NOTES AND QUERIES:

A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.

"When found, make a note of."—Captain Cuttle.

CONTENTS.

Notes.

NOTE UPON A PASSAGE IN "MEASURE FOR MEASURE."

The Third Act of Measure for Measure opens with Isabella's visit to her brother (Claudio) in the dungeon, where he lies under sentence of death. In accordance with Claudio's earnest entreaty, she has sued for mercy to Angelo, the sanctimonious deputy, and in the course of her allusion to the only terms upon which Angelo is willing to remit the sentence, she informs him that he "must die," and then continues:

"This outward-sainted deputy,—

Whose settled visage and deliberate word

Nips youth i' the head, and follies doth emmew,

As falcon doth the fowl,—is yet a devil;

His filth within being cast, he would appear

A pond as deep as hell."

Whereupon (according to the reading of the folio of 1623) Claudio, who is aware of Angelo's reputation for sanctity, exclaims in astonishment:

"The prenzie Angelo?"

To which Isabella replies (according to the reading of the same edition):

"O, 'tis the cunning livery of hell,

The damned'st body to invest and cover

In prenzie guards! Dost thou think, Claudio,

If I would yield him my virginity,

Thou might'st be freed?"

Claudio, still incredulous, rejoins:

"O, heavens! it cannot be."

The word prenzie has given rise to much annotation, and it seems to be universally agreed that the word is a misprint. The question is, what was the word actually written, or intended, by Shakspeare? Steevens and Malone suggested "princely;" Warburton, "priestly;" and Tieck, "precise." Mr. Knight adopts "precise," the reading of Tieck, and thinks "that, having to choose some word which would have the double merit of agreeing with the sense of the passage and be similar in the number and form of the letters, nothing can be more unfortunate than the correction of "princely;" Mr. Collier, on the other hand, follows Steevens and Malone, and reads "princely," observing the Tieck's reading ("precise") "sounds ill as regards the metre, the accent falling on the wrong syllable. Mr. Collier's choice is determined by the authority of the second folio, which he considers ought to have considerable weight, whilst Mr. Knight regards the authority of that edition as very trifling; and the only point of agreement between the two distinguished recent editors is with respect to Warburton's word "priestly," which they both seem to think nearly conveys the meaning of the poet.

I have over and over again considered the several emendations which have been suggested, and it seems to me that none of them answer all the necessary conditions; namely, that the word adopted shall be (1.) suitable to the reputed character of Angelo; (2.) an appropriate epithet to the word "guards," in the reply of Isabella above quoted; (3.) of the proper metre in both

places in which the misprint occurred; and (4.) similar in appearance to the word "prenzie." "Princely" does not agree with the sense or spirit of the particular passage; for it is extremely improbable that Claudio, when confined under sentence of death for an absurd and insufficient cause, would use a term of mere compliment to the man by whom he had been doomed. "Precise" and "priestly" are both far better than "princely;" but "precise" is wholly unsuited to the metre in both places, and "priestly" points too much to a special character to be appropriate to Angelo's office and position. It may also be remarked, that both "princely" and "priestly" differ from the number and form of the letters contained in "prenzie."

The word which I venture to suggest is "Pensive," a word particularly applicable to a person of saintly habits, and which is so applied by Milton in "Il Penseroso:"

"Come, pensive nun, devout and pure,

Sober, stedfast, and demure."

The word "pensive" is stated by Dr. Johnson to mean "sorrowfully thoughtful, sorrowfully serious," or melancholy; and that such epithets are appropriate to the reputed character of Angelo will be seen from the following extracts:

"I implore her, in my service, that she make friends

To the strict deputy."—Claudio, Act I. Sc. 3.

"I have deliver'd to Lord Angelo,

A man of stricture, and firm abstinence."—Duke, Act I. Sc. 4.

"Lord Angelo is precise;

Stands at a guard with envy; scarce confesses

That his blood flows, or that his appetite

Is more to bread than stone."—Duke, Act I. Sc. 4.

"A man, whose blood

Is very snow-broth; one who never feels

The wanton stings and motions of the sense,

But doth rebate and blunt his natural edge

With profits of the mind, study and fast."—Lucio, Act I. Sc. 5.

