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Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they are listed at the end of the text.
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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.
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No. 213.] SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26. 1853. [Price Fourpence. Stamped Edition 5d.
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CONTENTS.
NOTES:— Page
The State Prison in the Tower, by William Sidney Gibson 509 Inedited Letter from Henry VIII. of England to James V. of Scotland, by Thos. Nimmo 510 Handbook to the Library of the British Museum, by Bolton Corney 511
FOLK LORE:—Derbyshire Folk Lore—Weather Superstitions —Weather Rhymes, &c.—Folk Lore in Cambridgeshire 512 Rapping no Novelty, by D. Jardine 512
MINOR NOTES:—Bond a Poet—The late Harvest —Misquotation—Epitaph in Ireland—Reynolds (Sir Joshua's) Baptism—Tradescant 513
QUERIES:—
Grammar in relation to Logic, by C. Mansfield Ingleby 514 The Coronet [Crown] of Llewelyn ap Griffith, Prince of Wales 514
MINOR QUERIES:—Monumental Brass at Wanlip, co. Leicester, and Sepulchral Inscriptions in English —Influence of Politics on Fashion—Rev. W. Rondall —Henry, third Earl of Northumberland—"When we survey," &c.—Turnbull's Continuation of Robertson —An Heraldic Query—Osborn filius Herfasti— Jews in China—Derivation of "Mammet"—Non-recurring Diseases—Warville—Dr. Doddridge— Pelasgi—Huc's Travels—The Mousehunt—Lockwood, the Court Jester—Right of redeeming Property 515
MINOR QUERIES WITH ANSWERS:—Dictionary of Zingari —Sir Robert Coke—Regium Donum—Who was the Author of "Jerningham" and "Doveton?" —Alma Mater 517
REPLIES:—
Alexander Clark 517 Amcotts Pedigree, by W. S. Hesleden 518 Sir Ralph Winwood, by the Rev. W. Sneyd 519 Trench on Proverbs, by the Rev. M. Margollouth, &c. 519 On Palindromes, by Charles Reed, &c. 520
REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES:—The Claymore— Temple Lands in Scotland—Lewis and Sewell Families—Pharaoh's Ring—"Could we with ink," &c.—"Populus vult decipi"—Red Hair—"Land of Green Ginger"—"I put a spoke in his wheel" —Pagoda—Passage in Virgil—To speak in Lute-string —Dog Latin—Longevity—Definition of a Proverb—Ireland a bastinadoed Elephant—Ennui —Belle Sauvage—History of York—Encore— "Hauling over the Coals"—The Words "Cash" and "Mob"—Ampers and—The Keate Family, of the Hoo, Herts—Hour-glasses—Marriage of Cousins —Waugh, Bishop of Carlisle—Marriage Service— Hoby, Family of—Cambridge Graduates—"I own I like not," &c.—"Topsy Turvy"—"When the Maggot bites," &c. 520
MISCELLANEOUS:—
Notes on Books, &c. 527 Books and Odd Volumes wanted 528 Notices to Correspondents 528 Advertisements 528
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Notes.
THE STATE PRISON IN THE TOWER.
A paragraph has lately gone the round of the newspapers, in which, after mentioning the alterations recently made in the Beauchamp Tower and the opening of its "written walls" to public inspection, it is stated that this Tower was formerly the place of confinement for state prisoners, and that "Sir William Wallace and Queen Anne Boleyn" were amongst its inmates.
Now, I believe there is no historical authority for saying that "the Scottish hero" was ever confined in the Tower of London; and it seems certain that the unfortunate queen was a prisoner in the royal apartments, which were in a different part of the fortress. But so many illustrious persons are known to have been confined in the Beauchamp Tower, and its walls preserve so many curious inscriptions—the undoubted autographs of many of its unfortunate tenants—that it must always possess great interest.
Speaking from memory, I cannot say whether the building known as the Beauchamp (or Wakefield) Tower was even in existence in the time of Edward I.; but my impression is, that its architecture is not of so early a time. It is, I believe, supposed to derive its name from the confinement in it of Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in 1397. Of course it was not the only place of durance of state prisoners, but it was the prison of most of the victims of Tudor cruelty who were confined in the Tower of London; and the walls of the principal chamber which is on the first storey, and was, until lately, used as a mess-room for the officers, are covered in some parts with those curious inscriptions by prisoners which were first described in a paper read before the Society of Antiquaries in 1796, by the Rev. J. Brand, and published in the thirteenth volume of The Archaeologia.
Mr. P. Cunningham, in his excellent Handbook, says:
"William Wallace was lodged as a prisoner on his first arrival in London in the house of William de Leyre, a citizen, in the parish of All Hallows Staining, at the end of Fenchurch Street."
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Mr. Cunningham, in his notice of the Tower, mentions Wallace first among the eminent persons who have been confined there. The popular accounts of the Tower do the like. It was about the Feast of the Assumption (Aug. 15) that Wallace was taken and conducted to London; and it seems clear that he was forthwith imprisoned in the citizen's house:
"He was lodged," says Stow, "in the house of William Delect, a citizen of London, in Fenchurch Street. On the morrow, being the eve of St. Bartholomew (23rd Aug.), he was brought on horseback to Westminster ... the mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen of London accompanying him; and in the Great Hall at Westminster ... being impeached," &c.
The authorities cited are, Adam Merimuth and Thomas de La More. His arraignment and condemnation on the Vigil of St. Bartholomew are also mentioned by Matthew Westminster, p. 451. Neither these historians, or Stow or Holinshed, afford any farther information. The latter chronicler says that Wallace was "condemned, and thereupon hanged" (Chron., fol., 1586, vol. ii. p. 313.). He was executed at Smithfield; and it is not improbable that, if, after his condemnation, he was taken to any place of safe custody, he was lodged in Newgate. The following entry of the expenses of the sheriffs attending his execution is on the Chancellor's Roll of 33 Edw. I. in the British Museum:
"Et in expens t misis fcis [crossed p] eosd Vice^{tes} [crossed p] Willo le Walleys Scoto lat^one predone puplico utlagato inimico et rebellione [Rx] qui in contemptu [Rx] [crossed p] Scociam se Regem Scocie falso fecāt nōiare t t ministros [Rx] in [crossed p]tībus Scocie intfecit at[crossed q] dux^t excercitū hostilit contr^a Regē [crossed p] judiciū Cur [Rx] apud Westm dist^ahendo suspendendo decollando ej viscera concremando ac ej corpus q^arterando cuj cor[crossed p]is quartia ad iiij majores villas Scocie t^asmittebantur hoc anno.... Lxj s. xd."
The day of the trial, August 23, is generally given the date of his execution. It therefore appears that the formidable Scot never was a prisoner in the Tower.
The unfortunate Queen Anne Boleyn occupied the royal apartments while she was a prisoner in the Tower. From Speed's narrative, it appears that she continued to occupy them after she was condemned to death. On May 15 (1536) she was (says Stow)
"Arraigned in the Tower on a scaffold made for the purpose in the King's Hall; and after her condemnation, she was conveyed to ward again, the Lady Kingston, and the Lady Boloigne her aunt, attending on her."
On May 19, the unfortunate queen was led forth to "the green by the White Tower" and beheaded.
In the record of her trial before the Duke of Norfolk, Lord High Steward (see Report of Deputy Keeper of Public Records), she is ordered to be taken back to "the king's prison within the Tower;" but these are words of form. The oral tradition cannot in this case be relied upon, for it pointed out the Martin Tower as the place of her imprisonment because, as I believe, her name was found rudely inscribed upon the wall. The Beauchamp Tower seems to have been named only because it was the ordinary state prison at the time. The narrative quoted by Speed shows, however, that the place of her imprisonment was the queen's lodging, where the fading honours of royalty still surrounded Anne Boleyn.
WILLIAM SIDNEY GIBSON.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
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INEDITED LETTER FROM HENRY VIII. OF ENGLAND TO JAMES V. OF SCOTLAND.
I lately transcribed several very interesting original manuscripts, chiefly of the seventeenth century, but some of an earlier date, and now send you a literal specimen of one evidently belonging to the sixteenth century; although, notwithstanding the day of the month is given, the year is not. If you think it worthy of a place in your very excellent publication, you are quite at liberty to make use of it, and I shall be happy to send you some of the others, if you choose to accept them. They chiefly relate to the period when the Duke of Lauderdale was commissioner for Scotch affairs at the English Court; and one appears to be a letter addressed by the members of the Scottish College at Paris to James I. on the death of his mother.
THOS. NIMMO.
Right excellent right high and mighty prince, our most dereste brother and nephew, we recommende us unto you in our most hertee and affectuous maner by this berer, your familyar servitor, David Wood. We have not only receyved your most loving and kinde let^s declaring how moch ye tendre and regarde the conservation and mayntennance of good amytie betwene us, roted and grounded as well in proximitie of blood as in the good offices, actes, and doyngs shewed in our partie, whiche ye to our greate comforte afferme and confesse to be daylly more and more in your consideration and remembraunce (but also two caste of fair haukes, whiche presented in your name and sent by youe we take in most thankfull parte), and give youe our most hertie thanks for the same, taking greate comforte and consolacion to perceyve and understande by your said letters, and the credence comitted to your said familyar servitor David Wood, which we have redd and considered (and also send unto youe with these our letters answer unto the same) that ye like a {511} good and uertuous prince, have somoche to herte and mynde the god rule and order uppon the borders (with redresse and reformacion of such attemptats as have been comytted and done in the same), not doubting but if ye for your partie as we intende for ours (doe effectually persiste and contynue in so good and uertuose purpose and intente), not only our realmes and subjectts shall lyue quyetly and peasably without occasion of breche, but also we their heddes and gouernors shall so encrease and augment our syncere love and affecōn as shall be to the indissoluble assurammente of good peace and suretie to the inestimable benefit, wealth, and comoditie of us our realmes and subjectts hereafter.
