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NOTES AND QUERIES:
A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.
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No. 238.] SATURDAY, MAY 20. 1854. [Price Fourpence. Stamped Edition 5d.
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CONTENTS.
NOTES:— Page A Leader from a Foreign Newspaper: the New Russian Manifesto 463 The Launch of the "Prince Royal" in 1610 464 "Notes and Queries on the Ormulum, by Dr. Monicke" 465 The Legend of the Seven Sisters 465
MINOR NOTES:—Coincidences—The English Liturgy— "To jump for joy"—"What is Truth?"—Abolition of Government Patronage 466
MINOR QUERIES:—"One New Year's Day"—Greek denounced by the Monks—Pliny's Dentistry—J. Farrington, R.A.—Henry Crewkerne of Exeter—Dr. Johnson—Latin "Dante"—Ralph Bosvill, of Bradbourn, Kent—Major-General Wolfe—Custom at University College, Oxford—"Old Dominion"—"Wise men labour," &c. 467
MINOR QUERIES WITH ANSWERS:—Dame Hester Temple—Samuel White—Heralds' College—Pope 468
REPLIES:— Blanco White's Sonnet, by S. W. Singer 469 Goloshes 470 Consonants in Welsh, by Thomas O'Coffey, &c. 471 Songs of Degrees (Ascents), by T. J. Buckton 473 The Screw Propeller 473 Amontillado Sherry 474 Recent Curiosities of Literature 475 Roland the Brave, by F. M. Middleton, &c. 475
PHOTOGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE:— Recovery of Silver 476
REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES:—Ashes of "Lignites"—Old Rowley— "Bachelors of every Station"—Mousehunt—Value of Money in the Seventeenth Century—Grammars for Public Schools—Classic Authors and the Jews—Hand-bells at Funerals—"Warple-way"— Medal of Chevalier St. George—Shakspeare's Inheritance— Cassock—Tailless Cats—Names of Slaves—Heraldic—Solar Annual Eclipse of 1263—Brissot de Warville—"Le Compere Mathieu"—Etymology of "Awkward"—Life and Death—Shelley's "Prometheus Unbound"—"Three Crowns and a Sugar-loaf"— Stanza in "Childe Harold"—Errors in Punctuation—Waugh of Cumberland—"Could we with ink," &c. 477
MISCELLANEOUS:— Books and Old Volumes Wanted 482 Notices to Correspondents 483
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Now ready, No. VII. (for May), price 2s. 6d., published Quarterly.
RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW (New Series); consisting of Criticisms upon, Analyses of, and Extracts from, Curious, Useful, Valuable, and Scarce Old Books.
Vol. I., 8vo., pp. 436, cloth 10s. 6d., is also ready.
JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 36. Soho Square, London.
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This Day, fcp. 8vo., 5s.
DANTE'S DIVINE COMEDY.—The First Part.—Hell. Translated in the Metre of the Original, with Notes, by THOMAS BROOKSBANK, M.A., Cambridge.
London: JOHN W. PARKER & SON, West Strand.
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This Day, 8vo., 1s.
A DIALOGUE ON THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS: being a Supplement to the Essay on that Subject.
Also, 8vo., 8s.
OF THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS: An Essay.
London: JOHN W. PARKER & SON, West Strand.
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This Day, Seventh and Cheaper Edition, with numerous Illustrations, 2s. 6d.
DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. By MARY ROBERTS.
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WILD ANIMALS.
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{462}
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REVIEW OF THE PUBLISHING SYSTEM.—For the above see No. 6. of "The Courier and Church Reform Gazette." Every Author should read it.
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ERASTIANISM AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SINCE THE REFORMATION. By the REV. J. R. PRETYMAN, late Vicar of Aylesbury, Bucks.
London: HOPE & CO., 16. Great Marlborough Street.
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MR. BENTLEY will SELL by AUCTION, in the Lecture Room of the Natural History Society, at Worcester, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 30th and 31st Days of MAY, 1854 (instead of Tuesday the 23rd, as previously announced), commencing each morning at Eleven o'clock, A VALUABLE LIBRARY of RARE and CHOICE BOOKS, including one Copy of the First Folio Edition of Shakspeare, London, 1623, and two varying Copies of the Second Folio, London, 1632, with many valuable Black-letter Books in Divinity and History.
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NOTES ON AQUATIC MICROSCOPIC SUBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY, selected from the "Microscopic Cabinet." By ANDREW PRITCHARD, M.R.I.
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A MEMOIR OF THE POET DR. WILLIAM BROOME, the Friend and Assistant of Pope. By T. W. BARLOW, ESQ., F.L.S.
London: KENT & CO. Manchester: BURGE.
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MUSINGS OF A MUSICIAN. By HENRY C. LUNN. Just published, a new edition, whole cloth, boards, gilt, price 3s. This entertaining work consists of a Series of Popular Sketches, Illustrative of Musical Matters and Musical People.
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{463}
LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1854.
Notes.
A LEADER FROM A FOREIGN NEWSPAPER: THE NEW RUSSIAN MANIFESTO.
Mention was recently made, in Vol. ix., p. 218., of the valuable character of many of the leading articles in the continental journals, and a wish expressed that translations of them were more frequently communicated in our own papers to English readers. The great newspapers of this country are too rich in varied talent and worldwide resources of their own, to make it worth their while in ordinary times to pay much attention to information and disquisition from foreign politicians, on subjects of the day; but the infinite importance to England, and to the world, of the present warlike struggle, renders it a matter of corresponding weight to know how far the foreign press, in the great centres of movement and intelligence, stand affected to Great Britain. Perhaps, therefore, as a specimen of this kind of writing, you will for once admit, among your varied contents, the following article from the Koelnische Zeitung of May 4:
"While in England, as a preparation for war, a day of humiliation and prayer is held, on which the Clergy exhort the people to look into their own breasts, and to discover and forsake those sins which might provoke God's punishments; while the most powerful nation of the world commences war by humbling itself before God, on the part of Russia a new manifesto appears, the arrogance of which can scarcely be exceeded by anything human. The Czar speaks as if he were the representative of God upon earth. His affair is God's affair. He carries on war for God, and for His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour. God is for him, who can be against him!
"Such a document has not proceeded from the cabinet of any European power since the Middle Ages. It exceeds all which even Russian diplomacy has accomplished, in its zeal for Christianity, during the last century. For it is worthy of notice that nowhere is religion so much publicly talked about, as in the place where least of it remains, among the higher classes in St. Petersburgh. Religion there is inter instrumenta regni. When Catherine II. permitted her husband Peter III. to be imprisoned, in order to rob him of his throne and life, the cause of this was communicated to the Russian people on July 9, 1762, as follows:—'First of all, the foundation of your orthodox Greek religion has been shaken and its principles are drawing near to a total overthrow; so that we ought to dread exceedingly lest we should see a change in the true ruling faith transmitted from antiquity in Russia, and a foreign religion introduced.' So wrote Catherine II., 'the greatest of the queens, and of the ——,' the friend of Voltaire, the greatest lady-freethinker of her age. But she wrote still farther:—'Secondly, the honour of Russia as a state, which has been brought to the highest pinnacle of her victorious arms with the loss of so much blood, is actually trodden under foot through the newly-concluded peace with her bitterest enemy.' And who is this bitterest enemy of the orthodox Russia? The King of Prussia, Frederick II.! Yes, the King of Prussia was once declared to be the bitterest enemy of orthodox Russia; and nothing stands in the way but at some future time he may again be declared to be so, just as at the decree of the incorporation of the provinces of Preutzen and Posen. The politicians of St. Petersburgh know that the Russian people, living on in animal dulness, are susceptible of no other intellectual impression except a religious one; and so without reflection, the cross is torn from the high altar, and used as a military signal. Religion was employed as a pretext, in order to lead the unhappy Poles step by step into ruin; and Russia was just so employed in Turkey, when the 'heathen' undertook to disturb her in her Christian work. Rise up, therefore, orthodox nation, and fight for the true Christian faith!
"We know not whether such a manifesto is sufficient to lead the Russians willingly, like a devoutly believing flock, in the name of Jesus Christ to the battle-field; and to perish in a war projected for a worldly purpose, to obtain the inheritance of the 'sick man.' But we do know that the manifesto will make no one believe throughout civilised Europe in Russia's holy views. Nations which have learned to think cannot help immediately perceiving the contradiction which prevails in this manifesto. First of all the struggle is represented as religious, and immediately after as political. 'England and France' it says, 'make war on Russia, in order to deprive her of a part of her territory.' The only logical connexion between the two modes of statement consists in the words—'their object is to cause our fatherland to descend from the powerful position to which the hand of the Almighty has raised it.' And thereupon is mentioned 'the holy purpose which has been assigned to Russia by divine providence.' And this holy purpose has been no secret for a long time. 'According to the design of providence,' wrote Peter the Great, 'the Russian people are called to universal dominion over Europe for the future.'
