REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES.
Praise undeserved.—The correct quotation, referred to in No. 14. p. 222., is
“Praise undeserved is Satire in disguise.”
It is by Mr. Br——st, author of a copy of verses called the British Beauties. I cannot fill up the “hiatus,” which in this case is not “maxime deflendus,” because I have now no time to search the Museum Catalogue. I apprehend that the author belonged to the “mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease,” as it is something like Savage’s “tenth transmitter” (which, by the bye, your correspondent, Mr. Gutch, should have said is said to be Pope’s)—his only good line. Here is my authority:
EPIGRAM
On a certain line of Mr. Br——, author of a copy of verses called the“British Beauties.”—From the “GARLAND,” a collection of Poems, 1721.
“When one good line did much my wonder raise
In Br——st’s works, I stood resolved to praise;
And had, but that the modest author cries,
Praise undeserv’d is satire in disguise.”
I would add, that I believe this Epigram to be Dr. Kenrick’s, Goldsmith’s old persecutor in later years.
JAMES H. FRISWELL
French Maxim.—I beg to inform your correspondent “R.V.” in reply to his query (No. 14. p. 215.), that the maxim quoted is the 218th of Rochefoucauld: “L’hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend à la vertu.”
J.H.F.
Singular Motto.—The “singular motto” which occasions “P.H.F.’s” wonder (No. 14. p. 214.), is, without doubt, a cypher, and only to be rendered by those who have a Key. Such are not unfrequent in German, Austrian, or Bohemian Heraldry.
J.H.F.
Discurs. Modest.—At p. 205. No. 13., your correspondent N. replies to A.T.’s query, that “there can be no reasonable doubt, that the original authority for Rem transubstantiationis patres ne altigisse quidem, is William Watson in his Quodlibet, ii. 4. p. 31.”
By a note of mine, I find that this secular priest, W. Watson, lays the expression in question to the charge of the Jesuits as “an heretical and most dangerous assertion of theirs.” Admitting, therefore, the Discurs. Modest. to have been published after Watson’s Decacordon, i.e. later than 1602 (which can hardly be doubted), still the further question remains to be asked: “In what writings of the Jesuits, prior to 1602, had W. Watson himself found these words, with which he charges them?” Should you think this further query of importance enough to find a place in your paper, perhaps some one of your readers might throw yet another ray of light upon this subject.
J.S.
Oxford
Pallace (No. 13. p. 202).—Mr. Halliwell, in his Dictionary of Archaic, &c. Words, explains this word as used in Devonshire:—
“Palace, a Storehouse.”—Devon. “At Dartmouth, I am told there are some of these storehouses, called palaces, cut out of the rock, still retaining the name.” —MS Devon. Gloss.
C.W.G.
Meaning of “Pallace.”—The term “Pallace” (No. 13. p. 202.) is applied in Totnes to denote a landing-place inclosed by walls, but not roofed in. Many of these “pallaces” have been converted into coal-cellars. Perhaps pales may have been used originally to form these inclosures in lieu of walls;—and hence the word “pallace” would mean a place paled in. I find repeated mention made of “pallaces” in a schedule attached to a deed of the Corporation of Totnes, bearing date September 18th, 1719, a copy of which is now before me, and from it the following extracts are taken:—
“One linney and two pallaces or yards.”
“All those houses, rooms, cellars, and pallaces.”
“All that great cellar lately rebuilt, and the plott of ground or pallace thereto belonging lately converted into a cellar.”
“All that little cellar and pallace lately rebuilt, and the kay or landing place thereto belonging, and near adjoyning unto and upon the river Dart.”
“And the little pallace or landing-place.”
Apropos of landing-places, it may interest some of your readers to learn that the very stone upon which Brutus, the nephew of Æneas, landed at Totnes, still remains! It is inserted in the foot-way nearly opposite the Mayoralty-house in the Fore Street. From Totnes, the neighbouring shore was heretofore called Totonese: and the British History tells us, that Brutus, the founder of the British nation, arrived here; and Havillanus [John de Alvilla or Hauteville, according to Mr. Wright] as a poet, following the same authority, writes thus:—
“Inde dato cursu, Brutus comitatus Achate
Gallorum spoliis cumulatis navibus æquor
Exarat, et superis auraque faventibus usus,
Littora felices intrat Totonesia portus.”