Right excellent right high and mightie prynce, our most derest brother and nephew, the blessed Trynytie have you in his government.
Given under our signet at Yorke place besides Westminster, the 7th day of December.
Your lovyng brother and uncle, HENRY VIII.
[This letter, which is not included in the State Papers, "King Henry VIII.," published by the Record Commissioners, was probably written on the 7th December, 1524-25, as in the fourth volume of that collection is a letter from Magnus to Wolsey, in which he says, p. 301.: "Davy Wood came hoome about the same tyme, and sithenne his hider comming hath doone, and continually dooth myche good, making honourable reaport not oonly to the Quenes Grace, but also to all other. He is worthy thankes and gramerces." This David Wod, or Wood, was a servant of the queen, Margaret of Scotland.]
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HANDBOOK TO THE LIBRARY OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
In the Report of the royal commissioners on the British Museum, printed in 1850, we read—
"We are of opinion that, with reference to such a measure as the one now suggested [giving information to persons at a distance as to the existence of works in the library], and to other measures and regulations generally affecting the use of the library, it is desirable to prepare and publish a compendious Guide to the reading-room, as described and suggested by lord Seymour at Q. 9521."
The reference is erroneous. At Q. 9521. there is not a word on the subject! At Q. 9522. we read—
"(Lord Seymour—to Antonio Panizzi, Esq.) You have heard also some witnesses state that it would be a great advantage to those who frequent the reading-room if they had put into their hands some short printed guide to the reading-room, to tell them what books of reference there were, and to tell them how they were to proceed to get books, and other information, from the want of which they state they have been at a great loss? (Mr. Panizzi.) I do not believe that it is often the case that persons are at a loss for want of such a guide, but it might be done," etc.
Now, the suggestion of a short printed guide to the reading-room was evidently considered as of some importance. The principle of SUUM CUIQUE is also of some importance. We observe that lord Seymour the examiner ascribes the suggestion to some witnesses—but lord Seymour the reporter claims the credit of it for himself! It is the after-thought of his lordship of which I have to complain.
If we turn to the evidence, it will appear that Mr. Peter Cunningham suggested a printed "catalogue of the books in the reading-room," Q. 4800.—I must now speak of myself. When summoned before the commissioners as a witness, I took with me the printed Directions respecting the reading-room for the express purpose of pointing out their inconsistency and insufficiency, and of advocating the preparation of a guide-book.
I cannot repeat my arguments. It would occupy too much space. I can only refer to the questions 6106-6116. The substance is this:—I contended that every person admitted to the reading-room should be furnished with instructions how to proceed—instructions as to the catalogues which he should consult—and instructions for asking for the books. On that evidence rests my claim to the credit of having suggested a Guide to the reading-room. Its validity shall be left to the decision of those who venerate the motto of Tom Hearne—SUUM CUIQUE.
The trustees of the British Museum seem to have paid no attention to the recommendation of the royal commissioners. They issue the same Directions as before. After you have obtained admission to the reading-room, you are furnished with instructions as to the mode of obtaining it!—but you have no guide to the numerous catalogues.
What Mr. Antonio Panizzi, the keeper of the department of printed books, says might be done, Mr. Richard Sims, of the department of manuscripts, says shall be done. His Handbook to the library of the British Museum is a very comprehensive and instructive volume. It is a triumphant refutation of the opinions of those who, to the vast injury of literature, and serious inconvenience of men of letters, slight common sense and real utility in favour of visionary schemes and pedantic elaboration.
There is no want of precedents for a work of this class, either abroad or at home. As to the public library at Paris—I observe, in my own small collection, an Essai historique sur la bibliotheque du roi, par M. le Prince; a Histoire du cabinet des medailles, par M. Marion du Mersan; a Notice des estampes, par M. Duchesne, &c.
For a precedent at home, I shall refer to the Synopsis of the contents of the British Museum. The first edition of that interesting work, with the {512} valued autograph of G. Shaw, is now before me. It is dated in 1808. I have also the sixtieth edition, printed in this year. I cannot expect to see a sixtieth edition of the Handbook, but it deserves to be placed by the side of the Synopsis, and I venture to predict for it a wide circulation.
BOLTON CORNEY.
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FOLK LORE.
Derbyshire Folk Lore.—Many years ago I learned the following verses in Derbyshire, with reference to magpies:
"One is a sign of sorrow; two are a sign of mirth; Three are a sign of a wedding; and four a sign of a birth."
The opinion that a swarm of bees settling on a dead tree forebodes a death in the family also prevails in Derbyshire.
In that county also there is an opinion that a dog howling before a house is an indication that some one is dying within the house; and I remember an instance where, as I heard at the time, a dog continued howling in a street in front of a house in which a lady was dying.
It is also a prevalent notion that if the sun shines through the apple-trees on Christmas Day, there will be an abundant crop the following year.
I never heard the croaking of a raven or carrion crow mentioned as an indication of anything, which is very remarkable, as well on account of its ill-omened sound, as because it was so much noticed by the Romans.
S. G. C.
Weather Superstitions.—If it rains much during the twelve days after Christmas Day, it will be a wet year. So say the country people.
"If there is anything in this, 1853 will be a wet year, for it has rained every day of the twelve." So wrote I under date January 9.
No one, I think, will deny that for once the shaft has hit the mark.
R. C. WARDE.
Kidderminster.
Weather Rhymes, &c.—The following are very common in Northamptonshire:
"Rain before seven, Fine before eleven."
"Fine on Friday, fine on Sunday. Wet on Friday, wet on Sunday."
"The wind blows cold On Burton Hold (Wold). Can you spell that with four letters? I can spell it with two."
Burton Hold, or Wold, is near Burton Latimer.
B. H. C.
Folk Lore in Cambridgeshire (Vol. viii., p. 382.).—The custom referred to by MR. MIDDLETON, of ringing the church bell early in the morning for the gleaners to repair to the fields, and again in the evening for their return home, is still kept up not only at Hildersham, but also in most of the villages in this neighbourhood. I have heard this "gleaners' bell" several times during this present autumn; the object of course being to give all parties a fair and equal chance. Upon one occasion, where the villages lie rather close together, I heard four of these bells sounding their recall from different church towers; and as I was upon an eminence from whence I could see the different groups wending their way to their respective villages, it formed one of the most striking pastoral pictures I have ever witnessed, such, perhaps, as England alone can furnish.
NORRIS DECK.
Cambridge.
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RAPPING NO NOVELTY.
It may be interesting to the believers in modern miracles to learn that at all events "rapping" is no new thing. I now send you the account of an incident in the sixteenth century, which bears a strong resemblance to some of those veracious narrations which have enlightened mankind in the nineteenth century.
Rushton Hall, near Kettering in Northamptonshire, was long the residence of the ancient and distinguished family of Treshams. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the mansion was occupied by Sir Thomas Tresham, who was a pedant and a fanatic; but who was an important character in his time by reason of his great wealth and powerful connexions. There is a lodge at Rushton, situate about half a mile from the old hall, now in ruins; but covered all over, within and without, with emblems of the Trinity. This lodge is known to have been built by Sir Thomas Tresham; but his precise motive for selecting this mode of illustrating his favourite doctrine was unknown until it appeared from a letter written by himself about the year 1584, and discovered in a bundle of books and papers inclosed, since 1605, in a wall in the old mansion, and brought to light about twenty years ago. The following relation of a "rapping" or "knocking" is extracted from this letter:
"If it be demanded why I labour so much in the Trinity and Passion of Christ to depaint in this chamber, this is the principal instance thereof; That at my last being hither committed[1], and I usually having my servants here allowed me, to read nightly an hour to me after supper, it fortuned that Fulcis, my then servant, reading in the Christian Resolution, in the treatise of Proof that there is a God, &c., there was upon a wainscot table at that instant three loud knocks {513} (as if it had been with an iron hammer) given; to the great amazing of me and my two servants, Fulcis and Nilkton."
D. JARDINE.
[Footnote 1: This refers to his commitments for recusancy, which had been frequent.]
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Minor Notes.
Bond a Poet, 1642, O.S.—In the Perfect Diurnall, March 29, 1642, we have the following curious notice:
"Upon the meeting of the House of Lords, there was complaint made against one Bond, a poet, for making a scandalous letter in the queen's name, sent from the Hague to the king at York. The said Bond attended upon order, and was examined, and found a delinquent; upon which they voted him to stand in the pillory several market days in the new Palace (Yard), Westminster, and other places, and committed him to the Gatehouse, besides a long imprisonment during the pleasure of the house: and they farther ordered that as many of the said letter as could be found should be burnt."
His recantation, which he afterwards made, is in the British Museum.
