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NOTES AND QUERIES:
A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS,
ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.
* * * * *
"When found, make a note of."--CAPTAIN CUTTLE.
* * * * *
No. 60.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21. 1850. [Price Threepence. Stamped
Edition 4d.
* * * * *{489}
CONTENTS.
Notes:-- Page
Division of Intellectual Labour 489
On a Passage in "Love's Labour's Lost" 490
Treatise of Equivocation 490
Parallel Passages, by Albert Cohn 491
Minor Notes:--True or False Papal Bulls--Burning Bush
of Sinai--The Crocodile--Umbrella--Rollin's Ancient
History, and History of the Arts and Sciences--MSS.
of Locke--The Letter [gh]--A Hint to Publishers 491
Queries:--
Bibliographical Queries 492
Minor Queries:--Meaning of "Rab. Surdam"--Abbot Richard
of Strata Florida--Cardinal Chalmers--Armorial
Bearings--"Fiat Justitia"--Painting by C. Bega--Darcy
Lever Church--R. Ferrer--Writers on the
Inquisition--Buckden--True Blue--Passage in
"Hamlet"--Inventor of a secret Cypher--Fossil Elk of
Ireland--Red Sindon--Lights on the Altar--Child's
Book by Beloe 493
Replies:--
Mercenary Preacher, by Henry Campkin 495
"The Owl is abroad," by Dr. E.F. Rimbault 495
Old St. Pancras Church, by J. Yeowell 496
Replies to Minor Queries:--Cardinal Allen's
Admonition--Bolton's Ace--Portrait of Cardinal
Beaton--"He that runs may read"--Sir George
Downing--Burning to Death, or Burning of the
Hill--The Roscommon Peerage--The Word "after"
in the Rubric--Disputed Passage in the
"Tempest"--Lady Compton's Letter--Midwives
licensed--Echo Song--The Irish Brigade--To save
one's bacon--"The Times" Newspaper and the Coptic
Language--Luther's Hymns--Osnaburg Bishopric--Scandal
against Queen Elizabeth--Pretended reprint of Ancient
Poetry--Martin Family--Meaning of "Ge-ho"--Lady Norton 497
Miscellaneous:--
Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, &c. 501
Books and Odd Volumes Wanted 501
Notices to Correspondents 502
Advertisements 502
* * * * *
Notes.
DIVISION OF INTELLECTUAL LABOUR.
Every one confesses, I believe, the correctness of the _principle_
called "Division of labour." But if any one would form an adequate
estimate of the ratio of the effect produced, in this way, to the
labour which is expended, let him consult Dr. Adam Smith. I think he
states, as an example, that a single labourer cannot make more than
ten pins in a day; but if eight labourers are employed, and each of
them performs one of the eight separate processes requisite to the
formation of a pin, there will not merely be eight times the number of
pins formed in a day, but nearly eighty times the number. (Not having
the book by me, I cannot be certain of the exact statistics.)
If this principle is proved, then, to be of such extraordinary
utility, why should it not be made serviceable in other matters
besides the "beaver-like" propensity of amassing wealth and satisfying
our material desires? Why should not your periodical be instrumental
in transferring this invaluable principle to the labours of the
intellectual world? If your correspondents were to send you abstracts
or _precis_ of the books which they read, would there not accrue a
fourfold benefit? viz.:
1. A division of intellectual labour; so that the amount of knowledge
available to each person is multiplied in an increasing ratio.
2. Knowledge is thus presented in so condensed a form as to be more
easily comprehended at a glance; so that your readers can with greater
facility construct or understand the theories deducible from the whole
circle of human knowledge.
3. Authors and inquiring men could tell, before expending days on the
perusal of large volumes, whether the _particulars_ which these books
contain would be suitable to the object they have in view.
4. The unfair criticisms which are made, and the erroneous notions
diffused by interested reviewers, would in a great measure be
corrected, in the minds, at least, of your readers.
You might object that such _precis_ would be as partial as the reviews
of which the whole literary world complain. But, in the first place,
these abstracts would be written by literary men who are not dependent
on booksellers for their livelihood, and would not therefore be likely
to write up trashy books or detract from the merit of valuable works,
for the sake of the book trade. And besides, your correspondents give
their articles under their signature, so that one could be openly
corrected by another who had read the same work. Again, it is only the
_leading idea_ of the book which you would require, and no attendant
praise or blame, neither eulogistic exordium nor useless appeals to
the reader. The author, moreover, might send you the skeleton of his
own book, and {490} you would of course give this the prior place in
your journal.
Another objection is, that the length of such _precis_ would not
permit them to come within the limits of your work. But they _should
not_ be long. And even if one of them should take up four or five
pages, you could divide it between two or three successive numbers of
your periodical. And, besides, your work, by embracing this object,
would be greatly increased in utility; the number of your subscribers
would be multiplied, and the increased expense of publication would
thus be defrayed.
But, if the advantages resulting from such a division of intellectual
labour would be as great as I fondly hope, I feel sure that the energy
and enterprise which caused you to give a tangible reality to your
scheme for "Notes and Queries" would also enable you to overcome all
difficulties, and answer all trifling objections.
R.M.
* * * * *
ON A PASSAGE IN LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST.
In _Love's Labour's Lost_, Act II. Sc. 1., Boyet, speaking of the King
of Navarre and addressing the Princess of France, says:
"All his behaviours did make their retire
To the court of his eye, peeping thorough desire:
His heart, like an agate, with your print impressed,
Proud with his form, in his eye pride expressed:
His tongue, _all impatient to speak and not see_,
Did stumble with haste in his eyesight to be;
All senses to that sense did make their repair,
To feel only looking on fairest of fair."
