Dec. 27. Ambleside.
_Erasmus' Paraphrase on the Gospels._--I have in my charge the mutilated
remains of an old black-letter copy of _Erasmus' Paraphrase on the
Gospels_, not of any great value perhaps, but interesting to me from its
having been chained from time immemorial (so to speak) to one of the
stalls in our parish church; it is only perfect from Mark, fol. lxiiii.
to John fol. cxiii., but I should be glad to know the date, &c. of its
publication. Presuming, therefore, that one of the objects of your
interesting publication is to aid in solving the _minor_ difficulties of
persons like myself, who have no means of consulting any large
collection of books, I have the less scruple in forwarding the
accompanying "Notes" from my copy, for the guidance of any one who will
be at the trouble of comparing them with any copy to which he may have
access.
The spelling of the word "gospel" varies throughout; thus, in Mark,
fols. lxiiii-lxxii., xci., xciv., xcv., xcvii., and xcviii. it is
"ghospel;" on lxxiii-lxxvi., lxxviii., it is "gospell;" on the rest
"gospel." So also throughout St. Luke, which occupies cc. foll., it
varies in like manner, "ghospell" being there the more common form. The
initial letter to St. Luke represents Jacob's dream; on the first page
of fol. vi. of St. Luke the translator's preface ends, "Geven at London
the last day of Septembre, in the yere of our Lorde M.D.XLV." On fol.
xiii. of the same, Erasmus' own preface ends, "Geven at Basill the xxii.
dai of August ye yere of our Lord, M.D." (the rest effaced). On the
first page of fol. viii. of St. John's Gospel the preface ends, "Geven
at Basile the yere of our Lord, M.D.XXIII. the v daye of Januarye." If
these notes are sufficient to identify my copy with any particular
edition, it will afford a real pleasure to