[Transcriber's note: Original spelling variations have not been
standardized. Characters with macrons have been marked in brackets with
an equal sign, as [=e] for a letter e with a macron on top. Underscores
have been used to indicate _italic_ fonts. A list of volumes and pages
in "Notes and Queries" has been added at the end.]
NOTES AND QUERIES:
A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION
FOR
LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.
"When found, make a note of."--CAPTAIN CUTTLE.
VOL. V.--No. 123. SATURDAY, MARCH 6. 1852.
Price Fourpence. Stamped Edition, 5_d._
CONTENTS.
Page
NOTES:--
South Sea Playing Cards, by John Sudlow 217
Birthplace of the Empress Josephine, by Henry H. Breen 220
Notes on Homer, No. III., by Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie 221
Folk Lore:--Ancient Custom on Interment--Pure
Rain Water--Cure for Hooping Cough 223
Sainted Kings Incorruptible 223
Minor Notes:--Rev. A. Butler--Birthplace of Bishop
Hoadley--Humboldt's "Cosmos," and Nares' "Attempt"--Gough,
the Irish Portion of his Camden:
Ledwich--Chronogram--Junius and the Quarterly
Review again 224
QUERIES:--
Seven Queries 225
Plague Stones 226
Minor Queries:--The Cross on Counsels' Briefs--Sir
James Hayes, of Bedgebury, Kent--Authorship of the
Song "Oh Nanny," &c.--Hexameter Poem on English
Counties--Wild Oats, Origin of the Phrase--The Dr. Richard
Mortons--General Lambert--Cross-legged Effigies and Collars
of SS.--The Crooked Billet--Collins the Poet, and his Ode
on the Music of the Grecian Theatre--Bishop Kidder's
Autobiography--Shrine of Edward the Confessor--"Wise
above that which is written"--"Hoffman," a Tragedy by
Chettle--Inverted Commas--Quotations Wanted--Deacons,
a Phrase used by Foxe--The Count de Vordac 226
MINOR QUERIES ANSWERED:--Hoare's Charity--Dr.
Sacheverell's "Sermon at Derby"--Lucas Lossius--The
"Athenian Oracle" 229
REPLIES:--
French Revolutions foretold 231
Grimesdyke 231
Poet referred to by Bacon, by S. W. Singer 232
Johnson's House, Bolt Court 232
Cooper's Miniature of Cromwell, by Major-General
Fox 234
The Queen of the Isle of Man 234
Replies to Minor Queries:--Old Scots March--Elizabeth,
Equestrian Figure of--Meaning of Stickle--Latin
Names of Towns--Llandudno, on the Great Orme's
Head--Brozier--Passage in Troilus and Cressida--Nelson
Family--Maps of Africa--Muggleton--Passage in
Hamlet--Theoloneum--Donkey--Sir Samuel Garth--Princes
of Wales and Earls of Chester, &c.: Mr. Bush's
Collection--Litera scripta manet 235
MISCELLANEOUS:--
Notes on Books, &c. 237
Books and Odd Volumes wanted 238
Notices to Correspondents 238
Advertisements 239
Notes.
SOUTH SEA PLAYING CARDS.
It is pretty generally known that, during the South Sea mania, a pack of
playing cards was published in illustration of the prevailing folly.
Each card contained a caricature of one of the numerous bubble
companies, with a pertinent verse underneath. These cards are now
extremely rare. I never saw a complete set, nor do I know where one is
to be found. Some time ago a friend kindly furnished me with a copy of
all the verses (except one), and as I am not aware that they have been
printed separately, I beg to forward a transcript for preservation in
"N. & Q.;" not because I think they have any excellence to recommend
them, but because it is desirable that so curious a record of a very
extraordinary time should not be entirely lost.
Perhaps some of your correspondents can supply the missing verse:--
SPADES.
Ace. _River Douglas._
"Since bubbles came in vogue, new arts are found
To cut thro' rocks, and level rising ground;
That murmuring waters may be made more deep,
To drown the knaves and lull the fools asleep."
Two. _Grand Fishery._
"Well might this bubble claim the style of grand,
Whilst they that raised the same could fish by land;
But now the town does at the project pish,
They've nothing else to cry but stinking fish."
Three. _Cleaning the Streets._
"A cleanly project, well approved no doubt,
By strolling dames, and all that walk on foot.
This bubble well deserves the name of best,
Because the cleanest bite of all the rest."
Four. _Fish Pool._
"How famous is the man that could contrive,
To serve this gluttonous town with fish alive.
But now we're bubbled by his fishing pools,
And as the men catch fish, the fish catch fools."
Five. _York Buildings Water Company._
"You that are blest with wealth by your Creator,
And want to drown your money in Thames water,
Buy but York buildings, and the cistern there
Will sink more pence than any fool can spare."
Six. _Insurance on Lives._
"Come all ye gen'rous husbands with your wives
Insure round sums on your precarious lives,
That to your comfort, when you're dead and rotten,
Your widows may be rich when you're forgotten."
Seven. _Stockings Company._
"You that delight to keep your sweaty feet,
By often changing stockings, clean and neat,
Deal not in stocking shares, because I doubt
Those that buy most 'ere long will go without."
Eight. _Puckles Machine_ (Bullets round and square).
"A rare invention to destroy the crowd
Of fools at home, instead of foes abroad.
Fear not, my friends, this terrible machine,
They're only wounded that have shares therein."
Nine. _Welsh Copper._
"This bubble for a time may current pass,
Copper's the title, but 'twill end in brass;
Knaves cry it up, fools buy, but when it fails,
The losing crowd will cry 'lots splutter a'nails.'"