This speech is a remarkable specimen of the affected style of
compliment prevalent in the time of Elizabeth. The third couplet, at
first sight, appears to have a signification exactly opposed to that
which the context requires. We should expect, instead of "the tongue
all impatient _to speak_," to find "the tongue all impatient _to
see_."
No one of the editors of Shakspeare appears to me to have given a
satisfactory explanation of this passage. I therefore venture to offer
the following.
In the Latin poets (who in this followed the Greeks) we find
adjectives and participles followed by the genitive case and the
gerund in _di_. Thus in Horace we have "patiens pulveris atque solis,"
"patiens liminis aut aquae coelestis," and in Silius Italicus (vi.
612.), "vetus bellandi." For other instances, see Mr. Baines' _Art of
Latin Poetry_, pp. 56-60.
The Latin poets having taken this license, then proceeded a step
further, and substituted the infinitive mood for the gerund in _di_.
I cannot find any instance either of "patiens" or "impatiens" used
in this connection; but numerous instances of other adjectives and
participles followed by the infinitive mood may be found in pp. 68. to
73. of the _Art of Latin Poetry_. I cite two only, both from Horace:
"indocilis pauperiem pati," "quidlibet impotens sperare."
Following these analogies, I suggest that the words "impatient to
speak and not see" mean "impatient of speaking (impatiens loquendi)
and not seeing," i.e., "dissatisfied with its function of speaking,
preferring that of seeing."
This construction, at least, renders the passage intelligible.
X.Z.
* * * * *
TREATISE OF EQUIVOCATION.
(Vol. ii., pp. 168. 446.)
I feel greatly indebted to J.B. for a complete solution of the
question respecting this ambiguous book. Bewildered by the frequent
reference to it by nearly cotemporaneous writers, I had apprehended
it certain, that it had been a _printed_, if not a published work; and
that even a second edition had altered the title of the first. It is
now certain, that its existence was, and is, only _in manuscript_;
and that the alteration was intended only for its first impression,
if printed at all. It is a fact not generally known, that many papal
productions of the time were multiplied and circulated by copies
in MS.: Leycester's _Commonwealth_, of which I have a very neat
transcript, and of which many more are extant in different libraries,
is one proof of the fact.[1] I observe that in Bernard's very valuable
_Bibliotheca MSS., &c._, I had marked under _Laud Misc. MSS._, p.
62. No. 968. 45. _A Treatise against Equivocation or Fraudulent
Dissimulation_, what I supposed might be the work in request: but
being prepossessed with the notion that the work was in print, I did
not pursue any inquiry in that direction. I almost now suspect that
this is the very work which J.B. has brought to light. I had hoped
during the present year to visit the Bodleian, and satisfy myself with
an inspection of the important document. I am additionally gratified
with the information relative to the same subject by Mr. Sansom, p.
446. J.B. observes, that the MS. occupies sixty-six pages only. Will
no one have the charity for historic literature to make it a public
benefit? If with notes, so much the better. It is of far more
interest, as history is concerned, and that of our own country, than
many of the tracts in the Harleian or Somers' Collections. Parsons's
notice of it in his _Mitigation_, and towards the end, as if he was
just then made acquainted with it, is very {491} characteristic and
instructive. He knew of it well enough, but thought others might not.
Again I say, why not print the work?
J.M.
[We have reason to believe that this important historical
document is about to be printed.]
[Footnote 1: _A Memorial for the Reformation in England_, by R.P.
(Parsons), of which I have a well transcribed copy, is another. It was
published by Gee.]
* * * * *
PARALLEL PASSAGES.
In Shakspeare's _Henry IV._, Act V. Sc. 4., the Prince exclaims,
beholding Percy's corpse,--
"When that this body did contain a spirit,
A kingdom for it was too small a bound;
But now two paces of the vilest earth
Is room enough!"
In Ovid we find the following parallel:--
"... jacet ecce Tibullus,
Vix manet e toto parva quod urna capit."
A second one appears in the pretended lines on the sepulchre of Scipio
Africanus:--
"Cui non Europa, non obstitit Africa unquam,
Respiceres hominem, quem brevis urna premit."
The same reflection we find in Ossian:--
"With three steps I measure thy grave,
O thou, so great heretofore!"
It is very difficult indeed to determine in which of these passages
the leading thought is expressed best, in which is to be found the
most energy, the deepest feeling, the most touching shortness. I
think one should prefer the passage of Shakspeare, because the direct
mention of the corporal existence gives a magnificent liveliness to
the picture, and because the very contrast of the space appears most
lively by it; whereas, at the first reading of the other passages, it
is not the human being, consisting of body and soul, which comes in
our mind, but only the human spirit, of which we know already that it
cannot be buried in the grave.
One of the most eminent modern authors seems to have imitated the
passage of Shakspeare's _Henry IV_. Schiller, in his _Jungfrau von
Orleans_, says:--
"Und von dem maecht'gen Talbot, der die Welt
Mit seinem Kriegeruhm fuellte, bleibet nichts
Als eine Hand voll leichten Staubs."
(And of the mighty Talbot, whose warlike
Glory fill'd the world, nothing remains
But a handful of light dust.)
Albert Cohn.
Berlin.
* * * * *
Minor Notes.
_True or False Papal Bulls_.--
"Utrum bulla papalis sit vera an non.
"Si vis scire utrum literae domini Papae sint veraces vel non,
numera punctos quae sunt in bulla. Et si inveneris circulum
ubi sunt capita apostolorum habentem 73 punctos, alium vero
circulum 46, alium super caput Beati Petri habentem 26, alium
super caput Sancti Pauli habentem 25 punctos, et punctos quae
sunt in barba 26, veraces sunt; alioquin falsae.--Sir Matthew
Hale's _Manuscripts_, Library of Lincoln's Inn, vol. lxxiii.
p. 176.
