Vol. V.—No. 116. NOTES AND QUERIES: A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.
"When found, make a note of."—CAPTAIN CUTTLE.
VOL. V.—No. 116.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 17. 1852.
With Index, Price Tenpence. Stamped Edition, 11d.
Transcriber's Note: Notes and Queries, Index of Volume 4, July-December, 1851, has been made available separately as PG ebook #40166.
CONTENTS.
NOTES:—
Mechanical Arrangements of Books [49]
Caxton Memorial, by Beriah Botfield [51]
Settle's Female Prelate, or Pope Joan; a Tragedy, by James Crossley [52]
Historical Bibliography [52]
Calamities of Authors [55]
Folk Lore:—Valentine's Day; Superstition in Devonshire—Fairies [55]
Minor Notes:—Lines in Whispering Gallery at Gloucester Cathedral—Definition of Thunder—Greek Epigram by an uncertain Author [56]
QUERIES:—
Burning of the Jesuitical Books at Paris, by H. Merivale [56]
Grantham Altar Case [56]
Meaning of Groom, by E. Davis Protheroe [57]
Minor Queries:—Gregentius and the Jews in Arabia Felix—King Street Theatre—Lesteras and Emencin—Epigram on Franklin and Wedderburn—Plenius and his Lyrichord—Epigram on Burnet—Dutch Chronicle of the World—"Arborei fœtus alibi, atque iniussa virescunt Gramina" (Virgil G. I. 55.)—History of Brittany—Serjeants' Rings—The Duchess of Cleveland's Cow-pox—Arms of Manchester—Heraldical MSS. of Sir Henry St. George Garter [58]
MINOR QUERIES ANSWERED:—The Pelican, as a Symbol of the Saviour—Bishop Coverdale's Bible—Age of the Oak—Olivarius—Vincent Bourne's Epilogus in Eunuchum Terentii—Burton, Bp., Founder of Schools, &c., at Loughborough, co. Leicester—Hoo [59]
REPLIES:—
Modern Names of Places [61]
Proverbial Philosophy; Parochial Library at Maidstone, by John Branfill Harrison [61]
"A Breath can make them as a Breath has made" [62]
Bogatzky [63]
Moravian Hymns [63]
Replies to Minor Queries:—Inveni portum—Quarter Waggoner—Cibber's Lives of the Poets—Poniatowski Gems—Dial Motto at Karlsbad—Passage in Jeremy Taylor—Aue Trici and Gheeze Ysenoudi—Rev. John Paget—Lines on the Bible—Dial Mottoes—Martial's Distribution of Hours—Nelson's Signal—Cooper's Miniature, &c.—Roman Funeral Pile—Barrister—Meaning of Dray—Tregonwell Frampton—Vermin, Parish Payments of, &c.—Alterius Orbis Papa—Dido and Æneas—Compositions during the Protectorate [64]
MISCELLANEOUS:—
Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, &c. [69]
Books and Odd Volumes wanted [70]
Notices to Correspondents [70]
Advertisements [70]
[List of Notes and Queries volumes and pages]
Notes.
MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF BOOKS.
All persons who, whatever might be their motive, have followed any subject of literary research, must be aware of the extent to which their labours are facilitated or retarded by the mechanical arrangements of books, such as the goodness of paper, the legibility of type, the size of volumes, the presence or absence of table of contents, indexes, and other means of reference. It is in the possession of these conveniences that the capabilities of typography, and its superiority over manuscript, mainly consist. I propose now to set down a few remarks on this subject, in the hope that any means, however trifling they may seem, by which literary knowledge is rendered more commodious and accessible, will not be deemed unworthy of attention by your readers.
With regard to the form of printed letters, it is difficult to conceive any improvement in modern typography, as practised in Italy, France, and England. This is equally true of Roman and Greek characters. The Greek types introduced by Porson leave nothing to be desired. The Germans still to a great extent retain the old black-letter type for native works, which was universal over all the north of Europe in the early period of printing, and is not a national type, as some persons seem to imagine. These letters being imitated from the manuscript characters of the fifteenth century, are essentially more indistinct than the Roman type, and have for that reason been disused by the rest of Europe, Holland and Denmark not excepted. In England this antiquated mode of printing was long retained for law-books, and, till a comparatively recent date, for the statutes. The Anglo-Saxon letters are in like manner nothing but a barbarous imitation of old manuscript characters, and have no real connexion with the Anglo-Saxon language. Their use ought to be wholly abandoned (with the exception of those which are wanting in modern English). Roman numerals, likewise, as being less clear and concise than Arabic numerals, especially for large numbers, ought to be discarded, except in cases where it is convenient to distinguish the volume from the page, and the book from the chapter. English lawyers, indeed, who in general have only occasion to cite the volume and page, invariably make their quotations with Arabic figures, by prefixing the number of the volume, and subjoining the number of the page. Thus, if it were wished to refer to the 100th page of the second volume of Barnewall and Alderson's Reports, they would write 2 B. & C. 100. Roman numerals are still retained for the sections of the statutes.
Akin to the retention of antiquated forms of letters is the retention of antiquated orthography. Editors of works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries sometimes retain the spelling of the period, of which Evelyn's Diary is an example; but this practise is unpleasant to the modern reader, and sometimes, particularly in proper names, perplexes and misleads him. The modern editions of the classical writers of that period, such as Shakspeare, Bacon, Milton, Clarendon, &c., are very properly reduced to the modern standard of orthography, as is done by Italian editors with the works of Dante, Boccaccio, &c. The attempt to introduce the native orthography of foreign proper names naturalised in English, is likewise unsuccessful, and merely offends the eye of the reader, without giving any real information. Mr. Lane and other Orientalists will never succeed in banishing such forms as vizier, caliph, cadi, &c., nor will even Mr. Grote's authority alter the spelling of the well-known Greek names. Names of ancient persons and places which are enshrined in the verses of Milton and other great poets, cannot be altered.
The old unmeaning practice of printing every noun substantive with a capital letter (still retained in German) has been abandoned by every English printer, except the printer of parliamentary papers for the House of Lords. Proper names used to be printed in italics; and generally, the use of italics was much greater than at present. In modern reprints, these ancient flowers of typography ought to be removed. The convenient edition of Hobbes' Works, for which we are indebted to Sir W. Molesworth, would be more agreeable to read if the italics were less abundant.
