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Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they are listed at the end of the text.
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{313}
NOTES AND QUERIES:
A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.
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"When found, make a note of."—CAPTAIN CUTTLE.
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No. 78.] SATURDAY, APRIL 26. 1851. [Price, Sixpence. Stamped Edition 7d.
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CONTENTS.
Page
On the Proposed Record of Existing Monuments 313
NOTES:—
Illustrations of Chaucer, No. IV. 315 The Academies of Sir Francis Kynaston and Sir Balthazar Gerbier, by Dr. E. F. Rimbault 317 Shakspeare and Fletcher, by Samuel Hickson 318 Illustrations of Tennyson 319 Folk Lore:—Sacramental Wine—Cure of Disease by means of Sheep 320 Ancient Inedited Ballads, No. IV., by K. R. H. Mackenzie 320 Poetical Coincidences, &c., by T. C. Smith 320 The Republic of San Marino, by Sydney Smirke 321 St. Francis 321 Minor Notes:—Charles Lamb's Epitaph—M. or N. —Henry VIII. and Sir T. Curwen—Periodical Literature, 1707—Archbishop Sancroft—Sir Henry Slingsby—Origin of a Surname—Madden's Reflections 322
QUERIES:—
The Bellman, and his History 324 Was Sallustius a Lecturer?—Connexion between Sallustius and Tacitus, by K. R. H. Mackenzie 325 The Outer Temple, by Edward Foss 325 Bibliographical Queries 326 Dutch Books published out of the Netherlands 326 What was the Country of the Angles? 326 Minor Queries:—Villenage—Roman Roads near London—Mrs. Catherine Barton—Sempecta at Croyland —Schmidt's Antiquitates Neomagensis—Roman Medicine-stamps—Sir Harris Nicolas' History of the Royal Navy—Wooden Baldrocks—Thanksgiving-book —History of the Jesuits—Mind your P's and Q's —Mode of hiring Domestic Servants in Holderness —Sittings—Fest—Home-made Wines—Inscription on a Clock—Inscription of the Tomb of Peter the Hermit—Wife of James Torre—"The Bear's Bible"—Harris, Painter in Water-Colours—University Hoods—"Nullis Fraus tuta latebris"—Voltaire, where situated?—Table of Prohibited Degrees —Launcelot Littleton—The Antediluvians 327
MINOR QUERIES ANSWERED:—Wither's Halelujah— Voltaire's Henriade—Christ-Cross A.—Apple-pie Order—Spick and Span new—Theory of the Earth's Form—Carolus Lawson 330
REPLIES:—
Haybands in Seals, by J. Burtt, &c. 331 North Side of Churchyards, by Rev. W. H. Kelke, &c. 332 The Rolliad, and some of its Writers, by J. H. Markland, &c. 333 Quakers' Attempt to convert the Pope 335 Snail-eating 336 Sir John Davies, Davis, or Davys, by W. H. Lammin 336 Locke MSS., by Thomas Kerslake 337 Replies to Minor Queries:—Defoe's Anticipations— Epitaph in Hall's Discoveries—Saint Thomas of Lancaster—Francis Moore, &c. 338
MISCELLANEOUS:—
Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, &c. 341 Books and Odd Volumes wanted 342 Notices to Correspondents 342 Advertisements 342
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ON THE PROPOSED SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESERVING A RECORD OF EXISTING MONUMENTS.
The following communications have reached us since the publication of our remarks on the proposed MONUMENTARIUM ANGLICANUM (No. 73. p. 217. et seq.). They serve to show how much interest the subject has excited among those best qualified to judge of the great utility of some well-organised plan for the preservation of a record of our still existing monuments.
MR. DUNKIN'S letter (which was accompanied by a copy of the prospectus issued by him in 1844) claims precedence, as showing the steps which that gentleman has already taken. It is a communication highly creditable to his exertions in the cause, but does not alter our views as to the practicability of any successful attempt to accomplish this object by individual exertion.
In No. 73. Vol. iii. of "NOTES AND QUERIES" you have honoured me by an allusion to the Monumenta Anglicana I have in the press, as "a plan which would have your hearty concurrence and recommendation, if it were at all practicable; but which must fail from its very vastness." It may be so; but the motto of my family is Essayez. Every "gigantic scheme" must have a commencement, and this "scheme," I am perfectly aware, is one "that no individual, however varied in attainments and abilities, could without assistance hope to achieve." My father, upwards of half a century since, commenced collecting mortuary memorials; many of the monuments from which he copied the inscriptions have since been destroyed by time, and many, very many, more by the ruthless innovations of beautifying churchwardens. These "very vast" collections—the labour of a life—however, only form a portion of the materials I now posses; for since I issued my prospectus in 1844, I have received many thousands of inscriptions and rubbings of brasses from clergymen and others; and I trust I shall be favoured with still further assistance, as in all cases where information is rendered, the source whence derived shall be most thankfully and freely acknowledged. {314}
The plan I have adopted with regard to arrangement is to folio each page three times, viz., i. each parish by itself; ii. each county; iii. alphabetically; so that each parish can be considered complete in itself; each county can be bound up by itself; or the whole alphabetically, gazetteer-wise.
The index will be also in three divisions,—i. general; ii. names of places; iii. names of persons.
With regard to the number of volumes,—I need not say that that is entirely in nubibus. My impression is limited to seventy-five copies, the same as my father's Oxfordshire, with which it corresponds in size.
I should have preferred seeing the government performing the task of preserving manuscripts of all existing monuments; but it is the fashion in Britain for government to leave all apparently national undertakings to individual exertion. I will here conclude with a quotation from the report I have just published of the Transactions at the Congress of the British Archaeological Association held in Worcester:
"Lamentation is, however, worse than useless: the spirit of the age forbids all idle mourning. If we would awaken a sympathy and interest in our pursuits, we must gird up our loins like men, and be doing, and that right earnestly; for it is hopeless any longer waiting for the government, as a 'Deus ex machina,' to help us to rescue our antiquities from destruction."
ALFRED JOHN DUNKIN.
Our next is from a correspondent (who has favoured us with his name) who proposes a scheme almost more extensive than that advocated by MR. DUNKIN, but who differs from that gentleman by recognising the necessity of combined endeavour to carry it out.
A few years since I propounded a scheme for an Ecclesiologicon Anglicanum, or record of the history, not only architectural and monumental, but also local and traditional, of every parish in England. Though I had long conceived such a design, I must confess myself indebted to some excellent remarks on the subject which appeared in the Ecclesiologist (New Series, No. x., April 1846). Fully aware that so stupendous a work could never be accomplished by any single individual, I compiled a prospectus of my design, and invited the co-operation of all antiquaries. I proposed to publish at intervals, and in alphabetical order, the parishes of every county, and by dividing the labour among different coadjutors, and giving to each a separate branch of inquiry, thereby insuring, by successive revisions, a certainty of correctness, I hoped to succeed in the undertaking. My project was, however, laid aside by reason of other engagements; but, as I still think it worthy of consideration, I have troubled you with these "Notes" in the hope that, by publication in your pages, they may be the means of suggesting to others interested in the matter the practicability of carrying them out. Though with no definite object in view, but with a presentiment of their after utility, I have, during many provincial campaigns, collected architectural notes, as well as genealogical memoranda, from the churches I have visited. To these, such as they are, any of your readers is welcome, for the purposes to which I have referred, and I know many who would gladly send their contributions to such an undertaking.
W. J. D. R.
Our next letter, though brief, is valuable as furnishing a case in point, to prove the practical utility which would result from the realisation of some well-considered scheme for the attainment of the great national object which we are advocating.
As an instance of the practical use of such a collection, let me inform your readers that in 1847, being engaged in an ejectment case on the home circuit, it became most important to show the identity of a young lady in the pedigree, the parish register of St. Christopher le Stocks only giving the name and date of burial. I found that when St. Christopher's was pulled down for the enlargement of the Bank of England, some kind antiquary had copied all the monuments. The book was found at the Herald's College; it contained an inscription proving the identity, and a verdict was obtained.
J. S. B.
Our last communication is, we have reason to believe, from an active and zealous Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, who would heartily co-operate in carrying out the practical suggestions thrown out in his letter.
In Vol. iii, p. 218., you suggest that the Society of Antiquaries is the body which should undertake the task of forming a record of existing monuments in churches. Entirely agreeing in the opinion you have expressed, I would venture to offer some remarks on the subject. The undertaking is a vast and laborious one, and can only be effected by great subdivision of labour.
That the Society of Antiquaries is the fittest agent for the work, I think admits of little doubt; its Fellows are widely spread throughout the country. In every neighbourhood may be found one or more gentlemen able and willing to give their aid, and to excite others to assist. The Archaeological Institute and the British Archaeological Association would doubtless add the weight of their influence, and the personal assistance of their members.
The clergy throughout the country would be able and willing labourers; and surely these conjoined forces are adequate to the occasion.
One consideration suggests itself, viz., whether {315} the record be confined to monuments in churches, or whether it should be extended to those in churchyards? I think it should be so extended, partially—that is, that all the monuments in churches should be given; and such of the monuments in churchyards as, upon a careful inspection, may appear to be in any way worthy of preservation. We do not perhaps want the ten thousand "afflictions sore" which ten thousand John Smiths are stated to have "long time bore."
The inscriptions in churches should be accompanied with rubbings of all brasses; and, as far as possible, with drawings of the most interesting monuments.
