Minor Queries.
Oasis.
—What is the proper pronunciation of this word? Ninety-nine people out of a hundred will say, as I said, "Oāsis, of course!" Let them, however, proceed to consult authorities, and they will begin to be puzzled. Its derivation from the Coptic "wáhe" (or "ouahe," the French way of expressing the Egyptian word wáhe.—Encycl. Metrop.) seems universally admitted. As to the pronunciation, the way in which the word is accented by the different authorities in which I have been able to find it is as follows:—
Ὄασις (πόλις).—Herodot. iii. 26. Larcher's Notes, and Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon, give no help as to the pronunciation.
Rees's Cyclopædia, and the Encyclopædia Britannica, do not accent the word at all. Brasse's Greek Gradus, Ainsworth's and Riddle's Dictionaries, Yonge's Gradus, Walker's Rhyming Dictionary, Webster, Richardson, and Johnson, do not even contain the word.
The few authorities which do accent the word, do it "with a difference." Ex. gr.:
O'asis.—Penny Cyclopædia.
O'asis.—Imperial Dictionary.
O'asis.—Spiers' English-French Dictionary.
Oăsis.—Anthon's Lemprière.
Oásis.—Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c.
Oāsis.—Butler's Classical Atlas. Index.
Who is right? I have searched all the Indices to the Delphin edition of the Latin poets, without finding the word at all. A Cambridge friend quoted at once "sacramque Ammonis oasim;" but, on being pressed, admitted, that if it were not the fag-end of some prize-poem line lurking in his memory, he did not know whence it came. I cannot get anybody to produce me an instance of the use of the word in English poetry. One says, "I am sure it's in Moore," and another, "You're sure to find it in Milton;" but our English poets lack verbal indices. Some such line as "Some green oasis in the desert's waste," haunts my own memory, but I cannot give it a "local habitation." Of course, two or three instances from English poets would not absolutely determine the question one way or the other, as we pronounce many words derived from Greek and Latin sources in defiance of their original quantity. Still they would not be without their value. Can any wise man of the East help?
HARRY LEROY TEMPLE.
Ballad on Shakspeare.
—About fifty years ago there was an old ballad in praise of Shakspeare which used to be very popular in Warwickshire. All I remember is the following stanza, which, I remember, was the concluding one:—
"The pride of all nature is sweet Willy, O;
The pride of our land was sweet Willy, O;
And when Willy died, it was Nature that sighed
At the loss of her all—her sweet Willy, O."
Where can the rest of the ballad be obtained? and who was the author?
SAXONICUS.
Dr. Toby Matthew.
—In Le Neve's Lives of the Protestant Archbishops under Dr. Toby Matthew, Archbishop of York, it is stated that he was appointed Bishop of Durham in 1595; and that on 7th April, Archbishop Whitgift granted a commission to Archbishop Hutton, "to confirm and consecrate this our bishop within the province of Canterbury, which," says Le Neve, "no doubt was done accordingly, though I cannot find, either in his diary or elsewhere, the time when, place where, or the names of the bishops who assisted at that solemnity," (vol. ii. pp. 105-6.). In Surtees' History of Durham, it is said that his consecration took place on "Palm Sunday." Palm Sunday fell on 9th April that year: the very Sunday, therefore, which followed the date of the licence mentioned by Le Neve. I believe Surtees refers to Rot. Durham as his authority. In the Church of England Magazine, Jan. 1847, p. 13., there is a Life of Dr. T. Matthew, said to be "Abridged from a manuscript in the British Museum, entitled 'The Preaching Bishop,'" &c. Does this document supply the information which Le Neve sought in vain?[3] Can any reader ascertain from the diary, or elsewhere, what the bishop was doing on 9th April, 1595, or where he was; or give any information on the subject?
C. H. D.
[3] [The MS. in the British Museum does not supply the information required; it merely corrects Bishop Godwyn's date of the consecration, viz. March, 1594: "but," says the writer, "he was mistaken; it was the year after, for he preached the first sermon after he was made bishop, May 11, 1595, as he himself sets down, being then forty-eight years of age." It is not given in Mr. Perceval's valuable list of the consecrations of English prelates in the Appendix to his Apology for the Apostolical Succession, so that we may conclude it is not to be found among the Lambeth records. It is possible it may be found in the document quoted by Surtees, viz. "Rot. Mathew, A."—ED.]
Hart and Mohun.
—Very little is known of these two old actors and managers. When were they born, and when did they die?
EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.
Burial without Religious Service.