The use of the folio and quarto size is now generally restricted to such books as could scarcely be printed in octavo, as dictionaries and similar books of reference. The parliamentary blue book, which long resisted the progress of octave civilization, is now beginning to shrink into a more manageable size. With regard to separate volumes, the most convenient practice is to consider them as a mere printer's division, which may vary in different editions; and to number them consecutively, without reference to their contents. The Germans have a very inconvenient practice of dividing a volume into parts, each of which is a volume in the ordinary meaning of the word; so that a work consisting of nine volumes, for example, may be divided into four volumes, one of which consists of three parts, and the other three of two parts each. The result is, that every reference must specify both the volume and the part: thus, Band II. Abtheilung III. S. 108. Frequently, too, this mode of numbering misleads the bookbinder, who (unless properly cautioned) numbers the volumes in the ordinary manner.
Volumes, as I have remarked, are merely a printer's division. Every literary composition ought, however, to have an organic division of its own. The early Greeks seem indeed to have composed both their poems and prose works as one continuous discourse. The rhapsodies of Homer and the muses of Herodotus were subsequent divisions introduced by editors and grammarians. But literary experience pointed out the commodiousness of such breaks in a long work; and the books of the Æneid and of the History of Livy were the divisions of the authors themselves. Since the invention of printing, the books of the prose works of the classical writers have been subdivided into chapters; while for the books of poems, as well as for the dramas, the verses have been numbered. The books of the Old and New Testament have likewise been portioned into chapters, and into a late typographical division of verses.
In making a division of his work, an author ought to number its parts consecutively, without reference to volumes. The novels of Walter Scott are divided into chapters, the numbering of which is dependent on the volume; so that it is impossible to quote them without referring to the edition, or to find a reference to them in any other edition than that cited. For the same reason, an author ought not to quote his own book in the text by a reference to volumes.
The division most convenient for purposes of reference is that which renders a quotation simple to note, and easy to verify. Divisions which run through an entire work (such as the chapters of Gibbon's History) are easy to quote, and the quotation can be easily verified when the chapter is not long. The numbering of paragraphs in one series through an entire work, as in the French codes, in Cobbett's writings, and in the state papers of the Indian government, is the simplest and most effectual division for purposes of reference. The Digest can now be referred to by book, title, and paragraph; nevertheless the Germans (who, notwithstanding their vast experience in the work of quoting, seem to have a predilection for cumbrous and antiquated methods) still adhere to the old circuitous mode of quotation, against which Gibbon long ago raised his voice (Decl. and Fall, c. 44. n. 1.).
Some works have been divided by their authors into chapters, but the chapters have been left unnumbered. Niebuhr's Roman History is in this state.
The internal division of a work by its author is not, however, merely for purposes of reference. It may likewise be a logical division; it may follow the distribution of the subject, and assist the reader by visibly separating its several parts. This process, however, may be carried so far as to defeat its purpose (viz. perspicuity of arrangement) by the intricacy of its divisions. Here again we must recur for an example to the Germans, who sometimes make the compartments of their writings as numerous as a series of Chinese boxes all fitted into each other. First, there is the part, then the book, then the chapter, then the section, then the article, and then the paragraph, which is itself subdivided into paragraphs with Roman numerals and Arabic numerals; and these again are further subdivided into paragraphs with Roman letters, and Greek letters, and sometimes Hebrew letters. To refer to a work divided in this manner by any other means than the volume and page, is a labour of as hopeless intricacy as it is to follow the logical cascade down its successive platforms.
It is a considerable convenience where the book or chapter is marked at the head or margin of the page; and in histories, or historical memoirs, chronological notation is very convenient.
In general no book (not being a book arranged in alphabetical order, as a dictionary, encyclopedia, &c.) ought to be printed without a table of contents. The trouble to the author of making a table of contents is very small, and the expense to the publisher in printing it is in general imperceptible. Modern English books rarely sin in this respect; foreign books, however, both French and German, are frequently wanting in a table of contents. The invaluable collection of the fragments of Greek historians lately published in Didot's Series—a work indispensable to every critical student of ancient history—has no table of contents, referring to the pages, prefixed to each volume. The Poetæ Scenici Græci of Dindorf is without a table of contents; and a similar want is a serious drawback to the use of the cheap and portable edition of the Greek and Latin classics published by Tauchnitz at Leipsic.
Lastly, an index adds materially to the value of every work which contains numerous and miscellaneous facts. The preparation of a good index is a laborious and sometimes costly task; the printing of it, moreover, adds to the price of the book. Many of the indexes to the English law-books are models of this species of labour; the indexes in the Parliamentary Reports are likewise prepared with great care and intelligence. Even a meagre index, however, is better than no index at all; and where the publisher's means, and the demand for the book, do not admit of the preparation of a copious index of subjects, an alphabetical list of names of persons and places would often be an acceptable present to the reader of an historical or scientific work.
L.
CAXTON MEMORIAL.
The inquiries addressed to me by Mr. BOLTON CORNEY in your paper of the 15th of November appear to amount to this:—Whether the whole or part of the expense of his proposed volume will be defrayed out of the fund appropriated to the Caxton Memorial? To this question, so far as my own information extends, I can only give a negative reply. The Society of Arts, in compliance with a request preferred to them by the subscribers at their last meeting, have accepted the charge of the Caxton Fund; and it is sufficient, for my present purpose, to state that negociations are now in progress between the Council and the Dean and Chapter, for liberty to erect a suitable memorial within the precincts of Westminster to the memory of William Caxton. This is as it should be; the memorial, be it what it may, statue, obelisk or fountain, or even a niche in a wall, should be substantial and enduring, calculated to remind the passing stranger that within the precincts of Westminster, William Caxton first exercised in England the art of printing. This circumstance forms one of those epochs in the history of civilisation which deserve public commemoration; and any memorial of Caxton should be placed as near as possible to the scene of his literary labours.
Mr. BOLTON CORNEY says, that I seem to regard his project with somewhat less of disfavour. Now I do not wish to be misunderstood. As a substitute for the Caxton Memorial, originally proposed at the great meeting over which the Earl of Carlisle presided, I am disposed to reject it altogether, for reasons which I have already stated in your columns. But as a literary undertaking I am willing to give it a fair consideration upon its own merits. The apothegm that a man's best monument consists in his own works, is capable of considerable modification from the nature of the works themselves. In the case before us, I believe the interest felt by the public in the works of Caxton to be too limited to justify the republication of his collected works. The proposal which Mr. CORNEY makes for a selection from those works, with a new life of the author, and a glossary, the latter proving how much they are out of date, is much more feasible than his original plan. There is a Caxton Society which has already issued several publications, and whose usefulness would be materially increased by such a publication as that suggested by Mr. CORNEY, if the Society to which he alludes (the Camden, I presume) should not be disposed to undertake it. The true object of these and similar societies is the production of books of interest and value, which are not sufficiently popular to justify a bookseller, or an individual, in incurring the pecuniary risk of their separate publication. Mr. CORNEY's literary memorial of Caxton appears to me to come under this head, and as such might be properly undertaken by any of the clubs or societies formed for the cultivation of early English literature. He might perhaps more easily attain the object of his wishes in this manner than by that which he has hitherto pursued. When a selection is to be made from the works of any author, much will depend upon the taste and discretion of the editor. Now I gather from Mr. CORNEY's letter, that he is fully prepared to undertake that office himself; and I may be permitted to add that his scrupulous accuracy and unwearied diligence afford the best guarantee that the work will be executed in such a manner as to fully satisfy the public interest in Caxton, and to form a graceful and appropriate tribute to the illustrious father of the English press.