I am satisfied the thing can be done, if it be undertaken with prudence, and continued with energy. The copies should be certified by the signature of the person making them, and they should all be transcribed on paper of the same description, so that they might be bound in volumes.
The expense would probably be considerable, because in some instances paid labour might be requisite; but it would be as nothing compared with the magnitude and importance of the result; and if, as is probable, the Society of Antiquaries might hesitate at undertaking the whole charge, I doubt not that many would contribute towards it, and amongst them
Q. D.
A very slight consideration of the object which it is proposed to accomplish, and the means by which it can be attained, will show that it falls properly into three distinct operations, namely, Collection, Preservation, and Publication.
The first and most important is, the Collection of Materials. In this, it is obvious, the co-operation of individuals well qualified for the work may be secured in all parts of the country, provided some well-defined plan of operation is furnished for their guidance, by some recognised centre of union. A Committee of the Society of Antiquaries, who should well consider and determine upon some uniform plan of recording the inscriptions, &c., is clearly the body who, from their position, could most effectually, and with the greatest propriety, issue such circulars. That the Antiquaries would in this receive the support of both the Archaeological Societies, there cannot, of course, be any doubt.
And as we have in the Society of Antiquaries a machinery already established for the proper collection of the materials, so we have an existing and most appropriate place for their preservation in the British Museum, where they may be consulted at all times, by all parties, with the greatest facility, and free of charge.
These two great points, then, of Collection and Preservation, it is clear may be attained at an expense so inconsiderable, compared with the benefits to be gained from their accomplishment, that we cannot believe in their failure from want of funds.
For the accomplishment of the third great end, that of Publication, there is no existing machinery. But let the work of collection and preservation be once fairly entered upon—let it be seen how valuable a collection of materials has been gathered ready to the hand of a Society which should undertake its publication, and there need be little fear that from the supporters of the various Antiquarian, Archaeological, and Publishing Societies, now spread throughout the country, there would be found plenty of good men and true ready to lend their aid to the printings and publishing of the MONUMENTARIUM ANGLICANUM.
But as the first step is COLLECTION—and that step is the one in which the SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES can best move, we trust that the present year, in which this Society celebrates the centenary of its chartered existence, will be signalised by its promotion of such a Record of Existing Monuments as is here proposed; which cannot be otherwise regarded—(and we use the words of the Society's Charter)—than as "good, useful, honest, and necessary for the encouragement, advancement, and furtherance of the study and knowledge of Antiquities and the History of this Country."
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Notes
ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHAUCER, NO. IV.
The Pilgrimage to Canterbury.
"Whanne that April with his shoures sote The droughte of March hath perced to the rote, And bathed every veine in swiche licour Of which vertue engendred is the flour; When Zephyrus eke with his sote brethe Enspired hath in every holt and hethe The tendre croppes—and the yonge Sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne; * * * * Than longen folk to gon on pilgrimages— * * * * * * * * Befelle, that in that seson, on a day."—Prologue.
I quote these lines because I wish to show that Tyrwhitt, in taking them as indicative of the very day on which the journey to Canterbury was performed, committed a great mistake.
The whole of the opening of the prologue, down to the line last quoted, is descriptive, not of any particular day, but of the usual season of pilgrimages; and Chaucer himself plainly declares, by the words "in that seson, on a day"—that the day is as yet indefinite. {316}
But because Tyrwhitt, who, although an excellent literary critic, was by no means an acute reader of his author's meaning, was incapable of appreciating the admirable combination of physical facts by which Chaucer has not only identified the real day of the pilgrimage, but has placed it, as it were, beyond the danger of alteration by any possible corruption in the text, he set aside these physical facts altogether, and took in lieu of them the seventh and eighth lines of the prologue quoted above, which, I contend, Chaucer did not intend to bear any reference to the day of the journey itself, but only to the general season in which it was undertaken.
But Tyrwhitt, having seized upon a favourite idea, seems to have been determined to carry it through, at any cost, even at that of altering the text from "the Ram" into "the Bull:" and I fear that he can scarcely be acquitted of unfair and intentional misquotation of Chaucer's words, by transposing "his halfe cours" into "half his course," which is by no means an equivalent expression. Here are his own words:
"When he (Chaucer) tells us that 'the shoures of April had perced to the rote the drought of March' (ver. 1, 2.), we must suppose, in order to allow due time for such an operation, that April was far advanced; while, on the other hand, the place of the sun, 'having just run half his course in the Ram' (ver. 7, 8.), restrains us to some day in the very latter end of March. This difficulty may, and, I think, should, be removed by reading in ver. 8. the BULL, instead of the RAM. All the parts of the description will then be consistent with themselves, and with another passage (ver. 4425.), where, in the best MSS., the eighte and twenty day of April is named as the day of the journey to Canterbury."—Introductory Discourse.
Accordingly, Mr. Tyrwhitt did not hesitate to adopt in his text the twenty-eighth of April as the true date, without stopping to examine whether that day would, or would not, be consistent with the subsequent phenomena related by Chaucer.
Notwithstanding Tyrwhitt's assertion of a difficulty only removable by changing the Ram into the Bull, there are no less than two ways of understanding the seventh and eighth lines of the prologue so as to be perfectly in accordance with the rest of the description. One of these would be to suppose the sign Aries divided into two portions (not necessarily equal in the phraseology of the time), one of which would appertain to March, anal the other to April—and that Chaucer, by the "halfe cours yronne," meant the last, or the April, half of the sign Aries. But I think a more probable supposition still would be to imagine the month of April, of which Chaucer was speaking, to be divided into two "halfe cours," in one of which the sun would be in Aries, and in the other in Taurus; and that when Chaucer says that "the yonge Sonne had in the Ram his halfe cours yronne," he meant that the Aries half of the month of April had been run through, thereby indicating in general terms some time approaching to the middle of April.
Both methods of explaining the phrase lead eventually to the same result, which is also identical with the interpretation of Chaucer's own contemporaries, as appears in its imitation by Lydgate in the opening of his "Story of Thebes:"
"Whan bright Phebus passed was the Ram, Midde of Aprill, and into the Bull came."
And it is by no means the least remarkable instance of want of perception in Tyrwhitt, that he actually cites these two lines of Lydgate's as corroborative of his own interpretation, which places the sun in the middle of Taurus.
I enter into this explanation, not that I think it necessary to examine too curiously into the consistency of an expression which evidently was intended only in a general sense, but that the groundlessness of Tyrwhitt's alleged necessity for the alteration of "the Ram" into "the Bull" might more clearly appear.
I have said that Tyrwhitt was not a competent critic of Chaucer's practical science, and I may perhaps be expected to point out some other instance of his failure in that respect than is afforded by the subject itself. This I may do by reference to a passage in "The Marchante's Tale," which evinces a remarkable want of perception not only in Tyrwhitt, but in all the editors of Chaucer that I have had an opportunity of consulting.
The morning of the garden scene is said in the text to be "er that dayes eight were passed of the month of Juil"—but, a little further on, the same day is thus described:
"Bright was the day and blew the firmament, Phebus of gold his stremes doun hath sent To gladen every flour with his warmnesse; He was that time in Geminis, I gesse, But litel fro his declination In Cancer."
How is it possible that any person could read these lines and not be struck at once with the fact that they refer to the 8th of June and not to the 8th of July? The sun would leave Gemini and enter Cancer on the 12th of June; Chaucer was describing the 8th, and with his usual accuracy he places the sun "but litel fro" the summer solstice!
Since "Juil" is an error common perhaps to all previous editions, Tyrwhitt might have been excused for repeating it, if he had been satisfied with only that: but he must signalise his edition by inserting in the Glossary attached to it—"JUIL, the month of July," referring, as the sole {317} authority for the word, to this very line in question of "The Marchante's Tale!"
Nor does the proof, against him in particular, end even there; he further shows that his attention must have been especially drawn to this garden scene by his assertion that Pluto and Proserpine were the prototypes of Oberon and Titania; and yet he failed to notice a circumstance that would have added some degree of plausibility to the comparison, namely, that Chaucer's, as well as Shakspeare's, was a Midsummer Dream.
It is, perhaps, only justice to Urry to state that he appears to have been aware of the error that would arise from attributing such a situation of the sun to the month of July. The manner in which the lines are printed in his edition is this:—
"ere the dayis eight Were passid, er' the month July befill."
It is just possible to twist the meaning of this into the eighth of the Kalends of July, by which the blunder would be in some degree lessened; but such a reading would be as foreign to Chaucer's astronomy as the lines themselves are to his poetry.
A. E. B.
Leeds, April 8. 1851.
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THE ACADEMIES OF SIR FRANCIS KYNASTON AND SIR BALTHAZAR GERBIER.
Among the many interesting associations connected with old Covent Garden and its neighbourhood, we ought not to overlook Sir Francis Kynaston's "Museum Minervae."
