Replies to Minor Queries.
Bastides (Vol. v., p. 150.).
—The town of Kingston-upon-Hull was founded by King Edward I., when he returned from Scotland, through Yorkshire, in 1299, and it may be seen in Hollar's map of the town, as it was in 1640, that the ground plan coincides exactly with MR. PARKER'S description of the "Villes Anglaises" in France.
F. HH.
Brunéhaut (Vol. iv., p. 86.).
—Pasquier is the great author originally in her favour. Hallam refers also to Vellay, Hist. de France, tom. i. on one side, and a dissertation by Gaillard in the Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions, tom. xxx. on the other. Hallam himself was against her. In his Supplement, p. 19., he is rather undecided.
Michelet and Sismondi do not seem to defend her; nor, I believe, Guizot, who considers there was a constant struggle between the Frank and Roman inhabitants, and that Fredegonde and Brunéhaut were the heads and types respectively of the two races, and their respective principles of government.
C. B.
Job (Vol. v., pp. 26. 140.).
—The criticisms of your correspondent RECHABITE are of so singular a character, that I must beg him to excuse my passing over, unnoticed, the first paragraph.
The second appears calculated to traduce the character of a man celebrated for his integrity, judgment, accurateness, preciseness, and skill in his sketches, &c. The Inscriptio Persepolitana, p. 333., is his own sketch: "Verum, unius descriptio tam longam mihi facessebat operam (ob loci altitudinem et solares radios permolestam) ut parum abesset, quin à ceteris abstinere coactus fuerim." (P. 332.) There were three others: "Inscriptionis quadruplex quasi tabula spectatur." Perhaps it may be one of the latter ones that RECHABITE has seen in Niebuhr and Porter. I have not seen those works.
Next, why does RECHABITE not say what are the two letters which I have translated as two words containing eight letters?
And now for my theory, and Major Rawlinson's improved translation of the inscription, all together. Let the reader of "N. & Q." turn to Kæmpfer, p. 341., and he will see the procession that is described in p. 333. Does he think that Ormazd, Xerxes, Darius, or Achæmenes is there? I assure him that they are not mentioned. In fact, the engravings were made long before the date 694 B.C., when Achæmenes began his reign. But it appears that an Egyptian reed is thought sufficient to prop up a structure raised in the sand.
Finally, my great desire is, that some spirited person would take up the matter, and let the old and new system be tried by proper tests; and let the conquered have a decent burial.
T. R. BROWN.
Parish Registers (Vol. iv., p. 473.; Vol. v., pp. 36. 141.).
—Notwithstanding the high legal tone which pervades the replies you have received on Parish Registers, I cannot acquiesce in the conclusion that "the genealogical or archæological inquirer has in general no right to inspect," much less to copy, the Register Books. What object could there be in enforcing the keeping and preservation of registers by the officiating ministers, even under the pain of transportation for fourteen years of any person wilfully injuring them, and the cost to parishes for providing iron chests, except it be "for the inspection of persons desirous to make search therein, and obtain copies from and out of the same." (52 Geo. III. cap. 146.) And by the act just quoted, the minister and the public are bound with regard to fees due on searching, and for copies. He is entitled "to all due legal and accustomed fees on such occasions, and all powers and remedies for recovery thereof." And by the 49th section of a more recent Registration Act (6 & 7 Wm. IV.), registers of baptisms and burials may still be kept, and, by inference, the fees are included; because by the 35th section the fees for the examination of the registers created by this last act are defined; but then they apply only to those registers, the power of that act being only prospective, not retrospective.
The following note, made many years ago, from Phillip's Law of Evidence (which, from the number of editions it has passed through, must be supposed to be a work of considerable weight), will probably set the question at rest, as he refers to adjudged cases:
"Parish registers are public books, and persons interested in them have a right to inspect and take copies of such parts as relate to their interest.—Geery v. Hopkins, 2 Lord Raym. 850.; Warriner v. Giles, 2 Stra. 954.; Mayor of Lond. v. Swinhead, 1 Barnardist. 454."
The reply, therefore, to the Query of D. (Vol. iv., p. 474.) seems to be, that any person has a right to consult the parish registers, not gratuitously, but on payment of the accustomed fee.
H. T. ELLACOMBE.
Clyst St. George.