BERIAH BOTFIELD.
Norton Hall, Jan. 3. 1852.
SETTLE'S FEMALE PRELATE, OR POPE JOAN; A TRAGEDY.
I have not seen it anywhere noticed that this play, printed under Elkanah Settle's name, with a long dedication by him to the Earl of Shaftsbury, in 1680, 4to., was certainly a mere alteration of an old play on the same subject. It is impossible for any one to read many pages of it, without seeing everywhere traces of a much more powerful hand than "poor Elkanah's," although he needed no assistance in managing the ceremony of pope-burning. Take at random the following quotation, which is much more like Middleton's or Decker's than the debased style after the Restoration:
"Saxony. And art thou then in earnest?
Come, prithee, speak: I was to blame to chide thee;
Be not afraid; speak but the fatal truth,
And by my hopes of heav'n I will forgive thee.
Out with it, come; now wouldst thou tell me all,
But art ashamed to own thyself a bawd:
'Las, that might be thy father's fault, not thine.
Perhaps some honest humble cottage bred thee,
And thy ambitious parents, poorly proud,
For a gay coat made thee a page at court,
And for a plume of feathers sold thy soul;
But 'tis not yet, not yet too late to save it.
Amir. Oh, my sad heart!
Sax. Come, prithee, speak; let but
A true confession plead thy penitence,
And Heaven will then forgive thee as I do.
Amir. But, Sir, can you resolve to lend an ear
To sounds so terrible, so full of fate,
As will not only act a single tragedy,
But even disjoint all Nature's harmony,
And quite untune the world? for such, such are
The notes that I must breathe.
Sax. Oh, my dear murderer,
Breathe 'em as cheerfully as the soaring lark
Wakes the gay morn. Those dear sweet airs that kill me
Are my new nuptial songs. My Angeline
Has been my first, and Death's my second bride."
Fem. Prel. p. 58.
Or the following:
"Sax. Carlo, she must die;
The softest heart that yon celestial fire
Could ever animate, must break and die.
We are both too wretched to outlive this day;
And I but send thee as her executioner.
Carlo. I flie to obey you, Sir.
Sax. Stay, Carlo, stay;
Why all this haste to murder so much innocence?
Yet, thou must go. And since thy tongue must kill
The brightest form th' enamoured stars can e'er
Receive, or the impoverisht world can lose.
Go, Carlo, go; but prithee wound her soul
As gently as thou canst; and when thou seest
A flowing shower from her twin-orbs of light
All drown the faded roses of her cheeks;
When thou beholdst, 'midst her distracted groans,
Her furious hand, that feeble, fair revenger,
Rend all the mangled beauties of her face.
Tear her bright locks, and their dishevell'd pride
On her pale neck, that ravisht whiteness, fall;
Guard, guard thy eyes: for, Carlo, 'tis a sight
Will strike spectators dead."
Fem. Prel. p. 61.
In the Biog. Dram. (vol. iii. p. 237.), it is stated that the same play, with the same title, was printed in 4to., 1689, except that it was there said to be written by a person of quality. The play is, however, claimed by Settle in his dedication to Lord Shaftsbury, prefixed to the edition of 1680, now before me. I do not, however, believe he had more to do with it than in adapting it, as he did Philastes, for representation. The only question seems to be by whom the original play was written? This I will not at present attempt to decide, though I entertain a strong opinion on the subject, but will leave it to be resolved by the critical acumen of your readers.
JAS. CROSSLEY.
HISTORICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(Eustache le Noble.)
Having been favoured by Mr. Gancia, of 73. King's Road, Brighton, with an opportunity of examining the following work, I venture to send you a notice of its contents, with some account of the author. Such books have, I conceive, their utility to historians and historical readers. We gain through them an accurate idea of party spirit, are brought into more immediate communion with the opinions of the times to which they refer, and can thus trace more closely the means by which parties worked, were consolidated, and advanced their schemes. Even from their personalities, we gain some gleams of truth. In this case, I am assured that perfect copies of the work are very scarce. I cannot find that any other copy has recently been offered for sale. This appeared to me an additional reason for submitting a notice of it to your readers.
LE PIERRE DE TOUCHE POLITIQUE, OU PASQUINADES.
By Eustache le Noble. Rome (Paris), Octobre, 1688; Novembre, 1691. 5 vols. 12mo.
Each of the twenty-eight pieces which compose the work should have an engraved title, and a separate pagination. The place of publication is fictitious, and in general satirical. The first volume has a portrait.
The following is a collation from what is understood to form a perfect copy:
"Tome 1. Rome, chez Francophile Alétophile. Octobre, 1691.
Le Cibisme, Le Songe de Pasquin. Londres, Jean Benn, 1689.
Le Couronnement de Guillemot et de la Reine Guillemette, avec le Sermon du grand Docteur Burnet. Londres, 1689.
Le Festin de Guillemot, 1689.
La Chambre des Comptes d'Innocent XI. Rome, F. Alétophile, 1689, with portrait.
"'These five dialogues have for interlocutors Pasquin and Marforio, under which names the dialogues are sometimes introduced, as also under the title of Pasquinades.' (Quérard, art. Le Noble.)
"Tome 2. Title (no engraved title). Janvier, 1690.
Janvier. La Bibliothèque du Roi Guillemot. Londres, Jean Benn, 1690.
Février. La Fable du Renard. Leyde, 1690.
Mars. La Diète d'Augsbourg. Vienne, Peter Hansgood, 1690.
Avril. La Lotterie de Pasquin. Basle, Eugene Tyrannomostix, 1690.
Mai. L'Ombre de Monmouth. Oxford, James Good King, 1690.
Juin. Les Medaillez, Amsterdam, Eugene Philolethe, 1690.
"Tome 3. Title.
Juillet. La Clef du Cabinet de Neufbourg. Heidelberg, Neopolo Palatino, 1690.
Août. Le Triomphe. Fleuruz, chez Valdekin Bienbattu, 1690.