"Such a future cannot longer be averted from Europe, except by common efforts. Prussia has come to an understanding, as to the object in view, with the other powers; and when an object or purpose is sought to be attained, the means must also be provided. To make an impression by words and peaceful means, is quite out of the question, after this imperial pastoral letter, which proclaims war in the name of God and of Jesus Christ. Force can only he repelled by force. It was not our wish to compel our government prematurely. With reference to Prussia's position, the warlike interference of our troops was not desired until England and France had concluded a firm alliance between themselves, and with Turkey; and had commenced the war in earnest. Now, when all this has taken place, and the thunder of cannon is roaring over sea and land; now, when Austria, which conceals within herself so many more dangers, prepares, with manly determination, to advance; what excuse can Prussia {464} have, called upon by right to the leadership; what excuse can she make to herself for remaining behind? In the Vienna protocol of April 9, Prussia has pledged herself, beyond what we could have dared to hope, towards the Western Powers: in the treaty with Austria of April 20, Prussia has bound herself, in certain eventualities that may occur at any moment, to a warlike support of Austria. Is it not, therefore, high time for Prussia to arouse herself from her lethargy, in order to undertake the support contracted for by treaty? If history teaches anywhere an evident lesson, Prussia will find it in her own past history. Once before Prussia promised to help Austria, and was not able to perform her engagement. All the misfortune by which we were attacked in 1806 is to be ascribed to Prussia not having completed her preparations in 1805, and to her not appearing in the field before the battle of Austerlitz. It was reported lately to be the saying of a brave general, that when he heard the enemies' batteries firing, it always seemed to him that he heard his own name called out. Does not Prussia also hear her own name loudly pronounced, in those cannon-shots fired off in the Baltic and Black Sea for the public law of nations by Europe's brave champions? By what means did the great Elector establish the honour of the Prussian name, except by bravely taking the field, as a model of German princes, against the superior force of Louis XIV.? The policy, to which the Prussian government has again pledged itself, will be unanimously approved of by the Prussian people. The abuse which Russia has made of the name of Religion can deceive none, but such as are willing to be deceived. Catholic Christendom, with the Pope and the dignitaries of the Catholic Church in England and France at its head, have declared which side in this struggle is right, and which is wrong; and Righteousness is God's earthly name! Not less have the noblest and most pious Protestants loudly raised their voices as witnesses to the truth, and against the common oppressor of every Christian church, even his own; Religion, called upon for aid, denies it to Russia; and political science has long since pronounced her judgment, that Russia's superiority must be put an end to by a general opposition. If Prussia would but seize the opportunity, and proceed in the same path with Austria, Russia's ambition might be tamed by united Europe in one successful campaign. Now is the favourable moment for Prussia; and if it is not taken advantage of, generations unborn may have cause to rue it."
ALPHA.
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THE LAUNCH OF THE "PRINCE ROYAL" IN 1610.
October 20, 1608, Mr. Phineas Pette commenced the "Prince Royal," which was launched in 1610. The keel of this "most goodly shippe for warre" was 114 feet long, and the cross-beam 44 feet in length, and she carried three score and four pieces of great ordnance, and was of the burden of 1400 tons. On the 8th of May, 1609, the king presided at the trial of Pette at Woolwich for insufficiency, during which Pette sat on his knees, "baited by the great lord (Northampton) and his bandogs;" and after the ship had been inspected by the king and his party, Mr. Pette was acquitted of the charges brought against him. The prince visited the ship on the 30th of January, 1609, 25th of April, 18th of June, and again the following day, with the king, and on the 24th of September it was launched. It is stated that the garnishing of the ship began between Easter and Michaelmas, and that the number of nobles, gentry, and citizens, resorting continually to Woolwich to see it, was incredible. On the 9th of September, divers London maids, with a little boy with them, visited the ship; the boy fell down into the hold, and died the same night from the effects of his fall, being the first accident during the building. About the middle of the month, the ship being ready to be placed on the ways, twelve choice master carpenters of his Majesty's navy were sent for from Chatham to assist in "her striking and launching;" on the 18th she was safely set upon her ways, and on the 26th was visited by the French ambassador. Preparations were made in the yard for the reception of the king, queen, royal children, ladies, and the council; and on the evening of the 23rd, a messenger was sent from Theobalds, desiring the ship to be searched, lest any disaffected persons might have bored holes privily in her bottom. On Monday 24th, the dock gates were opened; but the wind blowing hard from the south-west, it proved a very bad tide. The king came from Theobalds, though he had been very little at ease with a scouring, taken with surfeiting by eating grapes, the prince and most of the lords of the council attending him. The queen arrived after dinner, and the lord admiral gave commandment to heave taught the crabs and screws, though Pette says he had little hope to launch by reason the wind overblew the tide; "yet the ship started and had launched, but the dock gates pent her in so straight, that she stuck fast between them, by reason the ship was nothing lifted by the tide, as we expected she would; and the great lighter, by unadvised counsel, being cut off the stern, the ship settled so hard upon the ground, that there was no possibility of launching that tide; besides which there was such a multitude of people got into the ship, that one could scarce stir by another."
"The king was much grieved at the frustrate of his expectation," and returned to Greenwich at five o'clock with the queen and her train; the prince staid a good while after conferring with the lord admiral and Mr. Pette, and then rode off to Greenwich, with a promise to return shortly after midnight. The night was moonlight, but shortly after midnight became very stormy, which Mr. Pette says made him "doubt that there were {465} some indirect working among our enemies to dash our launching."
The prince however arrived at the yard, went on board a little before two a. m., when the word being given to get all taught, the ship went away without any straining of screws or tackles, till she came clear afloat in the middle of the channel. He then describes the christening of her by the prince, by the name of the "Prince Royal"; and while warping to her mooring, his royal highness went down to the platform of the cock-room, where the ship's beer stood for ordinary company, and there finding an old can without a lid, drew it full of beer himself, and drank it off to the lord admiral, and caused him with the rest of the attendants to do the like. The hawsers laid ashore for landfasts had been treacherously cut, but without doing any injury to the ship. The prince left for Greenwich at nine a. m.
J. H. P.
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"NOTES AND QUERIES ON THE ORMULUM, BY DR. MONICKE" (Programm der Handels-Lehranstalt zu Leipzig, 1853).
Under the above title, Dr. Monicke has published what are considered by a foreign critic some valuable observations on the admirable Oxford edition (by Dr. Meadows White) of The Ormulum, an Anglo-Saxon work, now first edited from the original MS. in the Bodleian Library. The attention of the readers of "N. & Q.," who are occupied in the study of the Anglo-Saxon, with its cognate dialects, and direct descendant, will be doubly attracted by a title with which they are so familiar, and which is associated with some of the happiest and most peaceful moments of their life. The title of the Essay (which I have not yet seen, and which appears to be written in English) seems to be entirely the choice of the author, and must be somewhat flattering to the Editor of the original "N. & Q."
J. M.
Oxford.
[We have received, with something like a sense of neglected duty, this notice of The Ormulum, now first edited from the Original Manuscript in the Bodleian; with Notes and a Glossary by Robert Meadows White, D.D., late Fellow of St. Mary Magdalene College, and formerly Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Oxford, 2 vols. 8vo. The fact is, we have long intended to call attention to this book, alike creditable to the scholastic acquirements of Dr. White, and to the authorities of the Oxford press; but have from week to week postponed doing so, that we might enter at some length into the history of The Ormulum, and a notice of the labour of its editor. In the mean time Dr. White's labours have received from foreign scholars that recognition which his countrymen have been too tardy in offering.—ED. "N. & Q."]
* * * * *
THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SISTERS.
Will the Editor of "N. & Q.," or any of his correspondents, kindly inform me of the true circumstances from which the following legend has sprung? The locality which was the scene of the tragedy is the little village of Ballybunion, situated within a few miles of Kerry Head. The scenery around is of the wildest and most striking description. Frowning, rugged cliffs, rising abruptly out of the water to the height of over one hundred feet, and perforated with numerous caves, into which the ocean rushes with fearful fury in winter,—for it is a stormy coast, and rarely does a month pass without beholding some dead, putrified body washed ashore; while inland, a barren, uncultivated plain, consisting mostly of bog, stretches away to nearly the foot of the Reeks, which, looming in the distance, seem to rear their giant masses even to the sky, and form, as it were, an impenetrable barrier between the coast and the interior. On the brink of one of those precipices we have mentioned, there stands the ruins of a castle, seemingly of great antiquity. Nothing now remains but the basement storey, and that seems as if it would be able to withstand the war of winds and waves for hundreds of years longer. According to the legend, this castle was inhabited by a gallant chieftain at the period of the incursions of the Danes, and who was the father of seven blooming daughters. He was himself a brave warrior, animated with the greatest hatred against the Ostmen, who, at that period, were laying every part of Erin waste. His sword never rested in its sheath, and day and night his light gallies cruised about the coast on the watch for any piratical marauder who might turn his prow thither. One day a sail was observed on the horizon; it came nearer and nearer, and the pirate standard was distinguished waving from its mast-head. Immediately surrounded by the Irish ships, it was captured after a desperate resistance. Those that remained of the crew were slaughtered and thrown into the sea, with the exception of the captain and his six brothers, who were reserved for a more painful death. Conveyed to the fortress, their wounds were dressed, and they were allowed the free range of the castle. Here, gradually a love sprung between them and the seven Irish maidens, who yielded to their ardent protestations, and agreed to fly with them to Denmark. Everything was arranged for the voyage, and one fearfully stormy night in winter was chosen for the attempt. Not a single star shone in the sky, the cold blast came sweeping from the ocean, the rain fell in torrents, and the water roared and raged with terrific violence amid the rocky caverns. Escaping down from the battlement by a rope-ladder, they discovered to their horror, that on reaching the ground they were surrounded by armed men. Not a word was uttered; but they {466} well knew into whose hands they had fallen. Conducted again within the fortress, they found themselves face to face with their injured father. One deadly glance of hatred he cast on the prisoners, and, muttering some few words to one of his attendants, he pointed towards his daughters. The man, on receiving the command, recoiled a few paces, transfixed with horror; and then he advanced nearer, and seemed as if remonstrating with him. But the parent's face assumed an absolutely demoniac expression; and more peremptorily repeating his order, he stalked out of the room. And now commenced a fearful scene. The lovers were torn from each other's arms, and the women were brought forth again. The storm had grown more violent, and the spray was dashing far over the cliff, whilst the vivid flashes of lightning afforded a horrible illumination to the dreary scene. Proceeding along the brink of the precipice, they at length came to a chasm which resembled somewhat the crater of a volcano, as it was completely closed, with the exception of the opening at the top, and one small aperture below, through which the sea rushed with terrible violence. The rolling of the waters sounded fearfully on the ear of those around, and now at length the sisters divined their fate. One by one they were hurled into the boiling flood: one wild shriek, the billows closed again, and all was over. What the fate of their lovers was, the legend says not. The old castle has crumbled into ruins—the chieftain sleeps in an unknown grave, his very name forgotten; but still the sad ending of the maidens is remembered, and even unto this day the cavern is denominated the "Cave of the Seven Sisters." Such is the above legend as it still exists amongst the peasantry, and any of your contributors would extremely oblige by informing me of the name of the Irish leader.
