9. Railway Accidents. Chap. I.
10. The Planets. Are they Inhabited Globes? Chap. IV. and last.
11. Meteoric Stones and Shooting Stars. Chap. II.
12. Railway Accidents. Chap. II.
13. Light.
"This serial, which will form quarterly eighteenpenny volumes, is, we
are disposed to think, the best literary investment of a penny a week
now extant."--_Examiner._
"This series, besides affording popular but sound instruction on
scientific subjects, with which the humblest man in the country ought
to be acquainted, also undertakes that teaching of 'common things'
which Lord Ashburton and every well-wisher of his kind are anxious to
promote."--_Times._
London: WALTON & MABERLY, Upper Gower Street, and Ivy Lane, Paternoster
Row.
* * * * *
SMEE'S BINOCULAR PERSPECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHS.--A full account of the mode of
taking these extraordinary Likenesses in "Smee on the Eye," just published,
price 5s.
HORNE, THORNTHWAITE & WOOD,
123. Newgate Street, London.
* * * * *
CLASSICAL MUSICAL LIBRARY.--Subscribers are liberally supplied, on loan,
with every description of New Vocal and Instrumental Music, and have also
at their disposal upwards of 3,000 volumes, including the Standard Operas,
Italian, German, French, and English Songs, and all kinds of Instrumental
Music. During the Term of Subscription, each Subscriber has the privilege
of selecting--for his own property--from 100,000 different pieces, 3
Guineas' worth of Music. Prospectuses forwarded Free on application.
JULLIEN & CO., 214. Regent Street.
* * * * *
ALLEN'S ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE, containing Size, Price, and Description of
upwards of 100 articles, consisting of PORTMANTEAUS, TRAVELLING-BAGS,
Ladies' Portmanteaus, DESPATCH-BOXES, WRITING-DESKS, DRESSING-CASES, and
other travelling requisites, Gratis on application, or sent free by Post on
receipt of Two Stamps.
MESSRS. ALLEN'S registered Despatch-box and Writing-desk, their
Travelling-bag with the opening as large as the bag, and the new
Portmanteau containing four compartments, are undoubtedly the best articles
of the kind ever produced.
J. W. & T. ALLEN, 18 & 22. West Strand.
* * * * *
This Day is published, price 8s. cloth or gilt, 8s. 6d., embellished with
numerous Engravings,
WANDERINGS OF AN ANTIQUARY: chiefly upon the Traces of the ROMANS IN
BRITAIN. By THOMAS WRIGHT, ESQ., M.A., F.S.A.
CONTENTS:--1. Iron Works of the Forest of Dean. 2. Roman Cities on the
Welsh Borders. 3. Verulamium. 4. Anglo-Saxon Graves in Kent. 5. Sandwich,
and Rutupiae. 6. The Kentish Coast. 7. Pevensey. 8. Potteries on the
Medway. 9. Valley of Maidstone. 10. Hill Entrenchments on the Welsh
Borders. 11. From York to Goodmanham. 12. Isuriam or Aldborough. 13.
Bramber Castle and Sussex Churches. 14. Bignor. 15. Stonehenge. 16. Old
Sarum.
"Got up with very good taste in style and matter. We recommend this
excellent little book."--_Dover Chronicle._
"Avoiding wild and speculative theories on the one hand, and aiming to
further the purposes of pure history on the other."--_Morning Post._
"Mr. Wright conveys sound antiquaries information at every step in a
pleasing and popular manner, which must render the volume a grateful
companion to all who have not made our national ancient monuments a
professed study: and even the experienced archaeologist will often find
unsuspected new views of old opinions which it may be at least
wholesome to revise or reconsider."--_Gentlman's Magazine._
NICHOLS & SONS, 25. Parliament Street.
* * * * *
Second Edition, price 5s. 6d. cloth,
THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Translated and compiled from the
Works of Augusti; with numerous Additions from Rheinwald, Siegel, and
others. By the REV. LYMAN COLEMAN.
Second Edition, price 6s. 6d. cloth,
A HISTORY OF THE HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. Translated from the German of JOHN
JAHN, D.D. With an Appendix, containing the History of the Jews to the
Reign of Adrian, translated from Basnage. By C. E. STOWE, A.M.
Fourth Edition, price 6s. cloth,
BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. By JOHN JAHN, D.D. Translated from the Latin, with
Additions and Corrections. By T. C. UPHAM, Bowdoin College, United States.
With Map and Three Engravings.
Fourth Edition (500 pages), price 12s. cloth,
LECTURES ON CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. By GEORGE CHRISTIAN KNAPP, D.D., Professor
of Theology in the University of Halle. Translated by LEONARD WOODS, JUN.,
D.D., Andover, U.S.
WARD & CO., 27. Paternoster Row.
* * * * *
In 8vo., cloth lettered, price 4s. 6d., or Free by Post, 5s.
GOMER; or, a Brief Analysis of the Language and Knowledge of the Ancient
Cymry. By JOHN WILLIAMS, A.M., Oxon, Archdeacon of Cardigan.
London: HUGHES & BUTLER.
15. St. Martin's-le-Grand.
* * * * *
AS SECRETARY OR AMANUENSIS.
A GENTLEMAN who is fully conversant with the French, German, and Italian
Languages is desirous of obtaining some PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT. He can give
satisfactory references as to Competency and Respectability of Family and
Connexions.
Address. F. G. H., care of MR. NEWMAN, Publisher, 9. Devonshire Street,
Bishopsgate Street.
* * * * *
{319}
_LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1854._
* * * * *
Notes.
ARABIAN TALES AND THEIR SOURCES.
The Arabians have been the immediate instruments in transmitting to us
those Oriental tales, of which the conception is so brilliant, and the
character so rich and varied, and which, after having been the delight of
our childhood, never lose entirely the spell of their enchantment over our
maturer age. But while many of these tales are doubtless of Arabian origin,
it is not to be supposed that all are equally so. If we may believe the
French translator of the _Thousand and One Tales_, that publication does
not include the thirty-sixth part of the great Arabian collection, which is
not confined to books, but has been the traditional inheritance of a
numerous class, who, like the minstrels of the West, gained their
livelihood by reciting, what would interest the feelings of their hearers.
This class of Eastern story-tellers was common throughout the whole extent
of Mahomedan dominion in Turkey, Persia, and even to the extremity of
India.
The sudden rise of the Saracen empire, and its rapid transition from
barbarism to refinement, and from the deepest ignorance to the most
extensive cultivation of literature and science, is an extraordinary
phenomenon in the history of mankind. A century scarcely elapsed from the
age of Amrou, the general of Caliph Omar, who is said to have burned the
great Alexandrian library, to the period when the family of the Abbasides,
who mounted the throne of the Caliphs A.D. 750, introduced a passionate
love of art, science, and even poetry. The celebrated Haroun Al Raschid
never took a journey without at least a hundred men of science in his
train. But the most munificent patron of Arabic literature was Al Mamoun,
the seventh Caliph of the race of the Abbasides, and son of Haroun Al
Raschid. Having succeeded to the throne A.D. 813, he rendered Bagdad the
centre of literature: collecting from the subject provinces of Syria,
Armenia, and Egypt the most important books which could be discovered, as
the most precious tribute that could be rendered, and causing them to be
translated into Arabic for general use. When Al Mamoun dictated the terms
of peace to Michael, the Greek emperor, the tribute which he demanded from
him was a collection of Greek authors.
The Arabian tales had their birth after this period; and when the Arabians
had yielded to the Tartars, Turks, and Persians, the empire of the sword.
