Chapter C: Mansfield Ingleby

Birmingham.

_Cardinal Bentivoglio's Description of England._--A MS. of this interesting work exists among Bishop Tanner's MSS. in the Bodleian Library. Has it ever been printed? The account is said to have been drawn up with great care and accuracy, and betrays no sinister views.

Did Cardinal Bentivoglio visit England in person, or how did he collect his information?

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

_Remarkable Signs._--Can any of the learned contributors of the "N. & Q." oblige a CONSTANT READER with the probable meanings or origins of the following signs, all of which are to be found in the London Directories:

Anti-Gallican (four taverns of this name).
Bombay Grab.
Essex Serpent.
Fortune of War (five).
George and Guy (two).
Moonrakers (two).
Grave Maurice (two).
Sun and Thirteen Cantons (two).

J. E.

Fleet Street.

_Old Fable._--There is a fable in the _Vicar of Wakefield_ of two brothers, a dwarf and giant, going out to battle, and sharing the victory but not the wounds.

There is another, perhaps a sequel to it, which relates that the dwarf, "tot bellorum superstitem," {156} was choked in the fraternal embrace, with the sorry consolation that it was "the giant's nature to squeeze hard."

Are these fables wholly modern or not? I have thought that some such are the key to Juvenal's meaning:

"Malim fraterculus esse gigantis;"

to the ordinary construing of which there are positive objections.

J. E. G.

_Tide Tables._--Can you, or any of your subscribers, give me a rule for ascertaining the heights of tides and times of high water, the establishment of the port, and rise of springs and neaps, being known? One divested of algebraic formulæ would be preferred: say--

Establishment 10 h. 58 m.
Springs' rise 8½ feet.
Neaps' " 2 feet.

R.

Lancaster.

_Passage in Ovid._--In speaking of the rude and unscientific state of the early Romans, in the third book of his _Fasti_, Ovid has the following verses:

"Libera currebant, et inobservata per annum
Sidera: constabat sed tamen esse Deos.
Non illi coelo labentia signa tenebant;
Sed sua: quæ magnum perdere crimen erat."
V. 111-114.

The idea expressed in this passage is that the primitive Romans cared more about war than astronomy. They did not observe the stars, though they believed them to be deities. The pun upon the word _signa_--constellations and military standards--is worthy of notice. But what is the meaning of _libera_, in the first verse? Is it nearly equivalent to _inobservata_, and does it denote the absence of the prying curiosity of men? It cannot be intended that the courses of the stars were less regular before they were the subjects of observation, than after the birth of astronomy.

L.

_Roger Pele, Abbot of Furness._--Is anything known of the antecedents of Roger Pele, last abbot of Furness, who, after years of trouble and persecution, was at length constrained to execute a deed, dated 5th April, 28 Hen. VIII., whereby he did "freely and hollie surrender, giff, and graunt unto the Kynges highnes and to his heyres and assignes for evermore ... all his interest and titill in the said monasterie of ffurness, and of and in the landes, rentes, possessions, revenous, servyce, both spirituall and temporall," &c.? This deed is, I believe, given at length in the Cotton MSS., Cleopatra E. IV. fol. 244.

Roger Pele was elevated about 1532, and became rector of Dalton, a village near his old abbey, 9th Nov., 29 Hen. VIII. This rectory he held, I believe, during the remainder of his life, in spite of all the efforts made to dispossess him. (See Beck's _Annales Furnessienses_, p. 346. et seq.)

What was the origin and early history of this man, remarkable for the firmness and ability which so long baffled all the power and might of Henry, whose vengeance pursued him even into obscurity.

ABBATI.

_Curtseys and Bows._--Why do ladies curtsey instead of bow? Is the distinction one which obtains generally; and what is the earliest mention of curtseys in any writer on English affairs?

E. S.

Hampton Court.

_Historical Proverb._--I have frequently in youth heard the proverb, "You may change _Norman_ for a worser (worse) horse." This sounds like the wise saying of some unpatriotic Saxon, when urged to revolt against the conquering invaders. If so, it is an interesting relic of the days when "Englishrie," though suppressed, yet became peacefully victorious in transmuting the intruders into its own excellent metal.

J. R. P.

_Bishop Patrick's "Parable of a Pilgrim."_--Can any of your contributors inform me of any bibliographical notice of Bishop Patrick's _Parable of a Pilgrim_? Its singular title, and the suggested plagiarism of Bunyan, lately attracted my attention; but I incline to the belief that we may still regard the _Pilgrim's Progress_ to be as original as it is extraordinary. Patrick's work appears to have been written in 1663, while Bunyan was not committed to prison until 1660, and was released in 1673: having written, or at least composed, his extraordinary work during the interval. Bunyan might therefore have seen and read Patrick's book; but, from a careful comparison of the two works, I am satisfied in my own mind that such a supposition is unnecessary, and probably erroneous. I may add that Patrick honestly confesses, that not even his own work is entirely original, but was suggested by an elder "Parable of the Pilgrim" in Baker's _Sancta Sophia_.

GEORGE WM. BELL.

