Transcriber's note: on page 399, "Yule College" in the original is corrected to "Yale College".

* * * * *

{381}

NOTES AND QUERIES:

A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.

"When found, make a note of."—CAPTAIN CUTTLE.

* * * * *

No. 208.] SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22. 1853. [Price Fourpence. Stamped Edition 5d.

* * * * *

CONTENTS.

NOTES:— Page

A Prophet 381

FOLK LORE:—Folk Lore in Cambridgeshire—New Brunswick Folk Lore—North Lincolnshire Folk Lore—Portuguese Folk Lore 382

Pope and Cowper, By J. Yeowell 383 Shakspeare Correspondence, by Patrick Muirson, &c. 383

MINOR NOTES:—Judicial Families—Derivation of "Topsy Turvy"—Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias— "Mary, weep no more for me"—Epitaph at Wood Ditton—Pictorial Pun 384

QUERIES:—

Sir Thomas Button's Voyage, 1612, by John Petheram 385

MINOR QUERIES:—The Words "Cash" and "Mob" —"History of Jesus Christ"—Quantity of the Latin Termination -anus—Webb and Walker Families— Cawdrey's "Treasure of Similes"—Point of Etiquette —Napoleon's Spelling—Trench on Proverbs—Rings formerly worn by Ecclesiastics—Butler's "Lives of the Saints"—Marriage of Cousins—Castle Thorpe, Bucks—Where was Edward II. killed?—Encore— Amcotts' Pedigree—Blue Bell: Blue Anchor— "We've parted for the longest time"—Matthew Lewis—Paradise Lost—Colonel Hyde Seymour— Vault at Richmond, Yorkshire—Poems published at Manchester—Handel's Dettingen Te Deum— Edmund Spenser and Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. 386

MINOR QUERIES WITH ANSWERS:—The Ligurian Sage —Gresebrok in Yorkshire—Stillingfleet's Library— The whole System of Law—Saint Malachy on the Popes—Work on the Human Figure 389

REPLIES:—

"Namby Pamby," and other Words of the same Form 390 Earl of Oxford 392 Picts' Houses 392 Pronunciation of "Humble" 393 School Libraries 395

PHOTOGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE:—Albumenized Paper —Cement for Glass Baths—New Process for Positive Proofs 395

REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES:—The Groaning Elmplank in Dublin—Passage in Whiston—"When Orpheus went down"—Foreign Medical Education —"Short red, good red"—Collar of SS.—Who first thought of Table-turning—Passage of Thucydides on the Greek Factions—Origin of "Clipper" as applied to Vessels—Passage in Tennyson—Huet's Navigations of Solomon—Sincere—The Saltpetre Man— Major Andre—Longevity—Passage in Virgil—Love Charm from a Foal's Forehead—Wardhouse, where was?—Divining Rod—Waugh, Bishop of Carlisle— Pagoda 397

MISCELLANEOUS:—

Books and Odd Volumes wanted 401 Notices to Correspondents 401 Advertisements 402

* * * * *

Notes.

A PROPHET.

What a curious book would be "Our Prophets and Enthusiasts!" The literary and biographical records of the vaticinators, and the heated spirits who, after working upon the fears of the timid, and exciting the imaginations of the weak, have flitted into oblivion! As a specimen of the odd characters such a work would embrace, allow me to introduce to your readers Thomas Newans, a Shropshire farmer, who unhappily took it into his head that his visit to the lower sphere was on a special mission.

Mr. Newans is the author of a book entitled A Key to the Prophecies of the Old and New Testament; showing (among other impending events) "The approaching Invasion of England;" "The Extirpation of Popery and Mahometisme;" "The Restoration of the Jews," and "The Millennium." London: printed for the Author (who attests the genuineness of my copy by his signature), 1747.

In this misfitted key he relates how, in a vision, he was invested with the prophetic mantle:

"In the year 1723, in the night," says Mr. Newans, "I fell into a dream, and seemed to be riding on the road into the county of Cheshire. When I was got about eight miles from home, my horse made a stop on the road; and it seemed a dark night, and on a sudden there shone a light before me on the ground, which was as bright as when the sun shines at noon-day. In the middle of that bright circle stood a child in white. It spoke, and told me that I must go into Cheshire, and I should find a man with uncommon marks upon his feet, which should be a warning to me to believe; and that the year after I should have a cow that would calve a calf with his heart growing out of his body in a wonderful manner, as a token of what should come to pass; and that a terrible war would break out in Europe, and in fourteen years after the token it would extend to England."

In compliance with his supernatural communication, our farmer proceeded to Cheshire, where he found the man indicated; and, a year after, his own farm stock was increased by the birth of a calf with his heart growing out. And after taking his family, of seven, to witness to the truth of {382} what he describes, he adds with great simplicity: "So then I rode to London to acquaint the ministers of state of the approaching danger!"

This story of the calf with the heart growing out, is not a bad type of the worthy grazier himself, and his hearty and burning zeal for the Protestant faith. Mr. Newans distinctly and repeatedly predicts that these "two beastly religions," i. e. the Popish and Mahomedan, will be totally extirpated within seven years! And "I have," says he, "for almost twenty years past, travelled to London and back again into the country, near fifty journies, and every journey was two hundred and fifty miles, to acquaint the ministers of state and several of the bishops, and other divines, with the certainty, danger, and manner of the war" which was to bring this about. Commenting on the story of Balaam, our prophet says: "And now the world is grown so full of sin and wickedness, that if a dumb ass should speak with a man's voice, they would scarce repent:" and I conclude that the said statesmen and divines did not estimate these prophetic warnings much higher than the brayings of that quadruped which they turned out to be. Mr. Newan professes to gave penned these vaticinations in the year 1744, twenty-one years after the date of his vision; so that he had ample time to mature them. What would the farmer say were he favoured with a peep at our world in 1853, with its Mussulman system unbroken; and its cardinal, archbishops, and Popish bishops firmly established in the very heart of Protestant England?

J. O.

* * * * *

FOLK LORE.

Folk Lore in Cambridgeshire.—About twenty years ago, at Hildersham, there was a custom of ringing the church bell at five o'clock in the leasing season. The cottagers then repaired to the fields to glean; but none went out before the bell was rung. The bell tolled again in the evening as a signal for all to return home. I would add a Query, Is this custom continued; and is it to be met with in any other place?

F. M. MIDDLETON.

New Brunswick Folk Lore:—Common Notions respecting Teeth.—Among the lower orders and negroes, and also among young children of respectable parents (who have probably derived the notion from contact with the others as nurses or servants), it is here very commonly held that when a tooth is drawn, if you refrain from thrusting the tongue in the cavity, the second tooth will be golden. Does this idea prevail in England?

Superstition respecting Bridges.—Many years ago my grandfather had quite a household of blacks, some of whom were slaves and some free. Being bred in his family, a large portion of my early days was thus passed among them, and I have often reverted to the weird superstitions with which they froze themselves and alarmed me. Most of these had allusion to the devil: scarcely one of them that I now recollect but referred to him. Among others they firmly held that when the clock struck twelve at midnight, the devil and a select company of his inferiors regularly came upon that part of the bridge called "the draw," and danced a hornpipe there. So firmly did they hold to this belief, that no threat nor persuasion could induce the stoutest-hearted of them to cross the fatal draw after ten o'clock at night. This belief is quite contrary to that which prevails in Scotland, according to which, Robin Burns being my authority, "neither witches nor any evil spirits have power to follow a poor wight any farther than the middle of the next running stream."[1]

C. D. D.

New Brunswick, New Jersey.

[Footnote 1:

"Now, do thy speedy utmost, Meg, And win the key-stane of the brig: There at them thou thy tail may toss, A running stream they dare na crass."—Tam O'Shanter.

]

North Lincolnshire Folk Lore.—Here follow some shreds of folk lore which I have not seen as yet in "N. & Q." They all belong to North Lincolnshire.

1. Death sign. If a swarm of bees alight on a dead tree, or on the dead bough of a living tree, there will be a death in the family of the owner during the year.

2. If you do not throw salt into the fire before you begin to churn, the butter will not come.

3. If eggs are brought over running water they will have no chicks in them.

4. It is unlucky to bring eggs into the house after sunset.

5. If you wear a snake's skin round your head you will never have the headache.

6. Persons called Agnes always go mad.

7. A person who is born on Christmas Day will be able to see spirits.

8. Never burn egg-shells; if you do, the hens cease to lay.

9. If a pigeon is seen sitting in a tree, or comes into the house, or from being wild suddenly becomes tame, it is a sign of death.

10. When you see a magpie you should cross yourself; if you do not you will be unlucky.

EDWARD PEACOCK.

Bottesford Moors.

Portuguese Folk Lore.—

"The borderer whispered in my ear that he was one of the dreadful Lobishomens, a devoted race, held in mingled horror and commiseration, and never mentioned {383} without by the Portuguese peasantry. They believe that if a woman be delivered of seven male infants successively, the seventh, by an inexplicable fatality, becomes subject to the powers of darkness; and is compelled, on every Saturday evening, to assume the likeness of an ass. So changed, and followed by a horrid train of dogs, he is forced to run an impious race over the moors and through the villages; nor is allowed an interval of rest until the dawning Sabbath terminates his sufferings, and restores him to his human shape."—From Lord Carnarvon's Portugal and Gallicia, vol. ii. p. 268.