In the year 1635, King Charles the First granted his letters patent to Sir Francis Kynaston, "Esquire of the body to his Majesty," whereby a house in Covent Garden, which Sir Francis had purchased, and furnished with books, manuscripts, musical and mathematical instruments, paintings, statues, antiques, &c., was appropriated for ever as a college for the education of the young, nobility, and others, under the name of the "Museum Minervae." Sir Francis Kynaston was made the governor with the title of "regent;" Edward May, Thomas Hunt, Nicholas Phiske, John Spidell, Walter Salter, Michael Mason, fellows and professors of philosophy and medicine, music, astronomy, geometry, languages, &c. They had power to elect professors also of horsemanship, dancing, painting, engraving, &c.; were made a body corporate, were permitted to use a common seal, and to possess goods and lands in mortmain. (Pat. 11 Car. pt. 8. No. 14.) In the following year, 1636, was published, dedicated to the "Regent and Professors," The Constitutions of the Museum Minervae; giving an Account of an Academy for teaching chiefly Navigation, Riding, Fortification, Architecture, Painting, and other useful Accomplishments.
The "Museum" seems to have been highly patronised, for we find that on the 27th February, 1635 (the year of its foundation), Prince Charles, the Duke of York, and the Lady Mary their sister, honoured it with their presence to witness a masque, entitled "Corona Minervae," which was written and prepared for the occasion by Sir Francis Kynaston. This masque was, I believe, printed in the year of its production, but I do not find it mentioned in the last edition of the Biographia Dramatica.
Mr. Cunningham, in his Handbook of London, mentions (p. 42.) that
"Sir Francis Kynaston, the poet, was living in Covent Garden in 1636, on the east side of the street towards Berrie" (Bedfordbury).
And again, in his notice of Bedford Street (p. 44.), he says, Sir Francis resided "on the west side in 1637." Both these entries refer to the same residence—a noble mansion, built in the year 1594, which, after being inhabited by several important families, finally passed into the possession of Sir Francis Kynaston, who altered and adapted it (rebuilding some portions) as the college of the "Museum Minervae." The ground plan, which is now before me, exhibits a well-arranged and commodious building with two fronts, one in what is now Bedfordbury, and the other (probably added by Sir Francis) in the street now called Bedford Street. The building, when Sir Francis Kynaston purchased it in 1634, stood in the centre of a large garden. The surrounding streets,—King Street, New Street, Bedford Street, Chandos Street, Henrietta Street, and Bedfordbury, were not commenced building until the year 1637.
The "Museum Minervae" is not named in Mr. Cunningham's excellent Handbook; but when we take into consideration the enormous amount of information required for a work of the kind, we ought not to blame the author for a few trifling omissions.
Sir Balthazar Gerbier, an enterprising projector of the same century, by profession a painter and an architect, but now scarcely remembered as either, seems to have imitated the "Museum Minervae" in an academy opened at Bethnal Green in 1649. Here, in addition to the more common branches of education, he professed to teach astronomy, navigation, architecture, perspective, drawing, limning, engraving, fortification, fireworks, military discipline, the art of well speaking and civil conversation, history, constitutions and maxims of state, and particular dispositions of nations, "riding the great horse," &c. Once in each week, at three o'clock in the afternoon, Sir Balthazar gave a public lecture gratis on the various sciences. The lectures were {318} generally advertised in the Perfect Diurnal, and a few curious specimens of these advertisements may be seen in Lysons' Environs of London, ed. 1795, vol. ii. p. 30.
Balthazar Gerbier was born at Antwerp about 1591, came young into England, and was a retainer of the Duke of Buckingham as early as 1613. Upon the accession of Charles the First, he was employed in Flanders to negociate privately a treaty with Spain. In 1628 he was knighted at Hampton Court; and, as he says himself in one of his books, was promised by the king the office of surveyor-general of the works, after the death of Inigo Jones. In 1637 he was employed in some private transactions of state; and on the 13th of July, 1641, he took the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, having a bill of naturalisation. In 1648 he appears to have projected the above-named academy, the failure of which very soon happened. Sir Balthazar then went to America, where he seems to have been very ill treated by the Dutch, and narrowly escaped with his life. He afterwards returned to England, and designed the triumphal arch for the reception of Charles the Second. He died at Hempsted-marshal, in 1667, whilst engaged in superintending the mansion of Lord Craven, and was buried in the chancel of that church.
In conclusion, it may be as well to mention, that, prior to the establishment of the "Museum Minervae," a committee had been appointed in the House of Lords, consisting of the Duke of Buckingham and others, for taking into consideration the state of the public schools, and method of education. What progress was made in this inquiry is not known, but in all probability the academies of Sir Francis Kynaston and Sir Balthazar Gerbier owed their origin to the meetings of this committee.
EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.
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SHAKSPEARE AND FLETCHER.
I feel greatly obliged to your correspondent C. B. for the attention he has bestowed on the question of Fletcher's connexion with Henry VIII., as it is only through the concurrent judgments of those who think the subject worthy of their full and impartial consideration, that we can hope to arrive at the truth. His remarks (Vol. iii., p. 190.) are the more valuable, as they coincide with a doubt in my own mind, which has, to a great extent, ripened since I last communicated with you on the subject; and, indeed, I have no need to hesitate in saying, that I had more difficulty in coming to a conclusion with regard to the scene (Act III. Sc. 2.) in which the passages occur quoted by C. B., than with any other scene in the whole play. The suggestions, that Shakspeare might have touched scenes of which the mass had been written by Fletcher, is a point which I had not overlooked, and which indeed, to some extent, might be said to follow from the view I took of the relation of Shakspeare and Fletcher as master and scholar. Yet this suggestion is especially valuable regarding this scene, and may account for that which, without it, is not so easily explained.
If, however, there be any lurking notion in your correspondent's mind, that the scene in Antony and Cleopatra (Act III. Sc. 1) referred to by X. Z. (Vol. iii., p. 139.) is, judging from certain coincidences of expression, an interpolation, and not by Shakspeare, I beg at once to be allowed to express my total dissent from such a view. Whether, also, there may have been any secondary allusion to some known event of the day, as X. Z. supposes, and as is by no means improbable, I cannot say; but I protest against its being said that the scene referred to is "totally unconnected with what goes before, and what follows." Antony is the hero of the play; and this scene shows the culminating point of Antony's fortunes, when his very successes turn against him.
To return to Henry VIII., the compliment to the Queen, to which your correspondent refers, is, as he very justly observes, brought in in a very forced manner. This, to my mind, is very strong evidence; otherwise I should not think it unworthy of Shakspeare. And it still has to be borne in mind, that he would have had to accommodate his characters and circumstances to the views of another writer. Shakspeare's spirit was too catholic, too universal, to have allowed, in a work entirely his own, even his Wolsey to have made use of the term "a spleeny Lutheran;" yet neither in the passage in which this expression occurs, nor in the one above referred to, is the versification characteristic of Fletcher. For my own part, however, I cannot recognise Shakspeare's spirit in this antagonism of creeds, which is, perhaps, even more strongly displayed in the prophetic speech of Cranmer's in the last scene, wherein he says, "God shall be truly known!" It may be said, that in both these instances the expressions are true to the characters of Wolsey and Cranmer. It may be so; for both are wanting in that ideal elevation which Shakspeare never fails to give. That, with this reservation, he becomes the mouth-piece of each character, is most true; and a curious instance of the writer's utter forgetfulness of his assumed character of contemporary with the events he is relating, occurring in Act. IV. Sc. 2 where Griffiths says—
"He was most princely: ever witness for him Those twins of learning, that he rais'd in you, Ipswich and Oxford! one of which fell with him, Unwilling to outlive the good that did it; The other, though unfinish'd, yet so famous, So excellent in art, and still so rising,"—
{319} has no parallel in Shakspeare's works. To John Fletcher, indeed, at the close of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, these things were known; but scarcely to the attendant of Queen Katherine, who has but just narrated the circumstances, then newly happened, of Wolsey's fall. On maturer consideration, then, I am inclined to think that the whole of the scene (Act III. Sc. 2.) to which your correspondent refers, was originally written by Fletcher, although, as it now stands, it is strongly marked by the hand of Shakspeare. In the same category, also, I am inclined to place Scenes 3. and 4. of Act II. It will be observed that these changes are not inconsistent with the view I had previously taken; the effect being merely, that I am inclined to ascribe a little more than in the first instance to the hitherto unsuspected participator in the work. I am not sure, too, that I shall not be coming nearer to MR. SPEDDING; as, if I am not mistaken, it is in some of these scenes that he imagines he detects "a third hand;" a theory which, though I do not adopt, I certainly have not confidence enough to reject altogether. But this view affects so very small a portion of the play, that it is of very little consequence.
SAMUEL HICKSON.
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ILLUSTRATIONS OF TENNYSON.
That great poets are sometimes obscure, needs no proof. That the greatest poets will necessarily be so to the ordinary reader, seems to me equally indisputable.
Not without effort can one enter into the spontaneous thought of another, or even of himself in another mood. How much more when that other is distinguished from his fellows by the greatness and singularity of his thoughts, and by the extreme subtilty of their connecting links. Obscurity is not a blemish but an excellence, if the pains of seeking are more than compensated by the pleasures of finding, the luxury of [Greek: mathesis], where the concentrated energy of a passage, when once understood, gives it a hold on the imagination and memory such as were ill sacrificed to more diluted clearness.
Grandis praefatio tenui incepto—a sort of apology to Tennyson for implying that he needs illustration. Some time ago I made a few notes on particular passages in Locksley Hall, which I now enclose. Some of them are, I dare say, superfluous—some, possibly, erroneous. If so, they will stand a fair chance of being corrected in your valuable publication.
By the bye, if a "NOTES AND QUERIES" had existed in the days of AEschylus, we might have been saved from many a recourse to "corrupt text" and "lacunae admodum deflendae."