To which may be added, that in digging for the foundations of the
new (or present) London Bridge, an instrument was dug up for
counterfeiting the seals or Bullae? Where is it now deposited?
J.E.
_Burning Bush of Sinai._--
"Pococke asserts that the monks have planted in their garden
a bush similar to those which grow in Europe, and that by
the most ridiculous imposture, they hesitate not to affirm
that it is the same which Moses saw--the miraculous bush.
The assertion is false, and the alleged fact a mere
invention."--Geramb's _Pilgrimage to Palestine, &c._, English
trans.
March 1. 1847. The bush was exhibited by two of the monks at the back
of the eastern apse of the church, but having its root within the
walls of the chapel of the burning bush. It was the common English
bramble, not more than two years old, and in a very sickly state, as
the monks allowed the leaves to be plucked by the English party then
in the convent. The plant grows on the mountain, and therefore could
be easily replaced.
Viator.
_The Crocodile_ (Vol. ii., p. 277.).--February, 1847, a small
crocodile was seen in the channel, between the island of Rhoda and the
right bank of the Nile.
Viator.
_Umbrella._--It was introduced at Bristol about 1780. A lady, now
eighty-three years of age, remembers its first appearance, which
occasioned a great sensation. Its colour was red, and it probably came
from Leghorn, with which place Bristol at that time maintained a great
trade. Leghorn has been called Bristol on a visit to Italy.
Viator.
_Rollin's Ancient History, and History of the Arts and
Sciences._--Your correspondent Iota inquires (Vol. ii., p. 357.),
"How comes it that the editions" (of Rollin) "since 1740 have been
so castrated?" i.e. divested of an integral portion of the work, the
_History of the Arts and Sciences_. It is not easy to state _how_
this has come to pass. During the last century comparatively little
interest was felt in the subjects embraced in the _History of the Arts
and Sciences_; and _probably_ the publishers might on that account
omit this portion, with the view of making the book cheaper and more
saleable. It is more difficult to assign any reason why Rollin's
Prefaces to the various sections of his _History_ should have been
mutilated and manufactured into a _general_ Introduction or Preface,
to make up which the whole of chap. iii. book x. was also taken out
of its proper place and order. A more remarkable instance of merciless
distortion of an {492} author's labours is not to be found in
the records of literature. Iota may take it as a fact--and that a
remarkable one--that since 1740 there had appeared no edition of
Rollin having any claim to integrity, until the one edited by Bell,
and published by Blackie, in 1826, and reissued in 1837.
Veritas.
Glasgow, Dec. 7. 1850.
_MSS. of Locke._--E.A. Sandford, Esq., of Nynehead, near Taunton, has
a number of valuable letters, and other papers, of Locke, and also an
original MS. of his _Treatise on Education_. Locke was much at Chipley
in that neighbourhood, for the possessor of which this treatise was, I
believe composed.
W.C. Trevelyan.
_The Letter [gh]_.--Dr. Todd, in his _Apology for the Lollards_,
published by the Camden Society, alludes to the pronunciation of
the old letter [gh] in various words, and remarks that "it has
been altogether dropped in the modern spelling of [gh]erş, 'earth,'
fru[gh]t, 'fruit,' [gh]erle, 'earl,' abi[gh]d, 'abide.'" The Doctor
is, however, mistaken; for I have heard the words "earl" and "earth"
repeatedly pronounced, in Warwickshire, _yarl_ and _yarth_.
J.R.
_A Hint to Publishers_ (Vol. ii., p. 439.) reminds me of a particular
grievance in Alison's _History of Europe_. I have the first edition,
but delay binding it, there being no index. Two other editions have
since been published, possessing each an index. Surely the patrons
and possessors of the first have a claim upon the Messrs. Blackwood,
independent of the probability of its repaying them as a business
transaction.
T.S.
* * * * *
Queries.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL QUERIES.
(Continued from p. 441.)
(25.) Has there been but a single effort made to immortalise
among printers Valentine Tag? Mercier, Abbe de Saint-Leger, in his
_Supplement a l'Hist. de l'Imprimerie_, by Marchand, p. 111., accuses
Baron Heinecken of having stated that this fictitious typographer set
forth the _Fables Allemandes_ in 1461. Heinecken, however, had merely
quoted six German lines, the penultimate of which is
"An Sant Valantinus Tag,"
intimating only that the work had been concluded on St. Valentine's
day.
(26.) Can there be any more fruitful source of error with respect to
the age of early printed books than the convenient system of esteeming
as the primary edition that in which the date is for the first time
visible? It might be thought that experienced bibliographers would
invariably avoid such a palpable mistake; but the reverse of this
hypothesis is unfortunately true. Let us select for an example the
case of the _Vita Jesu Christi_, by the Carthusian Ludolphus de
Saxonia, a work not unlikely to have been promulgated in the infancy
of the typographic art. Panzer, Santander, and Dr. Kloss (189.)
commence with an impression at Strasburg, which was followed by one
at Cologne, in 1474. Of these the former is mentioned by Denis, and by
Bauer also (ii. 315.). Laire notes it likewise (_Ind. Par._, i. 543.:
cf. 278.), but errs in making Eggestein the printer, as no account
of him is discernible after 1472. (Meerman, i. 215.) Glancing at the
misconceptions of Maittaire and Wharton, who go no farther back than
the years 1478 and 1483 respectively, let us return to the suppressed
_editio princeps_ of 1474. De Bure (_Theol._, pp. 121-2.) records
a copy, and gives the colophon. He says, "Cette edition, qui est
l'originale de cet ouvrage, est fort rare;" and his opinion has been
adopted by Seemiller (i. 61.), who adds, "Litteris impressum est hoc
opus sculptis." In opposition to all these eminent authorities, I will
venture to express my belief that the earliest edition is one which
is _undated_. A volume in the Lambeth collection, without a date, and
entered in Dr. Maitland's _List_, p. 42., is thus described therein:
"Folio, eights, Gothic type, col. 57 lines;" and possibly the
printer's device (_List_, p. 348.) might be appropriated by I.