E. G. BALLARD.
The late Harvest.—In connexion with the present late and disastrous harvest, permit me to contribute a distich current, as an old farmer observed to-day, "when I was a boy:"
"When we carry wheat o' the fourteenth of October, Then every man goeth home sober."
Meaning that the prospect of the "yield" was not good enough to permit the labourers to get drunk upon it.
R. C. WARDE.
Kidderminster.
Misquotation.—In an article entitled "Popular Ballads of the English Peasantry," a correspondent of "N. & Q." (Vol. v., p. 603.) quotes as "that spirit-stirring stanza of immortal John," the lines:
"Jesus, the name high over all," &c.
These lines were not written by John, but by Charles Wesley. Here is the proof:
1st. A hymn of which the stanza quoted is the first, appears (p. 40.) in the Collection of Hymns published by John Wesley in 1779; but in the preface he says, "but a small part of these hymns are of my own composing."
2nd. In his Plain Account of Christian Perfection, he says:
"In the year 1749, my brother printed two volumes of Hymns and Sacred Poems. As I did not see them before they were published, there were some things in them which I did not approve of; but I quite approved of the main of the hymns on this head."—Works, vol. xi. p. 376., 12mo. ed. 1841.
3rd. The lines quoted by your correspondent form the ninth stanza of a hymn of twenty-two stanzas (which includes the six in John Wesley's Collection), written "after preaching (in a church)," and published in "Hymns and Sacred Poems. In two volumes. By Charles Wesley, M.A., Student of Christ Church, Oxford. Bristol: printed and sold by Felix Farley, 1749." A copy is in my possession. The hymn is No. 194.; and the stanza referred to will be found in vol. i. p. 306.
J. W. THOMAS.
Dewsbury.
Epitaph in Ireland.—The following lines were transcribed by me, and form part of an epitaph upon a tombstone or mural slab, which many years past was to be found in (if I mistake not) the churchyard of Old Kilcullen, co. Kildare:
"Ye wiley youths, as you pass by, Look on my grave with weeping eye: Waste not your strenth before it blossom, For if you do yous will shurdley want it."
J. F. FERGUSON.
Dublin.
Reynolds (Sir Joshua's) Baptism.—I have been favoured by the incumbent of Plympton S. Maurice with a copy of the following entry in the Register of Baptisms of that parish, together with the appended note; which, if the fact be not generally known, may be of interest to your correspondent A. Z. (Vol. viii., p. 102.) as well as to others among the readers of "N. & Q.":
"1723. Joseph, son of Samuel Reynolds, clerk, baptised July the 30th."
On another page is the following memorandum:
"In the entry of baptisms for the year 1723, the person by mistake named Joseph, son of Samuel Reynolds, clerk, baptized July 30th, was Joshua Reynolds, the celebrated painter, who died February 23, 1792."
Samuel Reynolds, the father, was master of Plympton Grammar School from about 1715 to 1745, in which year he died. During that period his name appears once in the parish book, in the year 1742, as "minister for the time being" (not incumbent of the parish): the Rev. Geo. Langworthy having been the incumbent from 1736 to 1745, both inclusive.
Query, Was Sir Joshua by mistake baptized Joseph? or was the mistake made after baptism, in registering the name?
J. SANSOM.
Oxford.
Tradescant.—The pages of "N. & Q." have elicited and preserved so much towards the history of John Tradescant and his family, that the accompanying extract from the register of St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, in the city of London, should have a place in one of its Numbers:
"1638. Marriages.—John Tradeskant of Lambeth, co. Surrey, and Hester Pooks of St. Bride's, London, maiden, married, by licence from Mr. Cooke, Oct. 1."
{514}
This lady erected the original monument in Lambeth churchyard upon the death of her husband in 1662. She died 1678.
G.
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Queries.
GRAMMAR IN RELATION TO LOGIC.
Dr. Latham (Outlines of Logic, p. 21., 1847, and English Language, p. 510., 2nd edition) defines the conjunction to be a part of speech that connects propositions, not words. His doctrine is so palpably and demonstrably false, that I am somewhat at a loss to understand how a man of his penetration can be so far deceived by a crotchet as to be blind to the host of examples which point to the direct converse of his doctrine. Let the learned Doctor try to resolve the sentence, All men are either two-legged, one-legged, or no-legged, into three constituent propositions. It cannot be done; either and or are here conjunctions which connect words and not propositions. In the example, John and James carry a basket, it is of course quite plain that the logic of the matter is that John carries one portion of the basket, and James carries the rest. But to identify these two propositions with the first mentioned, is to confound grammar with logic. The former deals with the method of expression, the latter with the method of stating (in thought) and syllogising. To take another example, Charles and Thomas stole all the apples. The fact probably was, that Charles' pockets contained some of the apples, and Thomas' pockets contained all the rest. But the business of grammar in the above sentence is to regulate the form of the expression, not to reason upon the matter expressed. A little thought will soon convince any person accustomed to these subjects that conjunctions always connect words, not propositions. The only work in which I leave seen Dr. Latham's fundamental error exposed, is in Boole's Mathematical Analysis of Logic; the learned author, though he seems unsettled on many matters of logic and metaphysics, has clearly made up his mind on the point now under discussion. He says:
"The proposition, every animal is either rational or irrational, cannot be resolved into, Either every animal is rational, or every animal is irrational. The former belong to pure categoricals, to latter to hypotheticals [Query disjunctives]. In singular propositions such conversions would seem to be allowable. This animal is either rational or irrational, is equivalent to, Either this animal is rational, or it is irrational. This peculiarity of singular propositions would almost justify our ranking them, though truly universals, in a separate class, as Ramus and his followers did."—P. 59.
This certainly seems unanswerable.
If Dr. Latham is a reader of "N. & Q.," I should be glad if he would give his reasons for adhering to his original doctrine in the face of such facts as those I have instanced.
C. MANSFIELD INGLEBY.
Birmingham.
* * * * *
THE CORONET [CROWN] OF LLEWELYN AP GRIFFITH, PRINCE OF WALES.
A notice, transferred to The Times of the 5th instant from a recent number of The Builder, on the shrine of Edward the Confessor, after mentioning that "to this shrine Edward I. offered the Scottish regalia and the coronation chair, which is still preserved," adds, "Alphonso, about 1280, offered it the golden coronet of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, and other jewels."
Who was Alphonso? And would the contributor of the notice favour the readers of "N. & Q." with the authority in extenso for the offering of this coronet?
The period assigned for the offering is certainly too early; Llewelyn ap Griffith, "the last sovereign of one of the most ancient ruling families of Europe" (Hist. of England, by Sir James Mackintosh, vol. ii. p. 254.), having been slain at Builth, Dec. 11, 1282. Warrington (Hist. of. Wales, vol. ii. p. 271.), on the authority of Rymer's Foedera, vol. ii. p. 224., says: "Upon stripping Llewelyn there were found his Privy Seal; a paper that was filled with dark expressions, and a list of names written in a kind of cypher;" omitting, it will be observed, any reference to Llewelyn's coronet. That monarch's crown was probably obtained and transmitted to Edward I. on the capture, June 21, 1283, or shortly after, of his brother David ap Griffith, Lord of Denbigh, who had assumed the Welsh throne on the demise of Llewelyn; the Princess Catherine, the daughter and heir of the latter, and de jure sovereign Princess of Wales, being then an infant. Warrington states (vol. ii. p. 285.) that when David was taken, a relic, highly venerated by the Princes of Wales, was found upon him, called Crosseneych, supposed to be a part of the real cross brought by St. Neots into Wales from the Holy Land; and he adds that, besides the above relic, which was voluntarily delivered up to Edward by a secretary of the late Prince of Wales, "the crown of the celebrated King Arthur, with many precious jewels, was about this time presented to Edward," citing as his authorities Annales Waverleienses, p. 238.; Rymer's Foedera, vol. ii. p. 247.
There are some particulars of these relics in the Archaeologia Cambrensis; but neither that periodical, nor the authorities referred to by Warrington, are at the moment accessible to me.
CAMBRO-BRITON.
* * * * *
{515}
Minor Queries.
Monumental Brass at Wanlip, Co. Leicester, and Sepulchral Inscriptions in English.—In the church of Wanlip, near this town, is a fine brass of a knight and his lady, and round the margin the following inscription, divided at the corners of the slab by the Evangelistic symbols:
"Here lyes Thomas Walssh, Knyght, lorde of Anlep, and dame Kat'ine his Wyfe, whiche in yer tyme made the Kirke of Anlep, and halud the Kirkyerd first, in Wirchip of God, and of oure lady, and seynt Nicholas, that God haue yer soules and mercy, Anno Dni millmo CCC^{mo} nonagesimo tercio."
Mr. Bloom states, in his Mon. Arch. of Great Britain, p. 210., that—
"There are, perhaps, no sepulchral inscriptions in that tongue (English) prior to the fifteenth century; yet at almost the beginning of it, some are to be met with, and they became more common as the century drew to a close."
Is there any monumental inscription in English, earlier than the above curious one, known to any of your correspondents?
WILLIAM KELLY.
Leicester.