Notes on Locksley Hall.
Stanza 2. "Dreary gleams:" in apposition with "curlews." I know the construction of this line has puzzled a good many readers.
Stanza 23. "Yet it shall be." Yet "decline" thou certainly wilt.
Stanza 28. "He will answer," &c. With an oath, it may be—at the least with a coarse rebuff.
Stanza 29. "The heart's disgrace." The disgrace, the injury, and degradation the heart has suffered—its prostitution to a mercenary service by a marriage of interest.
Stanza 34. "Never." Alas! I never can.
Stanza 35. "In division of the records of the mind." In dividing my recollections of her into two groups, and erasing the one.
Stanza 38. "The poet is" (as I think has been already pointed out) Dante.
Stanza 40. "He hunts," &c. He—thy husband.
Stanza 42. "Never, never," &c. Never again! (joys never to return) sung by the ghosts of years departed.
Stanza 51. "I have but an angry fancy"—my only qualification.
Stanza 53. "But the jingling of the guinea," &c. But there is no fighting now: the nations get over their quarrels in another way—by the jingling of the guinea, instead of the clang of arms.
Stanzas 54. "Mother-age."; 93. "Mother-age, for mine I know not."
This mother-age is a great difficulty. At first I took it for the past of history, but now understand by it the past of his own life, at least its earliest and brightest period—that age which had been as a mother, the only mother he ever knew.
Stanza 70. "Youthful joys." The bright hopes of his youth. (?)
Stanza 75. "Blinder motions," Less rational, less well-guided emotions.
Stanza 91. "The distance." The distant future, the "good time coming."
There are some lines in In Memoriam (I have not the book at hand, but any reader thereof will instantly recollect them), which indicate Tennyson's acquaintance with and appreciation of Jeremy Taylor, who thus expresses the thoughts of the "wild fellow in Petronius," suggested by the sight of a floating corpse.
"That peradventure this man's wife, in some part of the Continent, safe and warm, looks next month for the good man's return or, it may be, his son knows nothing of the tempest: or his father thinks of that affectionate kiss which is still warm upon the good old man's cheek ever since he took a kind farewell; and he weeps with joy to think how blessed he shall be when his beloved boy returns into the circle of his father's arms."—Holy Dying.
Compare with "Sure never moon to evening," &c., in the same poem, and I think the same place: {320}
"Nec nox ulla diem, neque noctem aurora secuta est, Quae non audierit mistos vagitibus aegris Ploratus mortis comites, et funeris atri."—Lucretius, ii. 579.
G. P.
* * * * *
FOLK LORE.
Sacramental Wine (Vol. iii., p. 179.).—From a note by MR. ALBERT WAY, on the use of sacramental wine, one would be led to infer that it was recommended on account of some superstitious belief in its superior excellency from having been used in religious worship; but I would suggest that the same reasons which recommend Teynt wine, the kind generally used for the Sacrament, are those which have established for it a reputation in cases of sickness: these are its rich red colour, and sweet and agreeable flavour.
Weakness is popularly supposed to be caused by a thinness and want of blood; if wine be recommended for this, there is a deeply rooted prejudice in favour of red wine because the blood is red, and upon no better principle than that which prescribes the yellow bark of the barberry for the yellow state of jaundice; the nettle, for the nettle-rash; and the navel-wort (Cotyledon umbilicus), for weakness about the umbilical region. The truth is, that rustic practice is much influenced by the doctrine of similitudes, the principle of "similia similibus curantur" having been more extensively recognised in the olden time than since the days of Hahnemann.
The sweetness of Teynt wine would recommend it for children, to whom a stronger wine is generally distasteful; but Port is generally prescribed as a tonic for adults.
It may further be remarked, that the recommendation to give Sacramental wine might arise from the fact, that, as in some parishes more wine is provided than is required, the remainder is put by to be given to the poor who may require it at the hands of the clergyman.
In sending these remarks, I am led to request that your correspondents would make Notes upon such old wives' remedies as are employed upon the principles I have mentioned.
JAMES BUCKMAN.
Cirencester, April 12.
Cure of Disease by means of Sheep.—A child in my parish has been for some time afflicted with disease of some of the respiratory organs. The mother was recommended to have it carried through a flock of sheep as they were let out of the fold in the morning. The time was considered to be of importance.
[Hebrew: B].
L—— Rectory, Somerset.
* * * * *
ANCIENT INEDITED BALLADS, NO. IV.
I next transcribe the following lines from the same MS. as my last. It is another epitaph on the Mr. Browne that I mentioned in No. II. It contains a curious illustration of a passage in Shakspeare, which has been often debated in the pages of "NOTES AND QUERIES," and so deserves preservation.
"Vpon the death of that right worthye man, MR. BROWNE, late of Caius and Gonville Colledge disceased. Epicedion."—(Harl. MSS., No. 367. fol. 155.)
"If vowes or teares from heartes or eyes, Could pearce the unpenitrable skyes, Then might he live, that now heere lyes.
But teares are tonguelesse, vowes are vaine, T' recall what fate calls; els how faine 5 What death hath seis'd, wold I regaine.
But sure th' immortal one belaves This wished soule in 's blissfull waves: Ill comes too oft, when no man craves.
Rest, therefore, vrne, rest quietlye, 10 And when my fates shall call on me, So may I rest, as I wish the. "R. CONSTABLE, Caio-Gonvillensis."
I need hardly point out the striking similarity between the expression in Shakspeare—
"and the delighted spirit To bathe in fiery floods,"—
and the third stanza of this poem.
KENNETH R. H. MACKENZIE.
* * * * *
POETICAL COINCIDENCES, ETC.
Byron.
In the Jealous Lovers of Thomas Randolph, the following passage occurs, which may possibly have suggested to Lord Byron the fearful curse he has put into the mouth of Eve, in "the grand and tremendous drama of Cain."[1]
"May perpetual jealousie Wait on their beds, and poison their embraces With just suspitions; may their children be Deform'd, and fright the mother at the birth: May they live long and wretched; all men's hate, And yet have misery enough for pity: May they be long a-dying—of diseases Painful and loathsome," &c.
That exquisite stanza in the Third Canto of Childe Harold, "Even as a broken mirror," &c., has been often admired. In Carew's poem, The Spark, I find the following lines, which contain similar image:
{321}
"And as a looking-glass, from the aspect, Whilst it is whole, doth but one face reflect, But being crack'd, or broken, there are shown Many half faces, which at first were one; So Love," &c.
To the coincidences which have been already pointed out regarding that exquisite line in the Bride of Abydos:
"The mind, the music breathing from her face,"
the following from Carew may perhaps be added:
"The harmony of colours, features, grace, Resulting airs (the magic of a face) Of musical sweet tunes, all which combin'd, To crown one sovereign beauty, lie confined To this dark vault."—Epitaph on the Lady S.
All will recollect the wonderful description of the shipwreck in Don Juan; and more particularly the incidents so graphically related in stanzas 52 and 53 of the Second Canto: to a part of which, the following passage fro Lee's Oedipus bears some resemblance:
"Methought I heard a voice, Now roaring like the ocean, when the winds Fight with the waves; now in a still small tone Your dying accents fell, as wrecking ships, After the dreadful yell, sink murm'ring down, And bubble up a noise."
I have now before me a print of John, the first Lord Byron, engraved from a painting in the collection of Lord Delaware; in which he is pourtrayed in armour, with a truncheon in the left hand, and the right arm bare to above the elbow. Can this have suggested to Lord Byron the idea of describing "Alp the renegade" as fighting with "the white arm bare," in the Siege of Corinth?
Byron refers to Smollett as an authority for "blatant beast," apparently forgetting that the figure originated with Spenser. Again, in a note to Don Juan respecting his use of the phrase "reformadoes," he remarks:
"The Baron Bradwardine, in Waverley, is authority for the word."
It occurs, however, in Ben Jonson, and may be found in Blount's Glossographia; Phillips's World of Words, and other old dictionaries of the same period.
T. C. SMITH.
[Footnote 1: Sir Walter Scott.]
* * * * *
THE REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO.
Amidst the Apennines, far removed from the ordinary track of tourists, is the diminutive republic of San Marino, which boasts never to have been subjugated. Whether it has escaped invasion because it has escaped notice, or because burglars never attack an empty cottage, is a point which I shall not stop to discuss. Few travellers visit it, but the trouble of doing so would be amply repaid. The situation is highly romantic; and the view from the summit of the bold escarpment, upon which the town is perched, extends over a wilderness of mountains.
The population of the territory is said not to exceed 6,000 or 7,000 souls. Its whole income is derived from a moderate duty on tobacco; and its standing army (for it possesses this indispensable incident to political independence) is chiefly employed in vain attempts to prevent the evasion of that duty.
Among the greatest and most highly esteemed curiosities of the place, is a statue of Christ on the cross, with a head of real hair, which is cut twice a year, and always grows again! This faculty of reproduction is as profitable as it is wonderful; for, besides the resort of pious visitors, drawn by the capillary attractions of such a miraculous piece of sculpture, the locks that are cut off are stated, by the ecclesiastical functionaries in charge of the statue, to be a sure preservative against all harm to the wearer, and are of course in request as an article of commerce. My object in communicating to you these notes, is to introduce to you a copy, which I transcribed myself, of one of the state papers preserved in the archives of the republic. It appears to be a letter of encouragement, addressed by the Priors and Gonfaloniere of the republic of Florence to that of S. Marino, during a siege that the latter was undergoing. Perhaps some of your readers may be able to point out the precise occasion that called for the letter.