Septembre. Les Ombres de Schomberg et de Lorraine. Dublin, chez Le Vieux, Belle Montaigne.
Octobre. La Lanterne de Diogène. Whitehall, chez La Veuve Guillemot. 1690.
Novembre. Les Mercures, ou la Tabatière des Etats d'Hollande. Hermstadt, chez Emeric Hospodar, 1690.
Décembre. Le Roy des Fleurs. A Bride, chez Leopol la Dupe.
"Tome 4. Title.
Janvier. Les Estrennes d'Esope ('burnt at Amsterdam, by the hand of the hangman, by order of the States-General. The dialogue had its origin, probably, in the proscription of the History of the Republic of Holland by the same author, which was seized wherever it was found.'—Peignot.). Bruxelles, chez Jean Gobbin, 1691.
Février. L'Ombre du Duc d'Albe, with illustration. Anvers, Antoine Maugouverne, 1691.
Mars. Le Carnaval de la Haye, with illustration. A la Haye, chez Guillaume l'Emballeur, 1691.
Avril. Le Tabouret des Electeurs, with illustration. Honslar dük, Guillemin Tabouret, 1691.
Mai. Le Reveille Matin des Alliez, with illustration. A Monts, Guillaume le Chasseur, 1691.
Juin. Les Lunettes pour le Quinze Vingts. Turin, Jean sans Terre, 1691.
"Tome 5. Title.
Juillet. Nostradamus, ou les Oracles, with illustration. A Liege, Lambert Bonnefoi, 1691.
La Fable du Baudet Extraordinaire, with illustration. A Asnières, chez Jean le Singe, 1691.
Août. L'Anneau des Giges, with illustration. A Venise, Penetrante Penetranti, 1691.
Septembre. L'Avortement, with illustration. Gerpines, chez Guillaume Desloge sur le Quai des Morfondus au Pistolet qui prend un Rat, 1691.
Octobre. Le Jean de Retour, with illustration. A Loo, chez Guillaume Pie de Nez, rue Perdue au Bien Revenu, 1691.
Novembre. Le Prothée, with illustration. Chez Pedre l'Endormy, 1691."
Eustache le Noble, Baron of St. George and of Tenelière, the author of this work, was born at Troyes in 1643, of a good and ancient family. His natural abilities and attainments, combined with political influence, readily obtained for him, at an early age, the post of Procureur-Général to the Parliament at Metz. But a dissolute life soon brought on its consequent evils—duties neglected and discreditable debts—and he was compelled to sell his appointment. The proceeds were insufficient, and he had recourse to forgery to satisfy his creditors. To be successful in such a case, more than ability is required. Le Noble was suspected, arrested, confined in the Châtelet, and condemned to nine years' imprisonment. Upon his appeal, he was removed to the Conciergerie, a place destined to become another scene in his life of uniform villainy. Gabrielle Perreau, known under the name of "La Belle Epicière," was confined here at the instigation of her husband, who indulged in the hope of thus reforming her disorderly conduct. But a prison is hardly a school of reformation, and La Belle Epicière and Le Noble were not characters to receive, even in monastic seclusion, any such impression. He won her affections, or the mastery over her passions: the husband, frantic with jealous rage, obtained for himself the satisfaction of immuring her in a convent of his own selection. From this she escaped, and joined Le Noble, who had similarly evaded the vigilance of his keepers. By living in the vilest and least frequented quarters of Paris, by disguises, false names, and constant changes of residence, they succeeded in baffling the pursuit of the police for three years, when Le Noble was accidentally discovered; the judgment of the Châtelet was confirmed, and he was reconducted to prison. It was then that his great resources were displayed. He retained his gaiety, and assured his friends he still enjoyed "une parfaite tranquillité d'esprit, inséparable de l'innocence!" A man of this kind, with a venal and capacious intellect, and a heart utterly unconscious of the slightest moral feeling, could not with advantage be suffered to remain unemployed. There was work to be done for James II., and the hireling was worthy of his hire. It was simply to lie and libel with ability, with caution, with the appearance of loyalty, and an ardent zeal for religion. Le Noble was equal to the task. He had written histories burnt by the hangman; Bayle had praised him for his skill in judicial astrology; he had composed treatises on money, and on Catholic doctrine; compiled historical romances, and translated the Psalms of David! In poetry he had attempted to rival La Fontaine; written the Eulogy of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and translated Persius,—substituting French customs for the Roman, and praising, or censuring, his contemporaries as though he were the Roman poet and not the Paris scribe! An ability so various was at least well paid. He received from the booksellers, and others by whom he was retained, a hundred pistoles a month; Peignot states, in all, about one hundred thousand crowns. There cannot be the least doubt this was but a portion of his earnings, or that the work I have described was not written for the Jacobite interest of James II. But no success in such characters is ever accompanied with prudence. Although the penalty of banishment from France was suspended, that his venal abilities might assist the designs of others, he was always living between luxury and the direst want. As he advanced in years, he was less useful, and was consequently driven from doors where he had formerly been welcomed. D'Argenson allowed him a louis-d'or for charity per week; but all other resources failed, until, in his sixty-eighth year, after a long period of misery, and of the uttermost mental and bodily degradation, he died on the 31st January, 1711, and was buried at the communal expense. It cannot be denied that Le Noble united many pleasing qualities as a writer. He had read much, could condense ably, and united to a strong memory a rare facility in employing its resources. He touched with light ridicule the weaker points of a case, and could wield both reason, sarcasm and polished inuenda in misstating facts, or damaging the argument of his adversaries. Such a man was well adapted to the French advisers of James. Public attention was to be engaged and won by falsehoods in the disguise of truth; bad designs were to be cloaked under moral purposes; and the revolution was to be discredited in the name of loyalty and religion. All this Le Noble did with infinite ability, and infinite obliquity. I can give but a slight sketch of his work. The Couronnement de Guillemot is a violent tirade against William. Marforio and Pasquin converse about his coronation, and the king is described as one "qui vouloit estre le bourreau du Prince de Galles." Churchill is "l'infame comblé de tant de bienfaitz par son bon maître, et qui l'a vendu, trahi et livré." In the decorations of the abbey, consisting of tapestry, &c., there is stated to be a representation of Pilate placing Jesus Christ and Barabbas before the people, and the choice of Barabbas by the latter; James occupying, in Le Noble's opinion, the place of the former. The people he describes as preferring even "ce voleur public, ce scélérat, ce séditieux de Barabbas, ce meurtrier qui a poignardé les Withs (Witts), à cet aimable maistre qui n'a jamais eu pour eux que de la douceur et de la bonté." The Sermon du grand Docteur Burnet is very clever, light, pungent, and satirical, especially against the king: the text being "Dominus regnavit, exultet terræ, lætentur insulæ." In the L'Ombre de Monmouth, William is described as wishing to be "le singe du glorieux Cromwell;" Portland, Shrewsbury, Burnet, and Dykvelt, are "ses quatre Evangélistes;" and the king is made to utter violent complaints against the Parliament, which he calls "une étrange beste," and adds: "Si je n'avois pas cassé celui que j'ai rompu pour en convoquer un autre, toutes mes affaires s'en alloient sens dessus dessous." In the Estrennes d'Esope, which was burnt by order of the States-General, there is the following description of England:
"L'Angleterre sous son Roi légitime et ne lui donnant qu'avec epargne comme elle faisoit le nécessaire pour son entretien, estoit justement comme ces sages et vertueuses femmes qui, fidèles à leurs époux, gouvernen avec un prudent économie leur ménage reglé, et cette mesme Angleterre, qui s'épuise pour satisfaire à l'avidité d'un tyran, est aujourd'hui comme une de ces infames debauchées qui, emportée de fureur pour une adultère qui l'enlève à son mari, lui fait une profusion criminelle de son bien."