Soldiers are seldom introduced; the splendours of the just Caliph's reign
are dwelt upon with fond remembrance; the style is that of a mercantile
people, while riches and artificial luxuries are only rivalled by the
marvellous gifts of the genii and fairies. This brilliant mythology, the
offspring of the Arabian imagination, together with the other
characteristics of the Arabian tales, has had an extensive influence on our
own literature. Many of these tales had found their way into our poetry
long before the translation of the _Arabian Nights_; and are met with in
the old _Fabliaux_, and in Boccacio, Ariosto, and Chaucer. But while these
tales are Arabian in their structure, the materials have been derived, not
only from India, Persia, and China, but also from ancient Egypt, and the
classical literature of Greece.
I shall content myself at present with adducing one example of such
probable derivation from the source last mentioned. The stories to be
compared are too long for quotation, which, as they are well known, will
not be necessary. I shall therefore merely give, in parallel columns, the
numerous points of resemblance, or coincidence, between the two. The
Arabian tale is that of "Ali Baba and the Forty Robbers;" the corresponding
story will be found in Herodotus, b. II. c. cxxi.; it is that of
Rhampsinitus and the robbery of his royal treasury:
THE EGYPTIAN TALE.
1. The king constructs a stone edifice for the security of his vast
riches.
2. In the wall of this treasury is a stone so artfully disposed that a
single person can move it, so as to enter and retreat without leaving
any trace of his having done so.
3. Two brothers become acquainted with the secret opening into the
treasury, and enter it for the purpose of enriching themselves.
4. One of the brothers becomes rich by abstracting large sums of money
from the royal treasury.
5. The other brother is caught in the snare which the king had laid
within the treasury, for the detection and apprehension of the
intruders.
6. At his own request the brother thus caught is beheaded by the other
to avoid recognition, and to secure the escape of one. The dead body is
hung from the wall of the treasury, for the purpose of discovering his
accomplice.
7. The surviving brother, at his mother's earnest request, carries off
the dead body, and brings it home on the back of one of his asses.
8. The king, unable to ascertain how his treasury had been entered, is
enraged at the removal of the body, and alarmed at finding that some
one who possesses the secret still survives.
9. The king has recourse to stratagem, for the purpose of detecting the
depredator, but without success.
10. The surviving brother baffles the king's first attempt to detect
him, by means of some asses, which, in the character of a wine-seller,
he had loaded with wine-flasks, making the king's guards drunk, and
leaving them all fast asleep.
THE ARABIAN TALE.
1. In a rock so steep and craggy that none can scale it, a cave has
been hewn out, in which the robbers deposit their prodigious wealth.
2. In this rock is a door which opens into the cave, by means of two
magical words, "Open Sesame;" and closes again in like manner by
pronouncing the words "Shut Sesame."
3. Two brothers become acquainted with the door of the cave, and the
means of opening and shutting it; and they enter it for the purpose of
enriching themselves.
4. Ali Baba, one of the two brothers, becomes rich by carrying off a
great quantity of gold coin from the robbers' cave.
5. Cassim, the other brother, is caught as in a snare, by forgetting,
when in the cave, the magical words by which alone ran exit could be
obtained.
6. Cassim, in his attempt to escape, is killed by the robbers, and his
dead body is quartered, and hung up within the door of the cave, to
deter any who might be his accomplices.
7. Ali Baba, at the instance of Cassim's widow, carries off his remains
from the cave, and brings them home on the back of one of his asses.
8. The robbers, unable to guess how their cave had been entered, are
alarmed at the removal of Cassim's remains, which proves to them that
some one who possesses the secret still survives.
9. The robbers have recourse to stratagem, for the purpose of
discovering the depredator, but without success.
10. Ali Baba, assisted by his female slave, baffles the robber
captain's first attempt upon him, by means of some oil in a jar, his
men being concealed in the other jars, with which the captain, in the
character of an oil-merchant, had loaded some asses: thus the latter,
who thought his men asleep, finds them all dead.
{320}
THE EGYPTIAN TALE.
11. In the darkness of the night, the surviving brother tells the
king's daughter, whom her father had employed to detect him, the story
of his exploits in baffling the guards and carrying off the body of his
brother.
12. The king's daughter attempts to seize the brother, but he baffles
her, by leaving in her hand a dead arm instead of his own.
13. The king, who admires the audacity and ingenuity of the surviving
brother, offers him, by proclamation, pardon and reward; and, on his
coming forward, gives him his daughter in marriage.
THE ARABIAN TALE.
11. In the dusk of the evening, Baba Mustapha relates to the two
robbers in succession, who had been employed to detect Ali Baba, the
story of his having sewed a dead body together; and, blindfold, himself
conducts each of them to Ali Baba's door.
12. The two robbers successively mark the house of Ali Baba with chalk;
but his female slave baffles them by putting a similar mark on the
other houses, in consequence of which they are put to death instead of
her master.
13. Ali Baba, saved from the robber captain's designs by the course and
ingenuity of Morgiana, his female slave, gives her freedom, and marries
her to his son.
Here, then, are above a dozen striking coincidences in this one example;
and they are given with but slight dislocation or transposition. Other
examples might be adduced, but I must reserve them for another
communication.
J. W. THOMAS.
Dewsbury.
* * * * *
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.
Meeting occasionally, in reading new French works and journals, with
sentiments and criticisms by eminent living writers on the characteristic
peculiarities of some of the most distinguished French authors of the age
of Louis XIV. and subsequently, perhaps you will allow me to send you, from
time to time, "notes" or extracts from the criticisms alluded to, in case
you should be of opinion that they may be agreeable to some of your
readers, who may not be aware of the healthier and more Christian tone that
now pervades one, at least, of the most influential organs of public
opinion in France. Let us begin with _La Rochefoucauld_, as recently
reviewed in the _Journal des Debats_.
J. MACRAY.
Oxford.
_"La Rochefoucauld._
"Pourquoi La Rochefoucauld m'inspire-t-il une repugnance invincible?
Pourquoi cette souffrance en le lisant? Ah! le voici, je crois. La
morale de La Rochefoucauld c'est la morale Chretienne, moins, si je
puis m'exprimer ainsi, le Christianisme lui-meme; c'est tout ce qui
peut humilier et abattre le coeur dans la severe doctrine de
l'Evangile, moins ce qui le releve; c'est toutes les illusions
detruites sans les esperances qui remplacent les illusions. En un mot,
dans le Christianisme La Rochefoucauld n'a pris que le dogme de la
chute; il a laisse le dogme de la redemption. En faisant briller un
cote du flambeau, celui qui desenchante l'homme de lui-meme, il eclipse
l'autre, celui qui montre a l'homme dans le ciel sa force, son appui,
et l'espoir d'une regeneration. La Rochefoucauld ne croit pas plus a la
saintete qu'a la sagesse, pas plus a Dieu qu'a l'homme. Le penitent
n'est pas moins vain a ses yeux que le philosophe. Partout l'orgueil,
partout le _moi_, sous la haire du Trappiste, comme sous le manteau du
cynique.
"La Rochefoucauld n'est Chretien que pour poursuivre notre pauvre coeur
jusque dans ses derniers retranchemens; il n'est Chretien que pour
verser son poison sur nos joies et sur nos reves les plus chers.... Que
reste-t-il donc a l'homme? Pour les ames fortes, il ne reste rien qu'un
froid et intrepide mepris de toutes choses, un sec et stoique
contentement a envisager le neant absolu; pour les autres, le desespoir
ou les jouissances brutales du plaisir comme derniere fin de la vie!