Mentelin, of Strasburg. To this book, nevertheless, we must allot a
place inferior to what I would bestow upon another folio, in which
the type is particularly Gothic and uneven, and in which each of the
double columns contains but forty-seven lines, and the antique initial
letters sometimes used are plainly of the same xylographic race as
that one with which the oldest _Viola Sanctorum_ is introduced. It
may be delineated, in technical terms, as being _sine loco, anno,
et nomine typographi. Car. sigg., paginarum num. et custodd. Vocum
character majusculus est, ater, crassus, et rudis._ Why should not
Mentz have been the birthplace of this book? for there it appears that
the author's MS. was "veneratione non parva" preserved, and there he
most probably died. I would say that it was printed between 1465 and
1470. It is bound up with a _Fasciculus Temporum_, Colon. 1479, which
looks quite modern when compared with it, and its beginning is: "De
Vita hiesu a venerabili viro fratro (_sic_) Ludolpho Cartusiensi edita
incipit feliciter." The leaves are in number forty-eight. At the end
of the book itself is, "Explicit vita ihesu." Then succeeds a leaf,
on the recto of which is a table of contents for the entire work
and after its termination we find: "Explicit vita cristi de quatuor
ewagelistis et expositone doctorum sanctorum sumpta."
(27.) Upon what grounds should Mr. Bliss (Vol. ii., p. 463.) refuse to
be contented with the {493} very accurate reprint of Cardinal Allen's
_Admonition to the Nobility and People of England and Ireland_, with a
Preface by Eupator (the Rev. Joseph Mendham), London, Duncan, 1842?
(28.) In an article on Ticknor's _History of Spanish Literature_, in
the _Quarterly Review_ for last September, p. 316, we read:
"The second _Index Expurgatorius_ ever printed was the Spanish
one of Charles V. in 1546."
Was the critic dreaming when he wrote these words? for, otherwise, how
could he have managed to compress so much confusion into so small a
space? To say nothing of "the _second_" Expurgatory Index, the _first_
was not printed until 1571; and this was a _Belgic_, not a "_Spanish_
one." It is stamped by its title-page as having been "in Belgia
concinnatus," and it was the product of the press of Plantin, at
Antwerp. With regard to the _Indices Expurgatorii_ of Spain, the
earliest of them was prepared by the command of Cardinal Quiroga, and
issued by Gomez, typographer-royal at Madrid, in 1584. The copy in
my hand, which belonged to Michiels, is impressed with his book-mark
"premiere edition." Will the writer in the _Quarterly Review_
henceforth remember that an _Expurgatory_ Index is essentially
different from one of the _Prohibitory_ class? But even though he
should faithfully promise to bear this fact in mind, his misreport as
to the year "1546" must not remain uncensured; for this was not the
date of the "second" appearance of an imperial _mandement_. There was
an ordinance published for the restraint of the press, not only in
1544, but also in 1540, and even in 1510. For the last, see Panzer,
vii. 258.
(29.) What is the nearest approach to certainty among the attempts
successfully to individuate the ancient relater of _Mirabilia Romae_?
That he lived in the thirteenth century seems to be admitted; and the
work, as put forth in Montfaucon's _Diarium Italicum_ (pp. 283-298.),
will be found to differ considerably from the edition, in 12mo. with
the arms of Pope Leo X. on the title-page.
(30.) "_Antiquitas Saeculi Juventus Mundi._"--The discussion in your
pages (Vol. ii., pp. 218. 350. 395. 466.) of the origin of this
phrase has so distinctly assumed a bibliographical aspect, that I
feel justified on the present occasion in inquiring from your various
correspondents whether, while they have been citing Bacon and Bruno,
Whewell and Hallam, they have lost sight of the beautiful language of
the author of the Second Book of Esdras (chap. xiv. 10.)?
"The world hath lost his youth, and the times begin to wax
old."
"Saeculum perdidit juventutem suam, et tempora appropinquant
senescere."--_Biblia_, ed. Paris, 1523.
R.G.
* * * * *
Minor Queries.
_Rab. Surdam, Meaning of._--The eccentric but clever and learned
William Nicol, one of the masters of the High School of Edinburgh, and
noted as the friend of Burns, was the son of a poor man, a tailor,
in the village of Ecclefechan, in Dumfriesshire. He erected, over
the grave of his parents, in Hoddam churchyard, a _throuch stone_, or
altar-formed tomb, bearing the words
"RAB. SURDAM."
Query the meaning of these mystical characters?
Edinensis.
_Abbot Richard of Strata Florida._--Can you or any of your antiquarian
readers solve me the following. It is stated in vol. i. p. 100. of
Lewis Dwnn's _Heraldic Visitation into Wales, &c._, art. "Williames of
Ystradffin in the county of Caermarthen":--
"William ab Thomas Goch, Esq., married Joan, daughter and
sole heiress to Richard the Abbot of Strata Florida, county of
Cardigan (temp. Henry VII.), son of David ab Howel of Gwydyr,
North Wales."
From this I naturally expected to find some connecting link between
the Abbot and the ancient family of Wynn of Gwydyr, derived from
Rhodri Lord of Anglesey. In their lineage, however, the name of David
ab Howel does not occur; but about the aforesaid period one of their
progenitors named Meredith ab Sevan, it is stated, purchased Gwydyr
from a David ab Howel Coytmore, derived through the Lord of Penymachno
from Prince David, Lord of Denbigh, the ill-fated brother of Llewelyn,
last sovereign prince of North Wales. Is it not therefore likely that
the said Abbot Richard was son to the above David ab Howel (Coytmore),
the ancient proprietor of Gwydyr; that his surname was Coytmore;
and the arms he bore were those of his ancestor David Goch, Lord of
Penymachno, viz., Sa. a lion ramp., ar. within a bordure engr. or.