In illustrations such as these, Le Noble was most happy, as with the vice he was most familiar. The length of this paper precludes my sending to you a pasquinade, in the epitaph written for Innocent XI., which, considering its purport, is of value as indicating the opinions of the Jacobites against the policy of the Pope. This I will do in another paper.
CALAMITIES OF AUTHORS.
The miseries and disappointments of the literary life are proverbial:
"Toil, envy, want, the patron and the gaol."
To these "calamities of authors," I wish to add a new, and as yet unrecorded trial, incidental to this age of cheap postage and extravagant puffs. I am myself a small author, and have written on theology and antiquarianism; and my publisher's shelves know the weight of my labours. Conceive then my delight, a few weeks ago, at receiving a "confidential" letter from B. D., requesting the immediate transmission of my theological tomes to a country address; on the representation that, although B. D. well knew that my writings had been favourably received, he judged that "striking recommendations at this moment in influential journals to which he had reviewing access during the parliamentary recess, would prove of essential service." I wrote to my publisher, who coolly answered that it was "no go;" and I even stood the tempting shock of a second application from B. D., remonstratively hinting that, but for the non-arrival of the volumes, a notice would have appeared that very week in an "important quarter." The hopeful mind has difficulty in settling down into a belief that men deceive.
Not a month had elapsed before I received another letter, sealed with such a signet as in size would rival the jewel sometimes seen pendent from the waistcoat pocket of a Jew broker on Saturday, and engraven with evidence of illustrious lineage, if quarterings be only half true. I did not break this magnificent seal, but I tore open the envelope, and I found that my antiquarian researches had been most flatteringly estimated by a gentleman with a double surname, which happened to be familiar to me. The communication was, of course, "private;" and it expressed the writer's knowledge, from hearsay, of the "value, merit, and ability" of my book, and the satisfaction it would afford my correspondent, to give it a "handsome an elaborate review in both the widely circulating and reviewing publications with which he had the honour of being connected." A copy of my work was to be sent to his own address, or to that of his bookseller: or, even a third course was obligingly opened to me—"he would send his man-servant to my publisher for the volume!" I sent the book, and the same day communicated with the head of the family who legally bore this very handsome name used by my correspondent, and he told me that he had just received 5l. worth of books from a great house in "the Row," which were obviously designed to be the response to an application from the gentleman with a large seal, who was "an impostor." This may be so; but I have received an acknowledgement for the receipt of my little work, so kind and courtly in its tone, that I do not even yet quite despair of one day reading the promised "handsome and elaborate review."
A SMALL AUTHOR.
FOLK LORE.
Valentine's Day—Superstition in Devonshire.
—The peasants and others believe that if they go to the porch of a church, waiting there till half-past twelve o'clock on the eve of St. Valentine's day, with some hempseed in his or her hand, and at the time above-named then proceed homewards, scattering the seed on either side, repeating these lines—
"Hempseed I sow, hempseed I mow,
She (or he) that will my true love be,
Come rake this hempseed after me;"—
his or her true love will be seen behind, raking up the seed just sown, in a winding-sheet. Do any of your readers know the origin of this superstitious custom?
J. S. A.
Old Broad Street.
Fairies.
—An Irish servant of mine, a native of Galway, gave me the following relations:—Her father was a blacksmith and for his many acts of benevolence to benighted travellers became a great favourite with the fairies, who paid him many visits. It was customary for the fairies to visit his forge at night, after the family had retired to rest, and here go to work in such right good earnest, as to complete, on all occasions, the work which had been left overnight unfinished. The family were on these occasions awoke from their slumber by the vigorous puffing of bellows, and hammering on anvil, consequent upon these illustrious habits of the fairies, and it was an invariable rule for the fairies to replace all the tools they had used during the night; and, moreover, if the smithy had been left in confusion the previous evening, the "good people" always arranged it, swept the floor, and restored everything to order before the morning. I never could glean from her any detailed instances of the labour accomplished in this way, or indeed anything which might aid in the formation of an estimate of the relative skill of the fairies in manual labour; and I must confess that on these subjects I never question too closely,—the reader will know why.
On one occasion, one of the family happening to be unwell, the father went back to the smithy at midnight for some medicine which had been left there on the shelf, and put the "good people" to flight, just as they had begun their industrial orgies. To disturb the fairies is at any time a perilous thing; and so it proved to him: for a fat pig died the following day, little Tike had the measles, too, after, and no end of misfortunes followed. In addition to this occult revenge, the inmates of the house were kept awake for several nights by a noise similar to that which would be produced by peas being pelted at the windows. The statement was made with an earnestness of manner which betrayed a faith without scruples.
SHIRLEY HIBBERD.
Minor Notes.
Lines in Whispering Gallery at Gloucester Cathedral.
—The following verse is inscribed in the Whispering Gallery of Gloucester Cathedral; to preserve it, and as a "Note" to the fourth stanza of the "Ditty" I inserted in Vol iv., p. 311., I copied it for "N. & Q."
"Doubt not but God who sits on high,
Thy secret prayers can hear;
When a dead wall thus cunningly
Conveys soft whispers to the ear."
H. G. D.
Definition of Thunder.
—The following singular definition of thunder occurs in Bailey's Dictionary, vol. i. 17th edit., 1759:—
"Thunder [Dunder, Sax. &c.], a noise known by persons not deaf."