"Et voila ce que je deteste dans La Rochefoucauld! Cet ideal dont j'ai
soif, il le detruit partout. Ce bien, ce beau, dont les faibles images
me ravissent encore sous la forme imparfaite de nos vertus, de notre
science, de notre sagesse humaine, il le reduit a un sec interet."--S.
De Sacy, _Journal des Debats_, Janv. 28.
* * * * *
SHROPSHIRE BALLAD.
Your correspondent B. H. C. (Vol. viii., p. 614.) gives, from recollection,
a Northamptonshire version of the old "Ballad of Sir Hugh of Lincoln." It
reminded me of a similar, though somewhat varied, version which I took
down, more than forty years ago, from the lips of a nurse-maid in
Shropshire. It may interest the author of _The Celt, the Roman, and the
Saxon_, to know that it was recited in the place of his birth. Its
resemblance to the ballad in Percy's _Reliques_ was my inducement to commit
it to paper:
It hails, it rains, in Merry-Cock land,
It hails, it rains, both great and small,
And all the little children in Merry-Cock land,
They have need to play at ball.
They toss'd the ball so high,
They toss'd the ball so low,
Amongst all the Jews' cattle
And amongst the Jews below.
Out came one of the Jews' daughters
Dressed all in green.
"Come, my sweet Saluter,
And fetch the ball again."
"I durst not come, I must not come,
Unless all my little playfellows come along,
For if my mother sees me at the gate,
She'll cause my blood to fall."
She show'd me an apple as green as grass,
She show'd me a gay gold ring,
She show'd me a cherry as red as blood,
And so she entic'd me in.
She took me in the parlour,
She took me in the kitchen,
And there I saw my own dear nurse
A picking of a chicken.
She laid me down to sleep,
With a Bible at my head, and a Testament at my feet;
And if my playfellows come to quere for me,
Tell them I am asleep.
S. P. Q.
* * * * *
{321}
"OF THE BENEFIT OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST," BY AONIO PALEARIO.
The total, or almost total, disappearance of books at one time largely
circulated, is a curious fact in the history of literature. One cause of it
may be found in the efforts made by the Church of Rome to suppress those
works which were supposed to contain unsound doctrine.
"Heretical books," says Mr. T. B. Macaulay, "were sought out and
destroyed with unsparing rigour. Works which were once in every house,
were so effectually suppressed, that no copy of them is now to be found
in the most extensive libraries. One book in particular, entitled _Of
the Benefit of the Death of Christ_, had this fate. It was written in
Tuscan, was many times reprinted, and was eagerly read in every part of
Italy. But the inquisitors detected in it the Lutheran doctrine of
justification by faith alone. _They proscribed it; and it is now as
utterly lost as the second decade of Livy._"
This book was published without a name. But the author was Aonio Paleario.
It was translated into various languages, as French, Spanish, English, and
possibly others; and within six years after its first appearance, 40,000
copies are said to have been circulated.
A few years ago I was fortunate enough to meet with a copy of the English
version, which was made from the French, not from the original. This copy
was printed in 1638, and was, according to the title-page, the fourth
(English) edition. From it I edited the work, prefixing a short notice of
the author, and verifying the references to the Fathers. It was
subsequently retranslated into Italian, and has, I am informed, been much
read in Italy. Some time after this publication, I became aware of the
existence of a copy (in private hands) of the apparently first English
edition, bearing the date of 1573. This I was allowed to inspect: and I
hope hereafter to put forth another edition, in which the text of this copy
will be followed, and two or three inaccuracies which had crept into the
former impression will be corrected.
I was, however, ignorant that a single copy of the original Italian
existed; and all inquiry for it seemed to be vain. But one was near at
hand, preserved with diligent care among the literary treasures of St.
John's College, Cambridge, by the authorities there, who were well aware of
its rarity and value. By their obliging permission, I was a few days ago
permitted to examine it.
It is a small square 16mo., bound, in beautiful condition, measuring about
4-1/4 inches by 3, and containing seventy-two pages. The following is the
title-page:
"Trattato vtilissimo del beneficio di Giesv Christo crocifisso, verso i
Christiani. Venetiis, Apud Bernardinum de Bindonis. Anno Do.
M.D.XXXXIII."
From the date, it seems to be the first edition.
There is an address
"Alli Lettori Christiani.
"Essendoci venuta alle mani un' opera delle piu pie e dotte, che a
nostri tempi si siano fatte, il titolo della quale e, Del beneficio di
Giesu Christo crocifisso verso i Christiani: ci e paruto a consolatione
e utilita vostra darla [=i] istampa, e senza il nome dello scrittore,
accioche piu la cosa vi muova, che l' autorita dell' autore."
This most curious volume has been for upwards of a century in the library
of St. John's College, as the following printed notice, pasted within the
cover, will show:
"In grati animi testificationem, ob plurima Humanitatis officia, a
Collegio Divi Joannis Evangelistae apud Cantabrigienses multifariam
collata, librum hunc inter alios lectissimos eidem collegio legavit
Illustrissimus Vir, Dominicus Antonius Ferrari, J. U. D. Neapolitanus,
1744.
"Teste,
"J. CREYK."
But this is not all. The College is happy enough to possess a copy of the
rare French translation of the same book. This is somewhat larger in size
than the original Italian, and consists of sixty-four leaves. It contains,
as will be seen by the title-page, some additional matter:
"Dv benefice de Iesvs Christ crvcifie, envers les Chrestiens. Traduict
de vulgaire Italien, en langage Francoys. Plus, Vne Traduction de la
huytiesme Homelie de sainct Iean Chrysostome, De la femme Cananee: mise
de Latin en Francoys. Venez a moy vous tous qui trauaillez et estes
chargez, et ie vous soulageray, 1552."
There is an address by the French translator: "Le traducteur a tous les
Chrestiens qui sont dessoubz le ciel, Salut;" and at the end of the volume
is a "Traduction du Psalme xxxiv." The French version is said to have been
first published in 1545. This therefore is not, it would seem, the earliest
edition.
This volume also, it may be added, was given to the College by Ferrari.
J. AYRE.
Hampstead.
* * * * *
Minor Notes.
_Stone Chisels._--I saw recently an oviform stone implement which had been
found on the granite moors of North Cornwall, and apparently had been used
as a pickaxe in mining. The following notice shows that such implements
were used by the ancient miners in the Lake Superior district:
"The explorers are now much aided by these guiding features, also by
pits, which indicate where an ancient race--probably the Aztecs or
Toltecs--have carried on their superficial operations on the veins.
Some of those I saw were twenty or thirty feet deep, which {322} must
have been the result of much labour, considering their tools--_the only
trace of which we find in the shape of oviformed stones, with a groove
round the centre for the purpose of securing a handle_, then to be used
as a hammer to shatter the vein-stone after it probably had been
reduced by the action of fire and water on the calcareous matter
entering into its composition. In favour of this conjecture, quantities
of charcoal have been found in the bottom of some of these pits, which
are almost effaced by the accumulation of timber decayed and foliage of
ages past."--From a letter in the _Mining Journal_, Jan. 7, 1854.
S. R. PATTISON.
_Acrostic._--I send you a very curious acrostic, copied from a monument in
the Church of St. Germans, Cornwall. You will perceive that it is in memory
of "Johannes Glanvill, Minister;" and it is surmounted with the arms of
that ancient family:
A. D. +-------------------------+ A. D.
1599. | | 1631.
24^{to} | ARMS. | 20^{mo}
Novemb^r | | Octob^r
natus est. +-------------------------+ denatus.