“From hence great Brute with his Achates steer’d,
Full fraught with Gallic spoils their ships appear’d;
The Winds and Gods were all at their command,
And happy Totnes shew’d them grateful land.”
Gibson’s Camden.
Totnes is made mention of the Lais de Marie:—
“Il tient sun chemin tut avant.
A la mer vient, si est passer,
En Toteneis est arriver.”—Lai d’Elidne.
J. MILNER BARRY, M.D.
Totnes, Devon, Jan. 30. 1850.
Litany Version of the Psalms.—The doubts produced by Beloe’s self-contradicting statements on the subject of the Bishops’ Bible, which are referred to by “X.X.” (No. 13. p. 203.), may thus be settled. The first edition of this Bible, printed in 1568, contains a new translation of the Psalms by Becon. In the second folio edition, 1572, are inserted, in opposite columns, “the translation according to the Ebrewe,” which differs but little from the former, in Roman letter, and “the translation used in common prayer,” or that of the Great Bible, printed by Whitchurch, 1553, in black letter.
The clarum et venerabile nomen associated with the Bishops’ Bible, a very magnificent and perfect copy of which is now open before me, suggests the inquiry whether there is any copy known of Archbishop Parker’s rare volume on the English Church, 1572, which is not noticed by Martin in the list of eighteen which he had discovered. He does not mention that in the Chetham library.
T. JONES.
Tempora mutantur &c.—In reply to your correspondent, “E.V.” (No. 14. p. 215.), I beg to state, that the germ of “Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis,” is to be found in the Delitiæ Poetarium Germanorum, vol. i. p. 685., under the Poems of Matthias Borbonius. He considers them as a saying of Lotharius I. (flor. Cir. 830.):—
“Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis;
Illa vices quasdam res habet, illa suas.”
I sent this communication, some years ago, to Sharpe’s Magazine, where it will be found, vol. v. p. 208.
L.S.
Pandoxare.—Your correspondent, “H.B.” (No. 13. p. 202.), has lighted upon a curious specimen of domestic hieroglyphics, the notice of which recalls to mind the quaint marginal symbols scattered over the inventories of the Exchequer Treasury, at a much earlier period. They are not devoid of information or interest. The word of which he requests explanation, is, indeed, of too base Latinity to be found in the Facciolati, or even in the Auctarium; but in our old Latin dictionaries, sources of abundant information on obsolete expressions, the word is readily to be found. Old Gouldman, for instance, whose columns are replete with uncommon and local English terms, gives “Pandoxor, to brew,” citing Alciatus as authority, and “Pandox, a swill-bowl,” apparently a word used by Statius. It is obviously a barbarous derivative of the same Greek words as Pandocium or Pandoxarium (παν and δοχειον), the hostelry open to all comers. If, however, a more recondite authority for the explanation of the word, as formerly used in England, be desired, I would refer your querist to the pages of the Promptorium Parvulorum, where may be found—“Bruwyn ale or other drynke, Pandoxor. Browstar, or brewere, Pandoxator, Pandoxatrix,” the medieval Bass or Guinness having been, most frequently, a female. And, having cited the primitive lexicographer of Norfolk, I would seize the occasion to offer a note, in response to the numerous queries regarding the too tardy advance of the work in question, and to assure your readers, who may be interested in the publications of the Camden Society, that a further instalment of the Promptorium is in forwardness, so that I hope to complete a considerable portion, in readiness for issue, early in the current year.
ALBERT WAY.
Saint Thomas of Lancaster.—Not having Brady at hand, I cannot tell what authorities he cites; but, as Mr. Milnes (No. 12. p. 181.) does not mention Rymer, he perhaps may not know that he will find in that collection some documentary evidence on the subject of this saint, if saint he was; for instance—
“Super rumore Thomam nuper Comitem Lancastriæ miraculis corruscuri.”—Rym. Fœd. iii. p. 1033. A.D. 1323. “Quod,” adds the king, “moleste gerimus.”
But Edward III. was of quite another mind, and urged his canonization of the Holy See. Witness Rymer:—
“Ad Papam; pro canonisatione Thomaelig; nuper Comitis Lancastriæ.”—Fœd. iv. p. 2. A.D. 1326.
And again—
“Pro custodi“ (Weryngton mentioned by Mr. Milnes), “Capellæ ad montem ubi nuper comes Lancastriæ decollatus fuit.”—Ib. p. 291.