SYDNEY SMIRKE.
"Magnifici viri amici nri car^{mi}, Habbiamo vedato la lettera vi scrive il Governatore, et habbiamo inteso la volunta dello exercito della Chiesa. Dovete essere di buono animo et stare constanti et fermi: et perdere la vita insieme con la liberta che e meglo allo huomo uso a essere libero, essere morto che essere servo. Iddio a chi piace la liberta vi aiutera difenderai: et noi et la nra lega non vi manchera: havete inteso le provisioni facte et di denari et di gente ad Arimino; et faremo delle altre tante che saranno abastanza. Valete. Ex palatio nro die viij. Junij, M.CCCCLXVIIIj.
"Priores libertatis et } Vexillifer Justitiae } Populi Florentinj.
"Barth. Scala.
"Magnificis Viris hominibus terrae Sā Marini amicis nris car^{mis}."
* * * * *
ST. FRANCIS.
I think Mrs. Jameson, in her Legends of the Monastic Orders, has left unnoticed the very remarkable book of the Conformity of St. Francis's Life with that of Jesus Christ, a work, the blasphemy of which is only equalled by its absurdity.
The book was written by Bartholomew of Pisa, a monk of the order, and licensed in 1399 by the general of the Minorites.
"Approbatum est a fr. Henrico ord. frat. Minorum generali ministro et servo et caeteris ministris et diffinitoribus capituli generalis apud Sacrum locum de Assisio die 2 Augusti A.D. 1399."
{322}
The title of the first edition, which is very rare, is as follows:
"Liber Conformitatum Vitae S. Francisci ad Vitam Jesu Christi. Authore Fr. Bartholomaeo degli Albizzi, ex recens. Fran. Zenonis. Impressum Mediolani per Gotardum Ponticum apud templum Sancti Satyri. Anno M.CCCCCX. die 18 mensis Septembris. In fol. literis quadratis."
The Second edition:
"Opus aur. et inexplicabilis bonitatis et continentiae, Conformitatum scilicet vitae Beati Frā. ad vitā Dī. nri Jesu xpi. Mediolani, in edibus Zanoti castilionei 1513. in fol. goth."
The third edition, also in folio, appeared at Bologne (1590) as "Liber aureus, inscriptus liber Conformitatum, etc., per Hierem Bucchium," with some alterations in the text.
Fourth edition:
"Vita S. Fran. conf. ad vit. Xti., per S. Bonaventuram Conscriptu ab Henr. Sedulio Com. illustrata, 4to., Antr. 1597."
Another edition, by Jer. Bacch, in folio, appeared at Bologne in 1620; and an abridged edition in octavo, by Phil. Bosquier, at Cologne, under the title of Antiquitates Franciscanae, a very good edition of the Liber Conform., "Et ex Annalibus Madingi collecta per Tibur. Navarrum," was published in 4to. at Rome in 1670.
The late Dr. Elrington had a very fine copy of the following French translation:—
"Traite des Conformites du Disciple avec son Maitre, c'est a dire, de Saint Francois avec J. C., etc., le tout recueilli par un frere mineur recollect. (Valentin Maree.) Liege, 1658-60. 4 part en 3 vol. in 4to."
In 1542 a small volume was put forth, containing choice passages from the Liber Conformitatum, with a preface and letter to the reader, purporting to be from Martin Luther. It was accordingly by many attributed to him; the real compiler was Erasmus Alberus. The title of the first edition is
"Alcoranus Franciscorum, etc., ex libro conformitatum: Francof. 1542, parv. 8vo."
It was reprinted, with a French translation, by Conrad Badius, at Geneva, 1560 or 1578; so says Brunet.
The best edition of this work was that published at Amsterdam in 1734, in two vols. 12 mo., with some capital plates by Picart. The title is—
"L'Alcoran des Cordeliers, tant en Latin qu'en Francois; c'est a dire, Recueil des plus notables bourdes et blasphemes de ceux qui ont ose comparer Sainet Francois a Jesus Christ; tire du grand livre des Conformites, jadis compose par frere Barthelemi de Pise, Cordelier en son vivant. Nouvelle edition, ornee de figures dessinees par B. Picart. A Amsterdam. Aux Defens de la Compagnie. MDCCXXXIV."
Another work, printed the same year, is often found with this:—
"Legende Doree, ou Sommaire de l'Histoire des Freres-mendians de l'ordre de Saint Francois. (Par Nic. Vignier.) Amsterdam, 1734. 12mo. Reimpr. sur l'ed. de Leyde, 1608 in 8vo."
Thomas of Celano, the friend and scholar of St. Francis, and the author of the famous Dies Irae, after the saint's death composed a brief account of his life, which he afterwards greatly enlarged, and which even now is the most authentic we possess. I should be glad to know the best, as well as the latest editions of this life.
"Francis," said Luther, "was no doubt an honest and just man. He little thought that such superstition and unbelief should proceed out of his life."—Tischreden.
Berington says of St. Francis:
"In an age of less intemperance in religion, miracles and the fancied intervention of peculiar favours from heaven, would not have been deemed necessary to stamp worth and admiration on a character which in itself possessed the purest excellences that fall to the lot of man. But this circumstance, and more than this, the reception which an institute so peculiarly framed met with, serve to manifest the singular taste of the age."—Berington's Henry II., p. 629.
"It is scarcely possible," says Mr. Massingberd, "to read the history of St. Francis of Assisi, without believing that there was in him a sincere and self-devoted, however ill-directed, piety." We must not let the foolish legends afterwards written of him lower him in our estimation, nor cease to regard him as a sincere and devoted Christian.
MARICONDA.
* * * * *
Minor Notes.
Charles Lamb's Epitaph.—Perhaps the following lines, which I have copied from the gravestone of Charles Lamb, who lies in the churchyard at Edmonton, may be interesting to those of your readers who are among the admirers of the witty and gentle Elia:—
"Farewell, dear friend; that smile, that harmless mirth, No more shall gladden our domestic hearth; That rising tear, with pain forbid to flow, Better than words, no more assuage our woe; That hand outstretch'd from small but well-earn'd store, Yield succour to the destitute no more.
Yet art thou not all lost; thro' many an age With sterling sense and humour shall thy page Win many an English bosom, pleased to see That old and happier vein revived in thee. This for our earth, and if with friends we share Our joys in heav'n, we hope to meet thee there."
I have heard it conjectured that the above were written by Wordsworth. I shall feel obliged if any of your readers will inform me whether the late laureate was the author of them or not?
MARIA S.
Edmonton.
{323}
M. or N. (Vol. i., p. 415.; Vol. ii., p. 61.).—There have been several suggestions as to the origin of the use of these letters in the services of the church, but I do not think that any correspondent has hit upon the very simple one which I have always considered to be most probably the true explanation; which is, that as these services were compiled when algebra stood much higher in the rank of sciences than it does at present, it is by no means unlikely that these two letters should be used to signify indefinite and variable names, as they are in algebra to represent indefinite or variable numbers, in the same manner as A. B. C. are as signs of known or definite, and X. Y. Z. of unknown sums.
E. H. Y.
Henry VIII. and Sir Thos. Curwen.—The following quaint extract from Sandford's MS. History of Cumberland, now in the library of the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle, exhibits that "reknowned king," Henry VIII., in so good-natured a light, that I think, if you can find a corner for it, it may amuse some of your readers. That the good knight and "excelent archer" should have been so outwitted by his son-in-law is a matter of some regret to one of his descendants:—
"Sir Thos. Curwen, Knight, in Henry the Eight's time, an excelent archer at twelvescore merks; and went up with his men to shoote with that reknowned King at the dissolution of abbeys: and the King says to him, Curwen, why doth thee begg none of these Abbeys? I wold gratify thee some way. Quoth the other, Thank yow, and afterward said he wold desire of him the Abbie of ffurness (nye unto him) for 20^{ty} one yeares. Sayes the King: take it for ever: quoth the other, it is long enough, for youle set them up againe in that time: but they not likely to be set up againe, this Sir Tho. Curwen sent Mr. Preston, who had married his daughter, to renew the lease for him; and he even rennewed in his own name; which when his father-in-law questioned, quoth Mr. Preston, you shall have it as long as you live; and I think I may as well have it with your daughter as another."
After some descents, this family of Preston, of the manor of Furness, terminated in a daughter, who married Sir William Lowther, whose grandson left his estates in Furness and Cartmell to his cousin, Lord George Cavendish, through whom they are inherited by the Earl of Burlington. As Harry the Eighth's good intentions towards Sir Thomas Curwen have been frustrated, his descendants must console themselves by knowing that the glorious old ruin of Furness could not be in better hands than his lordship's.
H. C.
Workington.
Periodical Literature, 1707.—
"The author of the Observator is MR. RIDPATH, y^e author of the Flying Post. The base author of the late paper, which has been some time since dropp'd, viz. The Observator Reviv'd, was one PEARCE, an exchange broker, some time since concerned in the paper called Legion's Address, and forced to fly on that account into Holland. The publisher of the Phoenix is a Presbyterian bookseller, named J. Darby, in Bartholomew Close, who has told me that he was chiefly assisted therein by the famous MR. COLLINS, the supposed author of The Use of Reason in Propositions, &c., and Dr. Tindal's familiar acquaintance."—Original Letter of the Rev. Robert Watts, M.A., dated London, Feb. 6. 1707-8.