I nditur in gelidum G regis hujus opilio bustu M,
O mnibus irriguus L achrymis simul urbis et agr I.
H ujus erit vivax A tque indelebile nome N,
A rtibus et linguis N ecnon virtute probat I.
N obis ille novae V atem (pro munere) legi S
N aviter et graviter I ucunde et suaviter egi T.
E rgo relanguenti L icet eluctetur ab or E
S piritus; aeternum L ucebit totus ut aste R.
W. D. F.
Walton.
_Simmels._--The Vienna correspondent of _The Times_, whose letter from
"Vienna, March 5th," appeared in that paper on Friday the 10th, mentions a
Viennese loaf, the name of which so strongly resembles the _simmel_ of our
ancestors as to deserve a Note:
"The Viennese witlings, who are much inclined to abuse the hyperbole,
affirm that a magnifying glass will soon be requisite in order to
discover the whereabouts of the _semmeln_, the little wheaten loaves
for which Austria is famous."
W. J. T.
_Ogborne's History of Essex._--I lately fell in with (at a marine
store-shop in Somers Town) some scattered materials in Mrs. Ogborne's
handwriting for the above highly interesting but unfinished work. I have
not yet sorted them, but I perceive that the MSS. contain some information
that was never published, relating to Rochford Hundred, &c. The shopkeeper
stated that she had used the greater part of Mrs. Ogborne's papers as
waste-paper, but I am not without hopes that she will find more. There is a
letter from Mr. Leman of Bath, which is published in the work. I am aware
that Mr. Fossett has Mrs. Ogborne's MSS.; but those now in my possession
are certainly interesting, and might be, to some future historian of Essex,
even valuable. Should I discover anything worth inserting in "N. & Q." on
examining the MSS. I will send it.
G. I. S.
_Fleas and Bugs._--Has the following explanation of an old saying ever been
brought forward, and is it satisfactory? When a person is sent off "with a
flea in his ear," the luckless applicant is peremptorily dismissed with an
imperative "flee," with the word "flee" sounding in his ear, or,
facetiously, "with a _flea_ in his ear."
_Apropos_ of proverbial domestic entomology, is there more than lies on the
surface in the elegant simile "As snug as a bug in a rug?" A rough variety
of dog was termed a "rug" in Shakspeare's time; quartered on which, the
insect might find good entertainment--a plentiful board, as well as a snug
lodging. It appears, however, that the name has not long been applied to
the _Cimex_, so that the saying may be of greater antiquity, and relate to
bugbears.
C. T.
_Zeuxis and Parrhasius._--In the Preface to Mr. Grote's _History of
Greece_, there occurs the following passage:
"If the reader blame me for not assisting him to determine this--if he
ask me why I do not undraw the curtain, and disclose the picture?--I
reply in the words of the painter Zeuxis, when the same question was
addressed to him on exhibiting his master-piece of imitative art: 'The
curtain _is_ the picture.'"
Compare this with Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ XXXV. 36. s. 3.; from which it
appears that Parrhasius, not _Zeuxis_, painted the curtain.
ARCH. WEIR.
_Cure for Hydrophobia._--A gentleman named Monsell, who lived at Kilrush in
the county Clare, possessed a cure for hydrophobia which was never known to
fail. He required that the patient should be brought to him within nine
days from the time of being bitten, and his first proceeding was to cause
the person to look in a looking-glass or pail of water: if the patient bore
that trial without showing any uneasiness, he declared that there was no
doubt of his being able to effect a cure. He then retired to another room,
leaving the patient alone for a short time; and when he returned, he
brought two bits of cheese which he said contained the remedy, and caused
the person to swallow them. He then desired that the patient should return
home, and for nine days frequently drink a few sips of water; and also take
opportunities to look at water or a looking-glass, so as to accustom the
nerves to be under control. I knew a case of a peasant girl, who was bitten
by a mad dog, and who had to be brought to him tied on a car, whom he
cured. The dog, before he was killed, bit several valuable dogs, all of
{323} which had to be destroyed; he also bit two pigs, which, after showing
most frightful symptoms of hydrophobia, had to be shot and their flesh
burned. Mr. Monsell always refused to declare what his remedy was, "lest it
might be used for anything but a human being." It would appear that in a
great measure he worked on the imagination of his patients: still some
other means may have been used, and, as he has been dead some time, it is
to be hoped he did not let his secret die with him. He never would take any
remuneration from those he cured, or their friends. I never heard any
person in that part of the country express the least doubt of the efficacy
of the remedy he used.
FRANCIS ROBERT DAVIES.
_The "Fusion."_--Is it generally known that there exists, between the two
branches of the Bourbons, a much nearer relationship than that which arises
from their common descent from Louis XIII.? The Duchess de Berri was niece
to Louis-Philippe's queen: so that the Duc de Bordeaux and the Comte de
Paris are second cousins.
E. H. A.
* * * * *
Queries.
LYRA'S COMMENTARY.
I possess a copy of the _Textus biblie c[=u] Glossa ordinaria Nicolai de
lyra postilla Pauli Brug[=e]sis Additi[=o]ibus Matthie Thoring Replicis_,
in 6 volumes folio, printed at Basle in the years 1506-8. The binding is of
oak boards and calf leather, stamped with a very spirited design composed
of foliated borders, surrounding, on the right cover, six impressions from
a die three inches high by one and three quarters wide, consisting of a
narrow border enclosing a human figure, who bears in his left hand a
knotted staff as high as himself, while in the right he holds a bag or
scrip containing many balls (perhaps stones or fruit), which hangs over his
shoulder. Under the right arm he carries a sword, and on the wrist a wicker
basket. The lower limbs of this strange being are clad in loose garments,
like to a modern pair of trousers, with a large ragged hole on each knee.
The feet are not seen, as he is behind a fence composed of interlaced
branches of trees. To complete the picture, the head, which is much too
large for the body, has no other covering but crisped hair.
On the left cover are four impressions of a die three inches high by two
wide, on which are six animals whose kinds it is difficult to determine
with certainty; the two upper possibly may be horses, the middle a bird and
a monkey, the lower a lion and a dog. The animals are separated from each
other by a running pattern composed of branches, leaves, and flowers, and
are surrounded by a frame, on which is the following in black-letter:
"DEUS DET NOBIS SUAM PACEM
ET POST MORTEM UITAM ETERNAM."
The clasps have engraven on them, in the same character,--
"LIB D[=N]S ET M[=GE]R JOANNIS VAM MERE."
On the title-page, slightly varied in each volume, is the following
inscription, in a hand not much later than the publication of the book:
"Liber M. Joachimi Moller ex testamento M. Johan[=i]s vam mer optim et
maximus deus illius anime misereatur. Amen."
I shall be much obliged to any one who will explain to me the figures on
the cover, which, doubtless, have some legendary or symbolic meaning; and
also give me any notes or references concerning either of the former
possessors of the book, both of whom have, I believe, enriched it with
manuscript notes.
EDWARD PEACOCK.
Bottesford Moors, Messingham,
Kirton-in-Lindsey.
* * * * *
Minor Queries.
_Barristers' Gowns._--What is the meaning of the lapel, or piece which
hangs from the back of the barristers' gown? Has it any particular name? In
shape it is very similar to the representations we see in pictures of the
"cloven tongues." It is not improbable that it may be intended figuratively
to bear reference to them.
HENRY T. RILEY.
"_Charta Hen. 2. G. G. n. 2. q._"--In Cowell's _Law Dictionary_ (ed. 1727),
under the word LUSGUL, I find the following reference: "Charta Hen. 2.