In Bailey's 2nd vol. 2nd edition, 1731 (twenty-eight years previous to the edition of vol. i. above cited), the word is much more scientifically treated.
CRANMORE.
Greek Epigram by an uncertain Author.—
Εἴ με φιλοῦντα φιλεῖς, δισσὴ χάρις· εἰ δέ με μισεῖς,
Τόσσον μισηθείης, ὅσσον ἐγώ σε φιλῶ.
Imitated.
"Shouldst thou, O Daphne! for my sake,
An equal pain endure,
A sense of gratitude will make
The bond of love secure.
But shouldst thou, reckless of my fate,
Unkind and cruel prove,
Sweet maid, thou'lt never learn to hate
So truly as I love."
N. N.
Queries.
BURNING OF THE JESUITICAL BOOKS AT PARIS.
The Quarterly Reviewer who endeavours in the number just published to establish the claim of Thomas Lord Lyttelton to the authorship of Junius, instances the following coincidence in support of his theory:—
"Junius tells us directly, 'I remember seeing Busenbaum, Suarez, Molina, and a score of other Jesuitical books, burnt at Paris, for their sound casuistry by the hands of the common hangman.' We may assume that this took place in 1764, as it was in that year that Choiseul suppressed the Jesuits. Thomas Lyttelton was on the continent during the whole of 1764, and for part of that time resided at Paris."[1]
[1] [The burning of the books referred to by BIFRONS not Junius (unless it be proved that JUNIUS and BIFRONS are one, which is not yet universally admitted), took place on 7th August, 1761. See a very curious note on the subject in Bohn's recently published edition of Junius, vol. ii. pp. 175-6.—ED. "N. & Q.">[
But the orders of the parliament of Paris against the Jesuits, one of which condemned some thirty of their books to be burnt, were issued three years before the suppression of their order in France, viz., in the early part and summer of 1761. That Thomas Lyttelton could then have been in Paris is highly improbable; he was only seventeen, and it was a time of war. Will any one take the trouble to ascertain where Francis was? I believe he was appointed secretary to the Portuguese embassy in 1760, and returned to London in 1763.
H. MERIVALE.
GRANTHAM ALTAR CASE.
An old book now lies before me, intituled England's Reformation from the time of King Henry VIII. to the end of Oates's Plot, a Poem in four Cantos, with large Marginal Notes according to the Original. By Thomas Ward. London: Printed for W. B. and sold by Thomas Bickerton, in Little Britain. 1716.
In Canto IV., and beginning at p. 353., there is an account of a brawl in the parish church of Grantham, anno 1627, arising, as appears by a marginal note, out of circumstances connected with the "removal of the Communion table from the upper part of the quire to the altar place." A master alderman Wheatley, assisted by "an innkeeper fat as brawn," and "a bow-legged tailor that was there," appears to have taken an active part in the scuffle which ensued upon the vicar's persisting in his determination. The alderman and his mob seem to have been triumphant on this occasion, for we read, p. 356.:
"The alderman, by help of rabble,
Brought from the wall communion table;
Below the steps he plac'd it, where
It stood before, in midst of quire."
A pamphlet war followed; for there was immediately A Letter to the Vicar of Grantham about setting his Table altarwise. In answer to this came A Coal from the Altar; which was in its turn assailed by The Quench Coal out, and The Holy Table, Name and Thing (said to have been written by Williams, Bishop of Lincoln.) A Dr. Pocklington (who was he?) espoused the side of the Altar party, and published his Altare Christianum. During this literary contest the vicar appears to have died, and, some twelve months after his death, out comes The Dead Vicar's Plea.
The affair seems to have created what we should now call a great sensation in the "religious world:" for, says our author:
"Scarce was a pen but what has try'd,
And books flew out on every side,
Till ev'ry fop set up for wit,
And Laud, and Hall and Heylin writ,
And so did White and Montague,
And Shelford, Cousins, Watts, and Dow,
Lawrence and Forbis, and a crew
Whose names would"——
Master Ward did not like these men, and therefore I omit his rather uncharitable conclusion.
Is there any record left of the notable quarrel, which appears to have engaged the attention and pens of some of the learned men of the age? Perhaps some of your correspondents at Grantham could throw some light upon this question.
L. L. L.
Kirton-in-Lindsey.
[This celebrated altar controversy occurred during the reign of Charles I., and its origin will be found in Clarendon's History of the Rebellion. The Puritans contended that the proper place for the table, when the eucharist was administered, was in the body of the church before the chancel door, and to be placed tablewise, and not altarwise; that is, that one of the ends of the table was to be placed towards the east, so that one of the larger sides might be to the north, the priest being directed to stand at the north side, and not at the north end of the table. The Church party, on the contrary, contended that as the Injunctions ordered that the table should stand where the altar used to stand, it should consequently be placed as the altar was. This matter was the source of much violent contention, and tracts were published neither remarkable for courtesy of language nor for accurate statements of facts. It appears to have originated in a dispute between Mr. Titly, the Vicar of Grantham, and his parishioners, respecting the proper place for the table. The vicar insisted that it ought to stand at the upper end of the chancel, against the east wall. Some of the parishioners contended that it should stand in the body of the church. The vicar removed it from that situation, and placed it in the chancel. The alderman of the borough and others replaced it in its former situation, when a formal complaint was made to the bishop (Williams). In 1627 the bishop published his judgment on the question, in A Letter to the Vicar of Grantham. The visitation of 1634 tempted Peter Heylyn to republish this Letter, together with an answer under the title of A Coal from the Altar, &c. Williams replied in 1637 by a treatise entitled The Holy Table, Name and Thing, more anciently and literally used under the New Testament than that of Altar. Heylyn rejoined by his Antidotum Lincolniense; or an Answer to a Book entitled "The Holy Altar, Name and Thing," &c. The bishop was preparing for his further vindication, when he was prevented by his troubles in the Star Chamber, in consequence of which his library was seized. "And how," says Hacket, "could he fight without his arms? or, how could the bell ring when they had stolen away the clapper?" During the controversy Dr. Pocklington, Chaplain in Ordinary to the King, published his Altare Christianum; or, the Dead Vicar's Plea, wherein the Vicar of Grantham being dead yet speaketh, and pleadeth out of Antiquity against him that hath broken down his Altar, 4to. 1637. The best historical notice of this controversy is given in Hacket's Life of Archbishop Williams, pt. ii. pp. 99-109., and was particularly referred to by the counsel on the Cambridge stone altar case, 1844-1845, as well as by Sir Herbert Jenner Fust in his judgment on it.]
MEANING OF GROOM.
In investigating the descent of two Devonshire families, I save met with four instances of persons designating themselves as groom. They were certainly well connected, and in fortune apparently much above the class of people who accept the care of horses in this present day.