GEORGE OF MUNSTER.
Queen's College, Cork.
* * * * *
Minor Notes.
Coincidences.—
"Jejunus raro stomachus vulgaria temnit."—Hor. Sat. 2.
"A hungry dog eats dirty pudding."
"Dum vitant stulti vitia, in contraria currunt."—Hor. Sat. 1.
"He misses one post, and runs his head against t'other."
"[Greek: Chelidon ear ou poiei]."—Arist. Eth., i. 7.
"One swallow don't make a summer."
J. H. B.
The English Liturgy.—
"It is deserving of notice, that although Dr. Beattie had been brought up a member of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and regularly attended her worship and ordinances when at Aberdeen, he yet gave the most decided preference to the Church of England, generally attending the service of that Church when anywhere from home, and constantly when at Peterhead. He spoke with enthusiasm of the beauty, simplicity, and energy of the English Liturgy, especially of the Litany, which he declared to be the finest piece of uninspired composition in any language." Life of Dr. Beattie, by Sir W. Forbes, Bart., vol. iii. p. 168. note.
J. M.
Oxford.
"To jump for joy."—This expression, now most often used figuratively, was probably in the olden time a plain and literal description of an actual fact. The Anglo-Norman Poem on the Conquest of Ireland by Henry II., descriptive of events which occurred at the close of the twelfth century, informs us (at p. 53.) that one of the English knights, named Maurice de Prendergast, being desirous of returning with his followers to Wales, was impeded in his march by "les traitres de Weyseford;" and that this so much provoked him, that he tendered his services to the King of Ossory, who—
"De la novele esteit heistez, E de joie saili a pes."
This expression, "saili a pes," is translated in the Glossary "rose upon feet;" but the more correct rendering of it appears to me to be that of jumping or dancing for joy.
JAMES F. FERGUSON.
Dublin.
"What is Truth?"—Bacon begins his "Essay of Truth" (which is dated 1625) with these words:
"What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. Certainly, there be that delight in giddiness, and count it a bondage to fix a belief; affecting freewill in thinking, as well as in acting."
There is a similar passage in Bishop Andrews's sermon Of the Resurrection, preached in 1613:
"Pilate asked, Quid est veritas? And then some other matter took him in the head, and so up he rose, and went his way, before he had his answer; he deserved never to find what truth was. And such is our seeking mostwhat, seldom or never seriously, but some question that comes cross our brain for the present, some quid est veritas? So sought as if that we sought were as good lost as found. Yet this we would fain have so for seeking, but it will not be."
Perhaps Bacon heard the bishop preach (the sermon was at Whitehall); and if so, the passage in Andrews will explain the word "jesting" to mean, not scoffing, but asking without serious purpose of acquiring information.
J. A. H.
Abolition of Government Patronage.—The following passage, from Dr. Middleton's Dedication of the Life of Cicero to Lord Keeper Hervey, is {467} interesting as showing the enlightened sentiments of an eminent scholar a hundred years ago when addressing a minister of the crown:
"Human nature has ever been the same in all ages and nations, and owes the difference of its improvements to a difference only of culture, and of the rewards proposed to its industry; where these are the most amply provided, there we shall always find the most numerous and shining examples of human perfection. In old Rome, the public honours were laid open to the virtue of every citizen; which, by raising them in their turns to the commands of that mighty empire, produced a race of nobles superior even to kings. This was a prospect that filled the soul of the ambitious and roused every facility of mind and body to exert its utmost force; whereas, in modern states, men's views being usually confined to narrow bounds, beyond which they cannot pass, and a partial culture of their talents being sufficient to procure everything that their ambition can aspire to, a great genius has seldom either room or invitation to stretch itself to its full size."
ALPHA.
Oxford.
* * * * *
Minor Queries.
"One New Year's Day."—An old lady used to amuse my childhood by singing a song commencing—
"One New Year's day, as I've heard say, Dick mounted on his dappled grey," &c.
The rest I forget, but I should be glad to know if it is extant, and what is known of its origin, &c.
G. WILLIAM SKYRING.
Somerset House.
Greek denounced by the Monks.—
"Almost the time (A.D. 1530) when the monks preached in their sermons to the people to beware of a new tongue of late discovered, called the Greek, and the mother of all heresies."—Foreign Quarterly for October, 1842, No. 59. p. 137.
Can any of your readers give references to such passages in Monkish sermons?
CPL.
Pliny's Dentistry.—As your journal has become the repository of so many novel and interesting facts, I trust that the following data will be found acceptable to the readers of "N. & Q." Having had occasion, of late, to look over the works of Pliny, I was struck with the extent to which this ancient naturalist and philosopher has carried his researches on the above subject; as, in some editions, the Index of the article DENTES occupies several closely-printed columns. He recommends tooth-powder (dentifricia) of hartshorn, pumice-stone, burnt nitre, Lapis Arabus, the ashes of shells, as well as several ludicrous substances, in accordance with the mystic prejudices of the age. Amongst the remedies for fixing (firmare) teeth, he mentions Inula, Acetum Scillinum, Radix Lapathi sativi, vinegar; and loose teeth are to be fixed by Philidonia, Veratrum nigrum, and a variety of other remedies, amongst which some are most rational, and tend to prove that more attention was paid to the physiological (hygeistic) department relating to that portion of the human body than we have been hitherto aware of, as even the most recent works on Dentistry do not mention these facts.
GEORGE HAYES.
Conduit Street.
J. Farrington, R.A.—Having recently met with some views by J. Farrington, R.A., without a description of the locality, I shall be obliged by your insertion of a Query respecting information of what views were executed by this painter, with their localities, in or about the year 1789. As I am informed that those above referred to belong to this neighbourhood, and therefore would be invested with interest to me, I could ascertain their locality with precision.
JOHN NURSE CHADWICK.
King's Lynn.
Henry Crewkerne, of Exeter, "Captain of Dragoons, descended from Crewkerne, of Crewkerne, in Devonshire," died at Carlow in Feb. 1664-5. Was he descended from Crewkerne of Chilhay, Dorset? His pedigree would be very acceptable.
Y. S. M.
Dr. Johnson.—Johnson says somewhere that he never was in a tight place but once, and that was when he had a mad bull by the tail. Had he held on, he said he would have been dragged to death over a stubble field; while if had not held on, the bull would have gored him to death. Now my Query is, what did Dr. Johnson do, hold on or let go?
G. M. B.
Latin "Dante."—Is there not a literal Latin prose translation of Dante, somewhat rhythmical? Has not Stillingfleet cited it in the Origines? If so, where is its corpus? And in what form, MS. or printed? Of metrical Latin versions there are several beside those of the Jesuit Carlo d'Aquino and Piazza. The Query is as to the prose?
PHILIP ASKE.
Ralph Bosvill, of Bradbourn, Kent, Clerk of the Court of Wards, married first, Anne, daughter of Sir Richard Clement, and widow of John Castillon, by whom he had five children. He married secondly, Benedicta Skinner, by whom he had six children. This I have taken from the Visitations of Kent. In Harl. MS. 5532.152, he is said to have had another son Ralph, "slain in Ireland." This Ralph was his son, and I wish to discover by which wife, as the entry above-mentioned in the {468} MSS. is of a much later date than the body of it. He had, I think, two other sons at least, who are not in the books, namely, Godfrey and William. The name is sometimes called "Boswell." Was the younger Ralph's wife, Mary, daughter of Alveray Copley of Batley?
Y. S. M.
Major-General Wolfe.—The following MS. is advertised for sale. Is anything known concerning it?