P. B.
Archbishop Sancroft.—It is well known that Dr. William Dillingham, Master of Emanuel College, Cambridge, published, in 1678, a volume of Latin poems, partly translations from George Herbert, partly pieces of his own, with some few added from other sources. But it is not known that most of the pieces in this volume were corrected by the hand of Archbishop Sancroft, and that one certainly was from his own pen. It occurs at p. 155. of the octavo volume alluded to, and is entitled "Hippodromus." This is a translation from an epigram by Thomas Bastard, first printed in 1598, and beginning:
"I mett a courtier riding on the plaine."
That it is Archbishop Sancroft's is proved from an original letter addressed to him by Dillingham in 1677, and preserved in the Bodleian.
P. B.
Sir Henry Slingsby.—This gallant cavalier, who was murdered (as Lloyd says in his Memoirs) by Oliver Cromwell in 1658, wrote an account of the scenes in which he bore a part, from 1638 to 1648, which he called "Commentaries, containing many remarkable occurrences during the Civil Wars." Can any of your correspondents tell me where the original manuscript is to be found, and whether it was ever printed? I have seen an indifferent transcript, beginning, "The chappel at Red House was built by my father, Sir Henry Slingsby." If it has never been published, it would be an acceptable contribution to the historical memoirs of the times, and worth the attention of the Camden Society.
P. B.
Origin of a Surname.—Martha Denial, widow, aged seventy-five, was buried in Ecclesfield churchyard, 3rd February, 1851. Her husband, Joseph Denial, told the parish clerk that his grandfather was found when an infant deserted in a church porch; and that he was surnamed Denial, as one whom all deny; and was christened Daniel, which is composed of the same letters. This is the tradition of the origin of a surname now common in this parish.
A. G.
Ecclesfield.
Madden's Reflections.—Madden's Reflections and Resolutions for the Gentlemen of Ireland. In the preface to the reprint of this work we meet with the following paragraph:
"The very curious and interesting work which is {324} now reprinted, and intended for a wide and gratuitous circulation, is also of uncommon rarity: there is not a copy of it in the Library of Trinity College, or in any of the other public libraries of this city [Dublin], which have been searched on purpose. The profoundly-learned Vice-Provost, Doctor Barrett, never met with one; and many gentlemen well skilled in the literature of Ireland, who have been applied to for information on the subject, are even unacquainted with the name of the book."
The full title of the work to which I refer, and which is an 8vo. volume of 200 or 300 pages, is Reflections and Resolutions proper for the Gentlemen of Ireland, as to their Conduct for the Service of their Country. It was printed in Dublin in 1738; it was reprinted there in 1816 at the sole expense of the well-known philanthropist, Thomas Pleasants, and the author was Samuel Madden, D.D., the author of several publications: a great patron of arts and literature in his native land, and one of whom Dr. Johnson remarked with truth,—"His was a name Ireland ought to honour." For some authentic information respecting him, see Nichols's Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, vol. ii. pp. 31. 699.; and Grosley's Tour in England, vol. ii p. 260. These writers, however, make no mention of his Reflections.
The original edition may indeed be looked upon as rather rare, but not so rare as some appear inclined to think. I have a copy, and until lately had two; and at different times I have met with copies for sale. However, the copy now in the library of the Royal Dublin Society was purchased some years ago at a high price; and, unless I am mistaken, there is not one as yet in the British Museum. The reprint which is there is much to be preferred by readers in general.
ABHBA.
* * * * *
Queries.
THE BELLMAN, AND HIS HISTORY.
I have often read Vincent Bourne's poem, "Ad Davidem Cook, Westmonasterii Custodem Nocturnum et Vigilantissimum, Anno 1716:" Pickering's edition, p. 129. This nightly guardian, it appears, was accompanied by a dog:
"Cum variis implent tenebrae terroribus orbem, Tu comite assuetum cum cane carpis iter,"
was armed with a stout staff, or knotty club:
"Nec te perterrent, nodoso stipite fretum, Subdola qui tacito pectore furta parant,"
and carried a bell:
"Tinnitu adventum signans, oriantur an astra, Narras, an pure lucida Luna micet."
To the last-mentioned part of his equipment, he owed the title of "Bellman."
The Bellman's duty, however, was not confined to crying the rising of the stars, or the shining of the moon, but he cheered his nightly round with many a chant:
Nocturnum multo carmine fallis iter."
The next lines are descriptive of the Bellman's poetry, and tell us the subjects of it. Of some of these I want explanation; and of all, examples. I am at a loss to explain the following four lines:
"Divorum hyberni menses quotcunque celebrant, Cuique locum et versum dat tua musa suum: Crispino ante omnes; neque enim sine carmine fas est Nobile sutorum praeteriisse decus."
The next lines refer to the Bellman's loyalty in ever remembering the Royal Family; to his salutation of masters and mistresses; to the useful instruction he pours forth in song to young men and maidens; and to the happy marriages he wishes to such as give heed to his warnings. The Bellman then addresses himself to men-servants and maid-servants, enjoining honesty on the former, cleanliness on the latter. Repeatedly wishing prosperity to his masters, he concludes with one pre-eminent exhortation to keep in mind, that the friendly hand of death levels the highest and the lowest.
My ignorance asks several questions. When did the Bellman lay aside his bell, and assume the rattle; and, with this change (I presume), drop the name of Bellman for that of Watchman, to whom the silent policeman has succeeded? Was the dog the usual aide-de-camp of the Bellman? Are there any other instances in which the dog is mentioned as assisting the Bellman in his nocturnal guardianship?
As to the Bellman's poetry, Milton will occur to every one:
"Or the bellman's drowsy charm To bless the door from nightly harm."—Il Penseroso.
1. Herrick's Hesperides, p. 169., is a Bellman's song, a blessing, concluding:
"Past one o'clock, and almost two, My masters all, good-day to you."
2. Ibid. p. 251. is another song; a warning to remember the judgment-day, and ending—
"Ponder this when I am gone, By the clock 'tis almost one."
See The Tatler, No. 111., for the Bellman's salutation:
"Good morrow, Mr. Bickerstaff, good morrow, my masters all."
"It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman, Which gives the stern'st good night."—Shakspeare, Macbeth, Act II. Sc. 2.
Gay refers to the Bellman's song in the following lines:
"Behold that narrow street which steep descends, Whose building to the slimy shore extends; {325} Here Arundel's fam'd structure rear'd its frame, The street alone retains the empty name; Where Titian's glowing paint the canvass warm'd, And Raphael's fair design, with judgment, charm'd, Now hangs the bellman's song, and pasted here The colour'd prints of Overton appear."—Trivia, book ii. 482.
In the Archaic and Provincial Dictionary, the duty of the Bellman in his poetic character seems to be limited to blessing the sleepers. It appears from the poem by Vincent Bourne, that his Muse took a much more extensive range.
Can you inform me where I can find more about the Bellman, his bell and his dog; and, especially, his songs? Where can I find "The Bellman's Songs?"
Is "Bellman" a name given to dogs in modern times? See Taming of the Shrew, Induction.
F. W. T.
[We cannot insert F. W. T.'s Query without referring to the admirable translation of Vinny Bourne's Ode, which is to be found in our First Volume, p. 152.]
* * * * *
WAS SALLUSTIUS A LECTURER?—CONNEXION BETWEEN SALLUSTIUS AND TACITUS.
Sallustius, in his celebrated abstract of the Punic records of Thempsal, makes the following remark:
"Nam de Carthagine silere melius puto, quam parum dicere, quoniam alio properare tempus monet."—De Bello Jugurthino, c. xix. ed. Allen.
Does not this sound as if the history has been read out to an assembly? There is strong presumptive evidence in favour of such a supposition, in the tradition of Herodotus having read aloud his history at the Grecian Games. Besides, it was a common practice of Cicero and Plinius the Younger to read out their orations and treatises. I cannot help thinking that the histories of Sallustius were first delivered as lectures, taken down by reporters[2] employed by himself for the purposes of preserving his words, as he had only notes before him, fairly transcribed from the stenographic character, and then, but not till then, made a subject of closet-study. This, I think, is easy of proof, and instances may be adduced (the expression I have quoted is one) where the lecturer peeps out.
The interpolated state in which this classic has come down to us is indeed sad: there is scarcely a chapter throughout the Catiline and Jugurtha where some transcriber has not been at work, sticking in words and sometimes whole sentences, which, I am astonished to see, have escaped the notice of Cortius, Allen, and the older editors.
I said above that Sallustius made his lectures or orations on the history of his country a subject of closet study. He did so, and in an eminent degree. His conciseness, clearness (when relieved from the burden of interpolation), and usual impartiality, point to a careful and spiritual study of Thucydides; but he could not attain to an equal degree of sweetness as the Greek historian, on account of the general character of their several languages differing. As far, however, as Roman could approach to Greek, I conceive Sallustius has approached to Thucydides. Tacitus (whose mind was impregnated with, and steeped in Sallustius) rarely enounces a sentiment in his numerous works the origin of which is not referable to the latter author. It requires some careful thought sometimes, before the passages can be traced; but they are traceable; and if we had the whole works of Sallustius, I doubt not but that we should be able to trace them all much more easily. Perhaps—I say it without stress, mind; it is a mere suggestion—it would be possible to restore, or rather connect some of the historical fragments of Sallustius by means of the works of Tacitus. When we find a sentiment of Sallustius half expressed in the fragment, and trending towards the conclusion arrived at by Tacitus, may we not, as we know how completely the latter had imbibed the thoughts of the former, reasonably suppose the remainder of the passage to be parallel; and, following out the idea, restore it, taking into consideration the difference of the mode of expression in the two eras? And this may hold good, not only between Tacitus and Sallustius, but between Sallustius and Thucydides.