W.G.S.J.
_Cardinal Chalmers._--Can any of your readers give me some information
about a Cardinal Chalmers,--whether there ever was a cardinal of the
name, and where I could find some account of him? I have the boards of
an old book on which are stamped in gilding the Chalmers arms, with
a cardinal's hat and tassels over them. If I remember correctly,
the arms are those of the family of Chalmers, of Balnacraig, in
Aberdeenshire.
I have some reason to believe that the boards were purchased at the
sale of the author of _Caledonia_.
S.P.
_Armorial Bearings_ (Vol. ii., p. 424.).--My note of the coat-armour
in question stands thus: "Three bars between ten bells, four,
three, two, and one." And I have before now searched in vain for its
appropriation. I am consequently obliged to {494} content myself with
the supposition that it is a corruption, as it may easily be, of the
coat of Keynes, viz. "vair, three bars gules," the name of the wife of
John Speke, the great-great-grandfather of Sir John Speke, the founder
of the chapel; and this is the more probable as the arms of Somaster,
the name of his grandfather's wife, appear also in the roof of the
same chapel.
J.D.S.
[J.D.S. is right in his blazon; and we had been requested by
J.W.H. to amend his Query respecting this coat.--ED.]
"_Fiat Justitia_"--Who is the author of the apothegm--
"Fiat justitia, ruat coelum?"
J.E.B. MAYOR.
_Painting by C. Bega_.--
"Wy singen vast wat nieus, en hebben noch een buyt,
Een kraekling, is ons winst, maet tliedtkenmoet eerst wt."
I have a small oil painting on oak panel which bears the above
inscription. The subject of the painting is a boy, who holds in his
hands a song, which he appears to be committing to memory, whilst
another boy is looking at the song over his shoulder. "C. Bega" is
written on the back of the picture-frame, that evidently being the
artist's name. I shall feel obliged by your translating the above two
lines for me, and also for information as to "C. Bega."
W.E. Howlett.
Kirton.
_Darcy Lever Church._--On the line of railway from Normanton to Bolton
there is a small station called Darcy Lever.
The church there struck me, on a casual view, as one of the most
beautiful examples of ecclesiastical architecture which I have ever
seen, and I should therefore like very much to know the date of the
structure, and, if possible, the architect.
The singularity which attracts attention is the delicate tracery of
the spire, which I should wish to see largely imitated.
E.
_R. Ferrer._--I have a drawing, _supposed_ to be of Sir W. Raleigh
by himself when in the Tower: it came from Daniel's _History of Henry
VII._, and below it was written,
"R. Ferrer,
Nec Prece nec Pretio."
Could the "Notes and Queries" ask if anything is known of this R.F.?
H.W.D.
_Writers on the Inquisition._--In the English edition of Voltaire's
_Philosophical Dictionary_, article "Inquisition," I find, among other
authors on that subject who are quoted, Hiescas Salazar, Mendoca
(sic: Query, Salasar y Mendoca?), Fernandez, Placentinus, Marsilius,
Grillandus, and Locatus. Can any of your bibliographical friends give
me any information as to these authors or their works? Let me at the
same time ask information respecting Bordoni, the author of _Sacrum
Tribunal Indicum in causis sanctae fidei contra Hereticos, &c._, Rome,
1648.
Iota.
_Buckden_ (Vol. ii., p. 446.).--Will M.C.R. explain his allusion to
"the abbot's house" at Buckden. I am not aware of Buckden having
been the seat of a monastic establishment. Perhaps what he calls "the
abbot's house" is part of the palace of the bishops of Lincoln.
C.H. Cooper.
Cambridge, December 2. 1850.
_True Blue._--Query the origin of the term "True Blue." After the
lapse of a few years it seems to have been applied indifferently to
Presbyterians and Cavaliers. An amusing series of passages might be
perhaps gathered exemplifying its use even to the present time. The
colour and "cry" True Blue are now almost monopolised by the Tory
party, although there are exceptions--Westmoreland and Yorkshire, for
instance.
Viator.
_Passage in Hamlet._--In Mr. C. Knight's "Library," "Pictorial," and
"Cabinet" editions of Shakspeare, the following _novel_ reading is
given without note or comment to say why the universally received text
has been altered. It occurs in _Hamlet_, Act I. Sc. 7.
_Ham._ "Staid it long?
_Hor._ "While one with _modern_ haste might tell a hundred."
As Mr. Knight is now publishing a "National" edition of Shakspeare,
perhaps you will allow me through your pages to ask for his authority
for this change of "moderate" to "modern," in order that his new
reading may either be justified or abandoned.
J.J.M.
_Inventor of a secret Cypher._--I think that there was in the
fifteenth century a Frenchman so profound a calculator that he
discovered for the King of France a secret cypher, used by the court
of Spain. I saw a notice of him in Collier's great _Dictionary_, but
have forgotten him, and should like to renew my acquaintance.
Tyro-Etymologicus.
_Fossil Elk of Ireland._--Can any of your learned readers give me
information on the fossil elk of Ireland--_Cervus Megaceros_,
_Cervus Giganteus_ of Goldsmith? It is stated to be found in various
countries, as France, Germany, and Italy, besides England and Ireland.
In the Royal Dublin Society museum there is, I am told, a rib of this
animal which has the appearance of having been wounded by some sharp
instrument, which remained long fixed in the bone, but not so deeply
as to affect the creature's life. It seemed to be such a wound as the
head of an arrow would produce.