Influence of Politics on Fashion.—Can any one of the numerous readers of "N. & Q." explain the meaning of the following passage of the note of p. 305. of Alison's History of Europe, 7th edition?—
"A very curious work might be written on the influence of political events and ideas on the prevailing fashions both for men and women; there is always a certain analogy between them. Witness the shepherd-plaid trousers for gentlemen, and coarse shawls and muslins worn by ladies in Great Britain during the Reform fervour of 1832-4."
HENRI VAN LAUN.
King William's College, Isle of Man.
Rev. W. Rondall.—Can any of your correspondents give information respecting the Rev. William Rondall, Vicar of Blackhampton, Devonshire (1548), who translated into English a portion of the writings of the learned Erasmus?
HISTORICUS.
Henry, third Earl of Northumberland.—The above nobleman fell on the battle field of Towton (Yorkshire), 29th March, 1461, and was interred in the church of St. Denys, or Dionisius, in York, where his tomb, denuded of its brass, is still pointed out. Pray does an account exist, in any of our old historians, as to the removal of the body of the above nobleman from that dread field of slaughter to his mansion in Walmgate in the above city, and of his interment, which doubtless was a strictly private one? Again, does any record exist of the latter event in any book of early registers belonging to the above church? Doubtless many readers of "N. & Q." will be able to answer these three Queries.
M. AISLABIE DENHAM.
Piersebridge, Darlington.
"When we survey," &c.—Where are the following lines to be found?
"When we survey yon circling orbs on high, Say, do they only grace the spangled sky? Have they no influence, no function given To execute the awful will of Heaven? Is there no sympathy pervading all Between the planets and this earthly ball? No tactile intercourse from pole to pole, Between the ambient and the human soul? No link extended through the vast profound, Combining all above, below, around?"
ALLEDIUS.
Turnbull's Continuation of Robertson.—Some years ago, a continuation of Robertson's work on Scottish Peerages was announced by Mr. Turnbull, Advocate of Edinburgh.—I shall be glad to be informed whether it as published; and by whom or where.
FECIALIS.
An Heraldic Query.—Will any one of your contributors from Lancashire or Cheshire, who may have access to ancient ordinaries of arms, whether in print or in manuscript, favour me by saying whether he has ever met with the following coat: Per pale, argent and sable, a fess embattled, between three falcons counterchanged, belled or? It has been attributed to the family of Thompson of Lancashire, by Captain Booth of Stockport, and an heraldic writer named Saunders; but what authority attaches to either I am not aware. Is it mentioned in Corry's Lancashire?
HERALDICUS.
Osborn filius Herfasti.—Were Osborn, son of Herfast, abbot of S. Evroult, and Osborn de Crepon (filius Herfasti patris Gunnoris comitissae), brothers? or were there two Herfasts?
J. SANSOM.
Jews in China.—A colony of Jews is known to exist in the centre of China, who worship God according to the belief of their forefathers; and the aborigines of the northern portion of Australia exercise the rite of circumcision. Can these colonists and aborigines be traced to any of the nations of the lost tribes?
HISTORICUS.
Derivation of "Mammet."—The Rev. B. Chenevix Trench, in his book on the Study of Words, 4th edition, p. 79., gives the derivation of the old English word mammet from "Mammetry or Mahometry," and cites, in proof of this, Capulet calling his daughter "a whining mammet." Now Johnson, {516} in his Dictionary, the folio edition, derives mammet from the word maman, and also from the word man; and mentions Shakspeare's
"This is no world to play with mammets, or to tilt with lips."—Henry IV. (First Part), Act II. Sc. 3.
As both Dr. Johnson, the Rev. Ch. Trench, and many others, agree that mammet means "puppet," why not derive this word from the French marmot, which means a puppet.—Can any of the readers of the "N. & Q." give me a few examples to strengthen my supposition?
HENRI VAN LAUN.
King William's College, Isle of Man.
Non-recurring Diseases.—Among the many diseases to which humanity is subject, there are some which we are all supposed to have once, and but once, in our lifetime. Is this an unquestioned fact? and if so, has anything like a satisfactory explanation of it been offered?
[Hebrew: P].
Warville.—There being no w in the French language, whence did Brissot de Warville derive the latter word of his name?
UNEDA.
Philadelphia.
Dr. Doddridge.—A poem entitled "To my Wife's Bosom," and beginning
"Open, open, lovely breast, Let me languish into rest!"
occasionally appears with the name of the Rev. Dr. Doddridge as the author. Is it his?
M. E.
Philadelphia.
Pelasgi.—In an article which appeared some time ago in Hogg's Instructor, Thomas de Quincey, speaking of the Pelasgi, characterises them as a race sorrowful beyond conception.—What is known of their history to lead to this inference?
T. D. RIDLEY.
West Hartlepool.
Huc's Travels.—I was lately told, I think on the authority of a writer in the Gardener's Chronicle, that the travels of Messrs. Huc and Gabet in Thibet, Tartary, &c., was a pure fabrication, concocted by some Parisian litterateur. Can any of your readers confirm or refute this statement?
C. W. B.
The Mousehunt.—I should feel much obliged to any reader of "N. & Q." who would refer me to any mention of in print, or give me any information from his own personal experience, respecting a small animal of the weasel tribe called the mousehunt, an animal apparently but little known; it is scarcely half the size of the common weasel, and of a pale mouse-colour. It is said to be well known in Suffolk, whence, however, after some trouble, I have been unsuccessful in obtaining a specimen; young stoats or weasels having been sent me instead of it. I could not find a specimen in the British Museum. Some years ago I saw two in Glamorganshire; one escaped me; the other had been killed by a ferret, but unfortunately I neglected to preserve it. Near the same spot last year a pair of them began making their nest, but being disturbed by some workmen employed in clearing out the drain in which they had ensconced themselves, were lost sight of and escaped.
Mr. Colquhoun, in The Moor and the Loch, ed. 1851, says:
"The English peasantry assert that there are two kinds of weasel, one very small, called a 'cane,' or 'the mousekiller.' This idea, I have no doubt, is erroneous, and the 'mousekillers' are only the young ones of the year, numbers of these half-grown weasels appearing in summer and autumn."
The only description I have met with in print is in Bell's Life of Dec. 7, 1851, where "Scrutator," in No. 15. of his Letters "On the Management of Horses, Hounds, &c.," writes:
"I know only of one species of stoat, but I have certainly seen more than one species of weasel.... There is one species of weasel so small that it can easily follow mice into their holes; and one of these, not a month ago, I watched go into a mouse's hole in an open grass field. Seeing something hopping along in the grass, which I took for a large long-tailed field mouse, I stood still as it was approaching my position, and when within a foot or two of the spot on which I was standing, so that I could have a full view of the animal, a very small weasel appeared, and quickly disappeared again in a tuft of grass. On searching the spot I discovered a mousehole, in which Mr. Weasel had made his exit."
W. R. D. SALMON.
Lockwood, the Court Jester.—In some MS. accounts temp. Edw. VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, now before me, payments to "Lockwood, the king's jester," or "the queen's jester, whose name is Lockwood," are of almost annual occurrence. He appears to have travelled about the country like the companies of itinerant players.
Are any particulars known respecting him, and where shall I find the best account of the ancient court jesters? I am aware of Douce's work, and the memoirs of Will. Somers, the fool of Henry VIII.
WILLIAM KELLY.
Leicester.
Right of redeeming Property.—In some country or district which I have formerly visited, there exists, or did recently exist, a right of redeeming property which had passed from its owner's hands, somewhat similar to that prescribed to the Jews in Leviticus xxvi. 25. &c., and analogous to the custom in Brittany, with which Sterne's beautiful story has made us {517} familiar. Can you help me to remember where it is?
C. W. B.
* * * * *
Minor Queries with Answers.
Dictionary of Zingari.—Can you direct me to a glossary or dictionary of this language? I have seen Borrow's Lavengro, and am not aware whether either of his other works contains anything of the sort. I should imagine it cannot be a perfect language, since the Rommanies located in our locality invariably use the English articles and pronouns; but knowing nothing more of it than what I glean from casual intercourse, I am unable to decide to my own satisfaction.
R. C. WARDE.
Kidderminster.
[A dictionary of the Zincali will be found in the first three editions of the following work: The Zincali; or, an Account of the Gypsies of Spain; with an original Collection of their Songs and Poetry, and a copious Dictionary of their Language. By George Borrow, 2 vols., 1841. This dictionary is omitted in the fourth edition of 1846; but some "Specimens of Gypsy dialects" are added. Our correspondent may also be referred to the two following works, which appear in the current number of Quarritch's Catalogue: "Pott, Die Zigeuner in Europa und Asien, vol. i. Einleitung und Grammatik, ii. Ueber Gaunersprachen, Woerterbuch and Sprachproben, 2 vols. 8vo. sewed, 15s. Halle, 1844-45." "Rotwellsche Grammatik oder Sprachkunst; Woerterbuch der Zigeuner-Sprache, 2 parts in 1, 12mo. half-bound morocco, 7s. 6d. Frankfurt, 1755."]
Sir Robert Coke.—Of what family was Sir Robert Coke, referred to in Granger, vol. iii. p. 212., ed. 1779, as having collected a valuable library bestowed by George, first Earl of Berkeley, on Sion College, London, the letter of thanks for which is in Collins?
T. P. L.
Manchester.