It seems that the bodies of some of Thomas’s accomplices were also supposed to have worked miracles; for we find an ordinance—
“Contra Fingentes miracula fieri per inimicos Regis.” —Rym. Fœd. iv. p. 20. A.D. 1323.
Andrews says (Hist. i. 342.) that Richard II. renewed the application for Thomas’s canonization; but he does not give his authority, and I have not time to look further through Rymer.
p. 184. Jhon-John.—I wonder Mr. Williams does not see that the h is not “introduced“ for any purpose; it is an integral part of the original name Johannes, which was contracted into Johan, and in French into Jehan.
p. 185. Slang Phrases.—”A Rowland for an Oliver“ is no slang phrase of the eighteenth century; it is a proverbial expression as old as the days of the romances of Roland and Olivier. The other two were phrases put into the mouths of two characters (Dr. Ollapod, in Colman’s Poor Gentleman, and Young Rapid, in Morton’s Cure for the Heart-ache), which grew into vogue only from the success of the actors Fawcett and Lewis, and had no meaning or allusion beyond what the words obviously meant.
C.
Full of Rain in England.—”ROYDON” (No. 11. p. 73) will find the average quantity of rain fallen at Greenwich, for twenty-five years, 1815 to 1839, in a very useful and clever pamphlet, price 1s., by J.H. Belville, of the Royal Observatory, published by Taylor, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, called Manual of the Mercurial and Aneroid Barometers.
HENRY WILKINSON
Judas Bell—(No. 13, p. 195). In the “Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie,” a singular Scotch Poem, composed in the former half of the 16th century, and printed in Ramsay’s Evergreen, the following passage occurs (Everg. vol. ii. p. 74.):—
“A Benefice quha wald give sic a Beist,
But gif it were to jingle Judas bells?
Tak thee a Fiddle or a Flute to jest,
Undocht thou art, ordained for naithing ells.”
The Judas bells may probably have been used in the Easter-eve ceremonies, in connexion with which we find Judas candles mentioned. See Brand’s Popular Antiq. by Sir H. Ellis, vol. i. p. 29.
C.W.G.
Boduc or Boduoc on British Coins.—The real name of the heroic queen of the Iceni is very uncertain. Walther (Tacitus, xiv. Ann. c. 31.), adopts Boudicea. It is probable enough that the syllables Boduo may have formed a part of it, as pronounced by the Britons. We are reminded of Boduognatus, leader of the Nervii, mentioned by Cæsar. But to come nearer home, the name Boduogenus is found upon a bronze vessel discovered in the Isle of Ely, described by Mr. Goddard Johnson, Archæologia, xxviii. p. 436.
C.W.G.
Lord Bacon’s Metrical Version of the Psalms.—Lord Bacon’s translation of seven psalms, the 1st, 12th, 90th, 104th, 126th, 127th, and 149th, with a Dedication to George Herbert, is found at the end of the 2nd vol. of his works. (Lond. 1826.) They were printed at London, 1625, in quarto.
C.W.G.
[To this we may add, on the information of X.X., that some account of these Psalms, with specimens, may be seen in Holland’s Psalmists of Britain, 1824.]
A “Gib” Cat.—What is the etymology of the term “Gibbe,” as applied to the male cat? I may observe that the g is pronounced hard in this locality, and not jibbe, as most dictionaries have it.
Burnley, Lancashire.
T.T.W.
[NARES has shown, very satisfactorily, that Gib, the contraction of Gilbert, was the name formerly applied to a cat, as Tom is now. He states that Tibert (the name given to the Cat in the old Reynard the Fox) was the old French for Gilbert; and at all events, be that as it may, Chaucer, in his Romance of the Rose, verse 6204., translates “Thibert le Cas” by “Gibbe our Cat.”]
Lay of the Phœnix.—”SELEUCUS” is informed that the Anglo-Saxon Lay of the Phœnix is contained in the Codex Exoniensis, edited by Mr. B. Thorpe. The Latin poem, in hexameters and pentameters, attributed to Lactantius, is given at the foot of the page. It will be found at the end of the works of Lactantius, in the small edition by Fritzsche (Lipsiæ, 1842). Fritzsche mentions two separate editions of the poem; 1. by Martini, Lunæburgi, 1825; 2. by Leyser, Quedlinburgi, 1839.
C.W.G.