E. H. A.

* * * * *

POPE AND COWPER.

In Cowper's letter to Lady Hesketh, dated January 18, 1787, occurs a notice for the first time of Mr. Samuel Rose, with whom Cowper subsequently corresponded. He informs Lady Hesketh that—

"A young gentleman called here yesterday, who came six miles out of his way to see me. He was on a journey to London from Glasgow, having just left the University there. He came, I suppose, partly to satisfy his own curiosity, but chiefly, as it seemed, to bring me the thanks of some of the Scotch professors for my two volumes. His name is Rose, an Englishman."

Prefixed to a copy of Hayley's Life and Letters of William Cowper, Esq., in the British Museum, is an extract in MS. of a letter from the late Samuel Rose, Esq., to his favourite sister, Miss Harriet Rose, written in the year before his marriage, at the age of twenty-two, and which, I believe, has never been printed. It may, perhaps, merit a corner of "N. & Q."

"Weston Lodge, Sept. 9, 1789.

"Last week Mr. Cowper finished the Odyssey, and we drank an unreluctant bumper to its success. The labour of translation is now at an end, and the less arduous work of revision remains to be done, and then we shall see it published. I promise both you and myself much pleasure from its perusal. You will most probably find it at first less pleasing than Pope's versification, owing to the difference subsisting between blank verse and rhyme—a difference which is not sufficiently attended to, and whereby people are led into injudicious comparisons. You will find Mr. Pope more refined: Mr. Cowper more simple, grand, and majestic; and, indeed, insomuch as Mr. Pope is more refined than Mr. Cowper, he is more refined than his original, and in the same proportion departs from Homer himself. Pope's must universally be allowed to be a beautiful poem: Mr. Cowper's will be found a striking and a faithful portrait, and a pleasing picture to those who enjoy his style of colouring, which I am apprehensive is not so generally acceptable as the other master's. Pope possesses the gentle and amiable graces of a Guido: Cowper is endowed with the bold sublime genius of a Raphael. After having said so much upon their comparative merits, enough, I hope, to refute your second assertion which was, that women, in the opinion of men, have little to do with literature. I may inform you, that the Iliad is to be dedicated to Earl Cowper, and the Odyssey to the Dowager Lady Spencer but this information need not be extensively circulated."

J. YEOWELL.

50. Burton Street.

* * * * *

SHAKSPEARE CORRESPONDENCE.

"As You Like It."—Believing that whatever illustrates, even to a trifling extent, the great dramatic poet of England will interest the readers of "N. & Q.," I solicit their attention to the resemblance between the two following passages:

"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players."

"Si recte aspicias, vita haec est fabula quaedam. Scena autem, mundus versatilis: histrio et actor Quilibet est hominum—mortales nam proprie cuncti Sunt personati, et falsa sub imagine, vulgi Praestringunt oculos: ita Diis, risumque jocumque, Stultitiis, nugisque suis per saecula praebent. . . . . . . . . "Jam mala quae humanum patitur genus, adnumerabo. Principio postquam e latebris male olentibus alvi Eductus tandem est, materno sanguine foedus, Vagit, et auspicio lacrymarum nascitur infans. . . . . . . . . "Vix natus jam vincla subit, tenerosque coercet Fascia longa artus: praesagia dire futuri Servitii. . . . . . . . . "Post ubi jam valido se poplite sustinet, et jam Rite loqui didicit, tunc servire incipit, atque Jussa pati, sentitque minas ictusque magistri, Saepe patris matrisque manu fratrisque frequenter Pulsatur: facient quid vitricus atque noverca? Fit juvenis, crescunt vires: jam spernit habenas, Occluditque aures monitis, furere incipit, ardens Luxuria atque ira: et temerarius omnia nullo Consilio aggreditur, dictis melioribus obstat, Deteriora fovens: non ulla pericula curat, Dummodo id efficiat, suadet quod coeca libido. . . . . . . . . "Succedit gravior, melior, prudentior aetas, Cumque ipsa curae adveniunt, durique labores; Tune homo mille modis, studioque enititur omni Rem facere, et nunquam sibi multa negotia desunt. Nunc peregre it, nunc ille domi, nunc rure laborat, Ut sese, uxorem, natos, famulosque gubernet, Ac servet, solus pro cunctis sollicitus, nec Jucundis fruitur dapibus, nec nocte quieta. Ambitio hunc etiam impellens, ad publica mittit Munia: dumque inhiat vano male sanus honori, Invidiae atque odii patitur mala plurima: deinceps Obrepit canis rugosa senecta capillis, Secum multa trahens incommoda corporis atque Mentis: nam vires abeunt, speciesque colorque, Nec non deficiunt sensus: audire, videre {384} Languescunt, gustusque minor fit: denique semper Aut hoc, aut illo morbo vexantur—inermi Manduntur vix ore cibi, vix crura bacillo Sustentata meant: animus quoque vulnera sentit. Desipit, et longo torpet confectus ab aevo."

It would have only occupied your space needlessly, to have transcribed at length the celebrated description of the seven ages of human life from Shakspeare's As You Like It; but I would solicit the attention of your readers to the Latin verses, and then to the question, Whether either poet has borrowed from the other? and, should this be decided affirmatively, the farther question would arise, Which is the original?

ARTERUS.

Dublin.

[These lines look like a modern paraphrase of Shakspeare; and our Correspondent has not informed us from what book he has transcribed them.—Ed.]

Passage in "King John" and "Romeo and Juliet."—I am neither a commentator nor a reader of commentators on Shakspeare. When I meet with a difficulty, I get over it as well as I can, and think no more of the matter. Having, however, accidentally seen two passages of Shakspeare much ventilated in "N. & Q.," I venture to give my poor conjectures respecting them.

1. King John.—

"It lies as sightly on the back of him, As great Alcides' shows upon an ass."

I consider shows to be the true reading; the reference being to the ancient mysteries, called also shows. The machinery required for the celebration of the mysteries was carried by asses. Hence the proverb: "Asinus portat mysteriae." The connexion of Hercules—"great Alcides"—with the mysteries, may be learned from Aristophanes and many other ancient writers. And thus the meaning of the passage seems to be: The lion's skin, which once belonged to Richard of the Lion Heart, is as sightly on the back of Austria, as were the mysteries of Hercules upon an ass.

2. Romeo and Juliet.—

"That runaways eyes may wink."

Here I would retain the reading, and interpret runaways as signifying "persons going about on the watch." Perhaps runagates, according to modern usage, would come nearer to the proposed signification, but not to be quite up with it. Many words in Shakspeare have significations very remote from those which they now bear.

PATRICK MUIRSON.

Shakspeare and the Bible.—Has it ever been noticed that the following passage from the Second Part of Henry IV., Act I. Sc. 3., is taken from the fourteenth chapter of St. Luke's Gospel?

"What do we then, but draw anew the model In fewer offices; or, at least, desist To build at all? Much more, in this great work, (Which is almost to pluck a kingdom down, And set another up) should we survey The plot, the situation, and the model; Consult upon a sure foundation, Question surveyors, know our own estate, How able such a work to undergo. A careful leader sums what force he brings To weigh against his opposite; or else We fortify on paper, and in figures, Using the names of men, instead of men: Like one that draws the model of a house Beyond his power to build it."

The passage in St. Luke is as follows (xiv. 28-31.):

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

"Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

"Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

"Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?"

I give the passage as altered by Mr. Collier's Emendator, because I think the line added by him,

"A careful leader sums what force he brings,"

is strongly corroborated by the Scripture text.

Q. D.

* * * * *

Minor Notes.

Judicial Families.—In vol. v. p. 206. (new edition) of Lord Mahon's History of England, we find the following passage:

"Lord Chancellor Camden was the younger son of Chief Justice Pratt,—a case of rare succession in the annals of the law, and not easily matched, unless by their own cotemporaries, Lord Hardwicke and Charles Yorke."

The following case, I think, is equally, if not more, remarkable:—

The Right Hon. Thomas Berry Cusack-Smith, brother of the present Sir Michael Cusack-Smith, Bart., is Master of the Rolls in Ireland, having been appointed to that high office in January, 1846. His father, Sir William Cusack-Smith, second baronet, was for many years Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Ireland. And his grandfather, the Right Hon. Sir Michael Smith, first baronet, was, like his grandson at the present day, Master of the Rolls in Ireland.

Is not this "a case of rare succession in the annals of the law, and not easily matched?"

ABHBA.

{385}

Derivation of "Topsy Turvy."—When things are in confusion they are generally said to be turned "topsy turvy." The expression is derived from a way in which turf for fuel is placed to dry on its being cut. The surface of the ground is pared off with the heath growing on it, and the heath is turned downward, and left some days in that state that the earth may get dry before it is carried away. It means then top-side-turf-way.

CLERICUS RUSTICUS.

Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias.—Allow me to offer a suggestion to the publishers and compilers of dictionaries; first as to dictionaries of the language. A large class refer to these only to learn the meaning of words not familiar to them, but which may occur in reading. If the dictionaries are framed on the principle of displaying only the classical language of England, it is ten to one they will not supply the desired information. Let there be, besides classical dictionaries, glossaries which will exclude no word whatever on account of rarity, vulgarity, or technicality, but which may very well exclude those which are most familiar. As to encyclopaedias, their value is chiefly as supplements to the library; but surely no one studies anatomy, or the differential calculus, or architecture, in them, however good the treatises may be. I want a dictionary of miscellaneous subjects, such as find place more easily in an encyclopaedia than anywhere else; but why must I also purchase treatises on the higher mathematics, on navigation, on practical engineering, and the like, some of which I already may possess, others not want, and none of which are a bit the more convenient because arranged in alphabetical order in great volumes. Besides, they cannot be conveniently replaced by improved editions.

ENCYCLOPAEDICUS.

"Mary, weep no more for me."—There is a well-known ballad of this name, said to have been written by a Scotchman named "Low." The first verse runs thus:

"The moon had climbed the highest hill, Which rises o'er the source of Dee, And from the eastern summit sped Its silver light on tower and tree."

I find, however, amongst my papers, a fragment of a version of this same ballad, of, I assume, earlier antiquity, which so surpasses Low's ballad that the author has little to thank him for his interference. The first verse of what I take to be the original poem stands thus:

"The moon had climbed the highest hill, Where eagles big[2] aboon the Dee, And like the looks of a lovely dame, Brought joy to every body's ee."

No poetical reader will require his attention to be directed to the immeasurable superiority of this glorious verse: the high poetic animation, the eagles' visits, the lovely looks of female beauty, the exhilarating gladness and joy affecting the beholder, all manifest the genius of the master bard. I shall receive it as a favour if any of your correspondents will furnish a complete copy of the original poem, and contrast it with what "Low" fancied his "improvements."

JAMES CORNISH.

[Footnote 2: Build.]

Epitaph at Wood Ditton.—You have recently appropriated a small space in your "medium of intercommunication" to the subject of epitaphs. I can furnish you with one which I have been accustomed to regard as a "grand climacterical absurdity." About thirty years ago, when making a short summer ramble, I entered the churchyard of Wood Ditton, near Newmarket, and my attention was attracted by a headstone, having inlaid into its upper part a piece of iron, measuring about ten inches by six, and hollowed out into the shape of a dish. I inquired of a cottager residing on the spot what the thing meant? I was informed that the party whose ashes the grave covered was a man who, during a long life, had a strange taste for sopping a slice of bread in a dripping-pan (a pan over which meat has been roasted), and would relinquish for this all kinds of dishes, sweet or savoury; that in his will he left a request that a dripping-pan should be fixed in his gravestone; that he wrote his own epitaph, an exact copy of which I herewith give you, and which he requested to be engraved on the stone:

"Here lies my corpse, who was the man That loved a sop in the dripping-pan; But now believe me I am dead,— See here the pan stands at my head. Still for sops till the last I cried, But could not eat, and so I died. My neighbours they perhaps will laugh, When they read my epitaph."

J. H.

Cambridge.

Pictorial Pun.—In the village of Warbleton, in Sussex, there is an old public-house, which has for its sign a War Bill in a tun of beer, in reference of course to the name of the place. It has, however, the double meaning, of "Axe for Beer."

R. W. B.

* * * * *

Queries.

SIR THOMAS BUTTON'S VOYAGE, 1612.

I am about to print some information, hitherto I believe totally unknown, relative to the voyage of Sir Thomas Button in 1612, for the discovery of the north-west passage.

Of this voyage a journal was kept, which was in existence many years afterwards, being offered by {386} its author to Secretary Dorchester in 1629, then engaged in forwarding the projected voyage of "North-West" Foxe; it is remarkable, however, that no extended account of this voyage, so important in its objects, has ever been published. I am desirous of knowing if this journal is in existence, and where? Also, Lord Dorchester's letter to Button in February, 1629; of any farther information on the subject of the voyage, or of Sir Thomas Button.

What I possess already are, 1. "Motiues inducing a Proiect for the Discouerie of the North Pole terrestriall; the streights of Anian, into the South Sea, and Coasts thereof," anno 1610. 2. Prince Henry's Instructions for the Voyage, together with King James's Letters of Credence, 1612. 3. A Letter from Sir Thomas Button to Secretary Dorchester, dated Cardiff, 16th Feb., 1629 (from the State Paper Office). 4. Sir Dudley Digges' little tract on the N.-W. Passage, written to promote the voyage, and of which there were two distinct impressions in 1611 and 1612. 5. Extracts from the Carleton Correspondence, and from the Hakluyt Society's volume on Voyages to the North-West.

I shall be glad also to learn the date, and any other facts connected with the death of John Davis, the discoverer of the Straits bearing his name.

JOHN PETHERAM.

94. High Holborn.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

The Words "Cash" and "Mob."—In Moore's Diary I find the following remark. Can any of your numerous readers throw any light on the subject?

"Lord Holland doubted whether the word 'Cash' was a legitimate English word, though, as Irving remarked, it is as old as Ben Jonson, there being a character called Cash in one of his comedies. Lord Holland said Mr. Fox was of opinion that the word 'Mob' was not genuine English."—Moore's Diary, vol. iii. p. 247.

CLERICUS RUSTICUS.

"History of Jesus Christ."—G. L. S. will feel obliged by any correspondent of "N. & Q." stating who is the author of the following work?—

"The History of the Incarnation, Life, Doctrine and Miracles, the Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In Seven Books; illustrated with Notes, and interspersed with Dissertations, theological, historical, geographical and critical.

"To which are added the Lives, Actions, and Sufferings of the Twelve Apostles; also of Saint Paul, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, and Saint Barnabas. Together with a Chronological Table from the beginning of the reign of Herod the Great to the end of the Apostolic Age. By a Divine of the Church of England.

"London: printed for T. Cooper, at the Globe, in Paternoster Row, 1737."

This work is in one folio volume, and all I can ascertain of its authorship is that it was not written by Bishop Gibson, of "Preservative" fame.

Quantity of the Latin Termination -anus.—Proper names having the termination -anus are always long in Latin and short in Greek; thus, the Claudiānus, Luciānus, &c. of the Latins are [Greek: Klaudianos] and [Greek: Loukianos] in Greek. What is to be said of the word [Greek: Christianos]? Is it long or short, admitting it to be long in the Latin tongue?

While on the subject of quantities, let me ask, where is the authority for that of the name of the queen of the Ethiopians, Candace, to be found? We always pronounce it long, but all books of authority mark it as short.

ANTI-BARBARUS.

Webb and Walker Families.—Perhaps you or some of your numerous readers could inform me if the Christian names of Daniel and Roger were used 160 or 180 years ago by any of the numerous families of Webb or Webbe, resident in Wilts or elsewhere; and if so, in what family of that name? And is there any pedigree of them extant? and where is it to be found?

Was the Rev. Geo. Walker, the defender of Derry, connected with the Webbs? and if so, how, and with what family?

Is there any Webb mentioned in history at the siege of Derry? and if so, to what family of that name did he belong?

GULIELMUS.

Cawdrey's "Treasure of Similes."—I stumbled lately at a book-stall on a very curious old book entitled A Treasurie or Store-house of Similes both pleasant, delightfull, and profitable. The title-page is gone; but in an old hand on the cover it is stated to have been written by a certain "Cawdrey," and to have been printed in 1609, where I cannot discover. Can any of your correspondents oblige me with some information concerning him? The book is marked "scarce."

J. H. S.

Point of Etiquette.—Will some of your numerous correspondents kindly inform me as to the rule in such a case as the following: when an elder brother has lost both his daughters in his old age, does the eldest daughter of the younger brother take the style of Miss Smith, Jones, Brown, or Robinson, as the case may be?

F. D., M.R.C.S.

Napoleon's Spelling.—Macaulay, in his History of England, chap. vii., quotes, in a foot-note, a passage from a letter of William III., written in French to his ambassador at Paris, and then makes this remark, "The spelling is bad, but not worse than Napoleon's." {387}

Can you refer me to some authentic proof of the fact that Napoleon was unable to spell correctly? It is well known that he affected to put his thoughts upon paper with great rapidity; and the consequence of this practice was, that in almost every word some letters were dropped, or their places indicated by dashes. But this was only one of those numerous contrivances, to which he was in the habit of resorting, in order to impress those around him with an idea of his greatness.

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia.

Trench on Proverbs.—Mr. Trench, in this excellent little work, states that the usual translation of Psalm cxxvii. 2. is incorrect:

"Let me remind you of such [proverbs] also as the following, often quoted or alluded to by Greek and Latin authors: The net of the sleeping (fisherman) takes[3]; a proverb the more interesting, that we have in the words of the Psalmist (Ps. cxxvii. 2.), were they accurately translated, a beautiful and perfect parallel; 'He giveth his beloved' (not 'sleep,' but) 'in their sleep;' his gifts gliding into their bosoms, they knowing not how, and as little expecting as leaving laboured for them."