Ten. _Providing for and employing all the Poor of
Great Britain._
"The poor when managed and employ'd in trade,
Are to the public welfare useful made.
But if kept idle, from their vices spring
W----s for the stews, and soldiers for the king."
Knave. _Raddish Oil._
"Our oily project with the gaping town,
Will surely for a time go smoothly down.
We sow and press to carry on the cheat:
To bite Change Alley is not fraud, but wit."
Queen. _For erecting Hospitals for taking in and maintaining
Illegitimate Children._
"Love on, ye jolly rakes and buxom dames,
A child is safer than venereal flames;
Indulge your senses with the sweet offence,
We'll keep your bastards at a small expence."
King. _An inoffensive Way of emptying Houses of Office._
"Our fragrant bubble, would the world believe it,
Is to make human dung smell sweet as civet;
None sure before us ever durst presume
To turn a ... into a rich perfume."
CLUBS.
Ace. _Lute-string Co._
"These crafty managers have play'd for years
The world as many tricks as dancing bears,
By bubbling too they broke their ancient rules;
They first made lute-strings, but they now make fools."
Two. _Paste board Manufacturing Co._
"As empty sayings flow from windy fools,
So pasteboard bubbles rise from paper skulls.
Madness must surely be the town's disease
When knaves get money by such whims as these."
Three. _Trade to Harborough._
"You that delight to take up foreign linen,
At Harbro' made, a little town near Bremen,
Encourage trade abroad for time to come,
And, like kind fools, neglect your own at home."
Four. _Saltpetre._
"Come all ye black infernal powder makers,
And Rocketeers that deal in squibs and crackers,
Buy petre stock, let me be your adviser,
'Twill make you (tho' not richer) much the wiser."
Five. _For Bleaching Coarse Sugars._
"Fair tattling gossips, you that love to see
Fine sugar blended with expensive tea,
Since you delight in things both dear and sweet,
Buy sugar shares, and you'll be sweetly bit."
Six. _Fatting of Hogs._
"Come all ye bacon making, greasy rogues
That want good names for your meagre hogs,
Send them to us, and at a small expence,
We'll fat 'em up with offal, blood, and grains."
Seven. _Rose Insurance from Fire._
"Projecting sure must be a gainful trade,
Since all the elements are bubbles made;
They're right that gull us with the dread of fire,
For fear makes greater fools than fond desire."
Eight. _Buying Seamen's Tickets._
"As the case stands, the Wapping wives all buy
The seamen's tickets for a small supply;
But 'tis no matter whether spendthrift slaves
Are choused by Wapping w----s, or bubbling knaves."
Nine. _Liverpool Fresh Water._
"This town does to our Western Islands deal,
And serves 'em with malt liquors, and with meal,
Both excellently good! then how in nature
Can people brew fine drink, yet want fresh water."
Ten. _Bleaching of Hair Company._
"Here dirty brown, dark red, and yellow hair,
Are bleach'd to colours that are fine and fair,
Then blended,--so that half the w----s in town
Contribute to adorn one addled crown."
Knave. _Freeholders Company._
"Come all ye spendthrift prodigals that hold
Free land, and want to turn the same to gold,
We'll buy your all, provided you agree
To drown your purchase-money in South Sea."
Queen. _Lending Money on Bottomry._
"Some lend their money for the sake of more,
And others borrow to increase their store;--
Both these do oft engage in Bottomree,
But curse sometimes the bottom of the sea."
King. _Irish Sail Cloth._
"If good St. Patrick's friends should raise a stock,
And make in Irish looms true hollands duck,
Then shall this noble project, by my soul,
No longer be a bubble but a bull."
HEARTS.
Ace. _Hemp and Flax._
"Here hemp is served for stubborn rogues to die in,
And softer flax for tender skins to lie in,
But should the useful project be defeated,
The knaves will prosper, and the fools be cheated."
Two. _Manuring of Land._
"A noble undertaking, but abused,
And only as a tricky bubble used;--
Much they pretend to, but the public fear,
They'll never make corn cheap, or horse-dung dear!"
Three. _Coal Trade from Newcastle._
"Some deal in water, some in wind like fools,
Others in wood, but we alone in coals;
From such like projects a declining nation
May justly fear a fatal inflammation."
Four. _Water Engine._
"Come all ye culls, my water engine buy
To pump your flooded mines and coal-pits dry:
Some projects are all wind, but ours is water,
And tho' at present low, may rise herea'ter."
Five. _Royal Fishery of Great Britain._
"They talk of distant seas, of ships and nets,
And with the style of Royal, gild their baits;
When all that the projectors hope or wish for
Is to catch fools, the only chubs they fish for."
Six. _Erecting Houses of Office in Britain for Strangers
and Travellers._
"A useful project merrily advanced,
Tho' chiefly by town-nightmen countenanced,
Design'd to sweeten the North British nation,
And put close stools and bedpans out of fashion."
Seven. _Building Ships to let to Freight._
"Who but a nest of blockheads to their cost,
Would build new ships for freights when trade is lost?
To raise fresh barks must surely be amusing,
When hundreds rot in docks for want of using."
Eight. _Drying Malt by the Air._
"Of all the windy projects now in vogue
To fleece the fool, and feed the cunning rogue,
The malting bubble seems to be most fair,
Because our maltsters own they work by air."
Nine. _English Copper and Brass Company._
"The headlong fool that wants to be a swopper
Of gold and silver coin for English copper,
May in Change Alley prove himself an ass,
And give rich metal for adult'rate brass."
Ten. _Exporting Timber from Germany._
"You that are rich and hasty to be poor,
Buy timber export from the German shore;
For gallowses built up of foreign wood,
If rightly used, may do Change Alley good."