Lay of the Phœnix.—”SELEUCUS” (No. 13, p. 203.) asks, “Is there any published edition of the hexameter poem by Lactantius, which is said to have suggested the idea of the Anglo-Saxon Lay of the Phœnix?” This poem is not in hexameter, but in elegiac verse; and though, on account of its brevity, we could not expect that it would have been separately published, it is to be found very commonly at the end of the works of Lactantius; for example, in three editions before me, Basil. 1524, Lugd. 1548, Basil. 1563. That this poem, however, belongs to the Christian Cicero, at any period of his life, is more than doubtful, even by the admission of Romanists, who readily avail themselves of other compositions of similar authority. It has been sometimes ascribed to Venantius Fortunatus, and is by Sirmondus attributed to Theodulphus, Bishop of Orleans. (Opp., ii. 840. cf. iv. 519. Venet. 1728.)
R.G.
Ordination Pledges.—Your correspondent, “CLERICUS” (no. 10. p. 156.), will find by far the most elaborate and judicious examination of the import, design, and obligation of the various oaths and subscriptions required of the clergy, in the successive numbers of The Christian Observer for 1849.
E.V.
Feast of St, Michael and All-Angels.—The difficulty started by “K.M.P.” (No. 13, p. 203.), with regard to the double second lessons for the Feast of St. Michael and All-Angels, is easily resolved by comparing the Table of Proper Lessons before and after the last review of the Prayer Book in 1662; from which it will be seen, that the proper second lessons were then appointed for the first time, while the old second lessons for Sept. 29. were retained, either from inadvertence, or to avoid the necessity of disarranging all the subsequent part of the calendar. The present first lessons, Gen. xxxii., and Dan. x. v. 5., at the same time took the place of the inappropriate chapters, Eccles. xxxix. and xliv., which had been appointed for this day in Queen Elizabeth’s Prayer Book, 1559.
E.V.
Beaver Hat.—Mr. T. Hudson Turner (No. 7. p. 100.) asks, “What is the earliest known instance of the use of a beaver hat in England?”
Fairholt (Costume in England) says, the earliest notice of it is in the reign of Elizabeth, and gives the following quotation from Stubbe’s Anatomy of Abuses, 1580:—
“And as the fashions be rare and strange, so is the stuff whereof their hats be made divers also; for some are of silk, some of velvet, some of taffetie, some of sarcenet, some of wool, and, which is more curious, some of a certain kind of fine haire; these they call bever hattes, of xx, xxx, or xl shillings price, fetched from beyond the seas, from whence a great sort of other varieties doe come besides.”
GASTROS.
Meaning of “Pisan.”—Mr. Turner (No. 7. p.100.) asks the meaning of the term pisan, used in old records for some part of defensive armour.
Meyrick (Ancient Armour, vol. i. p. 155, 2d ed.) gives a curious and interesting inventory of the arms and armour of Louis le Hutin, King of France, taken in the year 1316, in which we find, “Item 3 coloretes Pizanes de jazeran d’acier.” He describes pizane (otherwise written pizaine, pusen, pesen) as a collar made, or much in fashion, at Pisa. The jazeran armour was formed of overlapping plates. In the metrical romance of Kyng Alisaunder, edited by Webber, occur the lines—
“And Indiens, and Emaniens,
With swordes, lances, and pesens.“
Weber explains the pesens here as gorgets, armour for the neck.
In more recent MSS. pisan may be a contraction for partisan, a halberd.
I cannot agree with your correspondent “A.F.” (p.90), that the nine of diamonds was called “the curse (cross) of Scotland” from its resemblance to the cross of St. Andrew, which has the form of the Roman X; whereas the pips on the nine of diamonds are arranged in the form of the letter H. “Mend the instance.”
Erratum. P. 181 col. 2. line 3., for obscurities, read obscenities.
Cambridge, Jan. 31. 1850.
GASTROS.
Pokership—God tempers the Wind.—I am disposed to think that Parkership will turn out to be the right explanation, because almost every forest or chase contained a fenced park, in which the deer were confined; and the charge of the woods and park might be consigned to the same person; and the error in spelling the word was probably copied from one genealogist to another.
Nevertheless, Mr. Corney’s conjecture may be right, as Forby (Vocabulary, vol. ii. p. 258.) mentions Poke-Day as the day on which the allowance of corn is made to the labourers, who, in some places, receive a part of their wages in that form. Now the Pokerer might be the officer who distributed the grain on these occasions.