G. G. n. 2. q." I should be much obliged to any person who would suggest
for what "G. G. n. 2. q." stands.
K.
_Albany Wallace._--Can any of your correspondents, familiar with the drama,
tell me who this gentleman was? In 1827, there appeared _The Death of Mary
Queen of Scots_, an historic drama in five acts, by A. W., Esq.: Worthing,
printed for the author by W. Verrall. His name occurs again on the
title-page of _The Reigns of the Stuarts in England dramatised. The First
Part of King James the First_, a play in five acts: London, printed by the
author, at his private press, Queen Ann Street, 1835.
I naturally turned up Mr. Martin's _Privately Printed Books_, but neither
our dramatist nor his press is there alluded to. Touching the latter, Mr.
Wallace says in his preface,--
"A certain picture was said by a connoisseur to be 'very well painted
for a _gentleman!_' a species of {324} negative praise which gave but
little satisfaction to the artist. Should the amateur printer, however,
meet with as much, he will be very well contented. All he can himself
say for his work is 'that it is legible;' and his type being of a
pretty tolerable rotundity, he does not think it will need an
additional pair of spectacles to be made out."
I am farther desirous of knowing if, in pursuance of his plan, Mr. Wallace
_dramatised_ any more of the Stuarts?
J. D.
_Leslie and Dr. Middleton._--In Dr. McNeile's _Lecture on the Jews and
Judaism_, Feb. 14, 1854, the four rules given by Leslie as a test of
historical truth are thus quoted:
"1. That the matter of fact be such that men's outward senses, their
ears and eyes, may be judges of it.
"2. That it be done publicly, in the face of the world.
"3. That not only public monuments be kept in memory of it, but also
that some outward actions be statedly performed.
"4. That such observances be instituted, and do commence, from the time
at which such matter of fact is done.
"_It is said_ that Dr. Middleton endeavoured for twenty years to find
out some pretended fact to which Mr. Leslie's four rules could be
applied, but in vain."
"It is said." Where; when; by whom?
H. B. C.
U. U. Club.
_Star and Garter, Kirkstall._--What is _now_ a large hotel, at Kirkstall
Bridge, near to Kirkstall Abbey in Yorkshire, was many years ago a mere
village roadside hostel, under whose sign (the Star and Garter) was
inscribed in Greek capitals "[Greek: TO PREPON]." How could such an
inscription have got into such a place? Could it have been the suggestion
of some "learned clerke" of the neighbouring monastery, as more suited to
the genius of the vicinity than the ordinary announcement of "Good
Entertainment for Man and Horse?"
J. L. S., Sen.
_Shrove Tuesday._--Happening to be at Newbury on Shrove Tuesday, I was
struck with the tolling of the church bell as for a death, and, on inquiry,
was informed that such was the custom of the place on this day. Does such a
custom exist anywhere else, and what is the origin of it?
NEWBURIENSIS.
"_Tarbox for that._"--On reading a book of funny stories some years ago in
the British Museum (a sort of _Joe Miller_ of Charles II.'s time), whenever
any story was given that seemed "too good to be true," the anecdote ended
with the words "Tarbox for that." Am I right in suspecting that this is
equivalent to the expression, "Tell that to the marines," so well known in
our day? "Tarbox" was probably a nickname for a bumpkin, or guardian of the
tarbox, in which was kept the tar composition used for anointing sheep. Can
anybody suggest another solution of the meaning of this expression?
HENRY T. RILEY.
_De Gurney Pedigree._--Can any of your readers inform me whether the
following pedigree is correct, so far as it goes?
1170. Robert Fitzhardinge = Eva.
|
-------------------------
| |
Maurice Robert = Hawisia de Gurney.
|
--------------------------------------
| | |
1230. Maurice = Alice de Henry.[1] Matthew =
Gaunt. |
|
-----------------------
|
1269. Robert de Gurney.[2]
Who was the father of Simon de Gaunt, Bishop of Salisbury in 1300?
E. W. GODWIN.
[Footnote 1: First Master of the Hospital of St. Mark in Bristol.]
[Footnote 2: Heir to Maurice, his uncle.]
"[Greek: Pistis]," _unde deriv._--Scapula and Hederic both give [Greek:
peitho] as the root; but by what process is [Greek: pistis] so obtained?
What objection is there to taking [Greek: histemi] as the root? whence
[Greek: ephistamai, epistas, pistos]. No doubt one of your learned readers
will kindly aid the inquiry.
[Psi].
_Snush._--When did this name cease to be used for _snuff?_ I think I have
met with it as late as the reign of Queen Anne. I believe the Scotch call
snuff _snish_, or _snishen_.
HENRY. T. RILEY.
_John Bale, Bishop of Ossory._--A _complete_ list of the works of this
voluminous writer, giving the titles in full, will be thankfully
acknowledged; also any facts as to his life, not generally known. There is
a very imperfect list of Bale's _Works_ given in Harris's _Ware's Bishops_,
and most of the Biographical Dictionaries.
JAMES GRAVES.
Kilkenny.
_Proxies for absent Sponsors._--Can any of your readers mention earlier
instances than the following of the attendance of proxies on behalf of
absent sponsors?
"My daughter, Elizabeth Burrell, was born on Thursday, 25th June, 1696
... She was baptized on Monday, 15th February. My brother, P. Burrell
(by Wm. Board, Esq.), Godfather, my Lady Gee (by my sister Parker), and
my niece Jane Burrell, Godmothers."--"Extracts from the Journal and
Account-Book of Timothy Burrell, Esq., Barrister-at-Law of Ockenden
House, Cuckfield" (_Sussex Archaeological Collections_, vol. iii.
p. 131.).
E. M.
Hastings.
{325}
_Heraldic Query._--Names of the families bearing the following coats of
arms are requested:
1. Ermine, on a chief sable, two griffins segreant combatant argent.
_Crest_, a demylyon affrontee or.
2. Azure, a bend or, between three spear-heads argent. _Crest_, an armed
arm, embowed, grasping a broken spear.
3. Barry of six or and sable (with quarterings). _Crest_, on coil of rope a
dog sable collared argent.
E. D.
_Christmas Ballad._--Perhaps some of your correspondents may be able to
throw some light upon the following verses, which are sung by the waits at
Christmas in the neighbourhood of Falmouth:
"Twelve is twelve as goes to hell,
Eleven is eleven as goes to heaven,
Ten is the Ten Commandments,
Nine is nine so bright to shine,
Eight is the gable angels,
Seven is the seven stars of the sky,
And six is the six bold waiters,
Five is the flamboys under the bough,
And four is the Gospel preachers;
Three of them is thrivers (shrivers?),
Two of them is lilywhite babes, and clothed all in green oh!
And One is One, and all alone, and ever more shall be so."
That the first line alludes to the fate of the twelfth apostle is evident.
The meaning of the second, third, sixth, ninth, and last lines, is also
apparent. The others I am quite at a loss to explain.
C. M. G.
_Hay-bread Recipe._--The Query of your correspondent G. D. (Vol. ix.,
p. 148.) has reminded me of a question which I wish to ask. By what
chemical process may hay be converted into bread?
E. W. J.
_Te Deum._--We read frequently of this hymn being sung in the Russian
Church after victories. Can any of your correspondents inform me in what
language it is used in the Eastern Churches? It is, I believe, generally
admitted that it was originally composed in Latin for the use of the
Western Church; but if the Emperor Nicholas, in his famous manifesto (vide
Vol. viii., pp. 585. 655.), quotes from this hymn and not from the Psalms,
the one being quite as likely as the other, it would almost appear that the
Latin version is the one with which he is the most familiar.