See also Angelo's portraiture of himself in the soliloquy at the commencement of Act II. Sc. 4.:

"My gravity,

Wherein (let no man hear me) I take pride,

Could I, with boot, change for an idle plume

Which the air beats for vain."

And, lastly, the passage immediately under consideration:

"This outward-sainted deputy,

Whose settled visage and deliberate word,

Nips youth i' the head, and follies doth emmew."—Isabella, Act III. Sc. 1.

Thus much as to the propriety of the word "pensive," in relation to the reputed character of Angelo.

The next question is, whether the word "pensive" is an appropriate epithet to the word "guards." If Messrs. Knight and Collier are correct in construing "guards" to mean the "trimmings or border of robe," this question must be answered in the negative. But it appears to me that they are in error, and that the true meaning of the word "guards," in this particular passage, is "outward appearances," as suggested by Monck Mason; and, consequently, that the expression "pensive guards" means a grave or sanctified countenance or demeanour—"the settled visage and deliberate word" which "nips youth i' the head, and follies doth emmew."

It requires no argument to establish that the word "pensive" is suitable to the metre in both places in which the misprint occurred and it is equally clear that "prenzie" and "pensive" in manuscript are so similar, both in the number, form, and character of the letters, that the one might easily be printed for the other. The two words also have a certain resemblance, in point of sound; and if the word "pensive" be not very distinctly pronounced, the mistake might be made by a scribe writing from dictation.

Referring to Mrs. Cowden Clarke's admirable concordance of Shakspeare, it appears that the word "pensive" is used by Shakspeare in the text of his plays twice; namely, in Romeo and Juliet, Act IV. Sc. 1., where Friar Laurence addresses Juliet thus:

"My leisure serves me, pensive daughter, now."

and again, in the Third Part of Henry VI., Act IV. Sc. 1., where Clarence is thus addressed by King Edward upon the subject of his marriage with the Lady Grey:

"Now, brother Clarence, how like you our choice,

That you stand pensive, as half mal-content?"

I also find that, according to the stage directions (both ancient and modern) of Act II. Sc 2. of Henry VIII. (see Collier's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 534., note), the king is described to be found "reading pensively," at a moment when he is meditating his divorce from Katharine of Arragon, not "because the marriage of his brother's wife had crept too near his conscience," but "because his conscience had crept too near another lady."

I might extend the argument by further observations upon the reference last cited, but not without risk of losing all chance of a place in "Notes and Queries."

Query, Whether pensive was ever written or printed penzive in Shakspeare's time? If so, that word would bear a still closer resemblance to "prenzie."

Leges.

RHYMING LATIN VERSION OF THE SONG ON ROBIN GOODFELLOW.

In the same MS. from which I extracted Braithwait's Latin Drinking Song, the following version

of the well-known song on Robin Goodfellow occurs. It is apparently by the same hand. I give the English, as it contains but six stanzas, and affords some variations from the copy printed by Percy; and indeed one stanza not given by him. Peck attributes the song to Ben Jonson, but we know not on what foundation. It must be confessed that internal evidence is against it. The publication of Percy's Reliques had a no less beneficial influence on the literature of Germany than it had on our own; and Voss had given an admirable version of nine stanzas of this song as early as the year 1793. The first stanza will afford some notion of his manner:

"Von Oberon in Feenland,

Dem Könige der Geister,

Komm' ich, Knecht Robert, abgesandt,

Von meinem Herrn und Meister.

Als Kobolt und Pux,

Wohlkundig des Spuks,

Durchschwarm' ich Nacht vor Nacht.

Jezt misch' ich mich ein

Zum polternden Reihn,

Wohlauf, ihr alle, gelacht, gelacht!"

Although the classic ear may be offended by the "barbarous adjunct of rhyme," and by the solecisms and false quantities which sometimes occur, "et alia multa damna atque outragia," others may be amused with these emulations of the cloistered muse of the Middle Ages. The witty author of Whistlecraft has shown that he had a true relish for them, and has successfully tried his hand, observing at the same time:

"Those monks were poor proficients in divinity,

And scarce knew more of Latin than myself;

Compar'd with theirs, they say that true Latinity

Appears like porcelain compar'd with delf."