Knave. _For Erecting Salt-works in Holy Island._
"Here by mixt elements of earth and water,
They make a mud that turns to salt herea'ter,
To help the project on among Change dealers,
May all bad wives, like Lot's, become salt pillars,
Since crowds of fools delight to be salt sellers."
Queen. _Curing Tobacco for Snuff._
"Here slaves for snuffs are sifting Indian weed,
Whilst th' overseer does the riddle feed.
The dust arising gives their eyes much trouble,
To show their blindness that espouse the bubble."
King. _Whale Fishery._
"Whale fishing, which was once a gainful trade,
Is now by cunning heads a bubble made,
For round the Change they only spread their sails,
And to catch gudgeons, bait their hooks with whales."
DIAMONDS.
Ace. _Sir J. Lambert's Improvement of Land Company._
"The famous knight that is the sole projector,
Of this new bubble, is a South director;
But 'twod be better taken at his hands,
To raise poor South Sea, than improve poor lands."
Two. _Greenland Trade._
"This project was to catch, to cut or boil,
Huge whales and other monstrous fish to oil;
A stinking bubble tho' of late so dear,
Yet now the greatest sharers stink for fear."
Three. [Wanting.]
Four. _Insurance on Horses._
"You that keep horses to preserve your ease,
And pads to please your wives and mistresses,
Insure their lives, and if they die we'll make
Full satisfaction, or be bound to break."
Five. _Bahama Islands._
"Rare fruitful isles, where not an ass can find
A verdant tuft or thistle to his mind.
How then must those poor silly asses fare,
That leave their native land to settle there?"
Six. _Insurance on Ships._
"In vain are all insurances,--for still
The raging winds must answer heaven's hill;
To what wise purpose do we then insure,
Since some must lose whate'er the sea devour?"
Seven. _Rock-salt._
"You that are willing to preserve your meat
In winter savoury, and in summer sweet,
Encourage this salt project, and your coin
Will turn to some account--at least to brine."
Eight. _Settling Colonies in Acadia, N. America._
"He that is rich and wants to fool away
A good round sum in North America,
Let him subscribe himself a headlong sharer,
And asses' ears shall honour him or bearer."
Nine. _Pennsylvanian Company._
"Come all ye saints that would for little buy
Great tracts of land, and care not where they lie,
Deal with your Quaking friends, they're men of light;
The spirit hates deceit, and scorns to bite."
Ten. _Purchasing Estates illegally detained._
"You that have dormant titles to estates,
Piled on your closet shelves to feed the rats,
Sell them to us, we'll gratify your spite,
And plague the rogues that roil you of your right."
Knave. _Coral Fishery._
"Coral, that beauteous product only found
Beneath the water and above the ground,
If fish'd for as it ought, from thence might spring
A Neptune's palace for a British king."
Queen. _Furnishing Funerals to all Parts of Great
Britain._
"Come all ye sickly mortals, die apace,
And solemn pomps your funerals shall grace;
Old rusty hackneys still attend each hearse,
And scarecrows in black gowns complete the farce."
King. _Temple Mills._
"By these old mills strange wonders have been done,
Numbers have suffer'd, yet they still work on;
Then tell us, which have done the greater ills,
The Temple lawyers, or the Temple Mills?"
JNO. SUDLOW.
BIRTHPLACE OF THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE.
It is commonly believed that the Island of Martinique was the birthplace
of Marie Josephine Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, better known as the
Empress Josephine. It would seem, however, from the following
circumstances, that St. Lucia has a preferable claim to that
distinction. By the treaty of Paris (10th February, 1763), St. Lucia,
until then one of the neutral islands, was ceded to France, and was made
a dependency of Martinique. The first step adopted by the local
authorities on that occasion, was to offer extensive grants of land in
St. Lucia to such families in Martinique as might be disposed to settle
in the former island; and among those who took advantage of the proposal
was M. de Tascher, the father of Josephine. In the course of the year
1763 he came over to St. Lucia, and settled with his family on the crest
of a hill called _Paix-Bouche_, within a few miles of the site now
occupied by the principal town. Here they continued to reside until
1771, when M. de Tascher, having been selected for the office of
President of the _Conseil Souverain_ in Martinique, returned with his
family to that island, taking with him a child seven years old, to whom
Madame de Tascher had given birth at _Morne Paix-Bouche_ on the 24th
June, 1764, and who was destined to become the wife of Bonaparte and the
Empress of France.
The fact that M. de Tascher and his family settled in St. Lucia after
the Treaty of Paris, is too well established to require corroboration.
The fact that his residence there extended from 1763 to 1771, is no less
certain. While collecting materials some years ago for the history of
St. Lucia, I met with the most authentic proofs of this circumstance;
but having returned the books and documents to the several parties to
whom they belonged, I am unable at this moment to give a special
reference under this head. As regards the particular date of
Mademoiselle De Tascher's birth, I am indebted for a knowledge of it to
no less an authority than M. Sidney Daney, the author of a voluminous
history of Martinique, who, while asserting that she was born on the
paternal estate in that island, records the date in the following words:
"Cette année 1764 fut signalée par la naissance d'une femme qui,
tout en parvenant à la plus glorieuse des destinées humaines,
devait être à la fois le symbole le plus doux de cette divine
charité. Le vingt-quatre Juin naquit aux Trois-Ilets, sur
l'habitation de ses parens, Marie Josephine Rose Tascher de la
Pagerie."
That the claim of St. Lucia to the honour of having given birth to that
remarkable woman is no idle dream, no imaginary pretension, now set up
for the first time, can be shown by many circumstances. From her
coronation in 1804, to her death in 1814, there were several persons in
St. Lucia who asserted their knowledge of the fact. Some of them were
still living in 1825, when the late Sir John Jeremie came to St. Lucia
and collected information on the subject. In 1831 that able judge
published in a local newspaper a short historical notice of St. Lucia,
in which he gives the following unequivocal testimony on this question.