It may be of use to D. (Rotherfield), to be referred to the Justice of the Peace for 31st January, 1852, wherein, at p. 76., he will find an opinion given, that, for the search the clergyman has a right to charge 1s. and no more, whatever may be the number of names, unless the search extended over a period of more than one year, when he would be entitled to 6d. extra for every additional year.
REGEDONUM.
Ornamental Hermits (Vol. v., p. 123.).
—Some fancy of this kind at Mr. Weld's of Lulworth Castle, in Dorsetshire, exaggerated or highly coloured by O'Keefe, was supposed to afford the title and principal incident of his extravagant but laughable comedy of The London Hermit; or, Rambles in Dorsetshire, first played in 1793, with great success, and revived (cut down to a two-act farce) in 1822. I, too, have heard the story as told of Mr. Hamilton and Payne's Hill; but I a little doubt it, because in the elaborate and somewhat pompous description of Payne's Hill there is no mention of the Hermitage; and when I saw it as a show place a great many years ago, I saw no building of that description; but, after all, this may have been the original story which O'Keefe transported into Dorsetshire.
C.
Collars of SS. (Vol. v., pp. 81. 183.).
—Allow me to correct one or two errors into which your correspondent H. L. has fallen.
In the first place, my letter was not intended (nor, I conceive, was that of your correspondent LLEWELLYN) either to support a favourite theory, or to combat a long-established prejudice; but simply to furnish a contribution to MR. FOSS'S list of monumental effigies decorated with this "much-vext" ornament.
As to the mistakes (if mistakes they be) which H. L. assumes, they are not mine, but those of persons whose authority on these subjects H. L. (like the celebrated reviewer who criticised Pindar's Greek without knowing it) might find it awkward to impugn.
I may as well inform him, by the way, that the corf de mailles, which originally covered the whole head, as a sort of cowl, was diminished in size until it became little more than a gorget of mail; and appears at last to have formed a portion of the hauberk. The name also changed its orthography: passing, as has been suggested, through the intervening stage of cap-mail, until it was corrupted into camail. There is, therefore, no ground for "assuming" the ignorance of persons who use the original, instead of the corrupted form of a word.
Perhaps H. L. has never heard of a helmet being worn over a bascinet. I can furnish him with a few instances of monumental effigies where both appear. He should study the monument in question before he pronounces the use of the word "helmet" to be a mistake.
I would suggest to H. L. that the next time he appears in your pages he had better append his name in full, that those whom he assails may be better able to judge of the value of his criticism.
I will only add that it is hardly fair to "assume" that a man has never studied a subject which has been his hobby for thirty years; and who might be able to prove, by ocular demonstration, that he has "studied" more monumental effigies than H. L. probably ever dreamt of.
LEWIS EVANS.
Herschel Anticipated (Vol. iv., p. 233., &c.).
—It was not Herschel's discoveries relative to the sun's motion, but his theory relative to its physical constitutions, which was anticipated by a person, who was declared to be mad for holding such opinions. Sir David Brewster, in a note to his edition of Ferguson's Astronomy, vol. ii. p. 144., says:
"It is a curious fact that the opinions of Dr. Herschel, respecting the nature of the sun, were maintained by a Dr. Elliot, who was tried at the Old Bailey for shooting Miss Boydell. The friends of the Doctor maintained that he was insane, and called several witnesses to establish this point. Among these was Dr. Simmons, who declared that Dr. Elliot had, for some months before, shown a fondness for the most extravagant opinions; and that in particular, he had sent to him a letter on the light of the celestial bodies, to be communicated to the Royal Society. This letter confirmed Dr. Simmons in the belief that this unhappy man was under the influence of this mental derangement; and, as a proof of the correctness of this opinion, he directed the attention of the court to a passage of the letter, in which Dr. Elliot states, 'that the light of the sun proceeds from a dense and universal aurora, which may afford ample light to the inhabitants of the surface (of the sun) beneath, and yet be at such a distance aloft as not to annoy them.' No objection, says he, ariseth to that great luminary being inhabited; vegetation may obtain there, as well as with us. There may be water and dry land, hills and dales, rain and fair weather; and as the light, so the season, must be eternal; consequently it may easily be conceived to be by far the most blissful habitation of the whole system." (See the Gentleman's Magazine, 1787, p. 636.)
W. G.
Monastic Establishments in Scotland (Vol. v., p. 104.).
