| Notes:— | Page |
| Old Popular Poetry: "Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough, and William of Clowdesly," by J. Payne Collier | |
| Witchcraft, by Rev. H. T. Ellacombe | |
| Spring, &c., by Thomas Keightley | |
| Notes and Queries on Bacon's Essays, No. III., by P. J. F. Gantillon, B.A. | |
| Shakspeare Correspondence, by S. W. Singer, Cecil Harbottle, &c. | |
| Minor Notes:—Local Rhymes, Norfolk—"Hobson's Choice"—Khond Fable—Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart.—Anagrams | |
| Queries:— | |
| Seal of William d'Albini | |
| Forms of Judicial Oath, by Henry H. Breen | |
| Minor Queries:—Passage in Boerhaave—Story of Ezzelin—The Duke—General Sir Dennis Pack—Haveringemere—Old Pictures of the Spanish Armada—Bell Inscription—Loselerius Villerius, &c.—The Vinegar Plant—Westminster Parishes—Harley Family—Lord Cliff—Enough—Archbishop Magee—Carpets at Rome—Nursery Rhymes—Gloves at Fairs—Mr. Caryl or Caryll—Early Reaping-machines | |
| Minor Queries With Answers:—"Diary of a Self-Observer"—Jockey—Boyle Lectures | |
| Replies:— | |
| The Discovery and Recovery of MSS., by Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie | |
| "The Whippiad" | |
| Spontaneous Combustion, by Shirley Hibberd | |
| Major-General Lambert, by Edgar MacCulloch | |
| The "Salt-peter-man," by J. Deck | |
| Metrical Psalms and Hymns, by J. Sansom | |
| The Sign of the Cross in the Greek Church | |
| Photographic Notes and Queries:—New Developing Fluid—Photographic Tent—Mr. Wilkinson's simple Mode of levelling Cameras—Antiquarian Photographic Club | |
| Replies To Minor Queries:—Erroneous Forms of Speech: Mangel Wurzel—The Whetstone—Charade—Parochial Libraries—Judge Smith—Church Catechism—Charade attributed to Sheridan—Gesmas and Desmas—Lode—Epitaphs imprecatory—Straw-bail—How to stain Deal—Detached Belfry Towers | |
| Miscellaneous:— | |
| Notes on Books, &c. | |
| Books and Odd volumes wanted | |
| Notices to Correspondents | |
| Advertisements |
Notes.
OLD POPULAR POETRY: "ADAM BELL, CLYM OF THE CLOUGH, AND WILLIAM OF CLOWDESLY."
I have very recently become possessed of a curious printed fragment, which is worth notice on several accounts, and will be especially interesting to persons who, like myself, are lovers of our early ballad poetry. It is part of an unknown edition of the celebrated poem relating to the adventures of Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough, and William of Cloudesly.
There are (as many of your readers will be aware from Ritson's small volume, Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry, 8vo. 1791) two old editions of Adam Bell, &c., one printed by William Copland, without date, and the other by James Roberts in 1605. The edition by Copland must have preceded that by Roberts by forty or fifty years, and may have come out between 1550 and 1560; the only known copy of it is among the Garrick Plays (at least it was so when I saw it) in the British Museum. The re-impression by Roberts is not very uncommon, and I think that more than one copy of it is at Oxford.
When Copland printed the poem, he did not enter it at Stationers' Hall; comparatively few of his publications, generally of a free, romantic, or ludicrous character, were licensed, and he was three times fined for not first obtaining the leave of the Company. Nevertheless, we do find an entry of a "book" called "Adam Bell," &c., among the memoranda belonging to the year 1557-8, but it was made at the instance, not of Copland, but of John Kynge, in this form:
"To John Kynge, to prynte this boke called Adam Bell, &c., and for his lycense he geveth to the howse"—
What sum he gave is not stated. Again, we meet with another notice of it in the same registers, under the date of 1581-2, when John Charlwood was interested in the undertaking. I mention these two entries principally because neither Ritson nor Percy were acquainted with them; but they may be seen among the extracts published by the Shakspeare Society in 1848 and 1849.