I quote from the _St. Lucia Gazette and Public Advertiser_ of 23rd
February, 1831:
"On the summit of one of its (St. Lucia's) highest mountains, the
_Paix-Bouche_ (a word which in Negro-French is significantly
expressive of silence), on a spot surrounded by trees, apparently
the growth of centuries, it might be supposed that here at least
the very name of the extraordinary being who has given an impulse
to the age of Napoleon had scarcely reached. A few yards from the
almost impracticable and faintly traced path is the mouldering
foundation of a decayed cottage. _That was the birthplace of
Josephine._ The inhabitants of Martinique, with whom all the St.
Lucia families are connected, lay claim to Josephine as their
countrywoman. The fact is, however, as I have stated it; and this
was admitted by one of her own family at Martinique to a lady of
our island, but with the truly French addition, 'qu'elle n'avait
fait qu'y naître.' The companion of her childhood was Mr. Martin
Raphael, late a councillor of the royal court, who is still
living, and who on visiting France was kindly received by her at
Malmaison. Madame Delomel, who died but a few months ago at a very
advanced age, knew her well."
On my arrival in St. Lucia in 1831, an old woman of colour, named
_Dédé_, was pointed out to me as having been in the service of the
Taschers at _Morne Paix-Bouche_. She was then residing with the family
of Mr. R. Juge, the President of the Court of First Instance, and that
gentleman assured me that nothing was more certain than that Josephine
was born in St. Lucia. I afterwards had several conversations with
_Dédé_ on the subject, and she confirmed Mr. Juge's statement, adding
that she was present at the time of Josephine's birth, and was employed
as her _bonne_ until the departure of the family for Martinique. _Dédé_
was an intelligent old dame, then about eighty years of age, and was
greatly respected by every one.
I am aware that all this is at variance with the biographical records of
our time, which assign Martinique as the place of Josephine's birth. But
this inaccuracy may be accounted for on the following grounds. 1st. St.
Lucia is within a short distance of Martinique, and at the period of
Josephine's birth was a dependency, a portion, as it were, of that
colony. 2nd. The family had long been settled in Martinique before they
came to St. Lucia, and all their predilections were for the former
island. 3rd. Their sojourn in St. Lucia was not of long duration, and in
a few years the circumstance of their having been there at all was
probably forgotten by the public. 4th. There was no priest in St. Lucia
in 1764, by whom the child might have been christened, and the place of
her birth established beyond dispute. 5th. When at a subsequent period
she was baptized in Martinique, it happened naturally enough that there
was no one present who had any knowledge of her having been born in St.
Lucia, or who felt any concern in the matter. 6th. M. De Tascher had now
become a personage of some distinction, and he was probably not
unwilling to efface the recollection of his having been, at one time, a
needy planter in the wilds of St. Lucia. 7th. Facts which have since
acquired an obvious importance, were of none at all in 1771. The
suppression of such a circumstance, whether intentional or accidental,
would have attracted no notice at that period of the history of the
Taschers. It was not then anticipated that a member of the family would,
at no very remote period, become associated with the greatest actor in
the most extraordinary revolution in the world's history, and prove
herself not unworthy of so exalted a destiny.
All that relates to the Empress Josephine receives an added degree of
interest from recent occurrences. It would be strange if the wife who
was discarded by Napoleon because she could not give him an heir for the
imperial throne, should give him, if not an heir, his first successor,
in the person of her grandson, Prince Louis Napoleon. As regards St.
Lucia, too, there is a coincidence which may be worth mentioning. When
Napoleon fell into our hands after the battle of Waterloo, St. Lucia was
the place _first_ selected for his exile; but in consequence of the
dangers likely to arise frown its proximity to Martinique, the scheme
was relinquished, and the preference given to St. Helena.
HENRY H. BREEN.
St. Lucia.
NOTES ON HOMER, NO. III.
(_Continued from_ Vol. v., p. 172.)
_Lachmann and Grote. New Views._
Agreeably to my promise at the conclusion of my former article, I
continue and conclude my remarks on the Homeric question.
Nitzsch, one of Wolf's most indefatigable and learned opponents,
examined his theory with the closest critical nicety, and, by proving
its fallaciousness, he shook the stability of it very much--not wholly,
however, because disproof does not always engender disbelief; scholars
were beginning to lose faith therein, when, ten years ago, the late Carl
Lachmann revived it, with certain modifications, in his _Fernere
Betrachtungen über die Ilias_ (Abhandl. Berlin. Acad. 1841), where he
has proposed the following views:--
That the Homeric poems were not composed by one man, but by several,
working together; and that, after the collection of these lays by
Peisistratos, the history of them is precisely as given us by classical
writers.
This proposition, to use the words of Grote[1], "explains the gaps and
contradictions in the narrative, but it explains nothing else;" and is
further refuted by the actual facts of the poems themselves[2], where,
as we find, no contradictions bearing on this point occur, and the whole
sixteen poets (for such is Lachmann's number) concur in killing and
sending off the stage, so to speak, these considerable chieftains (and
all in the first battle after the secession of Achilles), Elephenor,
chief of the Euboeans[3], Tlepolemos, of the Rhodians[4]; Pandaros of
the Lycians[5]; Odios, of the Halizonians[6]; Pirous and Acamas, of the
Thracians[7]; besides many of inferior note. None of these reappear in
the whole course of the work; and it seems strange, as Mure continues,
that "any number of 'independent poets' should have so harmoniously
dispensed with the services of all six in the sequel." And he then cites
the solitary discrepancy, Pylæmenes, as the only exception[8], whose
death is related in the fifth, and who weeps at his son's funeral in the
thirteenth book. This however, Mure explains as an oversight on the part
of the poet (which is, however, _impossible_), or to the more probable
cause of an interpolation of verses 658 and 659 by an early rhapsodist,
"better versed in the 'Battle of the Ships,' as his habitual part in the
recital, than in the 'Prowess of Diomed.'"