It has been by some thought to be the "Sech" of Celtic tradition. I
have learned that the last specimen was shot so lately as 1533, and
that a {495} figure of the animal, mistaken for the common elk, is,
engraved in the November Chronicle. Now I should feel exceedingly
obliged if any information could be rendered me on the matters stated
above, as I am most anxious to collect all possible information
regarding this most noble species of the Dama tribe.
W.R.C. (a Subscriber).
Exeter, Nov. 1850.
_Red Sindon_ (Vol. ii., p. 393.).--Will Mr. Planche be so good as to
say what the _red sindon_ of the chamber of Philippa was?
B.W.
_Lights on the Altar._--1. What evidence is there that in the British
or Saxon churches lights were burned on the altar at the time of the
eucharist?
2. Are there any Canons of these churches, sanctioning the practice?
3. What evidence is there of any other service or solemnity, where
lights were burned in the day-time in these churches.
D. Sholbus.
_Beloe, Child's Book by._--In the _Sexagenarian_, by Beloe, is the
following passage:
"In four mornings he (Rev. W. Beloe) wrote a book which
he intended as an amusement for his children. Some friends
recommended him to print it, and though many years have
elapsed since it was written, it still continues so great a
favourite with younger readers, that an edition is every year
published."
Can any of your readers inform me the name of the book here alluded
to; and who was the publisher?
F.B. Relton
* * * * *
Replies.
MERCENARY PREACHER.
In reply to a Query as to the meaning of this epithet in an obituary
notice, quoted, in Vol. i, p. 384., your correspondent Arun suggests,
in the same volume, p. 489., that it was most likely "used in its
primary signification, and in the sense in which we still apply it
to troops in the pay of a state, foreign to their own." I cannot help
thinking, that by the designation _mercenary_ was implied something
more disreputable than that merely of "one who, having no settled
cure, was at liberty to be 'hired;'" and in this I am borne out by
Chaucer, no mean authority, who, in his well-known picture of the
parson, in the Prologue to the _Canterbury Tales_, amongst the various
items of piety and virtuousness with which, in that inimitable piece
of character-painting, he credits the "pore persoun of a toun,"
distinctly states (I quote Mr. Wright's Percy Society edition),--
"He was a Schepperde and no _mercenarie_."
Now this emphatic disclaimer shows clearly enough that when Chaucer
wrote, to be a _mercenary preacher_ was not, in _reputation_ at least,
a desirable position; and whether some two centuries and a half later,
the appellation became less objectionable, is a question not unworthy
of elucidation. No lengthened transcript is needed from so popular a
description; its whole spirit is directed not only against hirelings,
but also against non-residents:--
"He sette not his benefice to huyre,
And lefte his scheep encombred in the myre;
* * * * *
But dwelte at hoom and kepte wel his folde."
Neither hireling nor non-resident found favour in Chaucer's eyes. They
could have very little in common with one whom he says:--
"But Criste's lore, and his apostles twelve,
He taught, but first he folwed it himselve."
The _date_ of the obituary quoted, 1646, lends, too some force to the
supposition that "old Mr. Lewis" was, vulgarly speaking, "no better
than he ought to be." Milton not many years afterwards published his
memorable philippic _On the likeliest Means to remove Hirelings out
of the Church_; and after all allowance is made for the sternness of
the Puritan poet's theology, there would still remain enough to show
that his fiercely eloquent tract might well have been called forth
by the presence in the church of an overweening army of "Mercenary
Preachers." Further space, however, need not now be trenched on;
but should any new facts be adduced by some of your correspondents
illustrative of the curious entry referred to, I am sure they will
be welcomed by all your readers, and by none more than by yours,
obediently,
Henry Campkin.
Reform Club, Dec. 2. 1850.
* * * * *
"THE OWL IS ABROAD."
(Vol. ii., p. 393.)
A.R. asks, "On what ground is the base song, 'The Owl is abroad'
attributed to Henry Purcell?" To which I reply, the mistake--for
_mistake_ it is--originated with Dr. Clarke (afterwards Clarke
Whitfield), who inserted it in his _Beauties of Purcell_. How little
this musician knew of the "beauties" of Purcell is exhibited in
his work; and how little he knew of the style and peculiarities of
the music of the period, is shown by his insertion of the song in
question. Dr. Clarke's mistake is noticed in the late William Linley's
elegant work entitled _Shakspeare's Dramatic Songs_, vol. i. p. 6. His
words are these:
"In regard to the _Tempest_ music of Mr. Smith, it has been
put to a strange medley of words; some of them are, however by
Shakspeare; but they do not appear to come the brighter from
the polish it was his design to give them; here and there we
have a flash or two, but they must ever be vainly opposed to
Purcell's pure and steady light. The song of 'No More {496}
Dams,' is however an excellent one, and it has been selected
accordingly. The other song, 'The Owl is abroad,' is also
characteristic, but the words are not Shakspeare's. The last
air has been inserted in Dr. Clarke's _Beauties of Purcell_,
as Purcell's. _This is a mistake, which, in justice to Smith,
should be rectified._"
Your correspondent also refers to Mr. G. Hogarth's _Memoirs of the
Musical Drama_, as an authority for attributing the song in question
to Purcell. Mr. Hogarth's work, I am sorry to say, can never be
depended upon as to facts. It is almost entirely made up from
_second-hand_ authorities; consequently blunders of the greatest
magnitude occur in every chapter. It has the merit of being a
well-written and an entertaining book; but here any praise must end.
A.R. speaks of having referred to Purcell's _Tempest_. I must beg to
correct him in this statement, as no _complete_ copy of that work
(my own excepted) is known to exist. Goodeson's (printed at the end
of the last century) is the only copy approaching to anything like
completeness, and that is very unlike Purcell's _Tempest_. Did A.R.
find in Purcell's _Tempest_ the music of the beautiful lyric, "Where
the Bee sucks?" No. Yet Purcell composed music to it. The absence,
then, of "The Owl is abroad," is no proof that Purcell did not write
music for that song also.