—In reply to CEYREP I would recommend to his notice the following publications; they may assist him materially in his inquiries, viz.:
1. "Moore's List of the Principal Monasteries and Castles in Great Britain. Revised by John Caley, Keeper of the Records of the Abbey lands in the Exchequer. 8vo. 1798."
2. "Fragmenta Scoto-Monastica: Memoir of what has been already done, and what Materials exist, towards the Formation of a Scottish Monasticon: to which are appended, Sundry New Instances of Goodly Matter, by a Delver in Antiquity (W. B. Turnbull). 8vo. 1842."
In the Advocates' Library here, there are, I understand, a few MSS. relative to these religious establishments, such as Rentales; also Father Richard Hay's MS. entitled Scotia Sacra, being an account of the most renowned monasteries in Scotland, with a series of the several bishops, priors, and other governors, &c., written in 1700, folio.
T. G. S.
Edinburgh.
Kissing under the Mistletoe (Vol. v., p. 13.).
—The editorial reply to AN M.D. seems to me very unsatisfactory. Would it not be more reasonable to refer the custom to the Scandinavian mythology, wherein the mistletoe is dedicated to Friga, the Venus of the Scandinavians; especially when we remember that previous to the introduction of Christianity, the feast of Thor was celebrated by the Northmen at nearly the same period? a fact which also accounts for the Bacchanalian character of the Christian feast. Students of the Edda will remember the importance of the mistletoe in the Scandinavian legends; the story of Loke's attack on Balder hinging upon the parasite character of the plant. It is worth a note in passing, that the holly owes its importance in the Christmas festivities to paganism. The Romans dedicated the holly to Saturn, whose festival was held in December; and the early Christians, to screen themselves from persecution, decked their houses with its branches during their own celebration of the Nativity.
SHIRLEY HIBBERD.
The Ring Finger (Vol. v., p. 114.).
—I allow all that has been said, though the Rubric in our Prayer Book directs the ring to be placed on the fourth finger, and held there, &c. Still I have read of the earliest custom being, after repeating the words "With this ring I thee wed," &c., on coming to "In the name of the Father," to place the ring on the top of the thumb; "and of the Son," to place it on the top of the forefinger; "and of the Holy Ghost," to place it on the top of the third finger; and, on repeating the word "amen," to put the ring down over the fourth finger; thereby "ratifying, and confirming the same." This seems the most serious conclusion of the matter.
R. F. M.
Sanctus Bell (Vol. v., p. 104.).
—The Glossary of Architecture is right in its description, but not in its conclusion. There are many instances where the Sanctus Bell, or its remains, still exist in the tower or bell chamber. As e.g. at Addington, Bucks, the "Parson's Bell," as it is now called there, is to be seen in a small aperture in the wall of the bell-chamber, exposed to the outside, on the west. A similar aperture, size, and position, but minus the bell, can also be seen in the tower of Merriott, Somerset. The recess in the wall of the tower of Trumpington Church was clearly for the sacristan (perhaps) to stand in to ring the bell. In the ringing chamber in the tower of Halstock, Dorset, is a wedge-like aperture in the wall next the nave; it is about three feet square, and splays from a narrow slit in the church over the tower arch. This was evidently for the sacristan to observe the proper times for ringing the bell. The top of the tower, bell-chamber, &c., had been rebuilt about a hundred years since, which may account for no loop-hole now to be seen. No doubt there are many others.
R. F. M.
Slang Dictionaries.
—The following titles of books of this nature are taken from A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. The second edition, corrected and enlarged. 8vo. London, 1788.
1. "A Caveat for Common Cursetors, vulgarly called Vagabones; set forth by Thomas Harman, Esquier, for the Utilitie and Proffyt of hys Naturall Countrye. Newly Augmented and Imprinted, Anno Domini M.D.LXVII."
2. "The Bellman of London, bringing to light the most notorious villanies that are now practised in the Kingdom. Profitable for gentlemen, lawyers, merchants, citizens, farmers, masters of households, and all sorts of servants, to marke and delightfull for men to reade. Lege, Perlege, Relege. 1608."
3. "English Villanies, seven severall times prest to death by the printers; but (still reviving againe) are now the eighth time (as the first) discovered by lanthorne and candle light. Et cet.... London, 1638."
4. "The Canting Academy; or Villanies discovered: Wherein are shown the Mysterious and Villanous Practices of that Wicked Crew, commonly known by the Names of Hectors, Trapanners, Gilts, et cet., with several new Catches and Songs; also a Compleat Canting Dictionary both of Old Words and such as are now most in Use: a Book very useful and necessary (to be known but not practised) for all People. The Second Edition: London. N. B.—The dedication is signed R. Head."