[Sir Robert Coke was son and heir to Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench. The Cokes had been settled for many generations in the county of Norfolk. Camden has traced the pedigree of the family to William Coke of Doddington in Norfolk, in the reign of King John. They had risen to considerable distinction under Edward III., when Sir Thomas Coke was made Seneschal of Gascoigne. From him, in the right male line, was descended Robert Coke, the father of Sir Edward. See Campbell's Lives of Chief Justices, vol. i. p. 240.]
Regium Donum.—What is the origin and history of the "Regium Donum?"
HENRI VAN LAUN.
King William's College, Isle of Man.
[In the year 1672, Charles II. gave to Sir Arthur Forbes the sum of 600l., to be applied to the use of the Presbyterian ministers in Ireland. He professed not to know how to bestow it in a better manner, as he had learnt that these ministers had been loyal, and had even suffered on his account; and as that sum remained undisposed of in "the settlement of the revenue of Ireland," he gave it in his charity to them. This was the origin of the Regum donum. As the dissenters approved themselves strong friends to the House of Brunswick, George I., in 1723, wished too to reward them for their loyalty, and, by a retaining fee, preserve them stedfast. A considerable sum, therefore, was annually lodged with the heads of the Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists, to be distributed among the necessitous ministers of their congregations.]
Who was the Author of "Jerningham" and "Doveton?" (Vol. viii., p. 127.).—MR. ANSTRUTHER begs to decline the compliment; perhaps the publisher of the admirable History of the War in Affghanistan can find a head to fit the cap.
Oswestry.
[On a reference to our note-book, we find our authority for attributing the authorship of these works to Mr. Anstruther is the Gentleman's Magazine for September, 1837, p. 283. In the review of Doveton the writer says, "There is in it a good deal to amuse, and something to instruct, but the whole narrative of Mr. Anstruther is too melodramatic," &c. However, as he declines the compliment, perhaps some of our readers will be able to find the right head to fit the cap.]
Alma Mater.—In Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary I observed he limits the use of that expression to Cambridge. I have been accustomed to see it used for Oxford, or any other university. What is his reason for applying it to Cambridge alone?
MA. L.
[Bailey, too, in his Dictionary, applies the epithet exclusively to Cambridge, Alma mater Cantabrigia: so that it seems to have originated with that university. It is now popularly applied to Oxford, and other universities, by those who have imbibed the milk of learning from these places. The epithet has lately been transplanted to the United States of America.]
* * * * *
Replies.
ALEXANDER CLARK.
(Vol. viii., p. 18.)
In communicating a few particulars about Alexander Clark, I must disappoint your correspondent PERTHENSIS; my subject answering in no respect to Peter Buchan's "drucken dominie," the author of the Buttery College. Alexander Clark, who has fallen in my way, belongs to the class of "amiable enthusiasts;" a character I am somewhat fond of, believing that in any pursuit a dash of the latter quality is essential to success.
Clark was by profession a gardener; and as my friends in the north always seek to localise their worthies, I venture to assign him to Annandale. My first acquaintance with him arose from his {518} Emblematical Representation falling into my hands; and, pursuing my inquiries, I found this was but one of some half-dozen visionary works from the same pen. In his View of the Glory of the Messiah's Kingdom, we have the origin of his taking upon himself the prophetic character; it is entitled:
"A Brief Account of an Extraordinary Revelation, and other Things Remarkable, in the Course of God's Dealings with Alexander Clark, Gardener at Dumcrief, near Moffat, Anandale, in the Year 1749."
"In the month of August, 1749," says he, "at a certain time when the Lord was pleased to chastise me greatly in a bed of affliction, and in the midst of my great trial, it pleased the Almighty God wonderfully to surprise me with a glorious light round about me; and looking up, I saw straight before me a glorious building in the air, as bright and clear as the sun: it was so vastly great, so amiable to behold, so full of majesty and glory, that it filled my heart with wonder and admiration. The place where this sight appeared to me was just over the city of Edinburgh; at the same instant I heard, as it were, the musick bells of the said city ring for joy."
From this period, Clark's character became tinged with that enthusiasm which ended in his belief that he was inspired; and that in publishing his—
"Signs of the Times: showing by many infallible Testimonies and Proofs out of the Holy Scripture, that an extraordinary Change is at Hand, even at the very Door,"—
he was merely "emitting what he derived directly, by special favour, from God!"
"The Spirit of God," he says on another occasion, "was so sensibly poured out upon me, and to such a degree, that I was thereby made to see things done in secret, and came to find things lost, and knew where to go to find those things which were lost!"
This second sight, if I may so call it, set our author upon drawing aside the veil from the prophetic writings; and his view of their mystical sense is diffused over the indigested and rambling works bearing the following titles:
"A View of the Glory of the Messiah's Kingdom." 1763.
"Remarks upon the Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecy."
"A Practical Treatise on Regeneration." 1764.
"The Mystery of God opened," &c. Edinburgh. 1768.
"An Emblematical Representation of the Paradise of God, showing the Nature of Spiritual Industry in the Similitude of a Garden, well ordered, dressed, and kept, with Sundry Reflections on the Nature of Divine Knowledge, 1779."
In his Address to the Friendly Society of Gardeners, Clark gives some account of his worldly condition; of his early training in religious habits; his laborious and industrious devotion to his profession, with which he seems to have been greatly enamoured, although poorly paid, and often in straits. Subsequently to the great event of his life—his vision—our subject appears to have come south, and to have been in the employment of Lord Charles Spencer at Hanworth in Middlesex. Like most of the prophets of his day, Clark was haunted with the belief that the last day was approaching; and considering himself called upon to announce to his acquaintance and neighbours that this "terrible judgment of God was at hand," he got but contempt and ridicule for his pains:—more than that, indeed, for those raising the cry that he was a madman, they procured the poor man's expulsion from his situation. Under all these discouraging circumstances, he maintained his firm conviction of the approaching end of time: so strongly was his mind bent in this direction, that "I opened the window of the house where I then was," says he, "thinking to see Christ coming in the clouds!"
"I was three days and three nights that I could not eat, drink, nor sleep; and when I would close my eyes, I felt something always touching me; at length I heard a voice sounding in mine ears, saying 'Sleep not, lest thou sleep the sleep of death:' and at that I looked for my Bible, and at the first opening of it I read these words, which were sent with power, 'To him that overcometh,'" &c.
Poor Clark, like his prototype Thomas Newans, laboured hard to obtain the sanction of the hierarchy to his predictions:
"I desire no man," he says, "to believe me without proof; and if the Reverend the Clergy would think this worth their perusal, I would very willingly hear what they had to say either for or against."
The orthodoxy of the "Reverend the Clergy" was not, however, to be moved; and Alexander Clark and his books now but serve the end of pointing a moral. With more real humility and less presumption, there was much that was good about him; but letting his heated fancies get the better of the little judgment he possessed, our amiable enthusiast became rather a stumbling-block than light to his generation.
J. O.
* * * * *
AMCOTTS PEDIGREE.
(Vol. viii., p. 387.)
Although I may not be able to furnish your inquirer with full pedigree of this family, my Notes may prove useful in making it out.
From a settlement after marriage in 1663, of Vincent Amcotts of Laughton, in the county of Lincoln, gentleman, I find his wife's name to be Amy; but who she was is not disclosed. It appears she survived her husband, and was his {519} widow and relict and executrix living in 1687. Their eldest daughter Elizabeth married John Sheffield, Esq., of Croxby, and I have noted three children of theirs, viz. Vincent, who died s.p.; Christopher, who, with Margaret, his wife, in 1676 sold the Croxby estate; and Sarah. What farther as to this branch does not appear, although my next Vincent Amcotts may be, and probably was, a descendant. This Vincent Amcotts was of Harrington, in the county of Lincoln, Esq.; and who, from his marriage settlement dated May 16 and 17, 1720, married Elizabeth, the third of the four daughters of John Quincy of Aslackby, in the county of Lincoln, gentleman: and I find the issue of this marriage to be Charles Amcotts of Kettlethorpe, in the county of Lincoln, Esq., who died in 1777 s.p.; Anna Maria, whom married Wharton Emerson; Elizabeth, who died previous to her brother Charles; and Frances, who married the Rev. Edward Buckworth of Washingborough, in the county of Lincoln, Clerk, Doctor of Laws.
After the death of Charles Amcotts, we find Wharton Emerson at Kettlethorpe, having assumed the name of Amcotts: he was created a baronet in 1796, the title being limited in remainder to the eldest son of his daughter Elizabeth. Sir Wharton Amcotts married a second wife, Amelia Campbell, by whom he had a daughter, but what became of her does not appear. Elizabeth, the daughter and heir of Sir Wharton Amcotts by his first wife Anna Maria Amcotts, married in 1780 John Ingilby, Esq., of Ripley, who in the next year was created a baronet: and they appear to have had eleven children, viz. John Charles Amcotts, the present Sir William Amcotts Ingelby, in whom both titles are vested, Elizabeth, Augusta, Anna Maria, and Ann; which last three died in infancy; Diana, Vincent Bosville, who died at a year old, and Julia and Constance. Thus far my Notes extend.
W. S. HESLEDEN.
Barton-upon-Humber.
* * * * *
SIR RALPH WINWOOD.
(Vol. viii., p. 272.)