HONORE DE MAREVILLE.
Guernsey.
_Mary Queen of Scots at Auchincas._--Auchincas is an interesting ruin on
the bank of the Evan in Dumfriesshire, the residence of Randolph, Earl of
Murray, Regent of Scotland in 1329. I have heard tradition to the effect
that when Mary Queen of Scots was fleeing towards England, she paused to
rest here. Can any of your readers confirm or contradict this tradition?
And can any of them furnish farther particulars regarding the history of
the same castle, in addition to those given in the ordinary gazetteers, and
in Black's _Guide to Moffat?_
ANNANDALE.
_Right of Refuge in the Church Porch._--In one of J. H. Parker's _Parochial
Tales_, a custom is spoken of as existing at the present time in Norfolk,
by which every parishioner has a right to make the church porch his
temporary home until he can find a lodging elsewhere. Is this a fact? In
the parish register of Flamstead, Herts, is an entry under the year 1578,
of the burial of a child and its father, "w^h bothe died in y^e church
porche."
CHEVERELLS.
_Christopher Lemying of Burneston._--The undersigned would be obliged to
any of the readers of "N. & Q." who would furnish him with the names of the
children and grandchildren of Christopher Lemying of Burneston, nigh
Lemying, in Richmondshire, com. York, who lived about A.D. 1600 and 1640?
And also with any information concerning the births and deaths of the same?
The Heralds' Visitations for the seventeenth century would probably afford
the information, but the writer has no access to them at present.
C. P. L.
_Ralph Ashton the Commander._--Your answer to my inquiry relative to
"Isabella, the wife of Ralph the Commander" (_Ashton_, Vol. ix., p. 272.),
induced me to refer to the work you quoted, Baines's _Lancashire_; but in
the list of her sons I did not find named one who is mentioned in the
ancient document I have spoken of, namely, "_James_, the son of Isabel, the
wife of Ralph the Commander." Did she survive her husband and marry a
second time; and, if so, what was his name? I ask this because, probably,
that would be the name of the son here alluded to. A reply to this Query
would oblige[3]
JAYTEE.
[Footnote 3: We cannot discover that Elizabeth Kaye, the wife of Ralph the
Commander, married the second time. See Burke's _Extinct Baronetcies_, pp.
21. 285., ed. 1838.--ED.]
* * * * *
Minor Queries with Answers.
_Roman Roads in England._--Whose is the best treatise on the Roman roads in
England?
PRESTONIENSIS.
[Although the credit and fidelity of Richard of Cirencester have
frequently been attacked, still, as {326} Gibbon remarks, "he shows a
genuine knowledge of antiquity very extraordinary for a monk of the
fourteenth century." In 1809, an edition was published in London,
entitled _The Description of Britain_, translated from Ricardus of
Cirencester, with the original treatise _De Situ Britanniae_, with a
map and a fac-simile of the MS., as well as a Commentary on the
Itinerary. It has been reprinted in the _Six Old English Chronicles_ in
Bohn's _Antiquarian Library_, but without the map. The Itinerary
contains eighteen journeys, which Richard says he compiled from certain
fragments written by a Roman general, and from Ptolemy and other
authors. He mentions 176 stations, while Antoninus has only 113.]
_Inscription on the Brass of Sir G. Felbrigge._--Can any of your numerous
correspondents afford me an explanation of the following fragment of an
inscription from the brass of Sir George Felbrigge, Playford, Suffolk? Each
word is separated by the letter [Old English M], and a demi-rose conjoined.
The part enclosed in brackets is now lost, but was remaining in Gough's
time:
"Funda de per a dieu loange et dieu pur lalme de lui al [dieu quil est
pete ei(t) ceste]."
This is the order in which the words now stand; but as they are quite
unintelligible, and the fillet shows evident signs of having been broken in
several places, we may reasonably suppose that they were misplaced when the
brass was moved from its original slab. The principal word, about which I
am in difficulty, is _pete_. Can it be the same as "pitie?" If so, I
venture to suggest the following explanation, till some one may offer me a
better:
"... _fils_ de pere _qui_ funda ceste _place_, a dieu est loange et
qu'il eit pitie, _priez_ pur l'alme de lui a dieu."
The words printed in Italics are supplied to complete the sense.
F. G.
[Perhaps the following words in Italics may be supplied for those
obliterated: "Ceste _Chaunterie estait_ fonde de part _de George
Felbrigge, Ch^r._ A Dieu _soit_ loange _et gloire_ ... priez pur l'asme
de lui a Dieu quil eit pite ..."
The following notice of the destruction of this beautiful brass is
given in Davy's Suffolk Collections, Add. MSS. 19,086. p. 342.: "The
brass in memory of Sir George Felbrigge, which had for a long time been
covered by the pews, was three or four years ago, in consequence of
some repairs, uncovered, when the incumbent and his curate had it torn
from the stone, and it was for some time lying in pieces at the mercy
of any pilferer. Mr. Albert Way, the Director of the Society of
Antiquaries in Feb. 1844, wrote to me, to ask what was become of the
figure; and, in consequence, as I had not an opportunity of visiting
the church myself, I wrote to Mr. Arthur Biddell for information; and
the following is a copy of his answer, dated Feb. 23, 1844:
'Felbrigge's monument was removed, much against my wishes, from its
former place in the N. E. corner of the church to the chancel under the
communion table, where it is fixed; forming part of the pavement. The
broken pieces of brass are again fixed in the stone; but so many of the
pieces were long ago lost, and I think those which were lately
separated from the stone are not placed in their original position: so,
except the figure, there is little remains to convey an idea of the
ornamental and beautiful work by which the figure was surrounded.'"]
_Skipwith._--
"'Here lyeth the body of William Skipwith, Baronet, who deceased the
25th of February, 1764, aged fifty-six years. He descended from Sir
Henry Skipwith of Prestwould, in Leicestershire, created baronet by
King James I., was honoured with King Charles I.'s commission for
raising men against the usurping powers, and proved loyal to his king,
so that he was deprived of his estate by the usurper, which occasioned
his and his sons' death, except Sir Gray Skipwith, grandfather of the
abovesaid Sir William Skipwith, who was obliged to come to Virginia for
refuge, where the family hath continued ever since.'
"Inscription copied from tombstone of Sir William, who lies buried at
Greencroft, near Petersburg, Virginia."--See _South. Messenger_, vol.
ix. p. 591.
I should be obliged for information as to Sir Henry.
T. BALCH.
Philadelphia.
[Sir Henry Skipwith was created a baronet Dec. 20, 1622, and in 1629
obtained, jointly with Sir Thomas Walsingham, Knt., a grant of lands in
the counties of Leicester, Derby, &c.; in 1631 a grant of free-warren
for his lands in Leicestershire; in 1636 was high sheriff for the
county; and in 1637 certain amerciaments against him on account of that
office, which had been returned into the Court of Chancery, were
certified to the Court of Exchequer. Heartily espousing the cause of
Charles I., he was one of the Commissioners of Array for this county,
and on May 28, 1645, had the honour of entertaining his sovereign at
Cotes, after which he was fined 1114l. by the parliamentary
sequestrators. He was the last of the family who resided at Cotes; and
amongst his poems is "An Elegy on the Death of my never enough lamented
master, King Charles I." The others are chiefly of a melancholy turn.
Sir Henry, his second son, died soon after his father, unmarried;
whereupon his title and estate went to his next brother Sir Gray, who,
after the death of the king, went with several other gentlemen, to
avoid the usurpation, over to Virginia, and there married, and left one
son.--Nichols's _Leicestershire_, vol. iii. p. 367., which also
contains a pedigree of the family. Consult also Lloyd's _Worthies_,
p. 649.]