"A Copy of Orders written by Major-General Woolfe; an important unpublished Historical MS. This valuable collection commences with 'General Orders to be observed by a regiment on their arrival in Scotland, 1748.' At p. 55. begin 'Orders by Major-General Woolfe in America: Halifax, April 30, 1759.' They continue dated from Louisburg, Point Orleans, Montmorenci, Cape Rouge, &c., to the last, which is dated on board the Sutherland, off St. Nicholas, Sept. 12th, the day before the scaling the heights of Abraham; no doubt the last issued by Woolfe, as on that day (13th) he fell in battle. There is no clue in the MS. to its compiler; it consists of 103 pages 4to., beautifully written, with MS. Plan of Order of Battle, of the army commanded by General Woolfe in America, 1789. It is believed that no printed copy exists of these valuable papers, which are of the highest importance to the Historian, as a slight extract will show. Small 4to., calf.
'Sept. 12. The Sutherland, at anchor off St. Nicholas:—The enemies' forces are not divided; great scarcity of provisions in the camp, and universal discontent amongst the Canadians. The second officer in command is gone to Montreal or St. John's, which gives reason to think that Governor Amherst is advancing into that colony. A vigorous blow struck by the army at this juncture might determine the fate of Canada. Our troops below are ready to join us; all the light infantry and tools are embarked at the Point of Levi, and the troops will land where the enemy seems least to expect it.'"
J. BALCH.
Philadelphia.
Custom at University College, Oxford.—What is the origin of the following custom observed at this college? On every Easter Sunday the representation of a tree, dressed with evergreens and flowers, is placed on a turf, close to the buttery, and every member there resident, as he leaves the Hall, after dinner, chops at the tree with a cleaver. The college-cook stands by holding a plate, in which the Master deposits half a guinea, each Fellow five shillings, and the other members two shillings and sixpence each; this custom is called "chopping at the tree." When was this custom instituted, and to what circumstance are we to attribute its origin? Who presented to the chapel of this College the splendid eagle, as a lectern, which forms one of its chief ornaments? Was it presented by Dr. Radcliffe, or does it date its origin from the happy reign of Queen Mary?
M. A.
"Old Dominion."—It is stated in a newspaper that the term "Old Dominion," generally applied here to the state of Virginia, originated from the following facts. During the Protectorate of Cromwell the colony of Virginia refused to acknowledge his authority, and sent to Flanders for Charles II. to reign over them. Charles accepted, and was about to embark, when he was recalled to the throne of England. Upon his accession, as a reward for her loyalty, he allowed the colony to quarter the arms of England, Ireland, and Scotland, as an independent member of the "Old Dominion;" whence the term. What truth is there in this story?
PENN.
"Wise men labour," &c.—
On the fly-leaf of Sir Roger Twysden's copy of Stow's Annales are the following, lines, dated 1643:
"Wise men labour, good men grieve, Knaves devise, and fooles believe; Help, Lord! and now stand to us, Or fooles and knaves will quite undoe us, Or knaves and fooles will quite undoe us."
From whence are these lines taken?
L. B. L.
* * * * *
Minor Queries with Answers.
Dame Hester Temple.—"Lady Temple lived to see seven hundred of her own descendants: she had thirteen children." I have extracted this "sea-serpent" from an extract in Burke from Fuller's Worthies, but I am unable to refer to the original for confirmation of this astounding fact; if true it is wonderful.
Y. S. M.
[Fuller's amusing account of Dame Hester Temple will be found in his Worthies of Buckinghamshire, vol. i. p. 210. edit. 1840. He says: "Dame Hester Temple, daughter to Miles Sands, Esq., was born at Latmos in this county, and was married to Sir Thomas Temple, of Stow, Baronet. She had four sons and nine daughters, which lived to be married, and so exceedingly multiplied, that this lady saw seven hundred extracted from her body. Reader, I speak within compass, and have left myself a reserve, having bought the truth hereof by a wager I lost. Besides, there was a new generation of marriageable females just at her death; so that this aged vine may be said to wither, even when it had many young boughs ready to knit.
"Had I been one of her relations, and as well enabled as most of them be, I would have erected a monument for her—thus designed. A fair tree should have been erected, the said lady and her husband lying at the bottom or root thereof; the heir of the family should have ascended both the middle and top bough thereof. On the right hand hereof her younger sons, {469} on the left her daughters, should, as so many boughs, be spread forth. Her grandchildren should have their names inscribed on the branches of those boughs; the great-grandchildren on the twigs of those branches; and the great-great-grandchildren on the leaves of those twigs. Such as survived her death should be done in a lively green, the rest (as blasted) in a pale and yellow fading colour.
"Pliny, lib. vii. cap. 13. (who reports it as a wonder worthy the chronicle, that Chrispinus Hilarus, praelata pompa, 'with open ostentation,' sacrificed in the capitol seventy-four of his children and children's children attending on him,) would more admire, if admitted to this spectacle.
"Vives telleth us of village in Spain, of about an hundred houses, whereof all the inhabitants were issued from one certain old man who lived, when as that village was so peopled, so as the name of propinquity, how the youngest of the children should call him, could not be given.[1] 'Lingua enim nostra supra abavum non ascendit;' ('Our language,' saith he, meaning the Spanish, 'affords not a name above the great-grandfather's father'). But, had the offspring of this lady been contracted into one place, they were enough to have peopled a city of a competent proportion though her issue was not so long in succession, as broad in extent.
"I confess very many of her descendants died before her death; in which respect she was far surpassed by a Roman matron, on which the poet thus epitapheth it, in her own person[2]:
'Viginti atque novem, genitrici Callicrateae, Nullius sexus mors mihi visa fuit. Sed centum et quinque explevi bene messibus annos, In tremulam baculo non subeunte manum.'
'Twenty-nine births Callicrate I told, And of both sexes saw none sent to grave, I was an hundred and five winters old, Yet stay from staff my hand did never crave.'
Thus, in all ages, God bestoweth personal felicities on some far above the proportion of others. The Lady Temple died A.D. 1656."]
[Footnote 1: In Comment upon 8th chapter of lib. xv. de Civitate Dei.]
[Footnote 2: Ausonius, Epitaph. Heroeum, num. 34.]
Samuel White.—In Bishop Horsley's Biblical Criticism, he refers several times to a Samuel White, whom he speaks of in terms of contempt, and calls him, in one place, "that contemptible ape of Grotius;" and in another, "so dull a man." Query, who was this Mr. White, and what work did he publish?
I. R. R.
[Samuel White, M.A., was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Chaplain to the Earl of Portland. His work, so severely criticised by Bishop Horsley, is entitled A Commentary on the Prophet Isaiah, wherein the literal Sense of his Prophecies is briefly explained: London, 4to., 1709. In his Dedication he says: "I have endeavoured to set in a true light one of the most difficult parts of Holy Scripture, following the footsteps of the learned Grotius as far as I find him in the right; but taking the liberty to leave him where I think him wide of the prophet's meaning."]
Heralds' College.—Are the books in the Heralds' College open to the public on payment of reasonable fees?
Y. S. M.
[The fee for a search is 5s.; that for copying of pedigrees is 6s. 8d. for the first, and 5s. for every other generation. A general search is 2l. 2s. The hours of attendance are from ten till four.]
Pope.—Where, in Pope's Works, does the passage occur which is referred to as follows by Richter in his Groenlandische Prozesse, vol. i.?
"Pope vom Menschen (eigentlich vom Manne) sagt, 'Er tritt auf, um sich einmal umzusehen, und zu sterben.'"
A. E.
Aberdeen.
["Awake my St. John! leave all meaner things To low ambition, and the pride of kings. Let us (since life can little more supply Than just to look about us, and to die) Expatiate free o'er all this scene of man."—Essay on Man, Epist. i. l. 1-5.]
* * * * *
Replies.
BLANCO WHITE'S SONNET.
(Vol. vii., pp. 404. 486.)
This sonnet first appeared in The Bijou, an annual published by Pickering in 1828. It is entitled:
"NIGHT AND DEATH.
A Sonnet: dedicated to S. T. Coleridge, Esq. by his sincere friend Joseph Blanco White.
Mysterious night, when the first man but knew Thee by report, unseen, and heard thy name, Did he not tremble for this lovely frame, This glorious canopy of light and blue? Yet 'neath a curtain of translucent dew, Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame, Hesperus, with the host of heaven came, And lo! creation widen'd on his view. Who could have thought what darkness lay concealed Within thy beams, O Sun? Or who could find, Whilst fly, and leaf, and insect stood reveal'd, That to such endless orbs thou mad'st us blind? Weak man! Why to shun death this anxious strife? If light can thus deceive, wherefore not life?"
In a letter from Coleridge to White, dated Nov. 28, 1827, he thus speaks of it:
"I have now before me two fragments of letters begun, the one in acknowledgment of the finest and most graceful sonnet in our language (at least it is only in Milton's and Wordsworth's sonnets that I {470} recollect any rival, and this is not my judgment alone, but that of the man [Greek: kat' exochen philokalon], John Hookham Frere), the second on the receipt of your 'Letter to Charles Butler,'" &c.
In a subsequent letter, without date, Coleridge thus again reverts to the circumstance of its having been published without his or White's sanction:
"But first of your sonnet. On reading the sentences in your letter respecting it, I stood staring vacantly on the paper, in a state of feeling not unlike that which I have too often experienced in a dream: when I have found myself in chains, or in rags, shunned, or passed by, with looks of horror blended with sadness, by friends and acquaintance; and convinced that, in some alienation of mind, I must have perpetrated some crime, which I strove in vain to recollect. I then ran down to Mrs. Gillman, to learn whether she or Mr. Gillman could throw any light on the subject. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Gillman could account for it. I have repeated the sonnet often, but, to the best of my recollection, never either gave a copy to any one, or permitted any one to transcribe it; and as to publishing it without your consent, you must allow me to say the truth: I had felt myself so much flattered by your having addressed it to me, that I should have been half afraid that it would appear to be asking to have my vanity tickled, if I had thought of applying to you for permission to publish it. Where and when did it appear? If you will be so good as to inform me, I may perhaps trace it out: for it annoys me to imagine myself capable of such a breach of confidence and of delicacy."