I have an original letter of Sir Ralph Winwood's in French, addressed "A Monsieur Mons^r Charles Huyghens, Secretaire du Conseil d'estat de Mess^{rs} les Estats a la Haye," which, as it may possibly be interesting to your correspondent H. P. W. R., I here transcribe:
"Mons^r.—Vos dernieres m'ont rendu tesmoignage de vostre bonn' affection en mon endroict. Car je m'asseure que vous n'eussiez jamais recommende vostre filz a ma protection si mon nom n'eust este enregistre au nombre de vos meilleurs et plus affectionnes amys. Je m'en vay, dans peu de jours, trouver Sa Ma^{te} en son retour d'Escoce, et j'espere sur la fin du moys de 7^{bre} de me rendre a ma maison a Londres. Sur ce temps-la, s'il vous plaira d'envoyer v^{re} filz vers moy, il sera le bien venu. Son traittement rendra tesmoinage de l'estime que je fais de vostre amitie. De vous envoyer des nouvelles, ce seroyt d'envoyer Noctuas Athenas. Tout est coy icy. La mort de Concini a rendu la France heureuse. Mais l'Italie est en danger d'estre exposee a la tirannie d'Espagne. Je vous baise les mains, et suis, Mons^r, vostre plus affectionne servit^r,
RODOLPHE WINWOOD. "De Londres, le 7^{me} de Juillet."
The year is not indicated, but the allusion to the death of Concini (the celebrated Marechal d'Ancre, who was assassinated by order of Louis XIII.) proves that this letter was written in 1617, and very shortly before the death of the writer, which occurred on the 27th of October in that year.
M. Charles Huyghens, to whom the letter is addressed, was probably the father of Constantine Huyghens, the Dutch poet-politician, who was secretary and privy counsellor to the Stadtholders Frederick Henry, and William I. and II., and who, not improbably, was the son here mentioned as recommended to the protection of Sir R. Winwood, and who, at that date, would have been twenty-one years of age.
Constantine was himself the father of the still more celebrated Christian Huyghens, the astronomer and mathematician. The seal on the letter, which is in excellent preservation, is a shield bearing the following arms: 1. and 4. a cross botonne, 2. and 3. three fleurs-de-lis.
W. SNEYD.
Denton.
* * * * *
TRENCH ON PROVERBS.
(Vol. viii., p. 387.)
I hope that neither Mr. Trench nor his critic E. M. B. will consider me interfering by my making an observation or two on the correct rendering of the latter part of Ps. cxxvii. 2. Mr. Trench is perfectly correct by supposing an ellipsis in the sentence alluded to, and the words
[Hebrew: YTN LYDYDW SHN']
should have been translated, "He will give to his beloved whilst he [the beloved] is asleep." The translation of the authorised version of that sacred affirmation is unintelligible. Mr. Trench has the support of Luther's version, which has the sentence thus:
"Seinen Freunden giebt er es schlafend."
The celebrated German Jewish translator of the Old Testament agrees with Mr. Trench. The following is Dr. Zunz's rendering:
"Das giebt er seinem Liebling im Schlaf."
{520}
The following is the Hebrew annotation in the far-famed Moses Mendelsohn's edition of the Book of Psalms:
[Hebrew: YTNHW HQB-H LYDYDW 'SHR HW' CHPTS BW B'WDNW YSHN WBLY MRCHH:]
"The holy and blessed One will give it to his beloved, in whom He delights, whilst he is yet asleep and without fatigue."
I need not adduce passages in the Hebrew Psalter, where such ellipsises do occur. E. M. B. evidently knows his Hebrew Bible well, and a legion of examples will immediately occur to him.
MOSES MARGOLIOUTH.
Wybunbury, Nantwich.
If E. M. B. will refer to Hengstenberg's Commentary on the Psalms, he will find that Mr. Trench is not without authority for his translation of Ps. cxxvii. 2. I quote the passage from Thompson and Fairbairn's translation, in Clark's Theological Library, vol. iii. p. 449.:
"[Hebrew: SHN'] for [Hebrew: SHNH] is not the accusative, but the preposition is omitted, as is frequently the case with words that are in constant use. For example, [Hebrew: BQR, 'RB], to which [Hebrew: SHNH] here is poetically made like. The exposition He gives sleep, instead of in sleep, gives an unsuitable meaning. For the subject is not about the sleep, but the gain."
C. I. E.
Winkfield.
Has the translation of Ps. cxxvii. 2., which Mr. Trench has adopted, the sanction of any version but that of Luther?
N. B.
* * * * *
ON PALINDROMES.
(Vol vii., p. 178. &c.)
Several of your correspondents have offered Notes upon these singular compositions, and AGRICOLA DE MONTE adduces
"[Greek: NIPSON ANOMEMATA, ME MONAN OPSIN]"
as an example. As neither he nor MR. ELLACOMBE give it as found out of this country, allow me to say that it was to be seen on a benitier in the church of Notre Dame at Paris. If it were not for the substitution of the adjective [Greek: MONAN] for the adverb [Greek: MONON], the line would be one of the best specimens of the recurrent order.
I notice that a correspondent (Vol. vii., p. 336.) describes the Palindrome as being universally sotadic. Now, this term was only intended to apply to the early samples of this fanciful species of verse in Latin, the production Sotades, a Roman poet, 250 B.C. The lines given by BOEOTICUS (Vol. vi., p. 209.),
"Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor?"
owe their authorship to his degraded Muse, and many others which would but pollute your pages.
The hexameter "Sacrum pingue," &c. given by [Omega]. [Phi]. (Vol. vi., p. 36.), is to be found in Misson's Voyage to Italy, copied from an old cloister wall of Santa Maria Novella at Florence. These ingenious verses are Leoline[2], and it is noted that "the sacrifice of Cain was not a living victim."
I have seen it stated that the English language affords but one specimen of the palindrome, while the Latin and Greek have many. The late Dr. Winter Hamilton, the author of Nugae Literariae, gives this solitary line, which at the best is awkwardly fashioned:
"Lewd did I live & evil did I dwel."
Is any other known?
Some years since I fell in with that which, after all, is the most wonderful effort of the kind; at least I can conceive of nothing at all equal to it.
It is to be found in a poem called [Greek: Poiema Karkinekon], written in ancient Greek by a modern Greek called Ambrosius, printed in Vienna in 1802, and dedicated to the Emperor Alexander. It contains 455 lines, every one of which is literal palindrome.
I have some hesitation in giving even a quotation; and yet, notwithstanding the forced character of some of the lines, your readers will not fail to admire the classic elegance of this remarkable composition.
"[Greek: Eu Elisabet, Alla t' ebasileue.] [Greek: Elabe ta kaka, kai akaka katebale.] [Greek: Areta pegase de sa ge patera.] [Greek: Somati so phene phene phos itamos.] [Greek: Su de Heros hoios o Rhos hoios hore hedus:] [Greek: Noi su laoi alaoi alusion.] [Greek: Neme ethe laoi toi alethe emen.] [Greek: Su eso ethnei ekei entheos eus.] [Greek: Ho Rhos ele ti su lusiteles oro.] [Greek: Alla ta en noi bale, labon nea t' alla] [Greek: Soter su eso o elee thee leo, hos eus rhetos] [Greek: Son hade sotera idia rhetos edanos.]"
CHARLES REED.
Paternoster Row.
[Footnote 2: Leo was a poet of the twelfth century.]
Here is a Palindrome that surrounds a figure of the sun in the mosaic pavement of Sa. Maria del Fiori at Florence:
"En giro torte sol ciclos et rotor igne."
Could any of your correspondents translate this enigmatical line?
MOSAFFUR.
E. I. Club.
* * * * *
Replies to Minor Queries.
The Claymore (Vol. viii., p. 365.).—I believe there is no doubt that the true Scottish claymore is the heavy two-handed sword, examples of which are preserved at Dumbarton Castle, and at {521} Hawthornden, and respectively attributed to William Wallace, and to Robert the Bruce. The latter is a very remarkable specimen, the grip being formed either of the tusk of a walrus or of a small elephant, considerably curved; and the guard is constructed of two iron bars, terminated by trefoils, and intersecting each other at right angles. The blade is very ponderous, and shorter than usual in weapons of this description.
The claymore of modern times is a broadsword, double or single-edged, and provided with a basket hilt of form peculiar to Scotland, though the idea was probably derived from Spain. Swords with basket hilts were commonly used by the English cavalry in the reigns of Charles I. and II., but they are always of a different type from the Scotch, though affording as complete a protection to the hand. I possess some half-dozen examples, some from Gloucestershire, which are of the times of the civil wars. There are many swords said to have been the property of Oliver Cromwell; one is in the United Service Museum: all that I have seen are of this form.
W. J. BERNHARD SMITH.
Temple.
Temple Lands in Scotland (Vol. viii., p. 317.).—Your correspondent ABREDONENSIS, upon a reference to the undernoted publications, will find many interesting particulars as to these lands, viz.:
1. "Templaria: Papers relative to the History, Privileges, and Possessions of the Scottish Knights Templars, and their Successors the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, &c. Edited by James Maidment. Sm. 4to. 1828-29."
2. "Abstract of the Charters and other Papers recorded in the Chartulary of Torphichen, from 1581 to 1596; with an Introductory Notice and Notes, by John Black Gracie. Sm. 4to. 1830."