[Footnote 1: Grote, vol. ii. p. 231.]
[Footnote 2: Mure, Appendix C., vol. i. p. 507.]
[Footnote 3: Ιλ. iv. 469.]
[Footnote 4: Ιλ. v. 659.]
[Footnote 5: Ιλ. v. 290.]
[Footnote 6: v. 39.]
[Footnote 7: iv. 527., vi. 7.]
[Footnote 8: v. 576., xiii. 658.]
Grote also objects to the modifications of Lachmann, and in the
following words:
"The advocates of the Wolfian theory appear to feel the
difficulties which beset it: for their language is wavering in
respect to these supposed primary atoms.... I will add in respect
to his [Lachmann's] dissertations, so instructive as a microscopic
examination of the poem, 1. That I find myself constantly
dissenting from that critical feeling on the strength of which he
cuts out parts as interpolations, and discovers traces of the
hands of distinct poets: 2. That his objections against the
continuity of the narrative are often founded upon lines which the
ancient scholiasts and Mr. Payne Knight had already pronounced to
be interpolations: 3. That such of his objections as are founded
upon lines undisputed admit, in many cases, of a complete and
satisfactory reply."[9]
[Footnote 9: _Hist. of Greece_, vol. ii. p. 232. n. 1.]
Grote's own opinions on the subject are difficult to arrive at, but what
he _has_ said is mostly true. These three different views of the Homeric
controversy have, as I have said, occupied the world since thinking on
the subject began; each hypothesis has found most able, critical, and
quibbling adherents and opponents, each affirming and proving, after his
own way, what the others denied and scouted.
There is another author who has likewise discussed the subject of Homer,
and in a way more attractive to the general reader; and that is the
finely-feeling and learned Walter Savage Landor, in his _Pericles and
Aspasia_. Speaking in the person of Pericles, he says[10]:--
"I have no paradox to maintain, no partiality to defend. Some tell
us there were twenty Homers; some deny that there was ever one.
_It were idle and foolish to shake the contents of a vase in order
to let them settle at last._ We are perpetually labouring to
destroy our delights, our composure, our devotion to superior
power. Of all the animals on earth we least know what is good for
us. My opinion is, that what is best for us is our admiration of
good. No man living venerates Homer more than I do. He was the
only author I read when I was a boy; for our teachers are usually
of opinion that wisdom and poetry are, like fruits for children,
unwholesome, if too fresh. Simonides had indeed grown somewhat
sound; Pindar was heating; Æschylus ... ay, but Æschylus was
almost at the next door. Homer then nourished my fancy, animated
my dreams, awoke me in the morning, marched with me, sailed with
me, taught me morals, taught me language, taught me music, and
philosophy, and war."
[Footnote 10: _Pericles and Aspasia_, Letter LXXXIV.--_Works_,
vol. ii. p. 387.]
Agreeing with my honoured friend in what I have italicised above, I
think it is time that the Homeric question were set at rest, and, to
atone for our error in shaking the vase, let it remain at peace forever.
I offer my reflections on the subject with extreme diffidence, yet,
though I confess myself open to correction, and desirous of it, as a
friend to literature, I cannot say that I think my views will be found
far from an approximation to the truth, which, at this remote age, is
all we can possibly arrive at. As Plinius Secundus held that there was
no book so bad but that something might be learned from it, so I hold
that there is no theory so bad (always excepting that one put forth by
some escaped Bedlamite, of Shakspeare's non-being, and that his works
were the composition of the monks), but that there lies some truth at
the bottom of it. On that principle I have endeavoured "to lay the keel"
(as Southey used to say of his planned poems) of a reconciliation
between all the beliefs of all the theorists.
I will state my theory, as I have done the others, in the plainest
possible terms; and, to begin at the beginning, I must go back to the
origin of song. Is it possible that an army like that of the Hellenes
when at Troy, had no idea of passing the weary evenings except in
drinking and talking? No: surely not. We find Phemios singing, in the
_Odyssea_, lays of much the same kidney as those in Athenæos, and in
Xenophon's _Symposion_. These were short recitals of some particular
circumstance of antiquity, half religious and half earthly. No doubt the
common soldiers of that age had, like the common sailors of some fifty
years ago, some one qualified to "discourse in excellent music" among
them. Many of these, like those of the negroes in the United States,
were extemporaneous, and allusive to events passing around them. But
what was passing around them? The grand events of a spirit-stirring war;
occurrences likely to impress themselves, as the mystical legends of
former times had done, upon their memory; besides which, a retentive
memory was deemed a virtue of the first water, and was cultivated
accordingly, in those ancient times. Ballads at first, and down to the
beginning of the war with Troy, were mere recitations with an
intonation. Then followed a species of recitative, probably with an
intoned burden. Tune next followed, as it aided the memory considerably.