I open my note to add, that Mr. Gutch (No. 14. p. 211.) will find, in Sterne’s Sentimental Journey,—”God tempers the wind,” said Maria, “to the shorn lamb.”
The words which I have underlined are printed in Italics in my edition of the work (London, 12mo. 1790), which may indicate that they are quoted from some other author.
BRAYBROOKE.
Audley End, Feb. 2.
Walewich or Watewich.—I have made the reference suggested by “W.B.M.”
Canute was residing at Walewich, and the Abbot of Ely was consecrated there by the Archbishop of Canterbury. This “Walewich” can be no obscure place, and we need not look for it in Cambridgeshire.
I am inclined to think that the word ought to have been written Warewich, i.e. Warwick.
Soham Mere (Mare de Soham) once covered 1369 1⁄2 acres.—Lyson’s Cambridge, 254.
Portum Pusillum, if not Littleport, was a place upon the Cam or the Ouse, within sight of Ely Minster.
Does your correspondent suppose that Northmouth was among the fens? If so, he may consult Inquisitio Eliensis, or Dugdale’s Map of the Bedford Level, which is in the Museum.
J.F.M.
Dec. 22.
Madoc’s Emigration to America.—”ANGLO-CAMBRIAN” (No. 4. p. 57.), in contradiction to the occurrence of Madoc’s emigration, has adduced what he supposes to be a gross anachronism in the words “Madoc was directed by the best compass, and this in 1170!” Now, unfortunately for this opinion, the passage on which it is founded will not allow of his interpretation. The original words are in Sir Thomas Herbert’s Travels, and, in his expressive language, they are as follows:—”By Providence, the best compass, and benefit of the pole-star, he returned safely to his own country.” Most certainly this cannot imply that Madoc was acquainted with the mariner’s compass.
“J.M.T.” also seems to give great weight to the fact of a “Welsh-Indian vocabulary” having been formed, containing no trace of any Celtic root. This seems conclusive, yet it is not so; for I have some words, extracted from a vocabulary of the Mandan (Indian) language made by Mr. Catlin, during his sojourn among them, all of which, with very slight allowance for corruption, are clearly Welsh. Mr. Catlin believes the Mandans to have been descended from the followers of Prince Madoc, from the strong evidence which he considers his stay among them afforded him, and detailed in his work on the Indians. I regret to add, that the Mandans have been exterminated by the small-pox and the weapons of their enemies. I have long taken a deep, because a national, interest in this question, and have endeavoured to examine in the spirit of that noble precept, which ought to be bound up with the existence of every Cymro, “The truth against the world.” Consequently, I have found that much of what is put forth as evidence on this question is, as Mr. Corney has very justly intimated, quite inadmissible; in short, unworthy of belief. Still, the inquiry has afforded me sufficient reasons for viewing the question of Prince Madoc’s emigration as a fact, and for supporting it as such as far as my humble testimony will allow.
GOMER.
Caerphili Castle.—With reference to “PWCCA’S” query (No. 10. p. 157.), it may be noted that Full is the Welsh word for “haste,” and, if the derivatur, must allude to the original structure having been hastily erected.
GOMER.
Origin of word Bug.—I should feel obliged by your informing me whether the word Bug is not of Celtic origin, signifying a “Ghost or Goblin?” Vide Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, Act I. Scene II.:—
“Tush, tush, fright boys with bugs.”
And whether, in Mathews’ Bible, A.D. 1537, the 5th verse of the 91st Psalm is not thus rendered:—
“Thou shalt not need to be afraid of any bugs by night”?
literally, in the Hebrew, “Terror of the night.”
J.P.
[Bug in Welsh means a ghost or goblin. It is probably the same with the Icelandic Paki, an evil spirit. But on this etymology our correspondent can consult an article by Sir F. Palgrave, on the “Popular Mythology of the Middle Ages.” in the Quarterly Review, vol. xxii.;a paper, by Mr. Thoms, on the “Folk Lore of Shakspeare,” No. 6.; “Puck’s several Names,” in The Athenæum, Oct. 9. 1847; and lastly, Mr. Keightley’s most interesting work, The Fairy Mythology. vol. ii. p. 118., of which we are happy to hear that a new and enlarged edition may shortly be expected.]