3. "Notes of Charters, &c., by the Right Hon. Thomas Earl of Melrose, afterwards Earl of Haddington, to the Vassals of the Barony of Drem, from 1615 to 1627; with an Introductory Notice, by John Black Gracie. Sm. 4to. 1830."
4. "Fragmenta Scoto-Monastica: Memoir of what has been already done, and what Materials exist, towards the Formation of a Scottish Monasticon; to which are appended, Sundry New Instances of Goodly Matter, by a Delver in Antiquity (W. B. Turnbull). 8vo. 1842."
The "Introductory Notices" prefixed to Nos. 2. and 3. give full particulars of the various sales and purchases of the Superioritus, &c., by Mr. Gracie and others.
T. G. S.
Edinburgh.
Lewis and Sewell Families (Vol. viii., p. 388.).—Your correspondent may obtain, in respect to the Lewis family, much information in the Life and Correspondence of Matthew Gregory Lewis, two vols. 8vo., London, 1839, particularly at pp. 6. and 7. of vol. i. He will there find that Matthew Lewis, Esq., who was Deputy Secretary of War for twenty-six years, married Frances Sewell, youngest daughter of the Right Hon. Sir Thos. Sewell; that Lieut.-Gen. Whitelocke and Gen. Sir Thos. Brownrigg, G.C.B., married the other two daughters of Sir Thos. Sewell; and that Matthew Gregory Lewis, who wrote the Castle Spectre, &c., was son of Matthew Lewis, Esq., the Deputy Secretary of War.
With regard to the Sewell family. The Right Hon. Sir Thos. Sewell, who was Master of the Rolls for twenty years, died in 1784; and there is, I believe, a very correct account of his family connexions in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1784, p. 555. He died intestate, and his eldest son, Thos. Bailey Heath Sewell, succeeded to his estate of Ottershaw and the manors of Stannards and Fords in Chobham, Surrey. This gentleman was a magistrate for the county of Surrey; and in the spring of 1794, when this country was threatened by both foreign and domestic enemies, he became Lieut.-Col. of a regiment of Light Dragoons (fencibles), raised in Surrey (at Richmond) by George Lord Onslow, Lord-Lieut. of the county, in which he served six years, till the Government not requiring their services they were disbanded. Lieut.-Col. Sewell died in 1803, and was buried in the church at Chobham, where there is a monument to his memory. Of his family we have not farther knowledge than that he had a son, Thos. Bermingham Heath Sewell, who was a cornet in the 32nd Light Dragoons, and lieutenant in the 4th Dragoon Guards during the war of the French Revolution. The History and Antiquities of Surrey, by the Rev. Owen Manning and Wm. Bray, in three vols. folio, 1804, has in the third volume much concerning the Sewell family.
D. N.
Pharaoh's Ring (Vol. viii., p. 416.).—The mention of the ring conferred on, or confided to, Joseph by the Pharaoh of Egypt, as stated in Genesis xli. 42., reminds me of a ring being shown to me some years ago, which was believed by its then possessor to be the identical ring, or at all events a signet ring of the very Pharaoh who promoted Joseph to the chief office in his kingdom.
It was a ring of pure gold, running through a hole in a massive wedge of gold, about the size, as far as I recollect, of a moderate-sized walnut. On one of its faces was cut the hieroglyphic (inclosed as usual with the names of Egyptian kings in an oval), as I was assured, of the king, the friend of Joseph, as was generally supposed by the readers of hieroglyphics: I pretend to no knowledge of them myself.
The possessor of the ring, who showed it to me, was Mr. Sams, one of the Society of Friends, a bookseller at Darlington. Since railroads have {522} whirled me past that town, I have lost my means of periodical communication with him. He had, not long before I saw him last, returned from the Holy Land, where he assured me he had visited every spot that could be identified mentioned in the New Testament. He had also been some time in Egypt, and had brought home a great quantity of Egyptian antiquities. The lesser ones he had in the first floor of a carver and gilder's in Great Queen Street, between the Freemason's Tavern and Lincoln's Inn Fields. He was then anxious that these should be bought for the British Museum, and I think that at his request I wrote to the Earl of Aberdeen to mention this, and that the answer was that there was already so large a collection in the Museum, that more, as they must most of them be duplicates, would be of no use.
What has become of them I know not. I was told that a number of his larger antiquities, stone and marble, were for some time placed on Waterloo Bridge, that being a very quiet place, where people might view them without interruption. I did not happen to be in London that season, and therefore did not see them.
J. SS.
[The whole of Mr. Sams's collection of Egyptian antiquities were bought by Joseph Mayer, Esq, F.S.A., of Liverpool, about two years ago, to add to his previous assemblage of similar monuments, and are placed by him, with a very valuable collection of mediaeval antiquities, in the Egyptian Museum, 8. Colquitt Street, Liverpool. The small charge of sixpence for each visit opens the entire collection to the public; but it is a lamentable fact, that the curiosity or patriotism of the inhabitants does not cover Mr. Mayer's expenses by a large annual amount.]
"Could we with ink," &c. (Vol. iii., pp. 127. 180. 257. 422.).—Have not those correspondents who have answered this Query overlooked the concluding verse of the gospel according to St. John, of which it appears to me that the lines in question are an amplification without improvement? Mahomet, it is well known, imitated many parts of the Bible in the Koran.
E. G. R.
"Populus vult decipi" (Vol. vii., p. 578.; Vol. viii, p. 65.).—As an illustration of this expression the following anecdote is given. When my father was about thirteen years old, being in London he was, on one occasion in company with Dr. Wolcot (Peter Pindar), who, calling him to him, laid his hand on his head, and said, "My little boy, I want you to remember one thing as long as you live—the people of this world love to be cheated."
UNEDA.
Philadelphia.
Red Hair (Vol. vii., p. 616.; Vol. viii., p. 86.).—It is frequently stated that the Turks are admirers of red hair. I have lately met with a somewhat different account, namely, that the Turks consider red-haired persons who are fat as "first-rate" people, but those who are lean as the very reverse.
M. E.
Philadelphia.
"Land of Green Ginger" (Vol. viii., p. 227.).—The authority which I am able to afford MR. RICHARDSON is simply the tradition of the place, which I had so frequently heard that I could scarcely doubt the truth of it; this I intended to be deduced, when I said I did not recollect that the local histories gave any derivation, and that it was the one "generally received by the inhabitants."
To any mind the solution brought forward by MR. BUCKTON (Vol. viii., p. 303.) carries the greatest amount of probability with it of any yet proposed; and should any of your correspondents have the opportunity of looking through the unpublished history of Hull by the Rev. De la Pryme, "collected out of all the records, charters, deeds, mayors' letters, &c. of the said town," and now placed amongst the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum, I am inclined to think it is very likely it would be substantiated.
In Mr. Frost's valuable work on the town, which by the way proves it to have been "a place of opulence and note at a period long anterior to the date assigned to its existence by historians," he differs materially from MR. RICHARDSON, in considering that Hollar's plate was "engraved about the year 1630," not in 1640 as he states. There is also another which appeared between the time of Hollar and Gent, in Meisner's Libellus novus politicus emblematicus Civitatum, published in 1638, which though not "remarkable for accuracy of design," is well worthy of notice. It bears the title "Hull in Engellandt," and also the following curious inscriptions, which I copy for the interest of your readers:
"Carcer nonnunquam firmum propugnaculum. Noctua clausa manet in carcere firmo; Insidias volucrum vetat enim cavea."
"Wann die Eull eingesperret ist, Schadet ihr nicht der Feinde list, Der Kefig ist ihr nicht unnuetz, Sondern gibt wieder ihr Feind schuetz."
These lines refer to a curious engraving on the left side of the plan, representing an owl imprisoned in a cage with a quantity of birds about, endeavouring to assail it.
R. W. ELLIOT.
Clifton.
"I put a spoke in his wheel" (Vol. viii., p. 351.).—Does not this phrase mean simply interference, either for good or evil? I fancy the metaphor is really derived from putting the bars, or spokes, into a capstan or some such machine. A number {523} of persons being employed, another puts his spoke in, and assists or hinders them as he pleases. Can a stick be considered a spoke before it is put into its place, in the nave of the wheel at least? We often hear the observation, "Then I put in my spoke," &c. in the relation of an animated discussion. May I venture to suggest a pun on the preterite of the verb to speak?
G. WILLIAM SKYRING.
Pagoda (Vol. viii., p. 401.).—May not the word pagoda be a corruption of the Sanscrit word "Bhagovata," sacred?
BISHOP OF BRECHIN.
Dundee.
Passage in Virgil (Vol. viii., p. 270.).—On this part of Johnson's letter, Mr. Croker observes:
"I confess I do not see the object, nor indeed the meaning, of this allusion."
The allusion is to Eclogue viii. 43.:
"Nunc scio, quid sit Amor: duris in cotibus illum Aut Tmarus, aut Rhodope, aut extremi Garamantes, Nec generis nostri puerum nec sanguinis, edunt."
As the shepherd in Virgil had found Love to be not the gentle being he expected, but of a savage race—"a native of the rocks"—so had Johnson found a patron to be "one who looked with unconcern on a man struggling for life," instead of a friend to render assistance.
Supposing Johnson's estimate of Lord Chesterfield's conduct to be correct, I cannot help thinking the allusion to be eminently happy.