The Hebrew is [Hebrew: YTN LYDYDW SHN'], the literal translation of which, "He giveth (or, He will give) to his beloved sleep," seems to me to be correct.

As Mr. Trench is a reader of "N. & Q.," perhaps he would have the kindness to mention in its pages the ground he has for his proposed translation.

E. M. B.

[Footnote 3: "[Greek: Heudonti kurtos hairei]. Dormienti rete trahit."]

Rings formerly worn by Ecclesiastics.—In describing the finger-ring found in the grave of the Venerable Bede, the writer of A brief Account of Durham Cathedral adds,—

"No priest, during the reign of Catholicity, was buried or enshrined without his ring."—P. 81.

I have seen a similar statement elsewhere, and wish to ask, 1st, Were priests formerly buried with the ring? 2ndly, If so, was it a mere custom, or was it ordered or authorised by any rubric or canon of our old English Church?

I am very strongly of opinion that such never was the custom, and that the statement above quoted has its origin in the confounding priests with bishops. Martene says, when speaking of the manner of burying bishops,—

"Episcopus debet habere annulum, quia sponsus est. Caeteri sacerdotes non, quia sponsi non sunt, sed amici sponsi vel vicarii."—De Antiquis Ecclesiae Ritibus, lib. III. cap. xii. n. 11.

CEYREP.

Butler's "Lives of the Saints."—Can any of your correspondents supply a correct list of the various editions of this popular work? The notices in Watt and Lowndes are very unsatisfactory.

J. YEOWELL.

Marriage of Cousins.—It was asserted to me the other day that marriage with a second cousin is, by the laws of England, illegal, and that succession to property has been lately barred to the issue of such marriage, though the union of first cousins entails no such consequences. Is there any foundation for this statement?

J. P.

Castle Thorpe[4], Bucks.—A traditional rhyme is current at this place which says that—

"If it hadn't been for Cobb-bush Hill, Thorpe Castle would have stood there still."

or the last line, according to another version,—

"There would have been a castle at Thorpe still."

Now it appears from Lipscomb's History of the county, that the castle was demolished by Fulke de Brent about 1215; how then can this tradition be explained?

Cobb-bush Hill, I am told, is more than half a mile from the village.

H. THOS. WAKE.

[Footnote 4: Pronounced Thrup.]

Where was Edward II. killed?—Hume and Lingard state that this monarch was murdered at Berkeley Castle. Echard and Rapin are silent, both as to the event and as to the locality. But an earlier authority, viz. Martyn, in his Historie and Lives of Twentie Kings, 1615, says:

"He was committed to the Castle of Killingworth, and Prince Edward was crowned king. And not long after, the king being removed to the Castle of Corff, was wickedly assayled by his keepers, who, through a horne which they put in his," &c.

What authority had Martyn for these statements?

C. MANSFIELD INGLEBY.

Birmingham.

Encore.—Perhaps some correspondent of "N. & Q." can assign a reason why we use this French word in our theatres and concert rooms, to express our desire for the repetition of favourite songs, &c. I should also like to know at what period it was introduced.

A. A.

Amcotts' Pedigree.—Can any of your correspondents supply me with a full pedigree of Amcotts of Astrop, co. Lincolnshire? I do not refer to the Visitations, but to the later descents of the family. The last heir male was, I believe, Vincent Amcotts, Esq., great-grandfather to the present Sir William Amcotts Ingilby, Bart. Elizabeth Amcotts, who married, 19th July, 1684, John Toller, Esq., of Billingborough Hall in Lincolnshire, was one of this family, and I suppose aunt to Vincent Amcotts. I may mention, the calendars {388} of the Will Office at Lincoln have no entries of the name of Amcotts between 1670 and 1753.

TEWARS.

Blue Bell—Blue Anchor.—A bell painted blue is a common tavern sign in this country (United States); and the blue anchor is also to be met with in many places. As these signs evidently had their origin in England, and one of them is alluded to in the old Scotch ballad "The Blue Bell of Scotland," it seems to me that the best method to apply for information upon the subject is to ask "N. & Q." Are these signs of inns heraldic survivors of old time; are they corruptions of some other emblem, such as that which in London transformed La Belle Sauvage into the Bell Savage, pictorialised by an Indian ringing a hand-bell; or is the choice of such improper colour as blue for a bell and an anchor a species of symbolism the meaning of which is not generally known?

[Old English W].

Philadelphia.

"We've parted for the longest time."—Would you insert these lines in your paper, the author of which I seek to know, as well as the remaining verses?

"We've parted for the longest time, we ever yet did part, And I have felt the last wild throb of that enduring heart: Thy cold and tear-wet cheek has lain for the last time to mine, And I have pressed in agony those trembling lips of thine."

R. JERMYN COOPER.

The Rectory, Chiltington Hunt, Sussex.

Matthew Lewis.—Allow me to solicit information, through the medium of "N. & Q.," where I can see a pedigree of Matthew Lewis, Esq., Deputy Secretary of War for many years under the Right Hon. William Windham, then M.P. for Norwich, and other Secretaries-at-War. I rather think Mr. Lewis married a daughter of Sir Thomas Sewell, Kt., Master of the Rolls from 1764 to 1784; and had a son, Matthew Gregory Lewis, known as Monk Lewis, who was M.P. for Hindon at the close of the last century: a very clever but eccentric young man. I also believe Lieut.-Gen. John Whitelocke, and Gen. Sir Thos. Brownrigg, G.C.B., who died in 1838, were connected by marriage with the Sewell or Lewis families.

C. H. F.

Paradise Lost.—In A Treatise on the Dramatic Literature of the Greeks, by the Rev. J. R. Darley, I read the following remark:

"In our own literature also, the efforts of our early dramatists were directed to subjects derived from religion; even the Paradise Lost is composed of a series of minor pieces, originally cast in dramatic form, of which the creation and fall of man, and the several episodes which were introduced subordinately to these grand events, were the subject-matter."

This statement being at variance with the received opinion, that Milton, from his early youth, had meditated the composition of an epic poem, I would inquire whether there is any evidence to support Mr. Darley's view? Milton has been charged with having borrowed the design of Paradise Lost from some Italian author; and this allegation, coupled with that made by Mr. Darley, would, if founded, reduce our great national epic to what Hazlitt has described as "patchwork and plagiarism, the beggarly copiousness of borrowed wealth."

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia.

Colonel Hyde Seymour.—Who was "Colonel Hyde Seymour?" I find his name written in a book, The Life of William the Third, 1703.

H. T. ELLACOMBE.

Vault at Richmond, Yorkshire.—In Speed's plan of Richmond, in Yorkshire, is represented the mouth of a "vault that goeth under the river, and ascendeth up into the Castell." Was there ever such a vault, and how came it to be destroyed or lost sight of? One who knows Richmond well tells me that he never heard of it.

O. L. R. G.

Poems published at Manchester.—Can any contributor to "N. & Q." inform me who was the author of a volume of Poems on Several Occasions, published by subscription at Manchester; printed for the author by R. Whitworth, in the year 1733? It is an 8vo. of 138 pages; has on the title-page a line from Ovid:

"Jure, tibi grates, candide lector, ago,"

and begins with an "Address to all my Subscribers;" after which follow several pages of subscribers' names, which consist chiefly of Staffordshire and Cheshire gentry. My copy (for the possession of which I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Bliss, the Principal of St. Mary's Hall, Oxford) was formerly in the library of Mr. Heber, who has thus noted its purchase on the fly-leaf, "Feb. 1811, Ford, Manchester, 7s. 6d." Dr. Bliss has added, on the same fly-leaf, "Heber's fourth sale, No. 1908, not in the Bodleian Catalogue." The first poem in the book is "A Pastoral to the Memory of Sir Thomas Delves, Baronet." It is probably a scarce book; but possibly some of your book-learned correspondents may help me to the author's name.

W. SNEYD.

Denton.

Handel's Dettingen Te Deum.—Any information as to the circumstances under which Handel composed this celebrated Te Deum, and the place {389} and occasion of its first public performance, will be welcome to

PHILO-HANDEL.

Edmund Spenser and Sir Hans Sloane, Bart.—As I believe myself (morally speaking) to be lineally descended from the former of these celebrated men, and collaterally from the latter, may I request that information may be forwarded me, either through your columns or by correspondence, regarding the descendants of the great poet and his ancestry; and also whether, among the many thousand volumes bequeathed by Sir Hans to the nation, some record does not exist tending to prove his genealogical descent? At present I know of no other pedigree than that Mr. Burke has given of him in his Extinct Baronetage. I shall feel exceedingly gratified if any assistance can be given me relating to these two families.

W. SLOANE SLOANE-EVANS.

Cornworthy Vicarage, Totnes.

* * * * *

Minor Queries with Answers.

The Ligurian Sage.—In Gifford's Maeviad, lines 313-316, I read,—

"Together we explored the stoic page Of the Ligurian, stern tho' beardless sage! Or trac'd the Aquinian thro' the Latin road, And trembled at the lashes he bestow'd."

The Aquinian is of course Juvenal; but I must confess me at fault with respect to the Ligurian.