If they were grooms of horses, society was in a very different state from that in which it is at the present day; if they were not such grooms, what then were they? I believe they were unmarried persons. First, there is Samuel Weeks, of South Tawton, groom; will proved in the Archdeacon of Exeter's Court, 1639. His father was Richard Weeks, styled gentleman in the parish register; and Samuel Weeks signs his name in a peculiarly fine Italian hand, that I do not remember to have seen in any instance of that time except in that of a thorough gentleman.
Francis Kingwell, of Crediton, groom. His will was proved in the Bishop's Court in 1639; his sister married a Richard Hole, of South Tawton, yeoman of substance; her second husband was John Weeks, of South Tawton, gentleman, and his sons were gentlemen. These Weekses were, I doubt not, nearly related to the Wykes or Weeks, of North Wyke, in the same parish, a family of great antiquity.
Thirdly, here is John Hole, of South Tawton, groom, 1640. His inventory is 180l., of which 4l. was for his clothes, whereas a gentleman in one case in this neighbourhood has his clothes valued at ten shillings; Kingwell's inventory was the same.
Robert Hole, of Zeal Monachorum, groom, is the fourth instance. His will was proved at Westminster in 1654; he was the son of a wealthy yeoman, and his brother, Thomas Hole, was a gentleman.
I trouble you that I may learn, through your kindness, whether groom, in these instances, was used with the meaning which we attach to it; or at that time, or in the English language, or the vernacular tongue of central Devonshire, meant anything else.
Minor Queries.
Gregentius and the Jews in Arabia Felix.—
I had also had my place at that "We have a remarkable instance to this purpose in ecclesiastical history, which is attested by many and great authors. It seems, about 400 years after our Saviour's ascension, one Gregentius, a bishop, endeavoured the conversion of those Jews which lived in Arabia Felix. After a tedious disputation of three days' continuance some of the Jews desired the bishop to show them Jesus alive, and it would convince them. Immediately upon this the earth began to tremble, and the sky to shine and echo with lightnings and thunder. After these ceased, the gates of the celestial palace opened, and a bright serene cloud appeared, darting forth beams of an extraordinary lustre. At last our blessed Saviour showed himself walking on this bright cloud, and a voice was heard from this excellent glory saying, 'I am He who was crucified by your fathers.' This glorious appearance cast all the Jews prostrate on the ground, and, beating their breasts, they cried with a loud voice, 'Lord have mercy on us!' and afterwards were baptised into the faith of Christ."—Sermons by John March, B.D., late Vicar of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 2nd ed. 1699, p. 235.
Who are the "many and great authors" who have attested this extraordinary apparition?
E. H. A.
King Street Theatre.
—Among a large collection of medallic tickets of admission to theatres, I am unable to fix the precise attribution of the following:
Ob.: A group of dramatic emblems, mask, sword, mirror, scourge, and a legend:
"Spectas et tu spectabere. King Street Theatre."
Rev.:
"Admit Mr. Cooper, or bearer, to any part of the house before the curtain."
The ticket is of silver, and is evidently of the time of Garrick; it cannot therefore apply to the theatre in King Street, St. James's, which is of recent erection; nor am I aware of any other King Street in London which contained a theatre. Its situation will most probably be found in some provincial town.
If any of your obliging correspondents could furnish information as to its locality, they would confer a favour on the writer.
B. N.
Lesteras and Emencin.
—In an old MS. I meet with the following words:—
"One (a pillar) was made of Lefteras (I do not know whether the third letter is an s or an f in the original) which would not burn."
"After they came to the land of Emencin, which is the country of Jerusalem."
Can any of your readers give me any information as to either of the words Lesteras or Emencin?
O. OGLE.
Oxford.
Epigram on Franklin and Wedderburn.
—Will any of your correspondents acquaint me with the name of the author of the following lines, written shortly after Dr. Franklin's attendance at the Privy Council in January, 1774, in allusion to Wedderburn's severe remarks upon him?—
"Sarcastic Sawney, full of spite and hate,
On modest Franklin poured his venal prate;
The calm philosopher without reply
Withdrew—and gave his country liberty."
The lines were repeated to me by the late Francis Maseres, Esq., Cursitor Baron of the Court of Exchequer.
W. S.
Richmond, Surrey.
Plenius and his Lyrichord.
—May I hope to ascertain, through the medium of your journal, where to look for information on the subject of the "lyrichord of Plenius," referred to in Rees' Encyclopædia, art. "Basse Fondamentale," as having been "tuned by weights instead of tension?" The point left in doubt by this, is whether a single weight was substituted for tension, or whether the different notes in the musical scale were produced by altering the weight according to the rules for that purpose.
Was Plenius an ancient, a Middle-Age man, or was he Herr Plen, who latinized his name, as was the fashion a century or two ago?
T.
Epigram on Burnet.
—A friend of mine across the Atlantic wishes to ask, whether any one knows where the following epigram, which he remembers in MS. in an old folio copy of Burnet's History, comes from:—
"If Heaven is pleas'd when sinners cease to sin,
If Hell is pleas'd when sinners enter in,
If men are pleas'd at parting with a knave,
Then all are pleas'd—for Burnet's in his grave."
C. B.
Dutch Chronicle of the World.
—Will any of your readers oblige me with information respecting a Dutch work, professing to be an historical chronicle of the world from the creation to the time in which it was printed, which was in the days of Merian, the celebrated engraver, father to the naturalist Madame Merian, who was also an artist of some repute. The work I allude to was illustrated by numerous spirited engravings (supposed to have been executed on pewter), and of which I possess several hundred, which had been cut out of the letter-press which surrounded the prints, and bought at a stall in London many years back. I question whether there is a copy of the work to be found in England, except it be in the British Museum.
JOHN FENTON.
"Arborei fœtus alibi, atque injussa virescunt Gramina" (Virgil G. I. 55.).
—Amongst my school reminiscences, I retain very distinctly the remembrance of the surprise we felt in the sixth form, when we were desired by our revered and excellent master to construe the above words as follows:
"'Arborei fœtus,' flourish unbidden in one situation, grass in another."
Or, more literally:
"'Arborei fœtus,' flourish unbidden in situations different from those in which grass (flourishes unbidden)."
I well remember too, that some of us, while we admired the ingenuity, ventured to doubt the correctness of the translation. Will some of your learned correspondents kindly favour me with their opinions?
W. S.
History of Brittany.
—I shall feel obliged to any one who can refer me to a good history or histories of Brittany; more especially to those which relate to the genealogies and heraldry of the Breton families, or which contain pedigrees.