_College Battel._--What is the derivation of a word peculiar to the
universities, _battels_: is it connected with _batten?_
S. A.
[In Todd's _Johnson_ we read, "BATTEL, from Sax. [taelan] or [tellan],
to count, or reckon, having the prefix _be_. The account of the
expenses of a student in {327} any college in Oxford." In the _Gent.
Mag._ for Aug. 1792, p. 716., a correspondent offers the following
probable etymology: "It is probably derived from the German _bezahlen_;
in Low German and Dutch _bettahlen_; in Welsh _talz_; which signifies
to pay; whence may be derived likewise the English verb _to tale_, and
the noun a _tale_, or _score_, if not the corrupted expressions _to
tell_ or _number_, and _to tally_ or _agree_."]
_Origin of Clubs._--Can any of your correspondents inform me from whence
the cognomen of "club" came to be applied to select companies, and which
was the first society that bore that title?
F. R. B.
[Club is defined by Johnson to be "an assembly of good fellows, meeting
under certain conditions." The present system of clubs may be traced in
its progressive steps from those small associations, meeting (as clubs
of a lower grade still do) at a house of public entertainment; then we
come to a time when the club took exclusive possession of the house,
and strangers could be only introduced, under regulations, by the
members; in the third stage, the clubs build houses, or rather palaces,
for themselves. The club at the Mermaid Tavern in Friday Street was,
according to all accounts, the first select company established, and
owed its origin to Sir Walter Raleigh, who had here instituted a
meeting of men of wit and genius, previously to his engagement with the
unfortunate Cobham. This society comprised all that the age held most
distinguished for learning and talent, numbering amongst its members
Shakspeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Selden, Sir Walter
Raleigh, Donne, Cotton, Carew, Martin, and many others. There it was
that the "wit-combats" took place between Shakspeare and Ben Johson, to
which, probably, Beaumont alludes with so much affection in his letter
to the old poet, written from the country:
"What things have we seen
Done at the Mermaid! heard words that have been
So nimble and so full of subtle flame,
As if that every one from whom they came
Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest."
Ben Jonson had another club, of which he appears to have been the
founder, held in a room of the old Devil Tavern, distinguished by the
name of the "Apollo." It stood between the Temple Gates and Temple Bar.
It was for this Club that Jonson wrote the "Leges Convivales," printed
among his works.]
_Royal Arms in Churches._--When were the Royal Arms first put up in
churches?
Are churchwardens compelled to place them over the chancel arch, or in any
part of the building over which their jurisdiction extends?
In a church without an heraldic coat of Royal Arms, can a churchwarden, or
the incumbent _refuse_ legally to put up such a decoration, it being the
gift of a parishioner?
AZURE.
[For replies to AZURE'S first Query, see our Sixth Volume _passim_. The
articles at pp. 227. and 248. of the same volume incidentally notice
his other queries.]
_Odd Fellows._--What is the origin of Odd Fellowship? What gave rise to the
title of Odd Fellows? Are there any books published on the subject, and
where are they to be had? Is there any published record of the origin and
progress of the Manchester Unity?
C. F. A. W.
[Our correspondent should consult _The Odd Fellows Magazine_, New
Series, published Quarterly by order of the Grand Master and Board of
Directors of the Manchester Unity of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. We have only seen vols. i. to vii., which appeared between
1828 and 1842. Perhaps some of our readers may wish to know what is an
Odd Fellow. Take the following description of one as given in vol. iv.
p. 287.: "He is like a fox for cunning; a dove for tameness; a lamb for
innocence; a lion for boldness; a bee for industry; and a sheep for
usefulness. This is an Odd Fellow according to Odd Fellowship."]
_Governor-General of India._--Will some of your learned readers be good
enough to inform me upon what authority the present Governor-General of
India is styled, in all official notices, "The Most Noble?" I have always
understood the style of a Marquis to be "Most Honorable."
NOVICE.
[Official notices from public departments are frequently incorrect in
reference to the styles of persons. The style of a Marquis is only
_Most Honorable_, that of Duke _Most Noble_.]
_Precedence._--Supposing an earl's daughter marries a commoner, do her
children by him take precedence as the earl's grandchildren?
SNOB.
[The children take only the precedence derived from their _paternal_
status.]
* * * * *
Replies.
MARMORTINTO, OR SAND-PAINTING.
(Vol. ix., p. 217.)
Mr. Haas, a native of Bibrach, in Germany, was accustomed to lay claim to
the invention of sand-painting; and would often with a little pride repeat
to his friends the way in which it was first suggested to his mind. Simply
this:--Once, while he was engaged ornamenting a plateau with an elaborate
and rich design, King George III. entered the apartment; and after having
regarded the design and _modum operandi_ for some considerable time in
silence, exclaimed, in an impatient manner, as if vexed that so much beauty
should be so short-lived: "Haas! Haas! you ought to fasten it." From that
moment, the artist turned his ingenuity to the subject: and how
successfully, his pictures show.
The remarks of F. C. H. as to the mode of painting are quite correct. The
fixing of the {328} sand was the last operation, inasmuch as I have heard
of the artist's wrath visiting a poor pussy because she had shaken a
picture, and thereby disturbed the sand not yet fixed. The secret died with
him and a friend, a contemporaneous artist, to whom I believe he had
communicated the secret; this friend's name I do not know. Mr. Haas painted
landscapes, the friend painted cattle pieces. I have in my possession some
of Mr. Haas' work. It is beautifully soft and quiet. The foliage is fine in
the extreme, withal a rich depth of colouring. The Welsh scenery he felt
most at home in, he threw into it a spirit of repose: while it was bold,
there was nothing harsh or offensive to the eye. I have tried many
experiments with one of this pictures: amongst other things, I find the
least moisture will remove the sand. Mr. Haas had a gallery in London for
some time (I believe in Regent Street), where there were portraits done in
sand. A portrait of himself was considered the gem of the pictures: such a
vitality and delicacy of colouring did it possess. I mention this merely to
show that sand could be applied to other branches of art besides
landscapes. The history of the pictures at Windsor Castle is to be seen in
one of the old _Windsor Guides_. Mr. Hans died at Bibrach, where doubtless
many of his pictures are.
Sand-paintings cannot last long; they have in themselves the element of
their own destruction, "their rough surface," which very soon collects and
retains the dust. I never heard of their being cleaned.
JOHN MUMMERY.
Queenwood College, Stockbridge, Hants.
* * * * *
O'BRIEN OF THOSMOND.
(Vol. ix., p. 125.)
In corroboration of my former suggestion, that Nicholas Thosmound of
Somersetshire was an O'Brien of Thomond, I beg to add some farther facts.
Cotemporary with him was William Toutmound, who obtained in the sixth year
of Henry IV. a grant of the office (in England) of chief carpenter of the
king for his life. This singular office, "Capitalis Carpentarius Regis,"
must, I suppose, be called Lord High Carpenter of England, in analogy with
the offices of steward, butler, &c. It is mentioned in the _Calendar of
Patent Rolls of England_ at the 6 Henry IV.; and in the same repository is
mention of a grant long before by Henry III. of the land of Tosmond in
Ireland, to A. R. Tosmond (R standing, I presume, for "Regi," for the Irish
Toparchs were then thus designated by the English government). In this case
then we have the letter _s_ used for _t_, as in the _Inq. P. M._ of Alicia,
wife of the before-mentioned Nicholas Thosmound. In the _Abbreviatio
Rotulorum Originalium of England_, in 15 Edw. II., is the expression
"Regalitatem de Totamon," applied to the district of Thomond in Ireland. It
seems not unlikely that the two cotemporary individuals mentioned above
were sons or grandsons of Turloch, or Tirrelagh, O'Brien, sovereign of
Thomond from 1367 to 1370, when he was supplanted by his nephew Brien
O'Brien, ancestor of the Marquis of Thomond. For this Turloch was in some
favour with the government, by whom his distress was sometimes relieved.