W. T. M.

[The Ligurian sage is no doubt Aulus Persius Flaccus, who, according to ancient authors, was born at Volaterrae in Etruria; but some modern writers conclude that he was born at Lunae Portus in Liguria, from the following lines (Sat. VI. 6.), which seem to relate to the place of his residence:

"Mihi nunc Ligus ora Intepet, hybernatque meum mare, qua latus ingens Dant scopuli, et multa littus se valle receptat. Lunai portum est operae cognoscere, cives."

When approaching the verge of manhood, Persius became the pupil of Cornutus the Stoic, and his death took place before he had completed his twenty-eighth year.]

Gresebrok in Yorkshire.—Can you or any of your correspondents give me any information as to what part of Yorkshire the manor of Gresebrok lies in? In Shaw's History of Staffordshire (2 vols. folio), there is a "Bartholomew de Gresebrok" mentioned as witness to a deed of Henry III.'s times made between Robert de Grendon, Lord of Shenston, and Jno. de Baggenhall; which family of Gresebrok, it is said, "probably took their name from a manor so called in Yorkshire, and had property and residence in Shenstone, from this early period to the beginning of the century, many of whom are recorded in the registers from 1590 to 1722."

The above is quoted by Shaw from Sanders's History of Shenstone, p. 98., and perhaps some of your correspondents may possess that work, and will oblige me by transcribing the necessary information.

Any particulars of the above family will much oblige your constant reader

[Greek: Heraldikos.]

[According to Sanders, the family of Greisbrook was formerly of some note at Shenstone. He says that "Greisbrook, whence the family had their name, is a manor in Yorkshire, which, in the reign of Henry III., was in the great House of Mowbray, of whom the Greisbrooks held their lands. Roger de Greisbrook (temp. Henry II.) is mentioned as holding of the fee of Alice, Countess of Augie, or Ewe, daughter of William de Albiney, Earl of Arundel, by Queen Alice, relict of Henry I." Then follow some particulars of various branches of the family, from the year 1580 to the death of Robert Greisbrook in 1718. Sanders's History is included in vol. ix. of Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica.]

Stillingfleet's Library.—The extensive and valuable library of Edward Stillingfleet, the learned Bishop of Worcester, who died in 1699, is said to be contained in the library of Primate Marsh, St. Patrick's, Dublin. Can any of your correspondents state how it came there? Was it bequeathed by the bishop, or sold by his descendants? He died at Westminster, and was buried in Worcester Cathedral.

J. B. WHITBORNE.

[Bishop Stillingfleet's library was purchased by Archbishop Marsh for his public library in Dublin. A few years since Robert Travers, Esq., M.D., of Dundrum near Dublin, was engaged in preparing for publication a catalogue of Stillingfleet's printed books, amounting to near 10,000 volumes. The bishop's MSS. were bought by the late Earl of Oxford, and are now in the Harleian Collection. See The Life of Bishop Stillingfleet, 8vo., 1735, p. 135., and Biog. Brit. s. v.]

The whole System of Law.—On December 26, 1651, the Long Parliament, stimulated by Cromwell to various important reforms in civil matters, resolved,—

"That it be referred to persons out of the House to take into consideration what inconveniences there are in the law, and how the mischiefs that grow from the delays, the chargeableness, and the irregularities in the proceedings of the law, may be prevented; and the speediest way to reform the same."

The commission thus appointed consisted twenty-one persons, among whom were Sir Mathew Hale, Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, and John Rushworth. They seem to have set to work with great vigour, and submitted a variety of important measures to Parliament, many of which were {390} adopted. They also prepared a document "containing the whole system of the law," which was read to the House on January 20 and 21, 1652; and it was resolved "That three hundred copies of the said book be forthwith printed, to be delivered to members of the Parliament only."

Is anything known of this work at the present day?

A LEGULEIAN.

[It appears doubtful whether this work was ever printed, for in a pamphlet published April 27, 1653, entitled A Supply to a Draught of an Act or System proposed (as is reported) by the Committee for Regulations concerning the Law, &c., the writer thus notices it:—"Having lately heard of some propositions called 'The System of the Law,' which are said to be intended preparatives to several Acts of Parliament touching the regulation of the law, we cannot but with thankfulness acknowledge the care and industry of those worthy persons who contrived the same, it containing many good and wholesome provisions for the future perpetual good and quiet of the nation.... We know not, at present, wherein we could give a more visible testimony of our affections to the peaceable government of the free people here, than by offering to them and the supreme authority, what we humbly conceive prejudicial and inconvenient to well-government, in case that System (as it is said to be now prepared) should take effect." A week before the publication of this work, the Long Parliament had been turned out of doors by Cromwell.]

Saint Malachy on the Popes.—Saint Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, who flourished in the first half of the twelfth century, is said to be the author of a curious prophecy respecting the Popes. Some years ago I met with this prophecy in an old French almanack, and was particularly struck with its applicability to the life and character of the present Pope; but I omitted to make a Note.

Can you inform me where I may find a copy of this prophecy?

HENRY H. BREEN.

[St. Malachy's hieroglyphical descriptions or prophecy on the succession of Roman Pontiffs will be found in Flosculi Historici delibati nunc delibatiores redditi, sive Historia Universalis; Auctore Joanne de Bussieres, Societatis Jesu Sacerdote, Oxon. 1668. An explanation of each prophecy is given from the pontificate of Celestus II. A.D. 1143, to that of Innocent X. A.D. 1644. The present Pope being the nineteenth from Innocent X., the following prophecy relates to him, "Crux de Cruce." We subjoin the remainder: 20. Lumen in coelo. 21. Ignis ardens. 22. Religio depopulata. 23. Fides intrepida. 24. Pastor angelicus. 25. Pastor et nauta. 26. Flos Florum. 27. De medietate lunae. 28. De labore solis. 29 Gloria Olivae. St. Malachy concludes his prophecy with the following prediction of the downfall of the Roman Church: "In persecutione extrema Sacrae Romanae Ecclesiae sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus; quibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, et Judex tremendus judicabit populum."]

Work on the Human Figure.—A few years ago there was a little work published on Dress and the Art of improving the Human Figure, by (I believe) a nobleman's valet: I wish to consult this for a literary purpose, and should be much obliged to any of your readers who can favour me with the exact title and date.

CHARLES DEMAYNE.

[The following two works on dress appear in the London Catalogue:—The Whole Art of Dress, by a Country Officer, 12mo. Lond. 1830; and The Art of Dress, or a Guide to the Toilette, fcp. 8vo., Lond. 1839.]

* * * * *

Replies.

"NAMBY-PAMBY," AND OTHER WORDS OF THE SAME FORM.

(Vol. viii., p. 318.)

The origin of the word namby-pamby is explained in the following passage of Johnson's Life of Ambrose Philips:

"The pieces that please best are those which from Pope and Pope's adherents procured him the name of namby-pamby, the poems of short lines, by which he paid his court to all ages and characters—from Walpole, 'the steerer of the realm,' to Miss Pulteney in the nursery. The numbers are smooth and sprightly, and the diction is seldom faulty. They are not loaded with much thought, yet, if they had been written by Addison, they would have had admirers. Little things are not valued but when they are done by those who can do greater."

In the Treatise on the Bathos, the infantine style is exclusively exemplified by passages from Ambrose Philips:

"This [says Pope] is when a poet grows so very simple as to think and talk like a child. I shall take my examples from the greatest master in this way: hear how he fondles like a mere stammerer:

'Little charm of placid mien, Miniature of Beauty's queen, Hither, British Muse of mine, Hither, all ye Grecian nine, With the lovely Graces three, And your pretty nursling see. When the meadows next are seen, Sweet enamel, white and green; When again the lambkins play, Pretty sportlings full of May, Then the neck so white and round, (Little neck with brilliants bound) And thy gentleness of mind, (Gentle from a gentle kind), &c. Happy thrice, and thrice again, Happiest he of happy men,' &c.

And the rest of those excellent lullabies of his composition."—C. xi.

These verses are stated by Warburton, in his note on the passage, to be taken from a poem to {391} Miss Cuzzona. They are however in fact selected from two poems addressed to daughters of Lord Carteret, and are put together arbitrarily, out of the order in which they stand in the original poems. There is a short poem by Philips in the same metre, addressed to Signora Cuzzoni, and dated May 25, 1724, beginning, "Little syren of the stage;" but none of the verses quoted in the Treatise on the Bathos are extracted from it.

Namby-pamby belongs to a tolerably numerous class of words in our language, all formed on the same rhyming principle. They are all familiar, and some of them childish; which last circumstance probably suggested to Pope the invention of the word namby-pamby, in order to designate the infantine style which Ambrose Philips had introduced. Many of them, however, are used by old and approved writers; and the principle upon which they are formed must be of great antiquity in our language. The following is a collection of words which are all formed in this manner:

Bow-wow.—A word coined in imitation of a dog's bark. Compare the French aboyer.

Chit-chat.—Formed by reduplication from chat. A word (says Johnson) used in ludicrous conversation. It occurs in the Spectator and Tatler.