T. H. KERSLEY, B.A.
Serjeants' Rings.
—T. P. would be obliged to any of your antiquarian readers who could inform him, through the medium of your paper, whether the custom of serjeants-at-law presenting rings with mottoes, on taking the coif, prevailed so long back as A.D. 1670-80, and, if so, whether there are any records, or other sources, from which he could ascertain the motto used by an individual who was admitted to that degree about that period?
The Duchess of Cleveland's Cow-pox.
—In Baron's Life of Jenner, Vol. i. p. 123., there occurs the following note, extracted from one of Dr. Jenner's note-books of 1799:
"I know of no direct allusion to the disease in any ancient author, yet the following seems not very distantly to bear upon it. When the Duchess of Cleveland was taunted by her companions, Moll Davis (Lady Mary Davis) and others, that she might soon have to deplore the loss of that beauty which was then her boast, the small-pox at that time raging in London, she made a reply to this effect,—that she had no fear about the matter, for she had had a disorder which would prevent her from ever catching the small-pox. This was lately communicated by a gentleman in this county, but unfortunately he could not recollect from what author he gained his intelligence."
Can any reader of "N. & Q." supply this missing authority for a fact which is very important in the history of medicine—if true?
ONETWOTHREE.
Arms of Manchester.
—What are the arms of Manchester? and are they of ancient usage? or only assigned to the town since its incorporation? and if the latter, whence did the bearings originate?
H. H. H. V.
Heraldical MSS. of Sir Henry St. George Garter.
—What has become of these valuable MSS.? and if the place of their deposit is known, can access be obtained to them for literary purposes? They were, as Noble relates, originally sold into the Egmont family, and descended to John James, the third Earl; but some time after his death, about the year 1831, all the personal property of the family was disposed of; the effects at Enmore Castle were sold by auction on the spot; and the writer of this well remembers seeing the old family pictures preparing for the same fate in a sales-room in Conduit Street, he thinks of Mr. Abbots. Mr. Braithwaite, of Great Russell Street, was the auctioneer employed at Enmore, and an inquiry was made of him at the time relative to these MSS., and the answer was, that they also were destined to the hammer. A catalogue also was promised whenever it should come out. The writer was subsequently informed that the MSS. were withdrawn, and he could never learn what became of them.
M——N.
Minor Queries Answered.
The Pelican, as a Symbol of the Saviour.
—Is the pelican now, or was it formerly considered as a symbol of Our Saviour? I have seen it used in the ancient decorations of churches, but never looked on it as such; nor can I remember ever having seen it mentioned as an emblem of the Saviour, with the exception of one passage in Dante's Vision (Canto xxv.) of Paradise.
ROBERT NELSON.
[In the Calendar of the Anglican Church Illustrated, p. 328., will be found an engraving of "a pelican feeding her young with blood from her own breast, signifying the Saviour giving Himself up for the redemption of mankind;" and in the foot-note references to Aringhi's Roma Subterranea, and other works, in which other representations of the same symbol are to be found. Our correspondent may also be referred to Alt's Heiligenbilder, s. 56.]
Bishop Coverdale's Bible.
—When did Bishop Coverdale commence his translation of the Bible? Where was the first edition printed? Is any copy in existence which possesses the original title-page, i.e. not the one added in England, stating that it is translated from the "Douche and Latyn?"
H. H. H. V.
[We have submitted H. H. H. V.'s Query to our obliging correspondent, GEORGE OFFOR, ESQ., whose library is particularly rich in early English versions of the Bible, and who has kindly favoured us with the following communication]:—
In reply to your correspondent H. H. H. V.'s very curious question to know when Myles Coverdale commenced his translation, I beg to state that he was born in 1488, and that it has not yet been discovered when his mind was first led to contemplate the translation of the Sacred Scriptures, nor whether he commenced with the New or the Old Testament. The facts known are, that he finished the translation or the printing of it on the 4th day of October, 1535,—probably at Cologne, because other books printed there about that time have the same initials, wood-cuts, and type. A copy, with the original title-page, is in the Holkham library, having, on the reverse, part of the list of books, showing that originally it was without a dedication; this has the words, "Douche and Latyn." When the dedication was printed, this title was cancelled and a new one printed, still with the words "Douche and Latyn," with the reverse blank. A fine copy of this is in the possession of Earl Jersey, and one with the title-page repaired is in the British Museum. Perfect copies have a map of Palestine. In 1537, this book was reprinted, both in folio and quarto, probably at Antwerp, and in these the words "from the Douche and Latyn" were very properly omitted, Coverdale being still living to see them through the press; these are ornamented with large initial letters with a dance of death, and are the rarest volumes in the English language. In these the dedication is altered from Queen Anne to Queen Jane, as the wife of Henry VIII. They were all dedicated to the king and to the queen; the two latter are all in Old English type. These were followed by an edition dedicated to Edward VI. in a Swiss type, 4to., printed at Zurich by Chr. Froschover, and published under three titles—1st, as the translation of Thos. Matthewe; 2nd, as the translation of Myles Coverdale, London, by Andrew Hester, 1550; and 3rd, London, by Jugge, 1553. These are books of great rarity, and may be all seen in my library by any of your readers, sanctioned by a note from you or any minister of religion. My first edition has several uncut leaves.
The introduction of the words "from the Douche (meaning Luther's German) and Latyn" has never been accounted for; they probably were inserted by the German printer to make the volume more popular, so as to interest reformers by the German of Luther, and Romanists by the Vulgate Latin. The translation is certainly from the Hebrew and Greek, compared with Luther's and the Vulgate.
GEORGE OFFOR.
Grove Street, Victoria Park.
Age of the Oak.
—The late Queries respecting the age of trees, remind me of some lines of which I have been long in search—
"The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,
Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees:
Three centuries he grows, and three he stays
Supreme in state; and in three more decays."
I think it probable that they are from a play of Dryden or Otway; but some of your readers may probably be able to answer this Query.
T. C.
Durham.
[In Richardson's Dictionary, as well as in the Encyclopædia Metropolitana, these lines are quoted under the word Patriarch, as from The Cock and the Fox, by Dryden; whereas Bysshe, in his Art of English Poetry, under the word Oak, refers us to Dryden's Ovid. In neither of these pieces do they occur; our correspondent, however, will find them in Dryden's Palamon and Arcite, or the Knight's Tale, line 2334.]
Olivarius.
—Can any of your readers inform me what is the title of a book written by Olivarius, a French astrologer, 1542, in which there is a prophecy relative to France, and somewhat similar to that of St. Cæsarius (p. 471.)? What was his christian name, and in what library is the work to be found?