_How the Ancient Irish used to crown their King._--
"A White cow was brought forth, which the king must kill, and seeth in
water whole, and bathe himself therein stark naked; then, sitting, in
the same cauldron, his people about him, he must eat the flesh and
drink the broth wherein he sitteth, without cup or dish, or use of his
hand."
Cited by Sir R. Peel in the debate on the Union with Ireland, April 25th,
1834. (_Mirror of Parliament_, p. 1311.)
_One of Junius's Correspondents identified._--It has often appeared to me
that a portion of the pages of "N.& Q." would be usefully employed in
supplying information relative to works either anonymous, or by authors of
whom little is known. The French have one or two works expressly on this
subject, but we have not any of the kind.
I have a volume now before me, concerning the author of which I now seek
for information, as he was one of those who entered the lists with Junius,
and addressed him under the signature of "An Advocate in the Cause of the
People." One of his letters is reprinted in vol. i. p. 429. of (I am sorry
to say) the unsatisfactory edition of the _Letters of Junius_ recently
published by Mr. Bohn; but the editor does not seem to have known the name
of this "Advocate." This I learn from the work in question: _Hope's Curious
and Comic Miscellaneous Works, started in his Walks_: London, printed for
the Author, 8vo. without year or printer's name; but the Preface is dated
April 24, 1780, and the Dedication is signed "John Hope," who had, he tells
us, "once the honour of sitting" in the House of Commons; and he also
informs us that Falkner wrote part of the poem _The Shipwreck_ under his
roof. Besides many amusing articles in prose and verse, the volume contains
twenty-one papers entitled "The Leveller," which I believe originally
appeared periodically in the _Westminster Mag._; but I do not find them
noticed by Drake in his Essays on that class of literature.