P.S.—Excuse my French-English.
Philarète Chasles, Mazarinæus.
Paris, Palais de I'Institut.
"To know ourselves diseased," &c. (Vol. viii., p. 219.).—
"To know ourselves diseased is half our cure."
This line is from Young's Night Thoughts, Night 9th, line 38.
J. W. Thomas.
Dewsbury.
Gloves at Fairs (Vol. viii., p. 136.).—As an emblem of power and an acknowledgment of goodness, "Saul set up a hand" after his victory over the Amalekites, 1 Sam. xv. 12., (Taylor's Hebrew Concordance, in voce, ידה) Sam 2 xviii. 18., Isaiah lvi. 5. The Phœnician monuments are said to have had sculptured on them an arm and hand held up, with an inscription graven thereon. (See Gesenius and Lee.) If, as stated by your correspondents in the article referred to, the glove at fairs "denotes protection," and indicates "that parties frequenting the fair are exempt from arrest," it is at least a remarkable coincidence. The Phœnicians were the earliest merchants to the west of England that we have any account of; can any connexion be traced historically between the Phœnician traffic and the modern practice of setting up a hand, or glove, at fairs? I well remember the feelings of awe and wonder with which I gazed when taken in childhood to see "the glove brought in" and placed over the guildhall of my native city (Exeter) at the commencement of "Lammas Fair." Has the glove been associated with this fair from its commencement? and if not, how far back can its use be traced? The history of the fair is briefly this: it existed before the Norman Conquest, and was a great mart of business; the tolls had belonged to the corporation, but King John took one-half, and gave them to the priory of St. Nicholas. Henry VIII. sold the fair with the priory; and anno second and third of Philip and Mary it was made over to the corporation, who have ever since been lords of the fair. (Izacke's Memorials, p. 19.; Oliver's History of Exeter, pp. 83. 158., &c.)
J. W. Thomas.