_Dr. Parr's Dedications._--Dr. Parr has dedicated the three parts of _Bellendences de Statu_ respectively to Burke, Lord North, and Fox, subscribing each dedication with the letters A. E. A. O. Can any of your correspondents explain them?

BALLIOLENSIS.

"_Königl. Schwedischer in Teutschland geführter Krieg_, 1632-1648, von B. Ph. v. Chemnitz."--As is known, the first two parts of this important work were printed in 1648 and 1653. The continuation of the original manuscript exists now in the Swedish Record Office, with the exception, unfortunately, of the third part. The Curator of the Royal Library in Hanover, however, J. Dan, {157} Grueber, testifies, in his _Commercium Epistolare Leibnitianinum_, Pars 1^{ma}, p. 119., Hanoviæ, 1745, in 8vo., that the missing part was then in that library:

"Tertius tomus excusus non est, quippe imperfectus; Manuscriptum tamen
quoad absolutus est, inter alia septentrionis cimelia nuper repertum,
Bibliothecæ Regiæ vindicavimus."

But this manuscript is no longer to be found there. Is it possible it may have been removed to England, and still to be found in one of the public collections? An answer to any of the above questions would deeply oblige

G. E. KLEMMING,
Librarian in the Royal Library at Stockholm.

"_Officium Birgittinum Anglice._"--

"Integrum Beatæ Virginis Officium quod à S. Birgitta concinnatum,
monialibus sui ordinis in usu publico fecit, Anglice ab anonymo quodam
conversum, Londini prodiit ante annum 1500 in folio, ex Caxtoni, uti
videtur, prælo editum."

is the notice of the above translation occurring in an old Swedish author. Information is requested as to whether any more detailed account can be obtained of the book referred to.[3] For any such the Querist will be especially thankful: if it should be possible to procure a copy of the same, his boldest hopes would be exceeded. If no English translation of S. Birgitta's revelations, or of the prayers and prophecies extracted therefrom--the latter known under the name of _Onus Mundi_, should exist, either in print or in old manuscript, this, in consideration of the very general circulation which these writings obtained in the Middle Ages, would be a very peculiar exception. The book named at the head of this Query would appear to be a translation of the _Breviarium S. Birgittæ._

G. E. KLEMMING,
Librarian in the Royal Library at Stockholm.

[Footnote 3: [See Wharton, in his Supplement to Usher, _De Scripturis et Sacris Vernaculis_, p. 447., edit. 1690.--ED.]]

_Campbell's Hymn on the Nativity._--The hymn, of which the following are the first two verses, is said to have been written by Campbell. Can any correspondent of "N. & Q." say which Campbell is the author, and when and where the hymn was first printed?

"When Jordan hush'd his waters still,
And silence slept on Zion's hill,
When Bethlehem's shepherds thro' the night
Watch'd o'er their flocks by starry light,

"Hark! from the midnight hills around,
A voice of more than mortal sound
In distant hallelujahs stole,
Wild murmuring o'er the raptur'd soul."

H. S. S.

* * * * *

Minor Queries with Answers.

_When Our Lord falls in Our Lady's Lap._--Seeing that Good Friday in this year falls on Lady Day, may I beg to ask if any of your contributors could inform me where the following old saying is to be met with, viz.:

"When Good Friday falls in a Lady's lap,
To England will happen some mishap,"

or to whom the prophecy (I hope a false one) may be attributed? I have seen it some years since, and have lately been asked the origin of the saying.

J. N. C.

Hull.

[Our correspondent has not quoted this old proverb correctly. It is
thus given by Fuller (_Worthies of England_, vol. i. p. 115. ed. 1840):

"When Our Lady falls in Our Lord's lap
Then let England beware a sad { clap
{ mishap,

_alias_

Then let the clergyman look to his cap."

But Fuller shows that it refers to Easter Day, not Good Friday, falling
on the 25th March, when he remarks:--"I behold this proverbial
prophecy, or this prophetical menace, to be not above six score years
old, and of Popish extraction since the Reformation. It whispereth more
than it dares speak out, and points at more than it dares whisper; and
fain would intimate to credulous persons as if the Blessed Virgin,
offended with the English for abolishing her adoration, watcheth an
opportunity of revenge on this nation. And when her day (being the
five-and-twentieth of March, and first of the Gregorian year) chanceth
to fall on the day of Christ's resurrection, then being, as it were,
fortified by her Son's assistance, some signal judgment is intended to
our state, and churchmen especially."

He then gives a list of the years on which the coincidences had
happened since the Conquest, to which, if our correspondent is curious
on the subject, we must refer him. Can he, or any other of our readers,
furnish any proof of the existence of this proverb before the
Reformation, or the existence of a similar proverb on the Continent?]

_Hobnail-counting in the Court of Exchequer._--I shall feel obliged by your informing me from what circumstance originates the yearly custom of the lord mayor of London counting six horse-shoes and sixty-one hobnails at the swearing in of the sheriff?

A CONSTANT READER.

Chertsey.