5. "Hell upon Earth; or the most pleasant and delectable History of Whittington's Colledge, otherwise (vulgarly) called Newgate. Giving an Account of the Humours of those Collegians who are strictly examined at the Old Bailey, and take their Highest Degrees near Hyde Park Corner.... London, 1703."
6. "The Scoundrel's Dictionary, 1754."
CRANMORE.
Modern Greek Names of Places (Vol. iv., pp. 470.; Vol. v., p. 14.).
—With the utmost deference to so high an authority, on such a subject, as SIR EMERSON TENNENT, I must deny that Cos, Athens, or Constantinople have been called by the Greeks, Stanco, Satines, or Stamboul.
These corruptions have been made by Turks, Venetians, and Englishmen; and in speaking to barbarians the Greek uses barbarous terms to make himself intelligible; but in speaking to another Greek, and in writing, Athens is Athens, Cos is Cos, and Constantinople is ἡ πόλις.
Very few corruptions of names of places have taken place amongst the Greeks; while every island, peak, and every headland in the Ægean cries out against Venetian barbarism.
Patræ is Patras in the mouths of Englishmen, and Patrasso with Italians: the Greeks call it Πατραι, and generally write it Παλαιαι Πατραι.
Corcyra has lost her name, but has received a correct Greek name, Οἱ Κόρυφοι—the peaks—whether of the citadel or of Mount San Salvador. This has become Corfu. Ithaca has lost her name and is now Theaki.
A Greek does not know what place you mean.
I should be obliged if any correspondent can tell me whether Paxo is mentioned by any classical author. It has a plural termination: Οι Παξοι εις τοὺς Παξους.
L. H. J. T.
Baskerville the Printer (Vol. iv., pp. 40. 123. 211.).
—For several years past I have had by me a little memorandum in the handwriting of a friend. It states that Baskerville was once foreman to a stonemason, during which time he had cut some lines upon the tombstone of a poor idiot, who was buried in Edgbaston churchyard. The lines are these:
"If th' Innocent are favourites of Heaven,
And little is required where little's given,
My great Creator has for me in store
Eternal Bliss; what wise man would have more?"
A few days since (Jan. 26), being at Birmingham, I visited Edgbaston churchyard, and on making inquiry for the above-mentioned tombstone, was grieved to learn (from one who resembled the sexton) that nothing had been heard of it since the year 1816. It seems that, with many other tombstones, it had been maliciously broken and destroyed in the said year, and that though a reward had been offered for the detection of the criminals, they had never been discovered. Is all this true? or have I given the epitaph correctly? If not, it is more my misfortune than my fault, for I am as accurate on the matter as I have the power of being at present.
RT.
Warmington.
Story of Ginevra (Vol. v., p. 129.).
—Your correspondent ☞ F. is informed that Marwell Old Hall, formerly the residence of the Seymour, and afterwards of the Dacre family, situate between Winchester and Bishops Waltham, is connected by tradition with the story of Ginevra; and the compiler of the Post Office Directory of Hampshire (1848) states, that "the chest, said to be the identical one, is now the property of the Rev. J. Haygarth, Rector of Upham," a village in the immediate locality, "and may be seen in his entrance hall."
H. EDWARDS.
Gospel Oaks (Vol. ii., p. 407.; Vol. v., p. 157.).
—BURIENSIS complains that "the inquiry of STEPHEN has not elicited one answer, nor one additional note of other trees designated as Gospel Oaks." I conjecture that the cause of this silence is, that the oaks so called have long since perished. In this neighbourhood there are two iron-works situated near the boundary of the parishes of Tipton and Wednesbury, which are called respectively Gospel Oak Works and Wednesbury Oak Works. The tradition respecting the name of Gospel Oak is, that it was so called in consequence of it having been the practice in ancient times to read under a tree which grew there, a portion of the Gospels on the annual perambulation of the bounds of the parish on Ascension Day. That Gospel Oak and Wednesbury Oak marked the boundary line of the parishes of Tipton and Wednesbury is highly probable.
FABER.
West Bromwich.