In his Journal, October 16 [1838?], Blanco White says:
"In copying out my 'Sonnet on Night and Death' for a friend, I have made some corrections. It is now as follows:
'Mysterious Night! when our first parent knew Thee from report divine, and heard thy name, Did he not tremble for this lovely frame, This glorious canopy of light and blue? Yet 'neath a curtain of translucent dew, Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame, Hesperus with the Host of Heaven came, And lo! creation widen'd in man's view. Who could have thought such darkness lay conceal'd Within thy beams, O Sun! or who could find, Whilst fly, and leaf, and insect stood reveal'd, That to such countless orbs thou mad'st us blind! Why do we then shun death, with anxious strife? If light can thus deceive, wherefore not life?'"
S. W. SINGER.
* * * * *
GOLOSHES.
(Vol. ix., p. 304.)
This word, SELEUCUS says, "is of course of American derivation." By no means: it is found in German, gallosche or gallusche; and in French, galoche or galloche. The word itself most likely comes to us from the French. The dictionaries refer to Spenser as using it under the form galage; and it occurs written galege, galosh, calosh, &c. The French borrowed the term from the Latin Gallicae; but the Romans first derived the idea and the thing itself from Gaul, Gallicae denoting Gallic or Gaulish shoes. Cicero speaks of the Gallicae with contempt.—"Cum calceis et toga, nullis nec gallicis nec lacerna;" and again, "Cum gallicis et lacerna cucurristi" (Philip. ii. 30.). Blount, in his Law Dictionary (1670), gives the following, which refers to one very early use of the term in this country:
"GALEGE (galiciae), from the French galloches, which signified of old a certain shoe worn by the Gauls in foul weather, as at present the signification with us does not much differ. It is mentioned 4 Edw. IV. cap. 7., and 14 & 15 Hen. VIII. cap. 9."
Therefore the thing itself and the word were known among us before America was discovered. As it regards the Latin word Gallicae, I only know of its use by Cicero, Tertullian, and A. Gellius. The last-named, in the Noctes Atticae, gives the following anecdote and observations relating to this word. T. Castricius, a teacher of rhetoric at Rome, observing that some of his pupils were, on a holiday, as he deemed, unsuitably attired, and shod (soleati) with gallicae (galloches, sabots, wooden shoes or clogs), he expressed in strong terms his disapprobation. He stated it to be unworthy of their rank, and referred to the above-cited passage from Cicero. Some of his hearers inquired why he called those soleati who wore goloshes (gallicae) and not shoes (soleae). The expression is justified by a statement which sufficiently describes the goloshes, viz., that they call soleae (shoes) all those which cover only the lower portions of the foot, and are fastened with straps. The author adds:
"I think that gallicae is a new word, which was begun to be used not long before Cicero's time, therefore used by him in the Second of the Antonians. 'Cum gallicis,' says he, 'et lacerna cucurristi.' Nor do I read it in any other writer of authority, but other words are employed."
The Romans named shoes after persons and places as we do: for examples, see Dr. W. Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, sub voc. "Calceus."
B. H. C.
Poplar.
This word is not of American derivation. In the Promptorium Parvulorum we find,—
"GALACHE or GALOCHE, undersolynge of manny's fote."
Mr. Way says in his note:
"The galache was a sort of patten, fastened to the foot by cross latchets, and worn by men as early as the {471} time of Edward III. Allusion is made to it by Chaucer,
'Ne were worthy to unbocle his galoche.'—Squires Tale, 10,869."
Among many other quotations Mr. Way gives the following:
"To geten hym gilte spores, Or galoches y-couped."—Piers Ploughman, 12,099.
And in the Wardrobe Book of Prince Henry, A.D. 1607, are mentioned—
"1 pair of golossians, 6s.; 16 gold buckles with pendants and toungs to buckle a pair of golosses."—Archaeol. xi. 93.
Nares says:
"GALAGE. A clown's coarse shoe from galloche, a shoe with a wooden sole, old French, which itself is supposed to be from gallica, a kind of shoe mentioned by Cicero, Philip. ii. 30., and A. Gellius, xiii. 21. If so, the word has returned to the country whence it was first taken, but I doubt much of that derivation; by the passages referred to in the above authors, it seems more likely that the gallica was a luxurious covering, than one so very coarse as the galloche. Perhaps the caliga, or military strong boot of the Romans, from which Caligula was named, may be a better origin for it. The word galloche is now naturalised among us for a kind of clog, worn over the shoes."
See also Richardson's Dictionary, s. v. "Galoche."
ZEUS.
SELEUCUS need not have gone quite so far as to "the tribe of North American Indians, the Goloshes," or to America at all, for his derivation. If he will look in his French dictionary he will find,—
"Galoche (espece de mule que l'on porte par dessus les souliers), galoshoe."
I quote from Boyer's Dictionnaire Royal, edit. 1753.
Cole, in his English dictionary, 1724, has—
"Galeges, galages, galloches, galloshoes, Fr., wooden shoes all of a piece. With us outward shoes or cases for dirty weather, &c."
C. DE D.
* * * * *
CONSONANTS IN WELSH.
(Vol. ix., p. 271.)
For the gratification of your correspondent J. M., I give you the result of an enumeration of the letters and sounds in three versions of the Hundredth Psalm in Welsh, and three corresponding versions of it in English.
1. From the authorised translations of the Bible, Welsh and English.
2. The metrical version of Tate and Brady, and that of Archdeacon Prys.
3. Dr. Watts's metrical version and a Welsh imitation of it.
Letters in three Welsh Versions.
Bible. Prys. Watts. Consonants 185 205 241 Vowels 148 165 159 —- —- —- Apparent excess of } consonants in Welsh } 37 40 82
Letters in three English Versions.
Bible. Tate & Brady. Watts. Consonants 220 271 275 Vowels 134 163 170 —- —- —- Apparent excess of } consonants in English } 86 108 105
Sounds in three Welsh Versions.
Bible. Prys. Watts. Consonants 150 173 200 Vowels 148 165 159 —- —- —- Real excess of consonants} in Welsh } 2 8 41
Sounds in three English Versions.
Bible. Tate & Brady. Watts. Consonants 195 241 240 Vowels 122 149 159 —- —- —- Real excess of consonants} in English } 73 92 81
From this analysis it appears that the excess of consonant letters over vowels is, in English, 299; and in Welsh, 159, a little more than one-half. The excess of consonant sounds is, in English, 246; in Welsh, 51, considerably less than one-fourth.
This result might readily have been anticipated by anybody familiar with the following facts:
1. On examining lists of the elementary sounds of both languages, it will be found that the Welsh has a greater number of vowels than the English, and the English a greater number of consonants than the Welsh.
2. Welsh diphthongs are much more numerous than English.
3. In English, three vowels only constitute words in themselves (a, article; I, pronoun; O, interjection), and each is used only in one sense. In Welsh, five of the vowels (a, e, i, o, y) are words; and they are used in at least a dozen different significations. A, besides being an affirmative and interrogative adverb, answers to the English and, as, with, will go.
4. Diphthongs forming distinct words are much more numerous in Welsh than in English. The following occur: ai, a'i (=a ei), a'u, ei, eu, ia, ie, i'w, o'i, o'u, ow, ŵy, yw.
5. In Welsh there are no such clusters of consonants as occur in the English words arched {472} (pronounced artsht), parched, scorched, marched, hinged (hindzhd), singed, cringed, fringed, purged (purdzhd), charged (tshardzhd), scratched, &c. &c. From the difficulty encountered in pronouncing some of these combinations, arise the vulgar errors heard in some parts of the country: burstis for bursts, castis for casts. Three consonants are very rarely thus crushed together in Welsh,—four, never.
6. The Welsh, to avoid an unpleasant hiatus, often introduce a consonant. Hence we have y or yr, the; a or ac, and; a or ag, as; na or nac, not; na or nag, than; sy or sydd, is; o, from, becomes odd; i, to, becomes idd. I cannot call to mind more than one similar example in English, a or an; and its existence is attributable to the superfluity of consonants, n being dropped in a, not added in an.
The mystery of the consonants in the swearing Welshman's mouth (humorously described by Messrs. Chambers) is difficult of explanation. The words usual in Welsh oaths afford no clue to its solution; for the name of the Deity has two consonants and one vowel in English, while it has two vowels and one consonant in Welsh. Another name invoked on these occasions has three consonants and two vowels in English, and one of the vowels is usually elided; in Welsh it has three vowels and three consonants, and colloquially the middle consonant is dropped. The Welsh borrow a few imprecatory words from the English, and in appropriating them they append the vowel termination o or io. Prejudice or imagination, therefore, seems to have had something to do in describing poor Taffy's profanities.
In conclusion, I may add that the Hundredth Psalm was chosen for analysis without a previous knowledge that it would present a greater excess of consonants (letters or sounds) in English than in Welsh. I do not believe two chapters from the Bible can be produced, which will show an opposite result.