Honest Barnaby had no intention of rivalling Horace: his humbler, but not less amusing, prototypes were Walter de Mapes and his cotemporaries. We may accept his own defence, if any is needed:

"That paltry Patcher is a bald translator,

Whose awl bores at the words but not the matter;

But this TRANSLATOR makes good use of leather,

By stitching rhyme and reason both together."

S. W. Singer.

A SONG ON ROBIN GOODFELLOW.

"From Oberon in faery-land,

The king of ghosts and goblins there,

Mad Robin I, at his command,

Am sent to view the night-sports here.

What revel rout is here about,

In every corner where I go;

I will it see, and merry be,

And make good sport with ho, ho, ho!

"As swift as lightning I do fly

Amidst the aery welkin soon,

And, in a minute's space, descry

What things are done below the moon.

There's neither hag nor spirit shall wag,

In any corner where I go;

But Robin I, their feats will spy,

And make good sport with ho, ho, ho!

"Sometimes you find me like a man,

Sometimes a hawk, sometimes a hound,

Then to a horse me turn I can,

And trip and troll about you round:

But if you stride my back to ride,

As swift as air I with you go,

O'er hedge, o'er lands, o'er pool, o'er ponds,

I run out laughing ho, ho, ho!

"When lads and lasses merry be,

With possets and with junkets fine;

Unknown to all the company,

I eat their cake and drink their wine;

Then to make sport, I snore and snort,

And all the candles out I blow;

The maids I kiss; they ask who's this?

I answer, laughing, ho, ho, ho!

"If that my fellow elf and I

In circle dance do trip it round,

And if we chance, by any eye

There present, to be seen or found,

Then if that they do speak or say,

But mummes continue as they go,[^[1]]

Then night by night I them affright,

With pinches, dreams, and ho, ho, ho!

"Since hag-bred Merlin's time have I

Continued night-sports to and fro,

That, for my pranks, men call me by

The name of Robin Goodfellow.

There's neither hag nor spirit doth wag,

The fiends and goblins do me know;

And beldames old my tales have told;

Sing Vale, Vale, ho, ho, ho!"

The Latine of the foregoing verses.

"Ab Oberone lemurum

Cœmetriorum regulo,

Spectator veni lubricum,

Illius jussu, Robbio;

Quodcunque joci, sit hic loci,

Quocunque vado in angulo,

Id speculabor, et conjocabor,

Sonorem boans, ho, ho, ho!

"Præceps feror per aerem

Telo trisulco citius,

Et translunaria penetrem

Momento brevi ocyus;

Larvatus frater non vagatur

Quocunque vado in angulo,

Nam Robbio, huic obvio,

Et facta exploro, ho, ho, ho!

"Nunc canis nunc accipiter,

Et homo nunc obambulo,

Nunc equi forma induor

Et levis circumcursito;

Si quis me prendat, et ascendat,

Velocius aurâ rapio,

Per prata, montes, vada, fontes,

Risumque tollo, ho, ho, ho!

"Cum juvenes convivio

Admiscent se puellulis,

Ignotus vinum haurio

Et impleor bellariis;

Tunc sterto, strepo, et dum crepo,

Lucernam flatu adventillo,

Hæc basiatur; hic quis? clamatur,

Cachinnans reddo, ho, ho, ho!

"Si quando cum consorte larva

In circulum tripudio,

Et observemur nos per arva

Acutiori oculo;

Et si spectator eloquatur

Nec os obhæret digito,

Nocte terremus et torquemus

Ungue spectris, ho, ho, ho!

"Post incubiginam Merlinum

Nocturni feci ludicra,

Et combibonem me Robbinum

Vocent ob jocularia,

Me dæmones, me lemures,

Me novite tenebrio,

Decantant me veneficæ;

Vale! Valete! ho, ho, ho!"

Footnote 1:[(return)]

This line is distinctly so written. We should probably read or instead of but. Mummes may mean mumbling, muttering.

FOLK LORE.

DEVONSHIRE FOLK LORE.