Your correspondent BURIENSIS (Vol. v. p. 157.) has supplied a quotation from Mr. Hollingsworth to the effect, that these ancient trees were probably Druidical, under whose "leafy tabernacles" the first Christian missionaries preached. This view of their origin is borne out by the ordinary practice of Christian missionaries to the Heathen of the present day, who are frequently driven to the shelter of some umbrageous giant of the forest, to deliver the Word of Life. In some cases I imagine that it may be found that such trees have been rendered sacred by the superstition of the native inhabitants; and it is scarcely venturing too much in supposing, that as the moral wilderness becomes cultivated, that similar traditions with our own may be handed down to future generations, and especially if we look so far forward as to the time when the sable inhabitants of the centre of Africa may in their progress be occupied by curious questions of a bygone age in their "N. & Q."
EXON.
I quite agree with your correspondent BURIENSIS as to the origin of the title given to various old oak trees in different parts of the country. These trees were no doubt selected on account of either their position, age, or size, as places of assembly for the early Christians, and from them the "Gospel" was, probably, first preached in their respective neighbourhoods.
That these trees were connected with religious observances is evident from the following lines in the 502nd poem of Herrick's Hesperides. The poem is addressed "To Anthea:"—
—————"Dearest, bury me
Under that holy oak, or Gospel Tree;
Where, though thou see'st not, thou may'st think upon
Me, when thou yearly go'st procession."
P. T.
Stoke Newington.
"Asters with Trains of Fire," &c. (Vol. v., p. 154.).
—MR. HICKSON's objections to this reading are twofold—matter of opinion, and matter of fact: of course, it is only with the latter that I may presume to interfere.
I beg to refer him to the precepts of Polonius to his son, no further than the third scene of the same play, amongst which he will find this line:
"Costly thy habit, as thy purse can buy."
Although it does not prove that "the English language admits of the formation of a perfect sentence without a verb," yet it does show that the verb need not always be expressed; but may be left to the hearer, or reader, to supply, according to the requirements of the context.
The line just quoted is found amongst a number of imperative precepts—the verb to be supplied is therefore the imperative of "to be"—
"Costly (let) thy habit (be)," &c.
Similarly, the line to which MR. HICKSON takes exception is found amongst a number of described appearances—the verb, therefore, must be in accordance:
"Asters with trains of fire (appeared)," &c.
Many better examples of this most common license might doubtless be adduced; but I always like to take the nearest at hand.
A. E. B.
Leeds.
P. S.—MR. HICKSON will find it difficult to confine the portents of Cæsar's death to the night time. All authorities mention the obscuration of the sun—necessarily from spots, if the moon were eclipsed since sun and moon could not both be eclipsed about the same time.
Wiggan, or Utiggan, an Oxford Student (Vol. v., p. 78.).—
"Wigan (John) Chr. Ch., M.A., March 22 1720.
—— B. and D.M., July 7, 1727."
appears in A Catalogue of All Graduates, &c., created in the University of Oxford, printed at the Clarendon press in the year M.DCCLXXIJ.
W. DN. will also find the following in the same catalogue:—
"Wigan (Geo.) Chr. Ch., M.A., March 28, 1718.
—— DD., Dipl. by, Jan. 19, 1749.
"Wigan (Tho.) Trin. Coll., M.A. Oct. 23, 1767.
"Wigan (Will.) Chr. Ch., M.A., Nov. 23, 1764."
FABER FERRARIUS.
Dublin.
Hieroglyphics of Vagabonds (Vol. v., p. 49.).
—I have a cutting from a newspaper of 1849 confirmative of the truth of this practice:—
"MENDICANT FREEMASONRY.—Persons indiscreet enough to open their purses to the relief of the beggar tribe would do well to take a readily-learned lesson as to the folly of that misguided benevolence which encourages and perpetuates vagabondism. Every door or passage is pregnant with instruction as to the error committed by the patron of beggars, as the beggar-marks show that a system of free-masonry is followed, by which a beggar knows whether it will be worth his while to call into a passage or knock at a door. Let any one examine the entrances to the passages in any town, and there he will find chalk marks, unintelligible to him, but significant enough to beggars. If a thousand towns are examined, the same marks will be found at every passage entrance. The passage mark is a cypher with a twisted tail: in some cases the tail projects into the passage, in others outwardly; thus seeming to indicate whether the houses down the passage are worth calling at or not. Almost every door has its marks: these are varied. In some cases there is a cross on the brick-work, others, a cypher: the figures 1, 2, 3 are also used. Every person may for himself test the accuracy of these statements by the examination of the brickwork near his own doorway ... thus demonstrating that mendicity is a regular trade, carried out upon a system calculated to save time and realise the largest profits!"
