Singular Specimen of Orthography in the Sixteenth Century.
The following letter was written by the Duchess of Norfolk to Cromwell, Earl of Essex. It exhibits a curious instance of the monstrous anomalies of our orthography in the infancy of our literature:—
"My ffary gode lord,—her I sand you in tokyn hoff the neweyer, a glasse hoff setyl set in sellfer gyld. I pra you tak hit in wort. An hy wer habel het showlde be bater. I woll hit war wort a m crone."
Translated.—"My very good lord. Here I send you, in token of the new year, a glass of setyll set in silver gilt. I pray you take it in worth. An I were able it should be better. I would it were worth a thousand crowns."
High-Sounding Prologue.
In a medical work entitled "The Breviarie of Health," published in 1547, by Andrew Borde, a physician of that period, is a prologue to physicians, beginning thus—
"Egregious doctors and masters of the eximious and arcane science of physic, of your urbanity exasperate not yourselves against me for making this little volume."
Inducements to Subscribers.
For journals to offer inducements to subscribers is not a modern feature. A book was published in 1764, entitled "A New History of England, Manchester, printed by Joseph Harrop, opposite the Exchange." At the end of this octavo volume, which consists of 778 pages, is the following:—
"To the PUBLIC.