1. Storms from Conjuring.—A common Devonshire remark on the rising of a storm is, "Ah! there is a conjuring going on somewhere." The following illustration was told me by an old inhabitant of this parish. In the parish of St. Mary Tavy is a spot called "Steven's grave," from a suicide said to have been buried there. His spirit proving troublesome to the neighbourhood, was laid by a former curate on Sunday after afternoon service. A man who accompanied the clergyman on the way was told by him to make haste home, as a storm was coming. The man hurried away home; but though the afternoon had previously been very fine, he had scarcely reached his door before a violent thunderstorm came to verify the clergyman's words.

2. The Heath-hounds.—The brutende heer are sometimes heard near Dartmoor, and are known by the appellation of "Heath-hounds." They were heard in the parish of St. Mary Tavy several years ago by an old man called Roger Burn: he was working in the fields, when he suddenly heard the baying of the hounds, the shouts and horn of the huntsman, and the smacking of his whip. This last point the old man quoted as at once settling the question. "How could I be mistaken? why I heard the very smacking of his whip."

3. Cock scares the Fiend.—Mr. N. was a Devonshire squire who had been so unfortunate as to sell his soul to the devil, with the condition that after his funeral the fiend should take possession of his skin. He had also persuaded a neighbour to undertake to be present on the occasion of the flaying. On the death of Mr. N., this man went in a state of great alarm to the parson of the parish, and asked his advice. By him he was told to fulfil his engagement, but he must be sure and carry a cock into the church with him. On the night after the funeral, the man proceeded to the church armed with the cock; and, as an additional security, took up his position in the parson's pew. At twelve o'clock the devil arrived, opened the grave, took the corpse from the coffin and flayed it. When the operation was concluded, he held the skin up before him, and remarked: "Well! 'twas not worth coming for after all, for it is all full of holes!" As he said this, the cock crew; whereupon the fiend, turning round to the man, exclaimed: "If it had not been for the bird you have got there under your arm, I would have your skin too." But, thanks to the cock, the man got home safe again.

4. Cranmere Pool.—Cranmere Pool, in the centre of Dartmoor, is a great penal settlement for refractory spirits. Many of the former inhabitants of this parish are still there expiating their ghostly pranks. An old farmer was so troublesome to his survivors as to require seven clergymen to secure him. By their means, however, he was transformed into a colt; and a servant boy was directed to take him to Cranmere Pool. On arriving at the brink of the pool, he was to take off the halter, and return instantly without looking round. Curiosity proving too powerful, he turned his head to see what was going on, when he beheld the colt plunge into the lake in the form of a ball of fire. Before doing so, however, he gave the lad a parting salute in the form of a kick, which knocked out one of his eyes.

J. M. (4.)

St. Mary Tavy, May 5. 1851.

St. Uncumber and the offering of Oats (Vol. ii., pp. 286. 342. 381.).—A further illustration of this custom is found in the legend of St. Rhadegund, or at least in the metrical version of it, which is commonly ascribed to Henry Bradshaw. A copy of this very scarce poem, from the press of Pynson, is preserved in the library of Jesus College, Cambridge. We there read as follows:

"Among all myracles after our intelligence

Which Radegunde shewed by her humilite,

One is moost vsuall had in experience

Among the common people noted with hert fre

By offeryng of otes after theyr degre

At her holy aulters where myracles in sight

Dayly haue be done by grace day and nyght.

"By oblacion of othes, halt lame and blynde

Hath ben restored vnto prosperite;

Dombe men to speke aboue cours of kynde

Sickemen delyuered from payne and miserie,

Maydens hath kept theyr pure virginite,

Wyddowes defended from greuous oppression,

And clarkes exalted by her to promocion."

It is also remarkable that a reason exists in the story of this saint for the choice of so strange an offering. As she was escaping from her husband, a crop of oats sprang up miraculously, to testify in her behalf, and to silence the messengers who had been sent to turn her from her purpose.

On this account is there not room for the conjecture that St. Rhadegund is the original St. Uncumber, and that the custom of offering oats at Poules, when a wife was weary of her husband, is traceable to the story of the French queen, who died in 587.

C. H.

St. Catharine's Hall, Cambridge.