A. A. D.
"The bright lamp that shone in Kildare's holy fane" (Vol. v., p. 87.).
—Moore has given a reference himself as to where the story of the "inextinguishable fire of St. Bridget," alluded to in his melody, may be found: viz. Giraldus Camb. de Mirab. Hibern. dist. ii. c. 34.
[5] Not "lay."
A. A. D.
Hyrne (Vol. v., p. 152.).
—MR. CHADWICK inquires the meaning of this word. In Bosworth's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary I find, "Hyrne, a horn, corner;" "Hirne, an angle, a corner;" and in Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words I find "Hirne, a corner." In many villages in the fen districts of Lincolnshire are found places called the Hirne, the Hurne, or the Horn's-end all being portions of the respective villages situated in an angle or corner at the extreme end of the parish.
"Horncastle in Lincolnshire, the Banovallum of the Roman geographer Ravennas, derives its name from its situation in an angle formed by the junction of two small rivers, the Bane and the Waring. Horncastle is a corruption of Hyrncastre, a fortification in an angle or corner."—See Weir's Horncastle.
P. T.
Stoke Newington.
Stops, when first introduced (Vol. v., p. 1.).
—In the Alvearie, or Quadruple Dictionarie, by Baret, published in 1580, may be found the comma, colon, semicolon, and period. The semicolon appears, as far as my observation has gone, to have been there used, not as a stop, but as a note of contraction. The point of interrogation is plentifully scattered throughout the same work; as also, the index ☞.
FRANCISCUS.
Heraldical MSS. of Sir H. St. George Garter (Vol. v., p. 59.).
—Your correspondent as to MSS. formerly at Enmore may learn their fate on applying to Mr. Woodgate, of Lincoln's Inn. I think the MSS. were sent to the then Lord Perceval. Mr. N. B. Acworth, of the English bar, would also probably know.
J. R. P.
Kingswei, Kings-way, or Kinsey (Vol. iv., p. 231.).
—In addition to the instances in Oxon and Wilts, already mentioned, the town of Kinsey occurs on the high road leading from Prince's Risborough to Thame. Is Kinsey, in this case, a contraction for Kings-way, as in Oxon; and is this a continuation of King Athelstan's road?
B. WILLIAMS.
Fouché's Memoirs.
—At Vol. iv., p. 455., on the subject of the Duc d'Enghien's murder, Fouché's Memoirs are quoted in proof that the saying, "C'était pire qu'un crime, c'était une faute," was claimed as his own by that famous police minister. Indeed, I have little doubt of the fact, which, however, can derive no confirmation or authority from the quoted work; for this nominal autobiography has been pronounced, on a regular trial before the French tribunals, an utter cheat and imposition; though referred to by Mr. Alison, in his History of Europe, volume the fifth, p. 482. (original edition), as genuine, as well as by Lord Brougham in the third volume of his Statesmen; yet with less decided assertion than by the Scotch historian. Fouché's family at once denounced the fabrication, and obtained heavy damages from the printer; who equally succeeded against the writer, Alphons de Beaumont, and was awarded large damages for the imposition. (See Gentleman's Magazine for November, 1842.) It is at present perfectly understood that the sharp and apt antithesis, however immoral, was Fouché's.
Talleyrand's reputation for ready wit fixed on him the paternity of numerous bons mots, which have proved to be of alien birth. Voltaire, Piron, Mirabeau, in France; and Chesterfield, Selwyn, Wilkes, &c. in England; with Curran in Ireland, and many others, have similarly obtained credit for pointed expressions not of their utterance, as to the rich are generally given by rumour more than they possess. "On ne prête qu'aux riches," is an apposite proverb, long since indeed stated by the sententious Euripides: "Ὁρῶσσι δὲ οἱ διδόντες εἰς τὰ χρήματα" (In Fragmentis). Cicero tells us, in his letter to Volumnius (Epistol. Famil. lib. vii. ep. 32.), that the sayings of others had been thus similarly fathered on him: "Ais omnia omnium dicta in me conferri;" and complains, half-humorously and half-seriously, that his supremacy of wit was not sufficiently protected from usurpers or intruders: "Quod parum diligenter possessio salinarum mearum, ate procuratore, defenditur," &c.