It was at this period, about four hundred years after the war, that a
poet flourished of the name of Melesigenes, or Meonides, but most
probably the former. He saw that these ballads might be made of great
utility to his purpose of writing a poem on the social position of
Hellas, and as a collection he published these lays, connecting them by
a tale of his own. This poem now exists under the title of the
_Odyssea_. The author, however, did not affix his own name to the poem,
which, in fact, was great part of it remodelled from the archaïc dialect
of Crete, in which tongue the ballads were found by him. He therefore
called it the poem of _Homeros_, or the Collector.[11] But this is
rather a proof of his modesty and talent, than of his mere drudging
arrangement of other people's ideas, for, as Grote has finely observed,
arguing for the unity of authorship, "a great poet might have recast
pre-existing separate songs into one comprehensive whole; but no mere
arrangers or compilers would be competent to do so."[12]
[Footnote 11: Welcker, _Der Epische Cyclus_, p. 127. Professor
Wilson, in his _System of Hindu Mythology_ (Introduct. p. lxii.),
has the following passage, quoted by Grote: "The sage Vyasa is
represented not as the author, but as the arranger and compiler of
the Vedas and the Purânas. His name dates his character, meaning
the _arranger_ or _distributor_; and the recurrence of so many
Vyasas,--many individuals who new-modelled the Hindu
Scriptures,--has nothing in it that is improbable, except the
fabulous intervals by which their labours are separated."]
[Footnote 12: _Hist of Greece_, vol. ii. p. 232.]
While employed on the wild legend of Odysseus, he met with a ballad
recording the quarrel of Achilles and Agamemnon; his noble mind seized
the hint that there presented itself, and the _Achilleïs_[13] grew under
his hand. Unity of design, however, caused him to publish the poem under
the same pseudonyme as his former work; and the disjointed lays of the
ancient bards were joined together, like those relating to the Cid, into
a chronicle history, named the _Iliad_.[14] Melesigenes knew that the
poem was destined to be a lasting one; and so it has proved. But first,
the poems were destined to undergo many vicissitudes and corruptions, by
the people who took to singing them in the streets, assemblies, and
agoras. However, Solon first, and then Peisistratos, and afterwards
Aristoteles and others, revised the poems, and restored the works of
Melesigenes Homeros to their original integrity in a great measure. But
that this was of no great avail is evident from the corruption
οἰωνοῖσί τε πᾶσι, in the opening. _All_ birds are not carnivorous, and
therefore the passage must be wrong: besides, the words immediately
following, savouring somewhat of interpolation, and, indeed, being
condemned by some as such, would lead to the fair assumption that the
whole line was corrupted.
[Footnote 13: "The first book, together with the eighth, and the
books from the eleventh to the twenty-second inclusive, seem to
form the primary organisation of the poem, _then properly an
Achilleïs_," &c.--Grote, Vol. ii. pp. 235. fol.]
[Footnote 14: Mure, vol. i. p. 23 n. Ticknor, _History of Spanish
Literature_, vol. i. p. 11. seq.]
I said before (Vol. v., p. 99.) that the Cyclic poems illustrated the
history of the Homeric compositions, just as the letters of Poplicola,
and those of Philo Junius, illustrate the history of Junius; but I am
not inclined to deprive them all of credit as the compositions of the
same poet. For instance, part of the Ιλιας μικρα was probably
done from the notes of Melesigenes, who was, like Herodotos, always at
work upon some matter.
The origin of writing has been made a stumbling-block in the Homeric
question, and most foolishly; and I must again agree with Colonel Mure
on this subject. Mr. Grote, Mr. Granville Penn, and the Colonel, have
done more for the elucidation of the question than any other scholars of
the present or last age; and it is to them we must turn for further
assistance. I wish they would give their attention to the hymns,
especially that to Hermes; for "thereby hangs a tale."
As for me, I leave my speculations to the mercy of those who do not
think like myself. I am satisfied that they are not far from the truth,
and as near as we can hope to come in these days. Indeed, it is a
well-known fact, embodied in the old proverb, "What's one man's meat's
another's poison;" and that which is convincing to one is the contrary
to another.
Ere I "close" my "scribblings," however, I must tender my thanks to the
Editor of "N. & Q.," for his kind admission of these articles to his
pages. Haveto!
KENNETH R. H. MACKENZIE.
March 3. 1852.
FOLK LORE.
_Ancient Custom on Interment._--I have read that it was a custom to
inter an hour-glass with the deal, as an emblem of the sand of life
being run out; or perhaps (as I should rather suggest) to intimate that
the departed, having entered upon eternity, had done with time. I
believe that in the early part of the last century the custom had not
entirely disappeared, and that small hour-glasses were given to the
friends of the deceased attending at funerals, and were put beside the
corpse (like rosemary), or thrown into the grave? Does the custom still
linger in any remote parts of the country?
W. S. G.
Newcastle-on-Tyne.
_Pure Rain Water._--_Pure rain water_ is said to be an infallible cure
for sore eyes, and cases are reported to the writer by persons who have
tried and fancy they have proved its efficacy. The rain water must be
collected in a clean open vessel, _in the month of June_, and must not
be contaminated be being previously collected by any other means; it
will then remain pure for any length of time, if preserved in a bottle.
T. D.
Gainsbro'.
_Cure for Hooping Cough._--This complaint is very prevalent in my
neighbourhood just now. I overheard a conversation the other day between
some farmers: one was recommending the patient to inhale the breath of a
horse as a certain cure; another gravely informed his audience that the
sight of a piebald horse would afford immediate relief!
G. A. C.
SAINTED KINGS INCORRUPTIBLE.
In the Appendix to Evelyn's interesting _Diary_ (last edition, 1850),
your readers may recollect there is a note upon the "unexpected finding
the crucifix and gold chain of that pious prince, St. Edward the
Confessor." The note contains an extract from the narrative of the
circumstances attending the finding of those relics by "Charles Taylour,
Gent." (or, Henry Keepe--the writer's correct name). It appears from
that account, that when, in 1163, Thomas à Becket obtained a
canonisation of the king, and the coffin was opened, the body was found
uncorrupted; and that, 136 years after William I. had commanded the
coffin to be enshrined, when the abbot resolved to inspect the body,
then likewise "said to be incorruptible," he found it so, "being
perfect, the limbs flexible," &c.