"Similia similibus curantur."—The list proposed by Mr. James Buckman (Vol. iii., p. 320.) of "old wives' remedies," based on the above principle, would, I imagine, be of endless length; but the following extract from the Herbal of Sir John Hill, M.D., "Fellow of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Bordeaux," published in 1789, will show at how late a period such notions have been entertained by men of education and even scientific attainment:—

"It is to be observed that nature seems to have set her stamp upon several herbs, which have the virtue to stop bleedings; this [cranesbill] and the tutsan, the two best remedies the fields afford for outward and inward bleedings, become all over as red as blood at a certain season."

Seleucus.

Cure of large Neck.—I send you two remedies in use here for the cure of a common complaint, called "large neck." Perhaps they may be worthy of a place in your "Folk Lore."

A common snake, held by its head and tail, is slowly drawn, by some one standing by, nine times across the front part of the neck of the person affected, the reptile being allowed, after every third time, to crawl about for a while. Afterwards the snake is put alive into a bottle, which is corked tightly and then buried in the ground. The tradition is, that as the snake decays the swelling vanishes.

The second mode of treatment is just the same as the above, with the exception of the snake's doom. In this case it is killed, and its skin, sewn in a piece of silk, is worn round the diseased neck. By degrees the swelling in this case also disappears.

Rovert.

Withyam, Sussex.

DIBDIN'S LIBRARY COMPANION.

A few days since the writer was musing over the treasures of one of the most amiable of the bibliographical brotherhood, when his eye rested on a document endorsed with the following mysterious notification: "A Squib for Dibdin, to be let off on the next Fifth of November." What in the name of Guido Fawkes have we here! Thinking that the explosion in "Notes and Queries" would do no harm, but perhaps some good, a note was kindly permitted to be taken of it for that publication. It was evidently written soon after the appearance of the Library Companion.

"Sundry Errors discovered in the Library Companion, recently put forth by the Rev. T. F. Dibdin, F.R.S., A.S. This work exhibits the most extraordinary instance of gross negligence that has appeared since the discovery of the profitable art of book-making. In two notes (pp. 37, 38.), comprised in twelve lines, occur fifteen remarkable blunders, such as any intelligent bookseller could, without much trouble, have corrected for the Rev. and learned author.

"Henry's Exposition of the Old and New Testaments first appeared collectively in 1710[^[2]], five[^[3]] vols. folio; but the recent edition of 1810[^[4]], in six vols. 4to., is the best[^[5]], as the last volume contains[^[6]] additional matter from the author's MSS. left at his decease.—Dr. Gill's Exposition of the New Testament was published in 1746, &c., three vols. folio; of the Old, in 1748[^[7]], &c., nine[^[8]] vols. folio; but the work advancing in reputation and price, became rare, so as to induce Mr. Bagster[^[9]] to put forth a new edition of the whole, in ten[^[10]] vols. 4to. I recommend the annotations of Gill to every theological collector, and those who have the quarto edition will probably feel disposed to purchase Gill's Body of Practical[^[11]] Divinity, containing[^[12]] some account of his life, writings, and character, in two[^[13]] volumes 4to. 1773.[^[14]] These two[^[15]] volumes are worth about 1l. 15s.[^[16]]"

Footnote 2:[(return)]

Instead of 1710, read 1707.

This edition is in six volumes.

It bears the date of 1811.

The best edition of Henry's Commentary was elegantly printed by Knapton, in 5 vols. folio, 1761, known as the fifth edition.

This new edition is respectable, except the plates, which had been well worn in Bowyer's Cabinet Bible. The Commentary is printed verbatim from the former editions, and has no additional matter from the author's MSS. left at his decease; no mention of anything of the kind is made in the title, preface, or advertisement, until Mr. Dibdin so marvellously brought it to light: upon what authority he makes the assertion remains a mystery. A very considerable number of sets remain unsold in the warehouse of a certain great bookseller. Query. Was the Rev. gentleman's pen dipped in gold when he wrote this puff direct?

Not 1748, &c.: it first appeared in 1763, &c.

Nine volumes folio should be six volumes folio.

It was not Mr. Bagster, but Messrs. Mathews and Leigh of the Strand, who put forth the new edition of Dr. Gill's Exposition.

It was completed in nine vols. 4to.

The title is A Body of Doctrinal Divinity.