J. R. (Cork.)
The Pelican as a Symbol of our Saviour (Vol. v., pp. 59. 165.).
—Shakspeare, in Hamlet, alludes to the popular notion respecting this bird:
"To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my arms,
And like the kind, life-rendering pelican,
Repast them with my blood."
The best representation I have ever seen of the pelican feeding her young occurs in the works of a Roman printer, in the early part of the eighteenth century, Rocco Bernabo, who has taken for his device a pelican feeding her five young ones, a crown of thorns encircling them.
The pelican has a long bag or pouch, reaching the entire length of the bill to the neck. In feeding its young, the bird squeezes the food deposited in the bag into their mouths, by strongly compressing it upon its breast with the bill. (See Calmet and Shaw.) Hence the popular idea.
MARICONDA.
Feb. 10. 1852.
Bow-bell (Vol. v., pp. 28. 140.).
—Your correspondent W. S. S. is, I think, right in supposing Bow-bell to be almost synonymous with Cockney. I quote a passage from the London Prodigall, which had once the honour of being attributed to Shakspeare.
"Enter Sir Lancelot Weathercock Young Flowerdale, &c. (Sir Arthur Green-hood, Oliver, &c., had been on the stage before.)
"Lan. Sir Arthur, welcome to Lewsome, welcome, by my troth. What's the matter, man? why are you vext?
Oli. Why man, he would press me.
Lan. O fie, Sir Arthur, press him? He is a man of reckoning.
Wea. I that he is, Sir Arthur, he hath the nobles. The golden ruddocks he.
Ar. The fitter for the warrs: and were he not in favour With your worships, he should see, That I have power to press as good as he.
Oli. Chill stand to the trial, so chill.
Flow. I marry shall he, presse cloth and karsie, White pot and drowsen broth: tut, tut, he cannot.
Oli. Well, Sir, though you see vlouten cloth and karsie, chee a zeen zutch a karsie coat wear out the town sick a zilken jacket, as thick a one as you wear.
Flow. Well sed, vlitan vlattan.
Oli. A and well sed cocknell, and boe-bell too. What doest think cham aveard of thy zilken coat, no fer vere thee."
Page iv.
RT.
Warmington.
Cou-bache (Vol. v., p. 131.).
—In MR. SINGER'S note on the word cou-bache, in the enumeration of the cognate words which would appear to contradict the usual interpretation, he would seem to have forgotten the Greek Βήσσα, which confirms it, and has precisely the meaning of a shaded mountain valley, and certainly belongs to the same tribe of the Indo-Germanic languages as the pure Saxon bæccha.
RICHARD F. LITTLEDALE.
White-livered (Vol. v., p. 127.).
—The expression white-livered had its origin in the auspices taken by the Greeks and Romans before battle, in which the examination of the liver and entrails of the victim formed an essential part. If the liver were the usual shape, and a blood-red colour, the omen was favourable; if pale or livid, it was an augury of defeat. The transition from the victim to the inquirer was easy, and a dastard leader, likely to sustain disgrace, was called "a man of a white liver."
RICHARD F. LITTLEDALE.
Dublin.
"Experto crede Roberto" (Vol. v., p. 104.).
—Your correspondent W. L. may perhaps find the origin of the above phrase in the following epitaph copied from the floor of Exeter College Chapel, Oxford:
"Quam subito, quam certo, experto crede Roberto
Pride AUX, Fratri Matthiæ minori
Qui veneno infæliciter com-
-Esto intra decem horas
Misere expiravit.
Sept. 14, 1627."
What is the meaning of the capitals? Close by is the following:
"Hic jacet in pannis patris op-
-tima gemma Johannes
Prideaux
Mathiæ gemellus qui im-
-mature sequutus est fratres
August 1o A.D. 1636."
H. H. G.
Frognal.
"Oh! Leoline," &c. (Vol. v., pp. 78. 138.).—
"Oh! Leolyn, be obstinately just;
Indulge no passion, and deceive no trust:
Let never man be bold enough to say,
Thus, and no farther, shall my passion stray:
The first crime, past, compels us into more,
And guilt grows fate, that was but choice, before."
Athelwold, a Tragedy, by Aaron Hill.
Act V. Scene: The Garden.
These lines were first quoted by Madan, in his translation of Juvenal, as a note on the words—
"Nemo repente fuit turpissimus."—Juv. Sat. ii. 83.