Thus it appears from the printed calendar of Irish Chancery Rolls, that a
writ of _liberate_ issued in the 4th Rich. II. for the payment to him of
forty marks; and again, 5 Rich. II., of twenty marks, "ei concord. [p=]
recompens. labor." He was much befriended by the Earl of Desmond, whose
successor being high in favour with the kings Henry V. and VI., obtained a
large grant of land in the county of Waterford, which he immediately
conferred on the sons of Turloch. Yet some of those sons may, through his
interest, have been established in England. It becomes, therefore, a matter
of considerable interest to ascertain whether the _Inq. P. M._ 2 Henry IV.
contains any proof that Nicholas Thosmound was an O'Brien.
While on this subject, may I inquire the reason why the O'Briens quarter
with their own arms the bearing of three piles meeting in a point? These
latter were the arms of the English baronial family of Bryan, not at all
connected with the Irish family. I suspect the Irish were late in their
assumption of arms, and borrowed in many cases the arms of English families
of nearly similar names.
A. B.
* * * * *
CORONATION STONE.
(Vol. ix., p. 123.)
Possibly the following authorities may tend to throw light upon the
question started by your correspondent.
In _Ant. Univ. Hist._, vol. xvii. p. 287., 4to. ed., London, 1747, it is
said:
"St. Austin tells us that some of the Carthaginian divinities had the
name of Abaddires, and their priests that of Eucaddires. This class, in
all probability, was derived from the stone which Jacob anointed with
oil, after it had served him for a pillow the night he had his vision;
for in the morning he called the place where he lay Bethel. Now it is
no wonder this should have been esteemed as sacred, since God himself
says, he was the GOD OF BETHEL, the place where Jacob anointed the
pillar. From Bethel came the baetylus of Damascius, which we find
called Abaddir by Priscian. This Abaddir is the Phoenician Aban-dir,
that is, the spherical stone, exactly answering to the description of
the baetylus given us by Damascius and others. The case seems to have
been this; the Canaanites of the neighbourhood first worshipped the
individual stone itself, upon which Jacob had poured {329} oil;
afterwards they consecrated others of that form, and worshipped them;
which false worship was perpetuated even to the time of St.
Austin."--See note (N), _Ant. Univ. Hist._, vol. i. p. 310.
Now if such stones were an object of worship among the Phoenicians, nothing
is more probable than that they should take such a stone along with them in
their migrations to new settlements; and it may therefore well be that the
Phoenicians, who first settled in Ireland, did bring such a stone with
them; and hence possibly the tradition in question may have originated.
There is abundant evidence that the Phoenicians fled from Palestine in very
early times (_Ant. Univ. Hist._, vol. iii. p. 479.), and probably some of
the Jews also about the time when Samaria was taken; and there can be no
doubt that some Phoenicians, if not some Jews, settled in these islands at
a very remote period; and it is a very remarkable fact that the Welsh
spoken in North Wales is said to be nearer to the old Hebrew than any other
existing language, and varying no more from it than the great length of
time which has passed would lead any one to expect. (_Ant. Univ. Hist._,
vol. vi. p. 31. note.)
It should seem that some at least of the baetyli were round, and of such a
size that they might be carried about by their votaries either by hanging
at the neck or in some other way (_Ant. Univ. Hist._, vol. xvii. p. 287.
_x._). But probably they were originally in the shape of a pillow. In Gen.
xxviii. 18., it is said that Jacob "took the stone that he had put for his
pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it;"
from which it is plain that the stone was not a sphere, but oblong and flat
at the top and bottom; and probably not with square edges, as that would be
most uncomfortable to lay the head upon.[4]
S. G. C.
[Footnote 4: Query whether from these baetyli our ancestors derived the
word _beetle_, which denotes a wooden maul or hammer for driving wedges.
Its head is about a foot long, flat at each end, and the rest round; so
that it nearly resembles a pillow in shape, and the head, together with its
handle, would well resemble a stone of similar shape suspended by a cord in
the middle. Bailey derives the word in this sense, and as denoting the
insect, from Sax. [Bytel]. If a handle was ever put in a baetylus, which
was of the form I have suggested, it would form an excellent instrument for
driving wedges or the like.]
Thirty years ago, the coronation stone in Westminster Abbey stood under a
very old chair; and was a bluish irregular block of stone, similar both in
colour and shape to stepping-stones in the shallow rivers of the north of
England. It is _now_ a very nice hewn block, nicely fitted into the frame
under the seat of a renovated chair. It does not look at all like the old
stone of former days. Is the geological formation of the present block very
difficult to ascertain?
H. R. NEE F.
* * * * *
POLYGAMY.
(Vol. ix., p. 246.)
In answer to the various Queries of _Stylites_ I have to observe:
1. That the Jews do not at present, in any country, practise polygamy, it
being contrary, not to the letter, but to the spirit of the law of Moses,
which nevertheless provides for cases where a man has two wives at the same
time; the inconvenience of which practice is several times pointed out, and
which was also inconsistent with the Levirate law. (See Jahn, s. 151.; and
the Mishna, [Hebrew: SDR NSHYM], which designates more wives than one
[Hebrew: TSRWT], _trouble, adversaries_.)
2. The practice was, however, allowed expressly to the Jewish kings only,
perhaps to the extent of _four_ wives, which is the Rabbinic exposition,
and coincides with the Koran.
3. Marriage being a civil contract in most heathen countries, as also
amongst the Jews and early Christians, polygamy is not forbidden or allowed
on religious grounds. Marriage was included under the general head of
covenants, [Hebrew: KTWBWT], in the Mishna. Barbarous nations generally
practised polygamy, according to Tacitus (_Germ._ 18.); excepting the
Germans, who, like the Greeks and Romans, "were content with a single
wife," although some exceptions were found in this respect, _non libidine,
sed ob nobilitatem_.
4. Polygamy was not practised amongst the early Christians, who followed
the Jews in this matter.
5. Clement of Alexandria (_Stromata_, lib. iii. p. 461., edit. 1629) says:
"[Greek: All' ho autos aner kai Kurios, palaia kainizon, ou polugamian
eti sunchorei; tote gar apetei ho Theos, hote auxanesthai kai
plethunein echren; monogamian de eisagei, dia paidopoiian, kai ten tou
oikou kedemonian, eis en boethos edothe he gune]."
Whence it appears that to have progeny and a helpmate at home were the
objects proposed in matrimony, for which polygamy was unfavorable. He then
remarks on the privilege conceded to some to form a second marriage, after
the death of the first wife, which St. Paul forbids to a bishop, who was to
be, in the _modern_ sense of the word, a monogamist. Two wives at the same
time were wholly repugnant to Jewish, as well as Greek and Roman,
sentiment. Ignatius (_ad Polyc. 5._) says it is _proper_ ([Greek: prepei])
for married persons to unite under the bishop's advice, so that the
marriage may be [Greek: kata Theon] and not [Greek: kat' epithumian];
whence it is inferred that a marriage was {330} valid in his time, although
no religious sanction was obtained.