J. KELWAY.
To speak in Lutestring (Vol. viii., p. 202.).—Lutestring, or lustring, is a particular kind of silk, and so is taffeta; and thus the phrase may be explained by Shakspeare's Love's Labour's Lost, Act V. Sc. 8.:
"Taffeta phrases, silken terms precise."
Junius intended to ridicule such kind of affectation by persons who were, or ought to have been, grave senators.
J. KELWAY.
Dog Latin (Vol. viii., p. 218.).—A facetious friend, alluding particularly to law Latin with its curious abbreviations, says that it is so called because it is cur-tailed!
J. KELWAY.
Longevity (Vol. viii., p. 113.).—I recollect seeing an old sailor in the town of Larne, county Antrim, Ireland, in the year 1826-27, of the name of Philip Lake, aged 110, who was said to have been a cabin boy in Lord Anson's vessel, in one of his voyages. If any of your correspondents can furnish the registry of his death it would be interesting.
FRAS. CROSSLEY.
Mary Simondson, familiarly known as "Aunt Polly," died recently at her cottage near Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, at the advanced age of 126 years.
M. E.
Philadelphia.
Definition of a Proverb (Vol. viii., p. 243.)—C. M. INGLEBY inquires the source of the following definition of proverb, viz. "The wisdom of many, and the wit of one."
"To Lord John Russell are we indebted for that admirable definition of a proverb: 'The wisdom,' &c."—See Notes to Rogers's Italy, 1848.
The date is added since, in an edition of 1842; this remark makes no part of the note on the line, "If but a sinew vibrate," &c.
Q. T.
Ireland a bastinadoed Elephant (Vol. viii., p. 366.).—I venture to suggest whether this expression may not be something more than a bull, as [Old English W]. inclines to call it. If any one will look at a physical map of Ireland at some little distance, a very slight exercise of the "mind's eye" will serve to call up in the figure of that island the shape of a creature kneeling and in pain. Lough Foyle forms the eye; the coast from Bengore Head to Benmore Head the nose or snout; Belfast Lough the mouth; the coast below Donaghdee the chin; County Wexford the knees. The rest of the outline, according to the imagination of the observer, may assume that of an elephant, or something, perhaps, "very like a whale." Some fanciful observation of this kind may have suggested the otherwise unaccountable simile to Curran.
POLONIUS.
Ennui (Vol. vii., p. 478.; Vol. viii., p. 377.).—The meaning of this admirable word is best gleaned from its root, viz. nuit. It is somewhat equivalent to the Greek [Greek: agrupnia], and signifies the sense of weariness with doing nothing. It gives the lie to the dolce far niente: vide Ps. cxxx. 6., and Job vii. 3, 4. Ennui is closely allied to our annoy or annoyance, through noceo, noxa, and their probable root nox, [Greek: nux.] It is precisely equivalent to the Latin taedium, which may be derived from taeda, which in the plural means a torch, and through that word may have a side reference to night, the taedarum horae: cf. Ps. xci. 5. The subject is worthy of strict inquiry on the part of comparative philologists.
C. MANSFIELD INGLEBY.
Birmingham.
Belle Sauvage (Vol. viii., p. 388.).—Your Philadelphian correspondent asks whether Blue Bell, Blue Anchor, &c., are corruptions of some other emblem, such as that which in London transformed La Belle Sauvage into the Bell Savage.
This is not the fact. The Bell Savage on Ludgate Hill was originally kept by one Isabella Savage. A cotemporary historian, writing of one of the leaders in a rebellion in the days of Queen {524} Mary, says, "He then sat down upon a stone opposite to Bell Savage's Inn."
JAMES EDMESTON.
Homerton.
History of York (Vol. viii., p. 125.).—There is a History of York, published in 1785 by Wilson and Spence, described to be an abridgment of Drake, which is in three volumes, and may be a later edition of the same work to which MR. ELLIOT alludes.
F. T. M.
86. Cannon Street.
Encore (Vol. viii., p. 387.).—If A. A. knows the meaning of "this French word" I am a little surprised at his Query. Perhaps he means to ask why a French word should be used? It probably was first used at concerts and operas (ancora in Italian), where the performers and even the performances were foreign, and so became the fashion. Pope says:
"To the same notes thy sons shall hum or snore, And all thy yawning daughters cry encore."
It was not, I think, in use so early as Shakspeare's time, who makes Bottom anticipate that "the Duke shall say, Let him roar again, let him roar again," where the jingle of "encore" would have been obvious. It is somewhat curious that where we use the French word encore, the French audiences use the Latin word "bis."
C.
"Hauling over the Coals" (Vol. viii., p. 125.).—This saying I conceive to have arisen from the custom prevalent in olden times, when every Baron was supreme in his own castle, of extracting money from the unfortunate Jews who happened to fall into his power, by means of torture. The most usual modus operandi seems to have been roasting the victims over a slow fire. Every one remembers the treatment of Isaac of York by Front-de-Boeuf, so vividly described in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Although the practice has long been numbered amongst the things that were, the fact of its having once obtained is handed down to posterity in this saying, as when any one is taken to task for his shortcomings he is hauled over the coals.
JOHN P. STILWELL.
Dorking.
The Words "Cash" and "Mob" (Vol. viii., p. 386.).—MR. FOX was right: mob is not genuine English—teste Dean Swift! A lady who was well known to Swift used to say that the greatest scrape she ever got into with him was by using the word mob. "Why do you say that?" he exclaimed in a passion; "never let me hear you say that again!" "Why, sir," she asked, "what am I to say?" "The rabble, to be sure," answered he. (Sir W. Scott's Works of Swift, vol. ix.) The word appears to have been introduced about the commencement of the eighteenth century, by a process to which we owe many other and similar barbarisms—"beauties introduced to supply the want of wit, sense, humour, and learning." In a paper of The Tatler, No. 230., much in the spirit, and possibly from the pen, of Swift, complaint is made of the "abbreviations and elisions" which had recently been introduced, and a humorous example of them is given. By these, the author adds,
"Consonants of most obdurate sound are joined together without one softening vowel to intervene; and all this only to make one syllable of two, directly contrary to the example of the Greeks and Romans, and a natural tendency towards relapsing into barbarity. And this is still more visible in the next refinement, which consists in pronouncing the first syllable in a word that has many, and dismissing the rest. Thus we cram one syllable and cut off the rest, as the owl fattened her mice after she had bit off their legs to prevent their running away; and if ours be the same reason for maiming our words, it will certainly answer the end, for I am sure no other nation will desire to borrow them."
I have only to add (see Blackwood's Magazine, vol. ii., 1842) that "mob is mobile."
Cash appears to be from the French caisse, a chest, cash.
J. W. THOMAS.
Dewsbury.
Cash is from the French caisse, the moneychest where specie was kept. So caissier became "cashier," and specie "cash."
Mob, Swift tells us (Polite Conversation, Introd.), is a contraction for mobile.
CLERICUS RUSTICUS has not, I fear, Johnson's Dictionary, where both these derivations are given.
C.
Ampers &. (Vol. ii., pp. 230. 284.; Vol. viii. passim).—MR. INGLEBY may well ask what "and-per-se-and" can mean. The fact is, this is itself a corruption. In old spelling-books, after the twenty-six letters it was customary to print the two following symbols with their explanations
&c. et cetera. & (per se), and.
Children were taught to read the above "et-cee, et cetera" and "et-per-se, and." Such, at least, was the case in a Dublin school, some ninety years ago, where my informant, now many years deceased, was educated. As se was not there pronounced like cee, but like say, there was no danger of confounding the two names. In England, where a different pronunciation of the Latin word prevailed, such confusion would be apt to occur; and hence, probably, English teachers substituted and for et; from which, in course of time, the other corruptions mentioned by MR. LOWER were developed.
E. H. D. D.
{525}
The Keate Family, of the Hoo, Herts (Vol. viii., p. 293.).—The following account is taken from Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Lond. 1841:
"William Keate of Hagbourne, in Berkshire, left five sons. The second son, Ralph Keate of Whaddon, in Wiltshire, married Anne, daughter of John Clarke, Esq., of Ardington, in Berkshire, and had with other issue Gilbert Keate, Esq., of London, who married, first, John, daughter of Niclolas Turbervile, Esq. of Crediton, in Devon, and, secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of William Armstrong, Esq., of Remston, Notts, and by her had another son, Jonathan Keate, Esq., of the Hoo, in the county of Hertford, which estate he acquired with his first wife, Susannah daughter of William, and sister and heir of Thomas Hoo, of the Hoo and Kimpton, both in Hertfordshire. Mr. Keate was created a baronet by King Charles II., 12th June, 1660. Sir Jonathan was sheriff of the county of Hertford, 17 Charles II., and knight of the same shire in Parliament, in the thirtieth of the same reign. By his first wife he had issue, Gilbert Hoo, his heir, Jonathan, Susan, Elizabeth: all died sine prole. He married, secondly, Susanna, daughter of John Orlebar, citizen of London, but by her had no issue. He died 17th September, 1700. The baronetcy became extinct in the person of Sir William Keate, D.D., who died 6th March, 1757."
[Greek: Halieus]
Hour-glasses (Vol. viii., p. 454.).—In the church of Wiggenhall, St. Mary the Virgin, the iron frame of an hour-glass, affixed to a wooden stand, immediately opposite the pulpit, still remains. |
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