He prefaced the lines by confessing that he could not recollect where he had met with them; but Gifford, in his translation of Juvenal (3rd edition, 1817), assigns them to "Athelwold, a forgotten tragedy by Aaron Hill." I have referred to the play, for the sake of obtaining a correct copy of the quotation, and a reference to Act and Scene.
C. FORBES.
Temple.
The Word "Blaen" (Vol. v., p. 128.).
—The British word Blaen, a frequent prefix, means top point, or fore part: hence Blaenffrwyth, first fruit; Blaenafon, source of a river, &c.
E. ALLEN.
Stoke (Vol. v., pp. 106. 161.).
—At Erbistock, near this place (it is called "Saint Erbyn's stoke" in the Valor Ecclesiasticus made temp. Henry VIII.), there is a stone weir across the river Dee, which there washes the base of the rock on which the Parish church is built. The use of this weir is now only to divert a part of the stream to a corn mill; but a weir may have been erected here in ancient times for the purpose of catching salmon, as it is the first weir above Chester on the river Dee. The name of Saint Erbyn is not to be found in the Calendar of Welsh Saints; but I apprehend that the authority of the commissioners of Henry VIII. may be deemed sufficient for placing his name in the next edition of the Calendar that shall be published.
☞
Wrexham Regis.
The quotation from Bosworth is doubtless correct. Blomfield, in his History of Norfolk, when describing Stoke-ferry, says:
"This town stands on the river Wissey, and in the Book of Domesday it is wrote 'Stoches;' not taking its name from stoch, (i.e.) some wood, but from stow, a dwelling or habitation, and ches, or kes, by the water."
There are two villages of the name of Stoke in Norfolk, and both are situate on small streams.
J. F. F.
West Newton.
A Baron's Hearse (Vol. v., p. 128.).
—The editorial reply in this page has referred to the Note on Funerals which I prefixed to Machyn's Diary; and from that book may certainly be gathered the best possible notion of the style and character of the hearse, and other paraphernalia attendant upon funerals in England during the sixteenth century. But in a book which I edited for another Society, namely, The Unton Inventories, 1841, will be found the authority for Lloyd's statement relative to the funeral of Sir Henry Unton: it is the certificate in the College of Arms, which states that he was buried at Faringdon "with a baron's hearse, and in the degree of a baron, because he died ambassador leidger for France." A Lord Mayor of London, dying in office, was in like manner interred with the observances due to a baron. It appears from Sir Henry Unton's papers that he was usually addressed as "My Lord" whilst in France as ambassador. May I inquire whether that practice is still kept up towards ambassadors who are not peers? or, if not, when did it cease?
JOHN GOUGH NICHOLS.
The Bed of Ware (Vol. v., p. 128.).
—There is an engraving of the Bed of Ware in Clutterbuck's History of Hertfordshire, and another in Shaw's Ancient Furniture.
J. G. N.
[We are also reminded by Mr. C. H. COOPER that it is engraved in Knight's Pictorial Shakspeare.]
Symbolism of Death (Vol. iii., pp. 450. 501.).
—Will you permit a Note to say, that Herder, after Lessing, and in continuation of his essay, wrote on the subject of "Death, as symbolically represented by the Ancients." Lessing's treatise was lately mentioned by one of your correspondents, without any notice of Herder's.
J. M.
General Wolfe (Vol. iv., p. 438.).
—I send the following "Notes from Newspapers," thinking they may be of service to [Gh.].:—
"His Majesty has been pleased to appoint the Hon. Col. Wolfe to be Inspector of all the marines."—London and County Journal, May 13, 1742.
"To Rome from Pontus thus great Julius wrote,
I came, I saw, and conquer'd, ere I fought.
In Canada, brave Wolfe, more nobly tried,
Came, saw, and conquer'd,—but in battle died.
More glorious far than Cæsar's was his doom,
Who lived to die for Tyranny in Rome."
London Chronicle, August 18. 1774.
These lines are headed "An Epitaph intended for General Wolfe." They are signed by E. D.
In the Illustrated London News of Jan. 24 is the popular air known as "General Wolfe's Song," which, according to Sir H. Bishop's "note," is said to have been composed by him the night previous to the battle on the Plains of Abraham.
H. G. D.
Proverb (Vol. iv., p. 239.).
—Fuller defines a proverb "much matter decocted into few words."—Worthies, ch. ii.
R. W. C.