Fiddle-faddle.—Formed in a similar manner from to fiddle, in its sense of to trifle. It occurs in the Spectator.

Flim-flam.—An old word, of which examples are cited from Beaumont and Fletcher, and Swift. It is formed from flam, which Johnson calls "a cant word of no certain etymology." Flam, for a lie, a cheat, is however used by South, Barrow, and Warburton, and therefore at one time obtained an admission into dignified style. See Nares' Glossary in v.

Hab or nab.—That is, according to Nares, have or have not; subsequently abridged into hab, nab. Hob or nob is explained by him to mean "Will you have a glass of wine or not?" Hob, nob is applied by Shakspeare to another alternative, viz. give or take (Twelfth Night, Act III. Sc. 4.). See Nares in v. Habbe or Nabbe.

Handy-dandy.—"A play in which children change hands and places" (Johnson). Formed from hand. The word is used by Shakspeare.

Harum-scarum.—"A low but frequent expression applied to flighty persons; persons always in a hurry" (Todd). Various conjectures are offered respecting its origin: the most probable seems to be, that it is derived from scare. The Anglo-Saxon word hearmsceare means punishment (see Grimm, Deutsche Rechtsalterthuemer, p. 681.); but although the similarity of sound is remarkable, it is difficult to understand how harum-scarum can be connected with it.

Helter-skelter.—Used by Shakspeare. Several derivations for this word are suggested, but none probable.

Higgledy-piggledy.—"A cant word, corrupted from higgle, which denotes any confused mass, as higglers carry a huddle of provisions together" (Johnson). It seems more probable that the word is formed from pig; and that it alludes to the confused and indiscriminate manner in which pigs lie together. In other instances (as chit-chat, flim-flam, pit-a-pat, shilly-shally, slip-slop, and perhaps harum-scarum), the word which forms the basis of the rhyming reduplication stands second, and not first.

Hocus-pocus.—The words ocus bochus appear, from a passage cited in Todd, to have been used anciently by Italian conjurers. The fanciful idea of Tillotson, that hocus-pocus is a corruption of the words hoc est corpus, is well known. Compare Richardson in v.

Hoddy-doddy.—This ancient word has various meanings (see Richardson in v.). As used by Ben Jonson and Swift, it is expressive of contempt. In Holland's translation of Pliny it signifies a snail. There is likewise a nursery rhyme or riddle:

"Hoddy-doddy, All legs and no body."

Hodge-podge appears to be a corruption of hotch-pot. It occurs in old writers. (See Richardson in Hotch-pot.)

Hoity-toity.—Thoughtless, giddy. Formed from the old word to hoit, to dance or leap, to indulge in riotous mirth. See Nares in Hoit and Hoyt.

Hubble-bubble.—A familiar word, formed from bubble. Not in the dictionaries.

Hubbub.—Used by Spenser, and other good writers. Richardson derives it from hoop or whoop, shout or yell. It seems rather a word formed in imitation of the confused inarticulate noise produced by the mixture of numerous voices, like mur-mur in Latin.

Hugger-mugger.—Used by Spenser, Shakspeare, and other old writers. The etymology is uncertain. Compare Jamieson in Hudge-mudge. The latter part of the word seems to be allied with smuggle, and the former part to be the reduplication. The original and proper sense of hugger-mugger is secretly. See Nares in v., who derives it from to hugger, to lurk about; but query whether such a word can be shown to have existed?

Humpty-dumpty.—Formed from hump. This word occurs in the nursery rhyme:

"Humpty-dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty-dumpty had a great fall," &c.

Hurdy-gurdy.—The origin of this word, which is quoted from no writer earlier than Foote, has not been explained. See Todd in v.

Hurly-burly.—This old word occurs in the well-known verses in the opening scene of Macbeth—

"When the hurly burly's done, When the battle's lost and won"—

{392} where see the notes of the commentators for other instances of it. There are rival etymologies for this word, but all uncertain. The French has hurlu-burlu. Nares in Hurly.

Hurry-scurry.—This word, formed from hurry, is used by Gray in his Long Story.

Nick-nack.—A small ornament. Not in the dictionaries.

Pic-nic.—For the derivation of this word, which seems to be of French origin, see "N. & Q.," Vol. vii., pp. 240. 387.

Pit-pat, or Pit-a-pat.—A word formed from pat, and particularly applied to the pulsations of the heart, when accelerated by emotion. Used by Ben Jonson and Dryden. Congreve writes it a-pit-pat.

Riff-raff.—The refuse of anything, "Il ne lui lairra rif ny raf." Cotgrave in Rif, where rif is said to mean nothing.

Rolly-pooly.—"A sort of game" (Johnson). It is now used as the name of a pudding rolled with sweetmeat.

Rowdy-dowdy, and Rub-a-dub.—Words formed in imitation of the beat of a drum.

Shilly-shally.—Used by Congreve, and formerly written "shill I, shall I."

Slip-slop.—"Bad liquor. A low word, formed by reduplication of slop" (Johnson). Now generally applied to errors in pronunciation, arising from ignorance and carelessness, like those of Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals.

Tip-top.—Formed from top, like slip-slop from slop.

Tirra-lirra.—Used by Shakspeare:

"The lark that tirra lirra chants."—Winter's Tale, Act IV. Sc. 2.

From the French, see Nares in v.

The preceding collection is intended merely to illustrate the principle upon which this class of words are formed, and does not aim at completeness. Some of your correspondents will doubtless, if they are disposed, be able to supply other examples of the same mode of formation.

L.

* * * * *

EARL OF OXFORD.

(Vol. viii., p. 292.)

S. N. will find the Earl's answer in a volume, not very common now, entitled A Compleat and Impartial History of the Impeachments of the Last Ministry, London, 8vo., 1716. The charge respecting the creation of twelve peers in one day formed the 16th article of the impeachment. I inclose a copy of the answer, if not too long for your pages.

G.

"In answer to the 16th article, the said Earl doth insist, that by the laws and constitution of this realm, it is the undoubted right and prerogative of the Sovereign, who is the fountain of honor, to create peers of this realm, as well in time of Parliament as when there is no Parliament sitting or in being; and that the exercise of this branch of the prerogative is declared in the form or preamble of all patents of honor, to proceed ex mero motu, as an act of mere grace and favor, and that such acts are not done as many other acts of public nature are, by and with the advice of the Privy Council; or as acts of pardon usually run, upon a favorable representation of several circumstances, or upon reports from the Attorney-General or other officers, that such acts are lawful or expedient, or for the safety or advantage of the Crown; but flows entirely from the beneficent and gracious disposition of the Sovereign. He farther says, that neither the warrants for patents of honor, the bills or other engrossments of such patents, are at any time communicated to the council or the treasury, as several other patents are; and therefore the said Earl, either as High Treasurer or Privy Councillor, could not have any knowledge of the same: Nevertheless, if her late sacred Majesty had thought fit to acquaint him with her most gracious intentions of creating any number of peers of this realm, and had asked his opinion, whether the persons whom she then intended to create were persons proper to have been promoted to that dignity, he does believe he should have highly approved her Majesty's choice; and does not apprehend that in so doing he had been guilty of any breach of his duty, or violation of the trust in him reposed; since they were all persons of honor and distinguished merit, and the peerage thereby was not greatly increased, considering some of those created would have been peers by descent, and many noble families were then lately extinct: And the said Earl believes many instances may be given where this prerogative hath been exercised by former princes of this realm, in as extensive a manner; and particularly in the reigns of King Henry the Eighth, King James the First, and his late Majesty King William. The said Earl begs leave to add, that in the whole course of his life he hath always loved the established constitution, and in his private capacity as well as in all public stations, when he had the honor to be employed, has ever done his utmost to preserve it, and shall always continue so to do."

* * * * *

PICTS' HOUSES.

(Vol. viii., p. 264.)

The mention there made of the recent discovery of one of these subterranean vaults or passages in Aberdeenshire, induces me to ask a question in regard to two subterranean passages which have lately been discovered in Berwickshire, and which so far differ from all others that I have heard or read of, that whereas all of them seem to have been built at the sides with large flat stones, and roofed with similar ones, and then covered with earth, those which I am about to mention are both hewn out of the solid rock. They are both situated in the Lammermoor range of hills. Those persons who have seen them are at a loss to know for what {393} purpose they could have been excavated, unless for the purpose of sepulture in the times of the aborigines, or of very early inhabitants of Britain, as they in many respects resemble those stone graves which are mentioned in Worsaae's Description of the Primaeval Antiquities of Denmark, translated and applied to the illustration of similar remains in England by Mr. Thoms.