But, in the present case, A.R. may rest assured that the song about
which he inquires is the veritable composition of John Christopher
Smith.
Edward F. Rimbault.
* * * * *
OLD ST. PANCRAS CHURCH.
Your correspondent Stephen (Vol. ii., p. 407.) asks for information
respecting the "Gospel Oak Tree at Kentish Town." Permit me to
connect with it another Query relative to the foundation of the
old St. Pancras Church, as the period of its erection has hitherto
baffled research. From the subjoined extracts, it appears to be of
considerable antiquity. The first extract is from a MS. volume which
I purchased at the sale of the library of the Rev. H.F. Lyte (Lot
2578.), entitled,--
"Spicilegium: or A Brief Account of Matters relating to the
ecclesiastical Politie of the British Church, compiled from
Histories, Councils, Canons, and Acts of Parliament," A.D.
1674.
It was apparently written for publication, but is without name
or initials. At p. 21. the writer, after giving an account of the
foundation of the cathedral church of Canterbury, goes on to say,--
"Without the walls, betwixt the Cathedral and St. Martin's
Church, stood an idol temple, which, with the leave and
goodwill of King Ethelbert, St. Augustine purged, and then
consecrated it to the memory of St. Pancras the martyr, and
after prevailed with the king to found a monastery there for
the monks, in honour of the two prime apostles, St. Peter and
Paul, appointing it to be the burial-place of the _Kentish_
Kings, as also for his successors in that see. The like
to this was Pancras Church, near London, otherwise called
_Kentish_ Church, which some ignorantly imagine was the mother
of St. Paul's Church in London. I rather think it might be
the burying-place belonging to the church of St. Paul, before
Cuthbert, Archbishop of Canterbury, obtained leave of the Pope
to bury in cities. And in imitation of that at Canterbury,
this near London was dedicated to St. Pancras and called
_Kentish_ Church."
Connected with the Query of Stephen, it is worthy of notice that
St. Augustine held a conference with the Cambrian bishops at a place
called by Bede, Augustine's Ac, or Oak, on the borders of the Weccii
and West Saxons, probably near Austcliffe, in Gloucestershire (Bede's
_Eccles. Hist._ lib. ii. c. 2.).
_Norden_, who wrote in the reign of Elizabeth, in his _Speculum
Britainniae_, says that--
"The church of St. Pancras standeth all alone, as utterly
forsaken, old and weather-beaten, which, for the antiquitie
thereof, is thought not to yield to Paule's of London."
which idea is repeated by _Weever_. And in the year 1749, some unknown
poet, soliloquising upon the top of Primrose Hill, bursts out into
the following rapturous musing at the sight of "the old weather-beaten
church" in the distance.--
"The rev'rend spire of ancient Pancras view,
To ancient Pancras pay the rev'rence due;
_Christ's sacred altar there, first Britain saw_,
And gaz'd, and worshipp'd, with an holy awe,
Whilst pitying heav'n diffus'd a saving ray,
And heathen darkness changed to Christian day."
_Gentleman's Mag._, xiv. 276.
Perhaps some of the gentlemen now engaged in compiling historical
notices of the parish of St. Pancras will be able to dispel the
Cimmerian darkness which at present envelopes the consecration of the
old church.
The late Mr. Smith, author of _Nollekins and his Times_, made some
collections towards a History of St. Pancras. Query, What has become
of them?
J. Yeowell.
Hoxton.
_Old St. Pancras Church_ (Vol. ii., p. 464.)--In a note in Croker's
edition of Boswell's _Johnson_ (8vo. 1848, p. 840.), Mr. Markland
says, that the reason assigned by your correspondent, and in the
text of Boswell, for the preference given by the Roman Catholics to
this place of burial, rests, as he had learned from unquestionable
authority, upon no foundation; "that mere prejudice exists amongst the
Roman Catholics in favour of this church, as is the case with respect
to other places of burial in various parts of the kingdom." Mr.
Markland derived his information from the late {497} Dr. Bramston, Mr.
Charles Butler, and Mr. Gage Rokewoode.
S.D.
* * * * *
Replies to Minor Queries.
_Cardinal Allen's Admonition_ (Vol. ii., p. 463.).--In the Grenville
Library, at the British Museum, there is a copy of this work, which I
happen to have seen only a few hours before I read Mr. Bliss's Query.
Mr. Mendham's reprint of the _Admonition_, published by Duncan in
1842, appeared to me to be remarkably accurate, from a hasty collation
which I made of some parts of it with the original. The Grenville
copy was formerly Herbert's, and may possible be the same which was
sold for 35s. in Mr. Caldecott's sale in 1832. Connected with this
_Admonition_ of Cardinal Allen, there is another question of some
interest. In Bohn's Guinea Catalogue, No. 16,568., was a broadside,
there said to be _unknown and unique_, and entitled _A Declaration of
the Sentence and Deposition of Elizabeth, the Usurper and pretended
Queen of England_. This was drawn up by Cardinal Allen, and printed
at Antwerp; and copies were intended to be distributed in England upon
the landing of the Spanish Armada. Can any of your readers inform me
who is the present possessor of the document referred to, or whether
it has ever been reprinted, or referred to by any writer? Antony Wood,
I am aware, refers to the document, but it is plain that he never saw
it.
H.P.
_Bolton's Ace_ (Vol. ii., p. 413.).--Ray's anecdote concerning the
proverb, "Bate me an ace, quoth Bolton," is perhaps more correctly
told in the _Witty Aunsweres and Saiengs of Englishmen_ (Cotton MS.