Dr. Gill's Body of Divinity was published by himself, and has no account of his life, writings, and character.

It was in three vols. 4to, not in two.

Instead of 1773, it was published in 1769-70; nor did any new edition appear for many years, until those recently printed in 3 vols. 8vo., and 1 vol. 4to.

These two vols. should be three vols.

Dr. Gill's Body of Divinity is introduced under the head of "English Bibles!"

"These glaring errors are made with regard to

modern books, and may seriously mislead the bibliomaniacs of the next generation; but what can be expected from an author who, in giving directions for the selection of Hebrew Bibles, forgets the beautiful and correct editions of Vanderhooght and Jablonski; who tells us that Frey republished Jahn's[^[17]] edition of the Hebrew Bible in 1812; and who calls Boothroyd's incorrect and ugly double-columned 4to. 'admirable.'[^[18]]

"The Rev. gentleman fully proves, in the compilation of his volume, that he can dip his pen in gall, as well as allow it to be guided by gold. Dr. Warton's History of English Poetry, a very beautiful and correct edition, greatly enlarged from most interesting materials at a very considerable expense, has just issued from the press in 3 vols. 8vo. But 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' It was not published by any of the favoured houses; hence the following ominous notice of it: 'Clouds and darkness rest upon it!'[^[19]] Gentle reader, they are the clouds and darkness of Cheapside. It may be possible that some propitious golden breeze had driven all the clouds and darkness from Cornhill, Paternoster Row, the Strand, Pall-Mall, and Bedford Street."

J. Y.

Hoxton.

Footnote 17:[(return)]

Frey republished Vanderhooght's Hebrew Bible in 1811.

Note on page 24.

Note on page 667.

Minor Notes.

A Note on Dress.—Dress is mutable, who denies it? but still old fashions are retained to a far greater extent than one would at first imagine. The Thames watermen rejoice in the dress of Elizabeth: while the royal beefeaters (buffetiers) wear that of private soldiers of the time of Henry VII.; the blue-coat boy, the costume of a London citizen of the reign of Edward VI.; the London charity-school girls, the plain mob cap and long gloves of the time of Queen Anne. In the brass badge of the cabmen, we see a retention of the dress of Elizabethan retainers: while the shoulder-knots that once decked an officer now adorn a footman. The attire of the sailor of William III.'s era is now seen amongst our fishermen. The university dress is as old as the age of the Smithfield martyrs. The linen bands of the pulpit and the bar are abridgments of the falling collar.

Other costumes are found lurking in provinces, and amongst some trades. The butchers' blue is the uniform of a guild. The quaint little head-dress of the market women of Kingswood, Gloucestershire, is in fact the gipsy hat of George II. Scarlet has been the colour of soldiers' uniform from the time of the Lacedemonians. The blue of the army we derived from the Puritans; of the navy from the colours of a mistress of George I.

Torro.

Curious Omen at Marriage.—In Miss Benger's Memoirs of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, it is mentioned that,—

"It is by several writers observed that, towards the close of the ceremony, certain coruscations of joy appeared in Elizabeth's face, which were afterwards supposed to be sinister presages of her misfortunes."

In a note, Echard is alluded to as the authority for this singular circumstance.

Can any of your readers explain why such a coruscation of joy upon a wedding day should forebode evil? or whether any other instances are on record of its so doing?

H. A. B.

Ventriloquist Hoax (Vol. ii., p. 101.).—The following is extracted from Admirable Curiosities, Rarities, and Wonders in England, Scotland, and Ireland, by R. B., Author of the History of the Wars of England, &c., Remarks of London, &c., 12mo., 1684, p. 137. It may serve as a pendant to the ventriloquist hoax mentioned by C. H., Vol. ii., p. 101.:—