One of these cavities is situated on a remote pasture farm, among the hills belonging to the Earl of Lauderdale, called Braidshawrigg; and was discovered by a shepherd very near his own house, within less than a quarter of a mile up a small stream which runs past it, and on the opposite side of the water, a few yards up the steep hill. The shepherd had observed for some time that one of his dogs was in the habit of going into what he supposed to be a rabbit hole at this place, and when he was missing and called, he generally came out of this hole. At last, curiosity led his master to take a spade and dig into it; and he soon found that, after digging down into the soil to the rock, the cavity became larger, and had evidently been the work of human hands. Information was given to Lord Lauderdale, and the rubbish was cleared away. It (the rubbish) did not extend far in, and after that the passage was clear. The excavation consists of a passage cut nearly north and south (the entrance being to the south) through various strata of solid rocks, partly grauwacke, (or what is there called whinstone), and partly grey slate: the strata lying east and west, and nearly vertical. The whole length of it is seventy-four feet. From the entrance the passage, for four or five yards, slopes downwards into the hill; it then runs horizontally the length of sixty-three feet from the entrance, when it changes its direction at right angles to the westward for a distance of eleven feet; when it ends with the solid rock. It is regularly from three feet four inches to three feet six inches wide, and about seven feet high, the ceiling being somewhat circular. The floor is the rock cut square. The time and labour must have been great to cut this passage, as not more than one man could conveniently quarry the rock at the same time. It might have been supposed that this was a level to a mine, as copper has been worked in this range farther eastward; but the passage does not follow any vein, but cuts across all the strata, and keeps a straight line, till it turns westward, and then in another straight line; and the floors, sides, and roof are all made quite regular and even with a pickaxe or a hammer. There does not appear to have been at any time any other habitation than the shepherd's house, and another cottage a little lower down the stream, in the neighbourhood. The discovery of this cavern recalled to the recollection of myself, and some of my family, that a few years ago, in cutting a road through the rock into a whinstone quarry, about four miles south of Braidshawrigg, near a mill, we had cut across the east end of a passage somewhat similar to the one before mentioned, but running east and west; that we had cleared it out for a short way, but as it then went under a corner of one of the houses belonging to the mill, we stopped, for fear of bringing down the building, as this passage, though cut out of the solid rock, was not a mine, but had been worked to the surface; and, if it ever had been used for purposes of sepulture, must have been roofed with flagstones, and then covered with earth like other Picts' houses. But these roof-stones must have been carried away, and the whole trench was filled with rubbish, and all trace of it on the surface was obliterated. This passage we have lately opened, and cleared out. To the westward it passes into the adjoining water-mill, which is itself in great part formed by excavation of the rock; and the east wall of the upper part of the mill is arched over the passage. Beyond the west wall of the mill which adjoins the stream, there is a continuation of the trench through the rock down to the water, which serves to take away that which passes over the millwheel at right angles to where the rock has been cut away to make room for the millwheel itself. That which has been cut away in making the trench, is a seam of clay slate about three feet six inches in breadth, between two solid whinstone rocks. The length of the passage, from the east end, which terminated in rock, to the mill, is sixty-three feet. The mill is thirty feet, and the cut beyond it twelve feet: in all, one hundred and five feet. The average depth is about twelve feet; but as it slopes down to the stream, some of it is sixteen feet deep. It has been suggested that it might have been dug out in order to obtain the coarse slate; but the difficulty of working a confined seam like this, in any other way than by picking it out piecemeal with immense labour, seems impossible. It can never have been meant to convey water to the mill, as the highest part begins in the solid rock, and the object must always have been to keep the water on the highest possible level, until it reached the top of the millwheel. Nothing was found in either of these excavations.—After this long discussion, Query, What can have been the purpose for which these laborious works can have been executed?

J. S. S.

* * * * *

PRONUNCIATION OF "HUMBLE."

(Vol. viii., pp. 229. 298.)

It is my misfortune entirely to differ from MR. DAWSON (p. 229.) and MR. CROSSLEY (p. 298.) as to the pronunciation of humble; and permit me to say (with all courtesy) that I was unfeignedly surprised at the latter's assertion, that sounding {394} the h is "a recent attempt to introduce a mispronunciation," as I have known that mode of pronunciation all but universally prevalent for nearly the last forty years; and I have had pretty good opportunities for observing what the general usage in that respect was, as I was for some years at a very large public school, then at Oxford for more than the usual time, and have since resided in London more than twenty-five years, practising as a barrister in Westminster Hall, and on one of the largest circuits. If, therefore, I have not had ample means of judging as to the pronunciation of humble, I know not where the means are to be found; especially as I doubt whether humble and humbly are anywhere so frequently used as in courts: a counsel rarely making a speech without "humbly submitting" or making a "humble application." Now the result of my experience is, that the h is almost universally sounded; and at this moment I cannot call to mind a single gentleman who omits it, who does not also omit it in many other instances where no doubt can exist that it ought to be sounded.

MR. DAWSON believes the sounding the h to be "one of those, either Oxford, or Cambridge, or both, peculiarities of which no reasonable explanation can be given." Now I believe MR. DAWSON is right in supposing that that usage is general both at Oxford and Cambridge, and I rather think that not only an explanation of the fact may be given, but that the fact itself, that in both the Universities the h is sounded, is extremely cogent evidence that it is correct. It cannot be doubted that the fact that a word is spelled with certain letters is clear proof that, at the time when that spelling was adopted, the word was so sounded as to give a distinct sound to each of the letters used, and that clearly must have been the case with words beginning with h especially. When, therefore, the present spelling of humble was adopted, the h was sounded. Now, whilst I freely admit that the utterance of any word may be changed—"Si volet usus, quem penes arbitrium est, et jus et norma loquendi"—still it cannot be questioned that the usage must be so general, clear, and distinct among the better educated classes (where-ever they may have received their education) as to leave no reasonable doubt about the matter; and that it lies on those who assert that such a change has taken place, to show such a usage as I have mentioned. And when the number of the members of the Universities is considered, and their position as men of education, it must at least admit of doubt whether, if a general usage prevailed among them to pronounce a particular word in the manner in which it originally was pronounced, this would not alone prevent a different pronunciation among others from having that general prevalence, which would be sufficient to justify a change in the utterance of such word.

But let us consider whether the usage of the Universities is not very cogent evidence that the h is generally sounded throughout England, 1. Each University contains a large number of the higher and better educated classes. 2. The members come from all parts of England indiscriminately. 3. Infinitely the majority come from schools; and some of the large schools have generally many members at each University. By such persons the pronunciation of the schools cannot fail to be represented. 4. Every one on entering the University is expected at least to know his own language. 5. There is no instruction, as far as I know (however much the fact may be to be regretted), ever given in English at either University. 6. There is a perpetual change of about a third of the members every year, few remaining above three years. Now can any one, who candidly considers these facts, doubt that a usage in pronouncing a particular word at either University if generally prevalent, is very strong evidence that the same usage is generally prevalent throughout England; but if any one does entertain such a doubt, surely it must be done away, when he finds that the same usage prevails at both Universities; though there exists such a degree of rivalry between them as would prevent the one from adopting from the other any usage which was liable to any the least doubt, and though there is no communication between them that could account for the same usage prevailing in both.

MR. CROSSLEY appeals to the Prayer Book as a decisive authority, and instances "an humble," &c. If any one will examine the Prayer Book, he will find that it is no authority at all; as "an" is at least as often used erroneously before h as not. In reading over the first sixty-eight Psalms, I found the following instances—Ps. xxvii. 3. and Ps. xxxiii. 15., "An host of men;" Ps. xlvii. 4. and Ps. lxi. 5., "An heritage;" Ps. xlix. 18., "An happy man," Ps. lv. 5., "An horrible dread;" Ps. lxviii. 15., "An high hill." And in the same Psalms I only found one instance of a before h, viz. in Ps. xxxiii. 16., "A horse;" and in this case the Bible version has "An horse." In the first Lesson for the 19th Sunday after Trinity, Dan. iii. 4., "An herald," and 27., "An hair of their head," occur; and in the next chapter (iv. 13.), "An holy one." It is plain from these instances (and doubtless many others may be found), that the use of "an" before h, in the Bible or Prayer Book, can afford no test whatever whether the h ought to be sounded or not.

S. G. C.

After the sensible Note of your correspondent E. H., it is perhaps hardly necessary to say more on the subject of aspirated and mute h. If these remarks, therefore, seem superfluous, they may easily be suppressed, and that too without any offence to the writer. {395}

It is very dangerous to dogmatise on the English language. We really have no authority to which we can confidently appeal, except the usage of good society: "Quem penes arbitrium est, et jus et norma loquendi." Unfortunately, however, every man is convinced, that in his own society that usage is to be found; and your correspondents, who have agreed in approving the Heapian pronunciation, will probably, on that ground, still retain the same opinion.

The only words in the English language, in which h is written, but not pronounced, are words derived from Latin through the French; but of these, many in English retain the aspirate, though in French nearly all lose it. The exceptions collected by E. H. satisfactorily prove that we do not follow the French rule implicitly. They indeed carry the non-aspiration farther than to words of Latin derivation. They omit the aspirate to nearly all words derived from Greek. This we never do. I think that E. H.'s rule, of always aspirating h before u, is not entirely without exceptions. Except in Ireland, I never heard humour or humorous aspirated, though in humid and humect the h is always sounded. If this be right, it depends solely on the usage of good society, and not on rules laid down by Walker or Lindley Murray, whose authority we do not acknowledge as infallible. I may here remark, that no arguments can be drawn from our Liturgy or translation of the Bible that would not prove too much. If, because we find in our Liturgy "an humble, lowly, and obedient heart," we are to read "an 'umble," we must also read "an 'undred, an 'ouse, an 'eap, an 'eart;" for an was prefixed in our Liturgy as well as in our translated Bible to every word beginning with h, and not (as one of your correspondents supposes) only to words beginning with silent h. Among young clergymen there is a growing habit (derived I suppose from Walker, or other such sources) of indulging in the Heapian dialect. I think Mr. Dickens will have done us more good by his ridicule, than will ever be effected by serious arguments; and I feel as much obliged to him as to E. H. To show how dangerous it is to be bound by a mere grammarian authority, a disciple of Vaugelas or Restaut (no insignificant names in French philology) would be led to read les heros as if it were "les zeros."