GWILYM GLAN TYWI.
There is no k in the Welsh alphabet, a circumstance which reduces the consonants to twenty; while a farther reduction is made by the fact that w and y are always vowels in Welsh, instead of being only occasionally so, as in English. J. M. will therefore find that the Welsh alphabet contains but eighteen consonants and seven vowels, twenty-five letters in all.
This, however, I imagine, is not the point on which he wishes for information. If a stranger glances at a page of Welsh without being aware that y and w are, strictly speaking, vowels, he will of course naturally conclude that he sees an over proportion of consonants. Hence, probably, has arisen the very general idea on the subject, which is perhaps strengthened by the frequent occurrence of the double consonants Ll and Dd, the first of which is but a sign, standing for a peculiar softening of the letter; and the latter for Th of the English language.
Such an idea might perhaps be conveyed by the following instances, taken at random: Dywyll, Dydd, Gwyddna, Llwyn, Gwyrliw, &c. But it will be dispelled by an orthography adapted to the pronunciation; thus Dou-ill[3], Deeth, Goo-eeth-na, Lloo-een, Gueer-leeoo.
J. M. will be interested to know that the Welsh language can furnish almost unexampled instances of an accumulation of vowels, such as that furnished by the word ieuainc, young men, &c.; but above all by the often-quoted englyn or stanza on the spider or silkworm, which, in its four lines, does not contain a single consonant:
"O'i wiŵ wy i weu e a,—a'i weau O'i wyau e weua: E weua ei ŵe aia, A'i weau yw ieuau ia."
SELEUCUS.
In reply to J. M. I beg to ask who ever before heard that consonants "cracked and cracked, and ground and exploded?" and how could the writer in Chambers's Repository possibly know that the drunken Welshman cursed and swore in consonants? There is scarcely a more harshly-sounding word in the Welsh language—admitted by a clever and satirical author to have "the softness and harmony of the Italian, with the majesty and expression of the Greek"—than the term crack, adopted from the Dutch. There is no Welsh monosyllable that contains, like the Saxon strength, seven consonants with only one vowel. There is no Welsh proper name, like Rentzsch, the watchmaker of Regent Street, that contains six consonants in succession in one syllable; and yet the Welsh have never accused their younger sister with the use of consonants which "cracked and cracked, and ground and exploded." But if the Welsh language, with "its variety, copiousness, and even harmony, to be equalled by few, perhaps excelled by none," has no instance of six consonants in succession, it has one of six vowels in succession, Gwaewawr, every one of which requires, according to the peculiarity of its pronunciation, a separate inflection of the voice.
J. M. may be assured that the remark of the writer in question is only one of those pitiful "cracks" which flippant authors utter in plain ignorance of Cymru, Cymraeg, and Cymry.
CYMRO.
Marlbro.
I think the following englyn or epigram on a silkworm, which is composed entirely of vowels, will satisfy your correspondent. I have seen it in some book, the name of which I forget. It {473} must be borne in mind that w is a vowel in Welsh, and is sounded like oo in boot.
"O'i wiw ŵy i weu e a a'i weau O'i wyau e weua; E' weua ei ŵe aia'. A'i weau yw ieuau ia."
"I perish by my art; dig my own grave; I spin my thread of life; my death I weave."
THOMAS O'COFFEY.
[Footnote 3: The Dou to be pronounced as in Douglass.]
* * * * *
SONGS of DEGREES (ASCENTS).
(Vol. ix., pp. 121. 376.)
The analysis of the word [Hebrew: HAMA'ALWOT] (the steps), confining ourselves to sensible objects, shows, first, the preposition [Hebrew: 'AL], over (=up + on); and, secondly, [Hebrew: MA'ALAH], the chamber-over. (Neh. ix. 4., xii. 37.; Jos. x. 10.; 1 Sam. ix. 11.; Am. ix. 6.; Ps. civ. 13.) The translators of the authorised version, in using the word "degrees," intended probably to convey the notion of rank; but the modern mixed-mathematical ideas lead us of this day rather to think of geographical, barometrical, &c. degrees. That steps is the word most accordant with the ancient notions is evident from the concurrence of the Greek, Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, as also from the Chaldee Targum, alluded to by J. R. G., which has the inscription [Chaldee: SHYR' D'T'MR 'AL MASWQIYN DTCHWOMA'], "a song called 'over the steps of the deep'" (Deut. viii. 7.; Ex. xv. 8.). The root of this moral is [Hebrew: 'LCH], in the Hebrew and its cognates, and the primitive notion is to ascend; from which is formed in Arabic [(ARABIC)], adscendit in tectum; in Syriac [(SYRIAC)], contignatio superior, coenaculum (Jud. iii. 23-25.; Luc. xxii. 12.); and the Chaldee [Chaldee: 'ALIYT], pars domus superior, cubiculum, sive coenaculum superius, Graec. [Greek: huperoon] (Dan. vi. 11.). See Shaw's Itinerary, pp. 360-365.
The [Hebrew: M] prefixed is the participial form of the verb, equivalent to the termination ing in English; and converts the verb also into a verbal noun, conveying the generalised idea of a class of actions; and thereby the steps, [Hebrew: HM'LWT], the steppings upward, literally, which means "the ascents," or "the ascendings."
The ascent by fifteen steps of the rabbins is probably equally apocryphal with the quotations from St. Matthew and St. James (ix. p. 376.); for the same reason (Ex. xx. 26.) which forbad the ascending the altar by steps, would apply still more strongly to the supposed "fifteen steps leading from the Atrium Israelis to the court of the women."[4] Although the ground-plans of the temples are well known, their elevations are involved in doubt.
Your journal would not afford me sufficient space for an excursus to establish the suggestion, not assertion, that I have adventured as to the domestic use of the Alphabetic and Degree Psalms, but there is negative evidence that these Psalms were not used in the Jewish liturgy. I will only refer you to Lightfoot's ninth volume (Pitman's edition), where the Psalms used, and indeed the whole service of the Jews, is as clearly set forth as the Greek service is in the liturgies of Basil and Chrysostom.
T. J. BUCKTON.
Lichfield.
[Footnote 4: "Eadem ratio, ab honestate ducta, eandem pepererat apud Romanos legem. Gellius ex Fabio Pictore, Noct. Attic., lib. x. c. 15., de flamine Diali: Scalas, nisi quae Graecae adpellantur, eas adscendere ei plus tribus gradibus religiosum est. Servius ad Aeneid, iv. 646. Apud veteres, Flaminicam plus tribus gradibus, nisi Graecas scalas, scandere non licebat, ne ulla pars pedum ejus, crurumve subter conspiceretur; eoque nec pluribus gradibus, sed tribus ut adscensu duplices nisus non paterentur adtolli vestem, aut nudari crura; nam ideo et scalae Graecae dicuntur, quia ita fabricantur ut omni ex parte compagine tabularum clausae sint, ne adspectum ad corporis aliquam partem admittant."—Rosenmueller on Exod. x. 26. The ascent to the altar, fifteen feet high, was by a gangway, [Hebrew: KBSH].]
* * * * *
THE SCREW PROPELLER.
(Vol. ix., p. 394.)
ANON. is clearly mistaken in thinking that, when Darwin says that "the undulating motion of the tail of fishes might be applied behind a boat with greater effect than common oars," he had any idea of a screw propeller. He meant not a rotatory, but, as he says, an "undulating" motion, like that of the fish's tail: such as we see every day employed by the boys in all our rivers and harbours, called sculling—that is, driving a boat forward by the rapid lateral right and left impulsion of a single oar, worked from the stern of the boat. It was the application of steam to some such machinery as this that Darwin seems to have meant; and not to the special action of a revolving cut-water screw.
I avail myself of this occasion to record, that about the date of Darwin's publication, or very soon after, the very ingenious Earl Stanhope not only thought of, but actually employed, the identical screw propeller now in use in a vessel which he had fitted up for the purpose; and in which, by his invitation, I, and several other gentlemen, accompanied him in various trips backwards and forwards between Blackfriars and Westminster bridges. The instrument was a long iron axle, {474} working on the stern port of the vessel, having at the end in the water a wheel of inclined planes, exactly like the flyer of a smoke-jack; while, inboard, the axle was turned by a crank worked by the men. The velocity attained was, I think, said to be four miles an hour. I am sorry that I am not able to specify the exact date of this experiment, but it must have been between 1802 and 1805. What Lord Stanhope said about employing steam to work his machine, I do not clearly recollect. He entered into a great many details about it, but I remember nothing distinctly but the machine itself.
C.
* * * * *
AMONTILLADO SHERRY.
(Vol. ix., pp. 222. 336.)