"I have a letter by me, saith Mr. Clark, dated July 7, 1606, written by one Mr. Bovy to a minister in London, where he thus writes: 'Touching news, you shall understand that Mr. Sherwood hath received a letter from Mr. Arthur Hildersham, which containeth this following narrative: that at Brampton, in the parish of Torksey, near Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, an ash-tree shaketh both in the body and boughs thereof, and there proceed from thence sighs and groans, like those of a man troubled in his sleep, as if it felt some sensible torment. Many have climbed to the top thereof, where they heard the groans more plainly than they could below. One among the rest being a-top, spoke to the tree; but presently came down much astonished, and lay grovelling on the earth speechless for three hours, and then reviving said, Brampton, Brampton, thou art much bound to pray.' The author of this news is one Mr. Vaughan, a minister who was there present and heard and saw these passages, and told Mr. Hildersham of it. The Earl of Lincoln caused one of the arms of the ash to be lopped off, and a hole to be bored into the body, and then was the sound or hollow voice heard more audibly than before; but in a kind of speech which they could not comprehend nor understand."

K. P. D. E.

Barker, the original Panorama Painter.—Mr. Cunningham, at p. 376. of his admirable Handbook of London, says that Robert Barker, who originated the Panorama in Leicester Square, died in 1806. Now, Barker, who preceded Burford, and eventually, I think, entered into partnership with him, married a friend of my family, a daughter of the Admiral Bligh against whom had been the mutiny in the Bounty. I remember Mr. Barker, and his house in Surrey Square, or some small square on the Surrey side of London Bridge; also its wooden rotunda for painting in; and this, too, at the time when the picture of Spitzbergen was in progress

and you felt almost a chill as the transparent icebergs were splashed on.

If there have not been two Messrs. Barker connected with the Panorama, Mr. Cunningham must be incorrect in his date, for I was not in existence in 1806.

A. G.

Ecclesfield.

MINOR QUERIES.

Vegetable Sympathy.—I have been told that Sir Humphrey Davy asserted that the shoots of trees, if transplanted, will only live as long as the parent stock—supposing that to die naturally. How is this to be accounted for, if true?

A. A. D.

Court Dress—When was the present court dress first established as the recognised costume for state ceremonials? and if there are extant any orders of the Earl Marshal upon the subject, where are they printed?

Henco.

Dieu et mon Droit.—When was this first adopted as the motto of our sovereigns? I have heard widely different dates assigned to it.

Leicestrensis.

Cachecope Bell.—In the ancient accounts of the churchwardens of the parish of St. Mary-de-Castro, Leicester, and also in those of St. Martin in the same town, the term "cachecope," "kachecope," "catche coppe," or "catch-corpe-bell," is not of unfrequent occurrence: e. g., in the account for St. Mary's for the year 1490, we have:

"For castynge ye cachecope bell, js.

"It. To Thos. Raban for me'dyng ye kachecope bell whole, iiijd."

I have endeavoured in vain to ascertain the meaning and derivation of the word, which is not to be found in Mr. Halliwell's excellent Dictionary of Archaic Words. Can you enlighten me on the subject?

Leicestrensis.

The Image of both Churches.—A curious work, treating largely of the schism between the Catholics and Protestants in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, was printed at Tornay in 1623, under the following title: The Image of bothe Churches, Hierusalem and Babel, Unitie and Confusion, Obedience and Sedition, by P. D. M. What is the proof that this was written by Dr. Matthew Paterson?

Edward F. Rimbault.

Double Names.—Perhaps some one would explain why so many persons formerly bore two names, as "Hooker alias Vowel." Illegitimacy may have sometimes caused it: but this will not explain those cases where the bearers ostentatiously set forth both names. Perhaps they were the names of both parents, used even by lawfully born persons to distinguish themselves from others of the same paternal name.

T.

"If this fair flower," &c.—Would you kindly find a place for the lines which follow? I have but slender hopes of discovering their author, but think that their beauty is such as to deserve a reprint. They are not by Waller; nor Dryden, as far as I know. I found them in a periodical published in Scotland during the last century, and called The Bee.

"Lines supposed to have been addressed, with the present of a white rose, by a Yorkist, to a lady of the Lancastrian faction.

'If this fair flower offend thy sight,

It in thy bosom bear:

'Twill blush to be outmatched in white

And turn Lancastrian there!'"

I observe that amongst the many "Notes" and quotations on the subject of the supposed power of prophecy before death, no one has cited those most beautiful lines of Campbell in "Lochiel's Warning:"

"'Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical lore,

And coming events cast their shadows before."

W. J. Bernhard Smith.