—In case of the friends of any person deceased either objecting to, or not wishing to compel the clergyman to use, the burial service, is there any law to forbid the corpse being interred in the parish churchyard without any religious service at all? Suppose the deceased were a baptized dissenter, who had himself in his lifetime objected to, and whose surviving relatives also objected to the performance of the burial service, though they wished the body to be deposited in the churchyard; does a clergyman render himself liable to any penalty in permitting the body to be thus silently interred? Some years ago, at the Kensal Green cemetery the sons of Carlile protested at the grave against the performance of any religious service. The chaplain persisted in its performance in spite of their expressed wishes to the contrary! Was this right or wrong in a legal point of view?
C. H. D.
Ganganelli's Bible.
—Can any of your readers inform me who was the translator of the "Ganganelli (Pope) Bible," published in 1784 in folio, what is the merit of the translation, and who wrote the notes? If I mistake not, Evans, the auctioneer who sold the Duke of Sussex's library, puts in the catalogue that the notes are not the Pope's, it being "a scandalous imposture" in the title-page to say so, "for they have a free-thinking tendency."
The title-page of said Bible says that that Pope and the translator were liberals, and the author of the notes must have been a radical, all very intelligible in those days, but not without instruction to these.
The Duke's copy sold to the British Museum for 30l. May I ask why it is so rare?
J. D. G.
Wherland Family.
—Information is desired respecting the family of "Wherland," now of Cork, and whether they came from Scotland; and if so, whether the family still exists there? The crest of the Cork Wherlands is a demi-lion rampant out of a ducal coronet.
T. W. W.
Flemish Proverb quoted by Chaucer.
—Can any of the readers of "N. & Q.," or, should I not rather say, of its Dutch ally, "DE NAVORSCHER," point out the original of the old Flemish proverb,
"Soth play quod play,"
quoted by Chaucer in his Prologue to the "Cook's Tale;" and whether or not there is any history attached to it?
PHILO-CHAUCER.
Derivation of the Word "Callis," an Almshouse.
—The word is not given in Bailey or Richardson. It appears in Holloway's and Halliwell's Provincial Dictionaries in the plural, and is spelt "calasses." Each quotes Grose, who refers the word to the Gentleman's Magazine for May, 1784; but there the above question only is asked, and is unanswered. It has been suggested that the callis may be so called from its having been founded by some merchant of the Staple of Calais, or from its endowment being derived from donations to the chalice, made by persons to the priest administering extreme unction. Calis was the old form of chalice.—Vide Halliwell's Dictionary.
J. P. JUN.
Nashe's "Terrors of the Night," 4to. 1594.
—Can any correspondent oblige me with Notes, critical, philological, or otherwise, illustrative of the subjoined passages, which occur, among many others scarcely less curious, in the above rare tract, of which I am fortunate enough to possess a (not quite perfect) copy? Speaking of Iceland, he says,—
"It is reported, that the Pope long since gaue them a dispensation to receiue the Sacrament in ale, insomuch as for their vncessant frosts there, no wine but was turned to red emayle as soone as euer it came amongst them."
D. iii.
"Other spirits like rogues they have among them, destitute of all dwelling and habitation; and they chillingly complayne if a constable aske them Cheuela in the night, that they are going vnto Mount Hecla to warme them."
D. ii.
What is emayle? and is Cheuela for Qui va là?
Speaking of a vision of devils, he mentions some with
"Great glaring eyes, that had whole shelues of Kentish oysters in them; and terrible wide mouthes, whereof not one of them but would well haue made a case for Molenax' great gloabe of the world."
D. iii.
Is, then, Wyld's great Globe only a plagiarism from Molenax?
J. EASTWOOD.
Did Orientals ever wear Spurs?
—In the second volume, p. 38., of Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, are given some lines from Hyta, Guerras de Granada, &c., descriptive of the departure of Abdallah Chico on his fatal expedition against Lucena. These, enumerating all the braveries of the cortège, amongst others, mention
"Cuánto de Espuela de Oro,
Cuánta Estribera de Plata."
Now, unless this be an oversight of Hyta, his spurs of gold and stirrups of silver require some explanation, since the specification of both does not leave us the alternative of supposing that the former merely meant the sharp corners of the shovel-stirrup, which we all know serve the Oriental horseman of the present day as spurs.
Was Hyta a Spaniard or a Moor?
A. C. M.
Badges of Noblemen in the Fifteenth Century.
—What were the customary badges or cognizances of De la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, executed 1450; Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, and John Duke of Bedford, Protectors, temp. Henry VI.; Cardinal Beaufort; the Earls of Somerset, Salisbury, and Arundel, temp. Henry VI.; and Sir John Fastolfe?
BURIENSIS.
Sir Roger de Coverley.
—In the first article of the Number of the Quarterly Review just published, on Sir Roger de Coverley, by the Spectator, with Notes and Illustrations, by W. Henry Wills, it is stated,—
"At the suggestion of Swift they took advantage of a popular name, and derided the Knight's descent from the inventor of the celebrated country-dance," &c.