A curious parallel to this presented itself recently to one in the
course of a reference to the 2nd volume of Mr. W. B. MacCabe's curious
and laborious _Catholic History of England_. [_En passant_, allow me to
express the hope, in which I well know many sympathise, that the
long-promised _third_ volume, bringing the history down to the accession
of William the Conqueror, will ere long appear. The work gives in a
well-arranged form so much that is curious in our early national
records, that it would be a matter of regret that it should not be
completed. It is a great pity indeed that the author's original plan, to
carry the history down to the Reformation, should have been abandoned.]
After describing the burial of Edgar (also a "Confessor," as well as St.
Edward), it is stated that "in the year 1052, upon his tomb being opened
by the Abbot Eilward, his body was found perfectly _free from_ the
slightest stain of _corruption_;" and that upon the body being
"profanely hacked," in order to make it fit the receptacle prepared for
it, "torrents of blood burst from the king's corpse." (W. Malmsb. _Ges.
Reg. Ang._) This, be it remembered, was eighty-seven years after burial.
The body was afterwards deposited in a shrine. Are there other examples
mentioned by the chroniclers of the incorruptibility of saintly kings?
Both Edward and Edgar were, it should be recollected, good friends to
the monks. William of Malmsbury, in the course of his eulogium upon
Edgar, mentions the important fact that the monarch not only gave--
"Templa Deo,"
but also--
"Templis Monachos, Monachis dedit agros."
Were not these strong reasons why the king should remain uncorrupted, at
all events in the memory, and also the records, of the brotherhood?
J. J. S.
Minor Notes.
_Rev. A. Butler._--The Rev. R. Gibbings, M.A., did some years since give
to the public an exact reprint of the first Roman _Index Expurgatorius_,
in the lengthened Introduction to which he has treated of the whole
literature pertaining to the question.
The same rev. gentleman is author of the following elegant inscription
on the monument of the Rev. Archer Butler, recently professor of moral
philosophy in Trinity College, Dublin. Your miscellany seems an
appropriate place wherein to enshrine matters of this order.
"D. O. M.
"GUILIELMUS ARCHER BUTLER, A.M.
Rathmothachiæ Rector in Dioecesi Rapotensi,
Apud Dublinienses in Ethicis Professor,
Theologus, Poeta, Philosophus,
Optimis ingenii dotibus, summâque eloquentiâ præditus,
Multa pro Ecclesiâ Christi feliciter conscripsit,
Plura moliebatur.
Viris ille bonis doctisque juxta carus,
Integer vitæ, maturus animi,
Religione devinctus, concionibus potens
Æqualium decus, simul et exemplar,
Malignâ febre correptus,
Eheu, quàm intempestivè!
E terris migravit A.D. MDCCCXLVIII. ætatis suæ XXXVII.,
Triste desiderium superstitibus relinquens,
Amici piè memores hoc illi monumentum poni voluere."
O. T. D.
_Birthplace of Bishop Hoadley._--On the west side of the London Road,
Westerham, Kent, are some neatly built brick cottages: before one of
them stands a yew tree, which, I was informed by an intelligent
inhabitant of the town, was planted by the Rev.--Hoadley, on the birth
of his son Benjamin. Although the tree still marks the spot, the house
itself does not now stand; it was razed to the ground some years since
to make room for the present buildings. Benjamin's brother, who was
afterwards Archbishop of Dublin, was also born in this house. I may add
that this is not generally known in the town, but I think the above
"Note" is accurate.
H. G. D.
_Humboldt's "Cosmos," and Nares' "Attempt."_--Observing that the learned
and accomplished Humboldt has concluded his _Cosmos_ in German, although
the English translation of the last portion has not yet appeared,--an
extremely valuable and interesting scientific contribution towards a
general view of human knowledge regarding the universe,--will you permit
me to observe, that as it perhaps did not enter into his plan to
consider the _religious_ considerations that arise from a _Christian's_
view of the universe in its relation to our small portion of its
apparently illimitable extent, any reader of Humboldt's work who wishes
to see how a scholar and a divine of a former generation has treated the
subject, will, if I mistake not, peruse the following work with singular
pleasure, making all due allowance for the imperfect state of
scientific knowledge at the time when the author wrote:--
"Εις Θεος Εις Μεσιτης; or, an Attempt to show how far
the Philosophical Notion of a Plurality of Worlds is consistent,
or not so, with the language of the Holy Scriptures. By the Rev.
Edward Nares, A.M., Rector of Biddenden, Kent, and late Fellow of
Merton College, Oxford. 8vo. London, 1801."
The author, I may add, was a friend of the eminent geologist, De Luc.
J. M.
_Gough, the Irish Portion of his Camden: Ledwich._--The following
cutting from a Dublin bookseller's Catalogue (Connolly, 6. Chancery
Place, Feb. 1852) may perhaps find a corner in "N. & Q." Dr. Ledwich was
the Will-o'-the-Wisp that led Gough astray in the matter of Irish
antiquities. Few, indeed, of the "additions" made to honest Camden's
original are of value, many of them are worse than valueless:--
"ANTIQUITIES OF IRELAND, from Gough's edition of Camden's
Britannia, profusely illustrated with plates and maps from various
works, including Ortelliu's (Ortelius') rare map of Ireland, all
of which were inserted by the Rev. Mr. Ledwich, the Irish
Antiquarian, royal folio, half russia, neat, 3_l._ 10_s._
"This unique copy was presented by Mr. Gough to the Rev. Mr.
Ledwich, and bears Gough's autograph: 'For the Rev. Mr. Ledwich.