The wines of Xeres consist of two kinds, viz. sweet and dry, each of which is again subdivided into two other varieties. Amontillado sherry, or simply Amontillado, belongs to the latter class, the other description produced from the dry wine being sherry, properly so called, that which passes in this country generally by that name. These two wines, although differing from each other in the peculiarities of colour, smell, and flavour, are produced from the same grape, and in precisely a similar manner; indeed, it frequently happens that of two or more botas, or large casks, filled with the same mout (wort or sweet wine), and subjected to the same manipulation, the one becomes Amontillado, and the other natural sherry. This mysterious transformation takes place ordinarily during the first, but sometimes even during the second year, and in a manner that has hitherto baffled the attempts of the most attentive observer to discover. Natural sherry has a peculiar aromatic flavour, somewhat richer than that of its brother, the Amontillado, and partakes of three different colours, viz. pale or straw, golden, and deep golden, the latter being the description denominated by us brown sherry. The Amontillado is of a straw colour only, more or less shaded according to the age it possesses. Its flavour is drier and more delicate than that of natural sherry, recalling in a slight degree the taste of nuts and almonds. This wine, beings produced by a phenomenon which takes place it is imagined during the fermentation, is naturally less abundant than the other description of sherry, and there are years in which it is produced in very small quantities, and sometimes even not at all; for the same reason it is age for age dearer also. The word "Amontillado" signifies like or similar to Montilla, i. e. the wine manufactured at that place. Montilla is situated in Upper Andalusia, in the neighbourhood of Cordouc, and produces an excellent description of wine, but which, from the want of roads and communication with the principal commercial towns of Spain, is almost entirely unknown.
The two sweet wines of Xeres are the "Paxarite," or "Pedro Ximenes," and the "Muscatel." The first-named is made from a species of grape called "Pedro Ximenes," sweeter in quality than that which produces the dry sherry, and which, moreover, is exposed much longer to the action of the sun previous to the process of manufacture; its condition when subjected to the action of the pressers resembling very nearly that of a raisin. Fermentation is in this case much more rapid on account of the saccharine nature of the mout or wort. In flavour it is similar to the fruit called "Pedro Ximenes," the colour being the same as that of natural sherry. Muscate wine is made from the grape of that name, and in a manner precisely similar to the Paxarite. The wine produced from this grape is still sweeter than the Pedro Ximenes, its taste being absolutely that of the Muscat grape. In colour also it is deeper; but the colour of both, like that of the two dry wines, increases in proportion to their age, a circumstance exactly the reverse of that which takes place in French wines. German sherry wines are capable of preservation both in bottles and casks for an indefinite period. In one of the bodegas or cellars belonging to the firm of M. P. Domecq, at Xeres, are to be seen five or six casks of immense size and antiquity (some of them, it is said, exceeding a century). Each of them bears the name of some distinguished hero of the age in which it was produced, Wellington and Napoleon figuring conspicuously amongst others: the former is preserved exclusively for the taste of Englishmen.
The history of sherry dates, in a commercial point of view, from about the year 1720 only. Before this period it is uncertain whether it possessed any existence at all; at all events it appears to have been unknown beyond the immediate neighbourhood in which it was produced. It would be difficult, perhaps, to say by whom it was first imported: all that can be affirmed with any degree of certainty is, that a Frenchman, by name Pierre Domecq, the founder of the house before mentioned, was among the earliest to recognise its capabilities, and to bring it to the high state of perfection which it has since attained. In appreciation of the good service thus rendered to his country, Ferdinand VII. conferred upon this house the right exclusively to bear upon their casks the royal arms of Spain. This wine, from being at first cultivated only in small quantities, has long since grown into one of the staple productions of the country. In the neighbourhood of Xeres there are at present under cultivation from 10,000 to 12,000 arpents of vines; these produce annually from 30,000 to 35,000 botas, equal to 70,000 or 75,000 hogsheads. In gathering the {475} fruit, the ripest is invariably selected for wines of the best quality. The wines of Xeres, like all those of the peninsula, require the necessary body or strength to enable them to sustain the fatigue of exportation. Previous, therefore, to shipment (none being sold under four to five years of age), a little eau de vie (between the fiftieth and sixtieth part) is added, a quantity in itself so small, that few would imagine it to be the cause of the slight alcoholic taste which nearly all sherries possess.
In consequence of the high price of the delicious wines, numerous imitations, or inferior sherries, are manufactured, and sold in immense quantities. Of these the best are to be met with at the following places: San Lucar, Porto, Santa Maria, and even Malaga itself. The spurious sherry of the first-named place is consumed in larger quantities, especially in France, than the genuine wine itself. One reason for this may be, that few vessels go to take cargoes at Cadiz; whilst many are in the habit of doing so to Malaga for dry fruits, and to Seville for the fine wool of Estremadura. San Lucar is situated at the mouth of the Guadalquiver.
W. C.
* * * * *
RECENT CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE.
(Vol. ix., p. 136.)
Mr. Thackeray's work, The Newcomes, would, if consulted by your correspondent, furnish him with farther examples. For instance, Colonel Newcome's Christian name is stated (pp. 27. 57.) to be Thomas: at p. 49. he is designated Col. J. Newcome. The letter addressed to him (p. 27.) is superscribed "Major Newcome," although at p. 25. he is styled "Colonel." At p. 71. mention is made of "Mr. Shaloo, the great Irish patriot," who at p. 74. becomes "Mr. Shaloony," and at p. 180. relapses into the dissyllabic "Shaloo." Clive Newcome is represented (p. 184.) as admiring his youthful mustachios, and Mr. Doyle has depicted him without whiskers: at p. 188. Ethel, "after Mr. Clive's famous mustachios made their appearance, rallied him," and "asked him if he was (were?) going into the army? She could not understand how any but military men could wear mustachios." On this the author remarks, three lines farther on: "If Clive had been in love with her, no doubt he would have sacrificed even those beloved whiskers for the charmer."
At p. 111. the Rev. C. Honeyman is designated "A.M.," although previously described a Master of Arts of Oxford, where the Masters are styled "M.A." in contradistinction to the Masters of Arts in every other university. Cambridge Masters frequently affix M.A. to their names, but I never heard of an instance of an Oxonian signing the initials of his degree as A.M.
Apropos of Oxford, I recently met the following sentence at p. 3. of Verdant Green:
"Although pronounced by Mrs. Toosypegs, his nurse, to be 'a perfect progidye,' yet we are not aware that his debut on the stage of life, although thus applauded by such a clacqueur as the indiscriminating Toosypegs, was announced to the world at large by any other means than the notices in the county papers."
If the author ever watched the hired applauders in a Parisian theatre, he would have discerned among them clacqueuses as well as clacqueurs.
JUVERNA, M.A.
* * * * *
ROLAND THE BRAVE.
(Vol. ix., p. 372.)
In justification of Dr. Forbes' identifying Roland the Brave with the hero of Schiller's ballad, Ritter Toggenburg, I beg to refer your correspondent X. Y. Z. to Deutsches Sagenbuch, von L. Bechstein, Leipzig, 1853, where (p. 95.) the same tale is related which forms the subject of Mrs. Hemans' beautiful ballad, only with this difference, that there the account of Roland's death entirely agrees with Schiller's version of the story, whereas the English poet has adopted the general tradition of Roland's fall at Roncesvalles.
Most of the epic poems of the middle ages in which Roland's death is recorded, especially the different old French Chansons de Roland ou de Roncevaux, an Icelandic poem on the subject, and Stricker's middle-high German lay of Roland, all of them written between A.D. 1100 and 1230—agree in this, that after Roland's fall at Roncesvalles, and the complete rout of the heathen by Charlemagne, the latter returns home and is met—some say at Aix-la-Chapelle, others at Blavie, others at Paris—by Alda or Alite, Olivier's sister, who inquires of him where Roland, her betrothed, is. On learning his fate she dies on the spot of grief. According to monk Conrad (about A.D. 1175), Alda was Roland's wife. See Ruolandes Liet, von W. Grimm, Goettingen, 1838, pp. 295—297.
The legend of Rolandseck, as told by Bechstein from Rhenish folk lore, begins thus:
"Es sasz auf hoher Burg am Rhein hoch ueber dem Stromthal ein junger Rittersmann, Roland geheiszen, (manche sagen Roland von Angers, Neffe Karls des Groszen), der liebte ein Burgfraeulein, Hildegunde, die Tochter des Burggrafen Heribert, der auf dem nahen Schlosz Drachenfels sasz," &c.
Here the question is left open whether the hero of the story was Roland the Brave, or some other knight of that name. The latter seems the more probable, as Roland's fall at Roncesvalles is one of the chief subjects of mediaeval poetry, whereas the death of knight Roland in sight of {476} Nonnenwerth on the Rhine, forms the very pith of the German local legend. From certain coincidences, however, it was easy to blend the two stories together into one, as was done by Mrs. Hemans. As to Schiller, we may suppose that he either followed altogether a different legend, or, perhaps to avoid misconception, substituted another name for that of knight Roland, similar to what he has done in other instances.
R. R.
Canterbury.
I think your correspondent X. Y. Z. is mistaken in attributing to Mrs. Hemans the lines on the "Brave Roland." In Mr. Campbell's Poems he will find some stanzas which bear a striking resemblance to those he has quoted. I subjoin those stanzas to which X. Y. Z. has referred:
"The brave Roland! the brave Roland! False tidings reach'd the Rhenish strand That he had fall'n in fight; And thy faithful bosom swoon'd with pain, O loveliest maiden of Allemayne! For the loss of thine own true knight.
"But why so rash has she ta'en the veil, In yon Nonnenwerder's cloisters pale, For her vow had scarce been sworn, And the fatal mantle o'er her flung, When the Drachenfels to a trumpet rung, 'Twas her own dear warrior's horn!
. . . . . .
"She died! he sought the battle plain; Her image fill'd his dying brain, When he fell and wish'd to fall: And her name was in his latest sigh, When Roland, the flower of chivalry, Expired at Roncevall."