E. C. H.

* * * * *

SCHOOL LIBRARIES.

(Vol. viii., p. 220.)

I can answer MR. WELD TAYLOR for at least one public school having no library, nor any books for other purposes than tasks, i.e. Christ's Hospital, London: whether any other metropolitan schools are provided with books I do not know. When I was at the above school, at all events, we had no books except for learning out of; whether reform has crept in since I was there, twenty-five years ago, I cannot say. I speak of then, not now.

I remember very well a dusty cupboard with "Read, Mark, Learn," painted in ostentatious letters on it. And these profound words were just like a park gate with high iron railings, where you may peep in and get no farther—no more could we: for we never saw the inside of it, and nobody could say where the key was, therefore what flowery pleasaunce of knowledge it contained nobody perhaps knows to this day. I also remember how greedily any entertaining book was borrowed, begged, and circulated; and thumbed and dog's-eared to admiration. Rasselas and Gulliver's Travels, Robinson Crusoe, or Sandford and Merton, poor things! they became at last what might be supposed a public arsenal of umbrellas would at the last.

When I reflect on that time, and the dreary winter's evenings, trundled to bed almost by daylight, my very heart sinks. What a luxury if some Christian had been allowed to read aloud for an hour, instead of lying awake studying the ghastly lamp that swung from the ceiling in the dormitory; or if some one with a modicum of information had given half an hour's lecture on some entertaining branch of science. Perhaps these antique schools are reformed in some measure, or perhaps they are waiting till their betters are.

I observe, however, that certain parish work-house schools have, within these few days, taken the hint. Perhaps our public schools, for some are very wealthy, may be able to afford to follow their example.

E. H.

Wimborne Minster, Dorset.

Marlborough College possesses a library of about four thousand volumes, entirely the munificent contribution of Mr. M^cGeachy, one of the council. The boys of the fifth and sixth forms are allowed access daily at certain fixed hours, the librarian being present. In addition to this, libraries are now being formed in each house, which are maintained by small half-yearly subscriptions, and which will contain books of a more amusing character, and better suited for the younger boys.

B. J.

* * * * *

PHOTOGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE.

Albumenized Paper.—If this subject be not already exhausted, the following account of my method of preparing the material in question, which differs in some few important particulars from any I have seen published, may be of interest to some of my brother operators. {396}

I have, after a very considerable number of experiments, succeeded in producing the very highly varnished appearance so conspicuous in some of the foreign proofs; and although I cannot say I admire it in general, more especially as regards landscapes, yet it is sometimes very effective for portraits, giving a depth of tone to the shadows, and a roundness to the flesh, which is very striking. Moreover, a photographer may just as well be acquainted with every kind of manipulation connected with the art.

Having but a very moderate amount of spare time, and that at uncertain intervals, to devote to this seductive pursuit, I am always a great stickler for economy of time in all the processes, as well as for economy of material, the former with me having, perhaps, a shade more influence than the latter.

As in all other processes, I find that the kind of paper made use of has a most important bearing upon the result. That which I find the best is of French manufacture, known as Canson Freres' (both the thin and the thick sorts), probably in consequence of their being sized with starch. The thin sort (the same as is generally used for waxed-paper negatives) takes the highest polish, but more readily embrowns after being rendered sensitive, and the lights are not ever quite so white as when the positive paper is used.

In order to save both time and labour, I prepare my papers in the largest sizes that circumstances will admit of, as it takes little or no more time to prepare and render sensitive a large sheet than a small one; and as I always apply the silver solution by means of the glass rod, I find that a half-sheet of Canson's paper (being seventeen inches by eleven inches the half-sheet) is the best size to operate on. If the whole sheet is used, it requires more than double the quantity of solution to ensure its being properly covered, which additional quantity is simply so much waste.

A most convenient holder for the paper whilst being operated upon, is one suggested by Mr. Horne of Newgate Street, and consists of a piece of half-inch Quebec yellow pine plank (a soft kind of deal), eleven inches by seventeen inches, screwed to a somewhat larger piece of the same kind, but with the grain of the wood at right angles to the upper piece, in order to preserve a perfectly flat surface. On to the upper piece is glued a covering of japanned-flannel, such as is used for covering tables, taking care to select for the purpose that which has no raised pattern, the imitation of rosewood or mahogany being unexceptionable on that account. The paper can be readily secured to the arrangement alluded to by means of a couple of pins, one at each of two opposite angles, the wood being sufficiently soft to admit of their ready penetration.

To prepare the Albumen.—Take the white of one egg; this dissolve in one ounce of distilled water, two grains of chloride of sodium (common salt), and two grains of grape sugar; mix with the egg, whip the whole to froth, and allow it to stand until it again liquefies. The object of this operation is to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients, and render the whole as homogeneous as possible.

A variety in the resulting tone is produced by using ten grains of sugar of milk instead of the grape sugar.

The albumen mixture is then laid on to the paper by means of a flat camel's-hair brush, about three inches broad, the mixture being first poured into a cheese plate, or other flat vessel, and all froth and bubbles carefully removed from the surface. Four longitudinal strokes with such a brush, if properly done, will cover the whole half-sheet of paper with an even thin film; but in case there are any lines formed, the brush may be passed very lightly over it again in a direction at right angles to the preceding. The papers should then be allowed to remain on a perfectly level surface until nearly dry, when they may be suspended for a few minutes before the fire, to complete the operation. In this condition the glass is but moderate, and as is generally used; but if, after the first drying before the fire, the papers are again subjected to precisely the same process, the negative paper will shine like polished glass. That is coated again with the albumenizing mixture, and dried as before.

One egg, with the ounce of water, &c., is enough to cover five half-sheets with two layers, or five whole sheets with one.

I rarely iron my papers, as I do not find any advantage therein, because the moment the silver solution is applied the albumen becomes coagulated, and I cannot discover the slightest difference in the final result, except that when the papers are ironed I sometimes find flaws and spots occur from some carelessness in the ironing process.

If the albumenized paper is intended to be kept for any long time before use, the ironing may be useful as a protection against moisture, provided the iron be sufficiently hot; but the temperature ought to be considerable.

To render the paper sensitive, I use a hundred-grain solution of nitrate of silver, of which forty-five minims will exactly cover the sheet of seventeen inches by eleven inches, if laid on with the glass rod. A weaker solution will do, but with the above splendid tints may be produced. As to the ammonio-nitrate of silver, I have totally abandoned its use, and, after many careful experiments, I am satisfied that its extra sensitiveness is a delusion, while the rapid tendency of paper prepared with it to spoil is increased tenfold.

The fixing, of course, modifies considerably the tone of the proof, but almost any desired shade {397} may be attained by following the plan of MR. F. M. LYTE, published in "N. & Q.," provided the negative is sufficiently intense to admit of a considerable degree of over-printing.

It is a fact which appears to be entirely overlooked by many operators, that the intensity of the negative is the chief agent in conducing to black tones in the positive proof; and it is almost impossible to produce them if the negative is poor and weak: and the same observation applies to a negative that has been over-exposed.

GEO. SHADBOLT.

Cement for Glass Baths.—The best I have tried is Canada balsam. My baths I have had in use five years, and have used them for exciting, developing hypo. and cyanide, and are as good as when first used.

NOXID.

New Process for Positive Proofs.—I have tried a method of preparing my paper for positive proofs, which, as I have not seen it mentioned as employed by others, and the results appear to me very satisfactory, I am induced to communicate to you, and to accompany by some specimens, which will enable you to judge of the amount of success.

I use a glass cylinder, with air-pump attached, such as that described by MR. STEWART as employed by him for iodizing his paper. I put in this the salt solution, and that I use is thus composed: 2 drachms of sugar of milk, dissolved in 20 ounces of water, adding—

Chloride of barium 15 grs. Chloride of sodium 15 grs. Chloride of ammonium 15 grs.

In this I plunge several sheets of paper rolled into a coil (taking care that they are covered by the solution), and exhaust the air. I leave them thus for a few minutes, then take them out and hang them up to dry; or as the sheets are rather difficult to pin, from the paper giving way, spread them on a frame, across which any common kind of coarse muslin or tarletan, such as that I inclose, is stretched.

I excite with ammonio-nitrate of silver, 30 grains to 1 ounce of water, applied with a flat brush.

I fix in a bath of plain hypo. of the strength of one-sixth. The bath in which the inclosed specimens were fixed has been in use for some little time, and therefore has acquired chloride of silver.