From the author. 1789.'
"Mr. Ledwich presented the book to Wm. Monck Mason, Esq., having
written the following memorandum:--
"'I assisted Mr. Gough in this edition, and he spontaneously
promised a copy of the work in 3 vols. folio, but put me off with
this paltry volume. So he served my valuable friend, Mr. Beauford
of Athy.
"'Viveret in terris te si quis avarior uno?'
"'_Horace._
"'E. L., F.A.S., 1790.'
"A copy of the original note [to Mason] inserted in the book--
"'York Street, 3rd Feb. 1817.
"'Dear Sir--Having parted with all my books, for not one of my
family could or would read them, I have retained what I send you.
It is a small return for the presents you made me.
"'Small as it is, have the goodness to accept of it as a testimony
of my obligations and friendship.
"'Believe me yours sincerely,
"'E. LEDWICH.'
"The work is Gough's Britannia, the Irish Part."
JAMES GRAVES.
Kilkenny.
_Chronogram_ over the door of Sherborne school, marking the date 1670:
"Tecta, Draco custos, Leo vinDeX fLos Decus, auctor, ReX pius,
hæc servat, protegit, ornat, aLit."
The letters DLDXLDXL are capitals, and rubricated.
S. S.
_Junius and the Quarterly Review again._--The article on the Letters of
Junius, in the last number of the _Quarterly Review_, is very pleasantly
written. But I suppose it will not be considered to have rendered
probable the notion that Thomas Lord Lyttelton was the writer of those
letters. The reviewer observes that "Lord Lyttelton," meaning George,
the first Lord Lyttelton, is only once mentioned by Junius. Undoubtedly
Junius mentions "Lord _Littleton's_ integrity and judgment" (Woodfall,
ii. 305.) Can it be imagined that Thomas Lord _Lyttelton_ could have so
mis-spelled his father's name?
CAROLUS CURSITOR.
Queries.
SEVEN QUERIES.
1. On the 24th February, 1831, was published, at Speenhamland, the first
number of the _History and Antiquities of Newbury and its Environs_. Was
this work ever completed? If not, how many numbers were issued.
["The History and Antiquities of Newbury and its Environs,
including twenty-eight Parishes situate in the County of Berks,
also a Catalogue of Plants found in the Neighbourhood," was
completed in 1839, and makes a volume of 340 pages.]
2. Can any information be given as to Hannah Woolley beyond what she
gives in the curious autobiographical sketch prefixed to her
_Gentlewoman's Companion, or a Guide to the Female Sex_; 3rd edition.
London, 1682, 12mo. Her maiden name she omits to mention; and all she
discloses as to her family and fortunes is, that her parents died when
she was very young, and that she had suffered "all manner of
affliction," "by loss of husband, children, friend, estate."
3. Amongst Mr. C. K. Sharpe's MSS. was sold _The Force of Love, or the
Ephesian Matron; a Dramatick Poem, in Three Parts_. From a playbill,
which was pasted on the fly-leaf, it seems that this drama was produced
for the benefit of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, at the theatre in Sadler
Street, Durham, April 7, 1777. The performance was "gratis;" but 2_s._
6_d._, 2_s._, and 1_s._, for boxes, pit, and gallery, were charged for
the "Concert of Music." The title was changed into the _Matron of
Ephesus_, and the authorship was ascribed to Mr. Wallace. No notice
either of play or author occurs in the _Biographia Dramatica_.
4. Does any MS. of the _Conquest of China_, a tragedy, by Sir Robert
Howard, exist? I have in my library a scene written by the Earl of
Rochester for the author, and which, so far as I can trace, from the
very defective state of the libraries of the north, was never printed.
It is a beautiful MS., and some of the lines possess considerable
vigour. It is written in rhyme.
5. Who was the author of the _History of Faction, alias Hypocrisy, alias
Moderation, from its first Rise, down to its present Toleration in these
Kingdoms_? &c. London, 1705, 8vo.
6. Where can the fourth and concluding(?) number of Wright's _History of
Ludlow_ be obtained?
[Only three Parts have been published. The last was issued in
1847.]
7. Can you inform me who was the translator of--
"_The Idea of Christian Love_; being a Translation, at the
Instance of Mr. Waller, of a Latin Sermon upon John xiii. 34, 35.,
preached by Mr. Edward Young, Prebend of Salisbury. With a large
Paraphrase on Mr. Waller's Poem of _Divine Love_. To which are
added, some Copies of Verses from that excellent Poetess Mrs.
Wharton, with others to her. London, 1688, 8vo."
The versification is extremely good, but as I never saw the sermon, I
can have no notion whether the translation be faithful, or the reverse.
I suspect a Latin "preachment" would have few hearers, especially
now-a-days: but it would be interesting to see a Latin sermon which
Waller thought highly of, and which he proposed should be turned into
verse.
I have not been able to procure any information as to the sermon, or its
poetical translation, in any bibliographical work; but perhaps some of
your numerous readers may know something either about Mr. Edward Young,
the father I presume of the poet, or the translator.
Mrs. Wharton was the daughter of Sir H. Lee, of Ditchly, and the first
wife of the future Marquis of Wharton. A manuscript tragedy by her, and
in her own handwriting, is in my possession. It is the presentation copy
to Miss Mary Howe, whose autograph is on the fly-leaf. It is beautifully
bound in old morocco, and formerly belonged to Horace Walpole, whose
book-plate is on it. Who was Miss Mary Howe? It was purchased at the
dispersion of the curious MSS. of Mr. Charles K. Sharpe, who had a great
fancy for the lady's poetry. She is erroneously styled Marchioness of
Wharton in Park's edition of Walpole's _Royal and Noble Authors_.
J. MT.