,"—and the "gleesome Anna" would be the "merry mouse in the mill." It may be worth the while of gentlemen conversant with the ballad literature and political squibs of both the periods here indicated, to notice any traces in other squibs and ballads of the same imagery that is employed in this. It would also be desirable, if possible, to get a complete copy of these verses. My own memory can only supply a part, or rather disjointed parts: but I think it probable that it may be easily obtained by persons resident in the counties bordering on North Wales, especially in Shropshire or Herefordshire, and perhaps in Cheshire or Staffordshire.
I should not have thought of troubling you with my own reminiscences as an answer to an antiquarian question, but for the fact that even these go further back than any information that has been sent you.
Shooter's Hill, June 7.
Cavell (Vol. i., p. 473.).—To cast cavells, i.e. to cast lots, is in constant every-day use in Northumberland. The Teutonic derivation given is correct.
To endeavour Ourselves—The Homilies.—Perhaps your correspondents G. P. (Vol. i., p 125.), and C. I. R. (Vol. i., p. 285) may, from the following passages, conclude that "ourselves", is the object of the verb "endeavour."
"He did this to this intent, 'that the whole clergy, in the mean space, might apply themselves to prayer, not doubting but that all his loving subjects would occupy themselves to God's honour, and so endeavour themselves that they may be more ready,'" &c. &c.—Heylin, Hist. of the Reform. from an Act passed in Edward VI.'s Reign, 1548.
"Let us endeavour ourselves, both inwardly in our hearts, and also outwardly with our bodies, diligently to exercise this godly exercise of fasting."—Homily on Fasting (end).
"Only show yourselves thankful in your lives, determine with yourselves to refuse and avoid all such things in your conversation as should offend his eyes of mercy. Endeavour yourselves that way to rise up again, which way ye fell into the well or pit of sin."—Hom. on the Resur. (near the end).
"From henceforth let us endeavour ourselves to walk in a new life."—Hom. of Repentance, Pt. 2. (end).
There are many other similar passages in the "Homilies". I have also noticed the following Latimer's Sermons:—
"The devil, with no less diligence, endeavoureth himself to let and stop our prayers."—Vol. i. p. 829. Parker Soc. edit.
"Every patron, when he doth not diligently endeavor himself to place a good and godly man in his benefice, shall make answer before God."—Vol. ii. p. 28.
"Let them endeavour themselves." [I have forgotten the reference in this case, but it is in vol. i.]
"How much, then, should we endeavour ourselves to make ready towards this day, when it shall not be a money matter, but a soul matter." (ii. p. 62)
As I am engaged on a work on the "Homilies," I should feel very grateful for any allusions to them in writers between 1600 and 1650, and for any notices of their being read in churches during that period. Can any of your readers inform me where the fullest account may be found of the state of preaching in England prior to the Reformation?
Preston, May 25. 1850.
Three Dukes (Vol. ii., p. 9.).—The verses themselves called them "three bastard dukes;" but the only bastard duke I can find at that time was the Duke of Monmouth; all the other creations of the king's bastards were subsequent to that date. And even if, by poetical licence or courtly anticipation, they could be called dukes, they were all too young to have any share in such a fray. I must further observe, that Evelyn's Diary is silent as to any such events, though he is, about that time, justly indignant at the immoralities of the [Pg 47]Court. The "park" referred to, but not named in the verses, is the disreputable place called "Whetstone Park," near Holborn.
Christabel (Vol. i., p. 262.).—After a long hunt among Manx and Highland superstitions, I have just found that the passage I was in search of belongs to "the Debateable Land."
"'Reverend father,' replied Magdalen, 'hast thou never heard that there are spirits powerful to rend the walls of a castle asunder when once admitted, which yet cannot enter the house unless they are invited, nay, dragged over the threshold? Twice hath Roland Grœme been thus drawn into the household of Avenel by those who now hold the title. Let them look to the issue.'"—The Abbot, chap. 15., ad fin., and note.
Temple, April 15.
