Queen Mary's Expectations.—Most persons have heard of the anxiety of Queen Mary I., for the birth of a child, and of her various disappointments; but many may not be aware that among the Royal Letters in the State Paper Office, are letters in French, prepared in expectation of the event, addressed by Queen Mary, without date, except "Hampton Court, 1555" (probably about May), to her father-in-law, the Emperor Charles V., to Henry II., King of France, to Eleonora, Queen Dowager of France, to Ferdinand I., King of Bohemia, to Mary, the Queen Dowager of Bohemia, to the Doge of Venice, to the King of Hungary, and to the Queen Dowager of Hungary, announcing to each the birth of her child, the word being so written fil, as to admit of being made filz, or of an easy alteration to the feminine fille, if necessary.
J.E.
Ken's Morning and Evening Hymns.—I saw it mentioned in a review in the Guardian some few weeks ago, as one merit of the last edition of the Book of Common Prayer, published by Eyre and Spottiswoode, that it had restored Bishop Ken's Morning and Evening Hymns to their original purity.
I have no means of accurately testing this assertion by reference to any undoubted version of the date of the original publication, but I have no doubt that this might easily be done through the medium of your paper; and I think you will agree with me that, if it should be substantiated, not only is credit due to the Queen's printers, but also that it is an example which ought to be followed, without exception, in all future editions of the Prayer Book.
The variations, which I have noted in the ordinary version of the Hymns, as given in other Prayer Books, are too numberous to be inserted here, not to mention the omission of several stanzas, three in the Morning Hymn, together with the Doxology, and one in the Evening Hymn.
If they be false readings, no doubt they have been allowed to creep in inadvertently, and need only pointing out to be corrected. It occurred to me that this might be done more effectually in your columns, and I venture to hope that you will not consider it a task unworthy the high aim which you have in view in your admirable publication.
OXONIENSIS.
[Bishop Ken's Morning and Evening Hymns have been restored in Messrs. Eyre and Spottiswoode's last rubricated edition of the Common Prayer, as far as was practicable; they were carefully collated with the original, and all variations corrected, except those which would materially affect immemorial use. The entire hymns are of great length, but all those verses which have been at all generally sung in churches are to be found in the edition to which we refer.
We may take this opportunity of noticing that the Queen's printers have lately restored the lesser Saints' Days to the kalendar in their smaller editions of the Common Prayer. We are not aware of any other similar editions in which the kalendar appears thus complete.]
Etymology of "Daysman."—What is the etymology of Daysman, which, in the Book of Job, and in some of our provincial dialects, means a mediator or arbitrator?