I should like to know the authority for this statement respecting Swift, as, at the time of the Spectator first appearing, he was certainly not on good terms with either Addison or Steele. The first Number of the Spectator was published on the 1st of March, 1710-11. In Swift's journal, sent to Stella, he says, March 6th,—
"I have not seen Mr. Addison these three weeks: all our friendship is over."
On the 16th he says,—
"Have you seen the Spectator yet? a paper that comes out every day. 'Tis written by Mr. Steele, who seems to have gathered new life, and have a new fund of wit; it is in the same nature as his Tatlers, and they have all of them had something pretty. I believe Addison and he club. I never see them," &c.
C. DE D.
Lines on Elizabeth.
—No doubt some of your readers will be able to tell me where I may find these verses:—
"Princeps Elizabetha tuis Dea magna Britannis."
which is fathered upon Ascham; and the following, which report gives to Camden:—
"Elizabetha suis Diva et Dea sola Britannis."
PETROS.
Twyford.
—Simeon of Durham relates the history of the acts of a council held A.D. 684, in the presence of King Egfrid, and presided over by Archbishop Theodore, at a place called Twyford, near the river Alne [Ættwyforda, quod significat ad duplex vadum.]—Libellus, &c., p. 44. Is there any vestige or record of the site of Twyford? Camden mentions it when speaking of the Northumberland coast:
"The shore afterwards opens for the river Alaun, which, still retaining the same name it had at Ptolemy's time, is called by contraction Alne, on whose bank is Twifford, q. d. Two-fords, where was held a synod under King Egfrid; and Eslington, Alnwick," &c.
CEYREP.
Irish Titles of Honour: The Knight of Kerry; The O'Conor Don; The O'Gorman Mahon.
—Will somebody explain for me the origin of, and right to, these titles, which do not receive the honour of any mention in the ordinary "Baronetages, Knightages," &c. &c.; as also the mode in which the individuals who claim them are addressed in ordinary conversation.
HARRY LEROY TEMPLE.
Sir Hobbard de Hoy.
—A common term for a lad between boyhood and manhood is a hobbledehoy. I find an early use of this word in Tusser's Hundred Points of Husbandry, A.D. 1557, in his verses entitled Man's age divided here ye have, By Prenticeships from birth to grave.
"The first seven years bring up as a child,
The next to learning, for waxing too wild;
The next keep under Sir Hobbard de Hoy,
The next a man, no longer a boy," &c.
Can you tell me the origin of this curious term?
W. W. E. T.
Warwick Square, Belgravia.
The Moon and her Influences.
—Can any of your readers inform me of books treating, scientifically, or giving traditional notices, about the supposed influences of the moon; for instance, on the tides, on lunatics, on timber felled during the wane, on fish taken by moonlight in the tropics?
Also can any account be given of the origin of the tradition that connects "the man in the moon" with the history given of the "man gathering sticks upon the Sabbath day" (Numbers, xv. 32-36.)?
W. H.
St. Ulrich's, Augsburg.
—In Pugin's Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament, the author refers to a book containing an account, with illustrations, of the Trésor of the church of St. Ulrich at Augsburg; he also adds, "this book is now very rare." Could any of your correspondents inform me who is the author; for I have searched the Museum catalogue under the names "Augsburg and Ulric, or Udalric," without any success? Probably, if I had the author's name, I might run some chance of finding it.
W. B.
The late Mr. Miller of Craigentinny.
—I should be glad if any of your Edinburgh or other correspondents could favour me with any particulars relating to the above gentleman. He was a well-known book collector, and in the spirit of his purchases the legitimate successor of Richard Heber. He bequeathed his noble collection of books to the Advocates' Library of Edinburgh. In early English poetry the collection is almost unrivalled. Mr. Miller was the purchaser of the Heber Ballads. The collection, in money market value, is nearly equal to the Grenville gift to the British Museum. I have heard the title to the property of Craigentinny was in dispute.
PETROPROMONTORIENSIS.
Whipping Boys.
—Will any correspondent of "N. & Q." inform me when ceased the custom of male heirs apparent to the throne of England having whipping boys? when and why it originated? what remuneration such boys received? and whether our queens had during their state of pupillage any such kinds of convenience. I have only met with the names of two whipping boys; Brown, who stood for Edward VI., and Mungo Murray, who did the like for Charles.
THOS. LAWRENCE.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
Edwards of Essex.
—This family can be traced to Anstey from 1700. A descendant in New York has the arms: Argent, a fess ermines between 3. martlets (2. and 1.) sable. Can any correspondent find him any old branches of his family tree?
E.
New York.