Such is the aspect under which I endeavour to behold the classics, viz. as one great whole, having here and there pieces gone or faded (lost or hopelessly corrupted), and which fit into each other, showing the building which intellect erects, the only building calculated to withstand the hand of time. Thanks be to printing, to cheap literature, and to English energy and investigation, antiquity may again rear her head, and fell that it is comprehended in all its varied bearings, and lights and shadows.
To men like Niebuhr, Grote, Layard, Prescott, St. John, Wilkinson, Rawlinson, and Norris, do we owe a debt of gratitude, for such patience and investigation; and no one cheers them on with a more sincere feeling, and thanks them for their past exertions, than
KENNETH R. H. MACKENZIE.
[Footnote 2: Short-hand, we know, was in use at Rome.]
* * * * *
THE OUTER TEMPLE.
Mr. Peter Cunningham, in his delightful Handbook of London, says that when the New Temple "passed to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the Inner and Middle Temple were leased to the Students of the Common Law; and the OUTER TEMPLE to Walter Stapleton, Bishop of Exeter:" and in describing Essex House, by which name it {326} was afterwards known, he repeats the same statement; as if the Outer Temple was part of the original property of the Knights Templars.
I should be very glad to know what authority he has for this; because I have very great doubt whether the "Outer Temple" ever belonged to the Knights Templars or to the Knights of St. John, or was in any manner comprehended within the property. The New Temple, as the whole property was called, belonged to Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, at the time of his death, in June, 1323. The Council of Vienna, in 1324, bestowed all the lands of the Knights Templars on the Knights of St. John. Since my letter to you on the general subject of the Temple, and L. B. L.'s obliging answer (Vol. ii., pp. 103. 123.), I have been kindly furnished by Mr. Joseph Burtt, of the Chapter House, with a deed, dated June 28, 1324, by which the Knights of St. John granted the whole of the New Temple, "totum messuagium nostrum vocatum Novum Templum," to Hugh le Despencer the younger; describing it to be lying between the house (hospicium) of the Bishop of Exeter towards the west, and the house of Hugo de Courteneye towards the east. This shows manifestly that if the Bishop of Exeter's house ever belonged to the Temple, it did not at that time; and I am not aware of any earlier evidence proving that the Templars ever possessed it.
I believe, though I have not seen the record, that, in the grant to Sir William Paget, temp. Henry VI., it is described as the "Outer Temple;" but I am inclined to think, from various circumstantial testimonies, that it was merely so called because it was situate on the outside of the Temple.
If any of your correspondents could illustrate this question, or that more curious one,—when the new Temple was first divided between Inner and Middle,—I should feel infinitely obliged.
EDWARD FOSS.
* * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL QUERIES.
1. Can any of your readers give me any information regarding a work which I find recorded in a catalogue thus:—A Catalogue of above 300 Coins of Canute, King of Denmark and England, found near Kirkwall, with Specimens. 4to. London, 1777? I should like, if possible, to have a copy of the title-page, the size, and the number of pages; and, if possible, the name of the compiler.
2. I should like to find out the name of the translator into English, of Pontoppidan's Natural History of Norway, published in folio in London in 1755.
3. Can any of your readers oblige me with the name of the author of a controversial sermon, entitled Whigs no Christians, preached at London, on the anniversary of the martyrdom of King Charles, in 1712-13, and published in the same year?
[Greek: Boreas].
* * * * *
DUTCH BOOKS PUBLISHED OUT OF THE NETHERLANDS.
Although the Dutch language is now regarded in foreign countries with a neglect bordering on contempt, and its study, when attended to at all, generally undertaken as a work of necessity rather than a labour of love, I have thought it would not be without interest to examine to what extent it was formerly cultivated (were it even chiefly by Dutchmen) in foreign lands; to institute a search after the productions of the Dutch mind in the Dutch language brought forth on foreign soils; in a word, to pass in review the Dutch books which have been published in other countries during the period included between the invention of printing and our own days.
It appears to me that such a review would lead to much interesting research, and would tend not only to illustrate our literature, but also to clear up many points still obscure in our national, and more especially in our ecclesiastical, history.
The review which I propose would be limited, in the first instance, to the formation of an exact and complete list of such exotic works, with the addition of such notes as I might be able to add. A more experienced hand may then make use of these materials to form a more perfect treatise on this portion of our literature.
In execution of this plan I have already compiled a list of names of books and authors; these have been gathered partly from an examination of the works themselves, partly from catalogues and other sources where such works are mentioned. Now, however, as my resources are nearly exhausted, and my labours by no means complete, I take the liberty to lay my plan before those who may be disposed to concur with me, those who may be able to procure me information, those who have the possession or the care of libraries in which such books are to be found, and of which catalogues have not been printed; and, for the end I have in view, I invite them all to help me in the completion of my work. The editors of the Navorscher have consented to open their columns to contributors. To spare needless trouble, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not include any works published in Belgium, or in the colonies now or formerly in our possession.
MARTINUS.
Amsterdam, March 11. 1851.
* * * * *
WHAT WAS THE COUNTRY OF THE ANGLES?
What country was inhabited by the Angles before they occupied Britain? Adam of Bremen (Hist. Eccl. c. 3.) says:
"Igitur Saxones primo circa Rhenum sedes habitant et vocati sunt Angli quorum pars inde veniens in Britanniam, etc."
{327}
Notwithstanding the opinion of Turner, and most other historians, I venture to offer a few facts in confirmation of the monk's testimony. 1. The names of places on the Lower Rhine, and more especially in Guelderland, point to an Anglian origin for instance, Engelanderholt, Engelenburg and Engelenberg, Angerlo olim Angelerlo. Engeland, near Beekbergen, is mentioned in a charter[3] dated 801 as villa Englandi. Several other places bear the same name: two near Hardenberg, one in the land of Putten, another in our parish; which also contains Henschoten olim Hengestschoten, and owes its own name to Woden. Near Nimwegen, we have Horssen. 2. Many local names in the same district, which can only be explained by reference to the A.-S. Hulkestein on the Zuyder Sea, Hulkestein near Arnhem, from A.-S. hulc, a dwelling: thus, stone buildings, castles. Thri, A.-S., three, is mentioned in a charter dated 855 as the name of a villa, now the hamlet Drie, near Ermelo. Hierd and Heerd, from A.-S. hierde, perhaps also Hardewick or Harderwyk from the same. Braclog, a wood near Engelanderholt, from brac, enemy, and locen, an enclosure, is mentioned in a charter (801). Luntern and Lunhorst, from A.-S. Lun, poor. Wigmond, from wig, war; and mund, defence. Culenburg, from ciol or ceol, a ship. Klingelbeck, near Arnhem, from clingan, to shrink up. Ysseloord from ord, a point; and thus confluence of two rivers, as we see also on the Rhine, Roerort and Angerort. Herwynen, Herveld, Hernen, Herwaarden, Winden Delwynen, Sennewyn, can be explained[4] by A.-S. here and win. 3. The agreement between the names of places here, and those of every part of England occupied by the Angles. Out of a great number of instances collected by Mr. Molhuysen (see Nyhoff's Bijdragen, vol. iii.) I will take a few. In Kent we have Appledore, Appleton, Appleby; here Appeldorn, Appel, Appeltern, Appelenburg on the Wahal. Ashe and Ash; Asch, near Buren, and others. Barne; Bern near Heusden, and Baarn near Amersfoort. Barnefield; Barneveld. Bonington, Boningen. Dover; Doveren. Gillingham; Gellinchem. Hearne; Hiern, near Waardenburg. Herne; Hernen. Leisdon; Leusden. Lone; Loenen. Sandwich; Sandwyk, near Tiel. Watchorne; Waghorn, in the Velume. In Yorkshire: Beel; De Beele, near Voorst. Byland; Byland. Campe; Campen. Catwich; Katwyk. Dodworth; Dodewaard. Ecope; Heicop. Grimestone; Grimmestein, on the Eem. Heck; Eck. Hampall; Empel, near Engelen. Herfield; Herveld. Hewick; Ewyk, &c. &c.—The evident similarity of names in this list, which might be extended through several pages, affords at least a strong presumption that a part of the land of our fathers is to be sought here. I will just add that there is a MS. containing copies of charters, registers, &c., collected by Opstraeten van der Moelen, a genealogist, who died in the early part of the seventeenth century, now in the possession of Mr. Van Asch van Wyck. In this is an article entitled "De Nobili et Antiqua Familia dicta Amersfoort seu potius Heemsfurt vel Hemefurt a vado Heeme seu Hemi fluvii." The writer makes mention of the well-known grant of Charlemagne to the cathedral of Utrecht, by which Lisidunum (Leusden) and four forests on the banks of the Eem were ceded to this church: Hengestschoten, Fornese, Mocoroth, and Widoc. The writer considers the last-named forest to be that of Wede or Woden; and derives thence the family-name Weede. Concerning Hengestschoten is remarked:
"Hengist, qui circum annum 450 Britanniam insulam cum suis Frisonibus et Saxonibus occupat." And further: "Weede nomen adhunc retinere videtur a Woden, qui fuit avus avi Hengesti, sicut Hengestschoten, nune praedium dominorum Oestbroek, ab Hengisto nominatur."