Jul. F. x.):
"William Paulett, Marques of Wynchester and Highe Treasurer
of Engelande, being presented by John Heywoode with a booke,
asked hym what yt conteyned? and when Heywoode told him 'all
the proverbs in Englishe.' 'What all?' quoth my Lorde; 'No,
_Bate me an ace, quoth Bolton_, is that in youre booke?' 'No,
by my faith, my Lorde, I thinke not,' annswered Heywoode."
The "booke" presented by Heywoode to the Marquis of Winchester was _A
Dialogue contayning in Effect the Number of all the Proverbes in the
English Tongue compact in a Matter concerning two Marriages; first
printed by Berthelet in_ 1546. In 1556 it was "Newly overseen and
somewhat augmented." A copy of the latter is in the British Museum.
John Bolton, from whom the proverb derives its origin, was one of
Henry VIII.'s "diverting vagabonds." He is several times mentioned
as winning money from the king at cards and dice in one of the _Royal
Household Books_.
It is but right that I should give this information to your
correspondent "T. Cr.", as I have omitted to "note it" in my reprint
of Hutton's curious tract.
Edward F. Rimbault.
_Cardinal Beaton_ (Vol. ii., p. 433.).--In Smith's _Iconographia
Scotica_ is a portrait of Beaton said to be painted by Vandyke, and
evidently the one engraved in Lodge. It is accompanied by a memoir,
which would probably be of use to Scotus, as it contains references to
a great number of authorities used in its compilation. If Scotus has
not met with this, and will send me his address I will forward to him
the leaves containing the life.
John I. Dredge.
Pateley Bridge.
_Portrait of Cardinal Beaton_ (Vol. ii., p. 433.).--In No. 57.
allusion is made to the portrait of Cardinal Beaton, now at Blairs
College, near Aberdeen. In Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire, where one
of the copies of this portrait, from the easel of James Giles, Esq.,
R.S.A., now is, there are some manuscripts of Abbe Macpherson (who
sent the Blairs picture to this country), purchased at the sale of
the late Mr. Chalmers, author of _Caledonia_. Among them there might
possibly be some which might tend to confirm the authenticity of the
original painting.
S.P.
"_He that runs may read_" (Vol. ii., pp. 374. 439.).--It is idle to
prolong this controversy. I think it is no interpretation of part
of ver. 2., chap. ii, Habakkuk. Nor do I believe that it has any
reference to it. But it is obviously a favourite poetic quotation, and
your readers will find it at line 80, in Cowper's _Tirocinium, or A
Review of Schools_.
J.G.H.
Pimlico.
_Sir George Downing_ (Vol. ii., p. 464.).--Particulars respecting the
first Sir George Downing may be found in Wood's _Athenae Oxonienses_,
ii. 27. 758, 759.; Wotton's _English Baronetage_, iv. 415.;
_Parliamentary History of England_, xix. 411. 465. 499.; _Continuation
of the Life of Edward Earl of Clarendon_, royal 8vo. edit., 1116,
1117. 1165-1170, Burnet's _History of his own Time_, ed. 1838, 136.;
Heath's _Chronicle_, 2nd edit., 448. 528, 529, 530. 582.; _Personal
History of Charles II_. (at end of Bohn's edition of _Grammont_),
431.; Lister's _Life of Clarendon_, ii. 231-255. 268-271. 311-315.
(Mr. Lister's third volume contains numerous letters to and from Sir
George Downing); Vaughan's _Protectorate of Cromwell_, i. 227. 255,
256. 264. 266. 268., ii. 299. 317. 433.; Courtenay's _Memoirs of Sir
W. Temple_, i. 117. 264. 269.; Pepys's _Diary_; and Evelyn's _Diary_.
Wotton was not acquainted with the fact stated by your correspondent,
that "the family is of most ancient origin in Devonshire." Wotton
states, and apparently on good authority, that the first of the family
of whom he had found mention, was Godfrey Downing, of the county of
the city of {498} _Norwich_, who had a son, Arthur Downing, of the
county of _Norfolk_, whose son, Calybut (the grandfather of the first
Sir George), was of Shennington, in _Gloucestershire_.
Mr. Sims, in his _Index to the Heralds' Visitations_, refers to
pedigrees and arms of the family of Downing under _Buckinghamshire_,
_Essex_, and _Norfolk_.
C.H. Cooper.
Cambridge, December 9. 1850.
_Burning to Death, or Burning of the Hill_ (Vol. ii., p. 441.).--The
following extract from Collinson's _Somerset_, vol. iii. p. 374.,
where it is quoted from the _Laws of the Miners of Mendip_, 1687, may
throw some light upon the incidents referred to by J.W.H.:--
"Among certain laws by which the miners were anciently
regulated is the following, viz.:
"'That if any man of that occupation do pick or steal any lead
or ore to the value of thirteen pence halfpenny, the lord or
his officer may arrest all his lead and ore, house and hearth,
with all his goods, grooves, and works, and keep them as
forfeit to his own use; and shall take the person that hath so
offended, and bring him where his house and work, and all his
tools and instruments belonging to the same occupation, are;
and put him into his house or work, and set every thing on
fire about him, and banish him from that occupation before all
the miners for ever.'--_Laws of the Miners of Mendip_, 1687.
"This is called _Burning of the Hill_."
It is to be hoped that any of the readers of "Notes and Queries"
resident among this mining population (who are said to retain many
other ancient and remarkable customs), and possessing any information
in illustration of it, will record it in your columns.
William J. Thoms.
_The Roscommon Peerage_ (Vol. ii., p. 469.).--My attention has been
called to an article in No. 58. respecting the descendants of the
first Earl of Roscommon.
As I am very interested in the subject, I beg An Hiberian, should this
meet his eye, to allow me to correspond with him.