X. Y. Z. seems also to have forgotten what Mr. Campbell duly records, viz. that Roland used to station himself at a window overlooking "the nun's green isle;" it being after her decease that he met his death at Roncevall, which event, by the way, is alluded to by Sir W. Scott in Marmion, canto vi.:
"Oh, for a blast of that dread horn, On Fontarabian echoes borne, That to King Charles did come; When Roland brave, and Olivier, And every paladin and peer, At Roncesvalles died!"
H. B. F.
The legends of Roland, the nephew of Charlemagne, are very numerous and vary much from each other. The Orlando of Pulci has a very different history from the Orlando of Bojardo and Ariosto.
The legend of "Rolandseck and the Nonnenwerth," which has been adopted by Campbell, not Mrs. Hemans, and charmingly set to music by Mrs. Arkwright, is well known on the Rhine. There are two poems on the legend in Simrock's Rheinsagen (12mo., Bonn, 1841), one by the editor, and another by August Kopisch. They exactly accord with Campbell's poem.
The legend of Ritter Toggenburg resembles that of Roland in many particulars, but it is not the same, and it belongs to another locality, to Kloster Fischingen, and not to Nonnenwerth. "Roland the Brave" appears in all the later editions of Campbell's Poems. Simrock's Rheinsagen is one of the most delightful handbooks that any one can take through the romantic region which the poems (partly well selected by the editor, and partly as well written by himself) describe.
E. C. H.
The author of the beautiful lines which are quoted by your correspondent X. Y. Z., is Campbell, not Mrs. Hemans. The poet, in the fifth stanza of his ballad, tells how the unfortunate Roland, on finding that Hildegund had taken the veil, was accustomed to sit at his window, and "sad and oft" to look "on the mansion of his love below."
"There's yet one window of that pile, Which he built above the nun's green isle; Thence sad and oft look'd he (When the chant and organ sounded slow) On the mansion of his love below, For herself he might not see.
"She died! He sought the battle plain, Her image fill'd his dying brain, When he fell and wish'd to fall; And her name was in his latest sigh, When Roland, the flower of chivalry, Expired at Roncevall."
F. M. MIDDLETON.
Scott has, in Marmion,—
"When Roland brave, and Olivier, And every paladin and peer, At Roncesvalles died!"
I quote from memory, and have not the poem.
F. C. B.
* * * * *
PHOTOGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE.
Recovery of Silver.—As many correspondents of "N. & Q." have asked how to recover the silver from their nitrate baths when deteriorated or spoiled, perhaps the following hints may be acceptable to them. Let them first precipitate the silver in the form of a chloride by adding common salt to the nitrate solution. Let them then filter it, and it may be reduced to its metallic state by either of the three following methods.
1. By adding to the wet chloride at least double its volume of water, containing one-tenth part of sulphuric acid; plunge into this a thick piece of zinc, and leave it here for four-and-twenty hours. The chloride of silver will be reduced by the formation of {477} chloride and sulphate of zinc, and of pure silver, which will remain under the form of a blackish powder, which is then to be washed, filtered, and preserved for the purpose of making nitrate of silver.
2. The chloride of silver which is to be reduced is put into a flask with about twice its volume of a solution of caustic potash (of one part of caustic potash to nine of water), in which a small portion of sugar has been dissolved. Let it boil gently. The operation is complete when the blackish powder which results from this process, having been washed in several waters, is entirely soluble in nitric acid, which is easily ascertained by experimenting on a small quantity. This powder is to be preserved in the same way as the former for the purpose of converting it into nitrate of silver.
3. The metallic silver is obtained in the form of a button, by mixing thoroughly 100 parts of dried chloride of silver, 70 parts of chalk or whitening, and 4 parts of charcoal. This mixture is to be exposed in a crucible to a fierce red heat for at least half an hour. When completely cold the crucible is broken, and a button of pure silver is the result. The first two processes are those which I should most strongly recommend to your correspondents.
N. C.
* * * * *
Replies to Minor Queries.
Ashes of "Lignites" (Vol. ix., p. 422.).—RUSTICUS is obliged to the Editor for so soon giving a reply to his Query; but seems convicted of being a bad penman, like many other rustics. For the strange word, respecting which he asked for information, having seen it used in a newspaper, was not lignites but liquites. RUSTICUS could have guessed that the ashes of lignites were but wood-ashes under a pedantic name; but a term which looks, to a rustic, as if chemists meant to persuade him to burn his beer for a valuable residuum, is more perplexing.
RUSTICUS.
Old Rowley (Vol. ix., p. 457., &c.).—The late Sir Charles Bunbury, who was long the father of the Jury, and considered as an oracle in all matters relating to it, told me, many years ago, that Charles II. was nicknamed "Old Rowley" after a favourite stallion in the royal stud so called; and he added, that the same horse's appellation had been ever since preserved in the "Rowley Mile," a portion of the race-course still much used, and well-known to all frequenters of Newmarket.
BRAYBROOKE.
"Bachelors of every Station" (Vol. ix., p. 301.) is the beginning of the Berkshire Lady, an old ballad nearly extinct, and republished by me some years ago in the form of a small pamphlet, which sold rapidly. If I can procure one, it shall be forwarded to Mr. Bell.
The story is a true one, and related to a daughter of Sir William Kendrick's, who succeeded him, and was possessor of Calcot Place in the parish of Tylehurst, and to Benjamin Child, Esq., whom she met at a marriage feast in the neighbourhood. A wood near Calcot is where the party met to fight the duel in case Mr. Child rejected the proposals of marriage made to him by Miss Kendrick.
I had the account from an old man between eighty and ninety years of age, clerk of the parish; and my friend Miss Mitford agreed with me in the accuracy of the story: she had it from the late Countess Dowager of Macclesfield, an old lady celebrated for her extensive and accurate knowledge of legendary lore.
In opening a vault in St. Mary's, Reading, last year, her coffin was found entire, with this inscription:
"Frances Child, wife of Benjamin Child. Esq., of Calcot, and first daughter of Sir Benjamin Kendrick, Bart. Died Feb. 27, 1722, aged 35. The Lady of Berks."
Another coffin,—
"Benjamin Child, Esq., died 2nd May, 1767, aged 84 years."
JULIA R. BOCKETT.
Southcote Lodge.
Mousehunt (Vol. viii., pp. 516. 606.; Vol. ix., pp. 65. 136. 385.).—In Vol. ix., p. 65., the Natural History of Quadrupeds, by James H. Fennell, is quoted; where, speaking of the Beech Marten (alias Mousehunt), he says:
"In Selkirkshire it has been observed to descend to the shore at night time to feed upon mollusks, particularly upon the large Basket Mussel (Mytilus modiolus)."
In p. 136, I ventured to state that Mr. Fennell must have been a better naturalist than geographer, as Selkirkshire was well known to be an inland county nowhere approaching the sea by many miles. I added, that I hoped, for Mr. Fennell's sake, that Selkirkshire was either a misprint or a misquotation.
In p. 385. MR. ARCHIBALD FRASER, Woodford, not choosing to exonerate Mr. Fennell by either of my suggestions, prefers, as a staunch, but I think rather an inconsiderate friend and champion, to vindicate the paragraph as it stands, by candidly admitting that if the word beach had been used, it would certainly have referred to the sea; but that the word shore applies to rivers as well as seas. And he goes back as far as Spenser to find an instance of its use, as applied to the banks of the river Nile.
I will not agree that this use is nearly obsolete, but give him the full value of his quotation from Spenser. But what does he say to the habitat of the Mytilus modiolus, which the Mousehunt goes {478} to the shore to feed upon. I quote from Rees' Cyclopaedia, voce "MYTILUS:"
"MODIOLUS. Shell smooth and blackish, obtuse at the smaller end, and rounded at the other; one side near the beaks is angular. Two varieties are noticed by Lister. It inhabits the European, American, and Indian seas, adhering to fuci and zoophytes; is six or seven inches long, and about half as broad: the fish is red or orange, and eatable."
J. S.S.
Value of Money in the Seventeenth Century (Vol. ix. p. 375.).—Say, in his Political Economy (Prinsep's translation, i. 413.), has furnished a comparative statement, the result of which is, that the setier of wheat, whose relative value to other commodities has varied little from 1520 down to the present time, has undergone great fluctuations, being worth—
A. D. 1520 512 gr. of pure silver. A. D. 1536 1063 ditto. A. D. 1602 2060 ditto. A. D. 1789 2012 ditto.
Whence it may be inferred that 1000l. in 1640, 1660, and 1680 did not vary much from its value at the present time, such value being measured in silver. But as the value of all commodities resolves itself ultimately into the cost of labour, the rate of wages at these dates, in the particular country or part of a country, must be taken as the only safe criterion.
Thus, if labour were 20d. per diem in 1640, and is 40d. at this time, 1000l. in 1640 is equivalent to 500l. (only half as much) now. But, on the contrary, as the cost of production of numerous articles by machinery, &c. has been by so much reduced, the power of purchase now, as compared with 1640, of 1000l., is by so much increased. The article itself must determine by how much. The question put by C. H. is too general to admit of a positive solution; but should he specify the commodity and place of investment in the seventeenth century and to-day of the 1000l., our statistics might still be at fault, and deny us even a proximate determination of his inquiry. Even his 1000l., which he may consider a fixed measure of value, or punctum comparationis, is varying in value (=power of purchase) daily, even hourly, as regards almost every exchangeable product. Tooke On Prices is a first-rate authority on this subject. |
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