Derivation of "Trianon" (Vol. i., p. 439.; vol. ii., p. 13.).—Your correspondent Aredjid Kooes is certainly right: Trianon was the name of a village, which formerly stood on the site of these two chateaux. (See Vatout, and all the histories of Versailles.) I would take this occasion of suggesting, that it is essential to the value of your work that your correspondents should be careful not to lead us astray by mere guesses. What authority has your correspondent J. K. R. W. (Vol. ii., p. 13.) for asserting that "trianon is a word meaning a pavilion?" And if, as I believe, he has not the slightest, I appeal to him whether it is fair to the public to assert it so confidently.
We recently called attention to Mr. Colburn's new Edition of The Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn. We have now to announce from the same publisher an inedited work by Evelyn, entitled The History of Religion, to be printed from the original MS. in the Library at Wotton. The work, which it is said contains a condensed statement and investigation of the natural and scriptural evidences, is the result of an endeavour on Evelyn's part to satisfy himself amidst the startling manifestations of infidelity, fanaticism, and conflicting opinion by which he found himself surrounded.
Sir Fortunatus Dwarris has just put forth a privately printed Letter to J. Payne Collier, Esq., in which he endeavours to solve the great political Query of George the Third's time. His pamphlet is called Some new Facts and a Suggested New Theory as to the Authorship of the Letters of Junius. Sir Fortunatus' theory, which he supports with a good deal of amusing illustration by way of proof, is, that Junius, to use the language of Mark Tapley, was "a Co.," "that the writer was one, but the abettors were many," that Sir Philip Francis was the head of the Firm, but that among the sleeping partners were Lords Temple, Chatham, and George Sackville, the three Burkes, Colonel Barré, Dyer, Loyd, Boyd, and others.
It can scarcely be necessary to remind our Archæological friends that the Annual Meeting of the Institute at Oxford will commence on Tuesday next. The selection of Oxford as the place of meeting was a most happy one, and from the preparations which have been made, both by the Heads of Houses and the Managers of the Institute, there can be little doubt of the great success of this Oxford Congress of Archæologists.
Messrs. Sotheby and Co. will commence on Monday, the 24th of this month, the Sale of the second portion of the valuable stock of Messrs. Payne and Foss, including an excellent collection of Classics, Philology, History, and Belles Lettres,—a recent purchase from the Library of a well-known collector,—and about fifteen hundred volumes bound by the most eminent binders. The sale of this portion will occupy nine days.
We have received the following catalogues:—John Russell Smith (4. Old Compton Street), A Rider Catalogue of Second-hand Books; John Miller's (43. Chandos Street) Catalogue, No. 7. for 1850, of Books Old and New; William Heath's (29-1/2. Lincoln's Inn Fields) Select Catalogue of Second-hand Books; and Bernard Quaritch's (16. Castle Street, Leicester Square) Catalogue No. 17. of Books, comprising Architecture, Fine Arts, Dialects, and Languages of Europe and Asia; and Cole's (15. Great Turnstile) List No. XXVI. of very Cheap Second-hand Books.
WANTED TO PURCHASE.
(In continuation of Lists in former Nos.)
Arcana of Science. 1829.
Andrew Stewart's Letters to Lord Mansfield on the Douglas Case. About 1793.
Newman on the Arians.
Lawson on the Hebrews.
Westphalii Monumenta Inedita Rer. Germanicarum.
Bircherodius de Cornibus Et Cornutis, 4to. Hafniæ.
Odd Volumes.
The first volume of The Works of Alexander Pope, Esq. London, printed in the year 1772. No publisher named.
The third volume of The Works of Shakspeare, in Ten Vols. Edinburgh, printed by Marten and Wotherspoon. 1767.
⁂ Letters, stating particulars and lowest price, carriage free, to be sent to Mr. Bell, Publisher of "NOTES AND QUERIES," 186. Fleet Street.
Chaucer's Tomb. Will J. W. P., who has forwarded to us a contribution to the Restoration of Chaucer's Monument, favour us with his name and address?
Title-Page and Index to Volume the First. The preparation of the Index with that fulness which can alone render it useful, has taken more time than was anticipated. It will, however, be ready very shortly.
Covers for the First Volume are preparing, and will be ready for Subscribers with the Title-Page and Index.
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