Henschoten was ceded to the abbey of Oestbroek in 1130, and sold at the breaking up of the monasteries; and is now the property of Mr. Van Asch van Wyck. Since, therefore, the above extract must have been written before the Reformation, the belief that our forefathers proceeded from this country is by no means new; and the evidence in its support is, I think, stronger than that adduced by Turner and Lappenberg in favour of an immigration from Sleswig; indeed it seems not improbable that the first settlers, with Hengist at their head, sailed from the mouth of the Eem. I have more to add in a future Number, if "NOTES AND QUERIES" can afford me space.
J. S.
Woudenberg, April, 1851.
[Footnote 3: Bondam's Charter-boek.]
[Footnote 4: See Gibson, A.-S. Chron.]
* * * * *
Minor Queries.
Villenage.—Can any of your readers inform me at what period villenage became extinct in this kingdom? I have now before me a grant of a manor from the Crown, in the third and fourth year of the reigns of King Philip and Queen Mary, conveying, amongst other goods and chattels, the bondmen, bondwomen, and villeins, with their sequels,—"Nativos, nativas, e villanos cum eoz sequelis." According to Blackstone, the children of villeins were in the same state of bondage with their parents; whence they were called, in Latin, "nativi," which gave rise to the female appellation of a villein, who was called a neife. What I wish to learn is, whether the old wording of Crown grants had survived the {328} existence of villenage; or whether bondage was a reality in the reign of Philip and Mary; and if so, at what it became extinct?
H. C.
Workington.
[Our correspondent's Query is an interesting one; but he does not seem to be aware that in our First Vol., p. 139., Mr. E. SMIRKE had given the names of three "bondmen of bloude" living near Brighton in 1617.]
Roman Roads near London.—In the most ancient maps of Middlesex that I have seen, there are no roads marked out. In a folio coloured map of Middlesex, published by Bowen (the date of which is, I think, 1709, although the same map has various dates, like those of Speed, where the date only is altered several times), the roads are introduced. A Roman road appears from the corner of the Tottenham Court Road, where the Hampstead Road and the New Road now meet, running through what must now be the Regent's Park, until it reaches Edgeware, and thence to Brockley Hills, called Sulloniacae, an ancient city in Antonine's Itinerary. The lanes marking this road are so different from the other roads, as to show at once what is intended; and yet, either in this same map or in another with the same route, Watling Street is printed upon the highway that leads to Tyburn Turnpike, in a manner to show the whole of that distance is meant. The Roman road from Tottenham Court, after making its appearance in a variety of other maps up to a certain date, about 1780, is nowhere to be found since, in any of the Middlesex maps. Can any of your readers show by what authority this was first introduced, and why discontinued; and if the Watling Street branched off, upon its approach to London, where did the part crossing Oxford Street at Tyburn lead to?
JOHN FRANCIS-X.
Mrs. Catherine Barton.—In Brewster's Life of Sir Isaac Newton, p. 250., is the following passage:
"This accomplished nobleman was created Earl of Halifax in 1700, and after the death of his first wife he conceived a strong attachment for Mrs. Catherine Barton, the widow of Colonel Barton, and the niece of Newton."
I wish particularly to know the maiden name of this Catherine Barton; she married Mr. Conduitt, who succeeded Sir I. Newton as Master of the Mint.
J. E. R. S.
Sampford, Braintree, April 7. 1851.
Sempecta at Croyland.—DR. MAITLAND has so kindly answered your correspondent's Query respecting his work on Mesmerism, that I venture to ask him another, through the medium of your pages. Where can be found the poem respecting the old soldier monk at Croyland (or Sempecta, as Ingulphus calls him), from which DR. M. has given extracts in p. 305. of his Dark Ages?
H. R. L.
Trin. Coll.
Schmidt's Antiquitates Neomagensis—Roman Medicine-stamps.—Can any of your readers inform me,—
1st. Of the DATE when Schmidt published his Antiquitates Neomagensis, and WHERE: also in what libraries it is to be found?
2nd. Of the existence of any Roman medicine-stamps found in the British Islands, as yet undescribed by those who have written on the subject.
Q.
Sir Harris Nicolas' History of the Royal Navy.—Is there any probability that the History of the Royal Navy, begun by Sir N. H. Nicolas, and carried by him to the reign of Henry V., will ever be continued. It is a most valuable work, and was stopped by his lamented death, just as it was beginning to be most interesting.
E. N. W.
Wooden Baldrocks.—Thanksgiving-book.—In the vestry-books of St. Peter's, Ruthin, co. Denbigh, there are some entries, explanations of which will be very acceptable.
From 1683, and many subsequent years, there is a constant repetition in the churchwarden's account of "Wooden Baldrocks," from time to time supplied new to the parish.
In 1704, "A Thanksgiving-book" is charged in the parish accounts.
Query the use and nature of Baldrock? and what book is meant by a Thanksgiving-book?
About the above period, continual payments are made for the destruction of hedgehogs, which seem to be valued at sixpence a-piece, in some cases fourpence; and to have been allowed in the parish accounts.
A CHURCHWARDEN.
History of the Jesuits.—Who was the author of A History of the Jesuits; to which is prefixed a Reply to Mr. Dallas's Defence of that Order. It was published in two volumes 8vo., London, 1816, by Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Paternoster Row.
H. R. L.
Trin. Coll.
Mind your P's and Q's.—What is the origin of this phrase? I have heard one solution of it, but wish to ascertain whether there is any other?
R. D. H.
Mode of hiring Domestic Servants in Holderness—Sittings—Fest.—It is customary once a year for men and women servants out of place to assemble in the market places of Hedon and Patrington, the two chief towns in Holderness, and there to await being hired. This very ancient custom is called Hedon Sittings or Statutes. What is the name derived from? A small sum of money given to each servant hired, is supposed to legalise the contract, and is called the Fest. From what is the word derived?
F. R. R.
Home-made Wines.—It is stated in The Times of this morning (Feb. 17) that— {329}
"We know from old chronicles that most of the wine drank by Englishmen, under the Plantagenets, was of home production."
Can any, and if so what, authority be shown for this statement?
J. SN.
Inscription on a Clock.—Under the curious clock in Exeter Cathedral are inscribed these words:
"PEREUNT ET IMPUTANTUR, sc. horae."
I have been told that they are the concluding words of a longer inscription on some foreign clock. Can any of your readers tell me if they be so?
J. W. HEWETT.
Inscription on the Tomb of Peter the Hermit.—At Huy, on the Meuse, is shown the tomb where Peter the Hermit was buried: it is in the shape of an obelisk, and has an inscription on each of the four sides. Of this inscription, which is curious, and which I copied when I was there, I have lost the greater part: can one of your correspondents supply it for me, or tell where the lines are originally to be found, as I fancy they are adapted to, and not made for, the monument.
The part of the inscription which I have runs as follows:
(INSCRIPTION.)
"Soldat du Pape Urbain, aux cris de 'Dieu le veut,' Il a precipite l'Europe sur l'Asie; Le peril arrive, sa sainte frenesie N'a plus trouve qu'un cri arrive 'Sauve qui peut.' Dieu, L'intolerant l'outrage, insulte a sa grandeur, Tel masque qu'il affecte, il n'est qu'une imposteur."
Another two-lined motto is headed "Les Illusions;" and a third, "La Liberte;" but neither these, nor a longer one (which I fancy introduces the names of Moliere, Rousseau, and Fenelon), am I able to quote.
H. A. B.
Wife of James Torre.-James Torre, the Yorkshire antiquary, married for his first wife Elizabeth Lincolne (see Ducatus Leod., p. 119. Whitaker's ed.); can any one inform me who was that lady's father, and if there is any pedigree known of the family?
I have little doubt that the Rev. William Lincolne, rector of Halton, Lincolnshire, mentioned by Walker, in his Sufferings of the Clergy, b. ii. p. 295., was of the same family.
EDWARD PEACOCK, Jun.
Bottesford Moors.
"The Bear's Bible."—In the library of Queen's College, Oxon, is a copy of the Spanish version of the Bible, by Cassiod. Reyna (1569), with the following inscription:—
Ampliss. Antistiti. ac Dno R^{mo} D. Edmundo Grindalo, archiepiscopo Cantuariensi, et totius Angliae primati digniss. Ob erepta hujus Hispanicae versionis sacrorum librorum Scripta ex hostium manibus Cassiodorus Reinius ejusdem versionis author gratitudinis ergo et in perpetuae observantiae pignus D.D.D."
What are the circumstances here alluded to?
H. H. W.
Harris, Painter in Water-Colours.—Some friends of mine have a large paper copy of the edition of the Bible, published in 1802, by Messrs. Nicoll, of Pall-Mall, and known as "Reeves' Bible," which is adorned with a large number of small original drawings in water-colour by "J. Harris, of Walworth, Surrey." I should be obliged if any of your correspondents can give me any information respecting Mr. Harris, and can tell me whether he is still living. The drawings were made before the year 1819. |
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