[The best explanation of this custom will be found in the _Gentleman's
Magazine_ for 1804, where we read: "The ceremony on this occasion in
the Court of Exchequer, which vulgar error supposed to be an unmeaning
farce, is solemn and impressive, nor have the new sheriffs the least
connexion either with chopping of sticks, or counting of hobnails. The
tenants of a manor in Shropshire are directed to come forth and do
their suit and service; on which the senior alderman below {158} the
chair steps forward and chops a single stick, in token of its having
been customary for the tenants of that manor to supply their lord with
fuel. The owners of a forge in the parish of St. Clement (which
formerly belonged to the city, and stood in the high road from the
Temple to Westminster, but now no longer exists) are then called forth
to do their suit and service; when an officer of the court, in the
presence of the senior alderman, produces six horse-shoes and sixty-one
hobnails, which he counts over in form before the cursitor baron, who
on this particular occasion is the immediate representative of the
sovereign."]

_A Race for Canterbury._--I have just met with a little volume of sixteen pages entitled _A Race for Canterbury or Lambeth, Ho!_ It is dated 1747, and was evidently written on the death of Archbishop Potter; and describes four aspirants to the see of Canterbury as four rowers on the Thames:

"No sooner Death had seized the seer,
Just in the middle of his prayer,
But instantly on Thames appear'd
Four wherries rowing very hard."
&c. &c. &c.

The first is thus introduced:

"Sh----, though old, has got the start,
And vigorously plays his part."

The second:

"H---- in order next advances,
And full of hopes he strangely fancies,
That he by dint of merit shall
Get first to land by Lambeth wall."

The third:

"M--s--n moves on a sober pace,
And sits and rows with easy grace.
No ruffling passion's in him seen,
Indifferent if he lose or win."

The fourth:

"Next Codex comes with lab'ring oar,
And, envious, sees the three before;
Yet luggs and tuggs with every joint,
In hopes at length to gain the point."

Having no list of the bishops by me, of the above-mentioned date, to which I can refer, I should be glad if any of your correspondents can tell me who these four bishops are. May I ask likewise, if it is known who was the author of this not very refined or elegant composition?

JOHN BRANFILL HARRISON.

Maidstone.

[The four aspirants probably were, 1. Sherlock of Salisbury; 2. Herring
of York, the next primate; 3. Mawson of Chichester; 4. Gibson of
London.]

_Nose of Wax._--In so famous a public document as the _Nottingham Declaration of the Nobles, Gentry, and Commons_, in November, 1688, against the Papistical inroads of the infatuated King James, I find in the Ninth Resolution that he is accused of "rendering the laws a _nose of wax_," in order to further arbitrary ends. I have often heard the phrase familiarly in my youthful days; may I ask of you to inform me of its origin? Its import is plain enough,--a silly bugbear, of none effect but to be laughed at.

W. J.

[Nares explains it more correctly as a proverbial phrase for anything
very mutable and accommodating; chiefly applied to flexibility of
faith. He adds, "It should be noticed, however, that the similitude was
originally borrowed from the Roman Catholic writers, who applied it to
the Holy Scriptures, on account of their being liable to various
interpretations."]

"_Praise from Sir Hubert Stanley!_"--I have somewhere heard or read this, or a very similar phrase, ironically expressive of surprise at approbation from an unexpected quarter. I would much like a clue to its source and correct shape.

W. T. M.

Hong Kong.

[This is from Morton's _Cure for the Heart Ache_, Act V. Sc.
2.:--"Approbation from Sir Hubert Stanley is praise indeed."]

_Rosary._--What is the origin of the term _rosary_? Is it derived from the Latin _rogare_?

G. C. C.

[Richardson derives it from Fr. _Rosaire_; Ital. and Sp. _Rosario_; Low
Lat. _Rosarium, corona rosacea_, a garland or chaplet of roses. The
definition of it by the Abbé Prevost is this:--"It consists," he says,
"of fifteen tens, said to be in honour of the fifteen mysteries in
which the Blessed Virgin bore a part. _Five_ Joyous, viz. the
annunciation, the visit to St. Elizabeth, the birth of our Saviour, the
purification, and the disputation of Christ in the temple. _Five_
Sorrowful: our Saviour's agony in the garden, his flagellation,
crowning with thorns, bearing his cross, and crucifixion. _Five_
Glorious: his resurrection, ascension, the descent of the Holy Ghost,
his glorification in heaven, and the assumption of the Virgin
herself."--_Manuel Lexique._ Nares, quoting this passage, adds, "This
is good authority; but why each of the fives is multiplied by ten the
Abbé does not explain; probably to make the chaplet of a sufficient
length."]

* * * * *

Replies.

THE ROD: A POEM.

(Vol. vi., p. 493.)

My copy of this poem bears date 1754, and is not stated to be a second edition. It has "an advertisement" of three pages, deprecatory of the imputation of any personal allusions, or design to encourage school rebellions. It has also a frontispiece ("Jas. Green, sculp., Oxon."), representing two youths, one standing, the other sitting, on a form; and before them the figure of an ass, erect on his hind legs, clothed in a pallium. A birch, doctorial hat, and books, lettered Priscian and {159} Lycophron, form the base; and on a ribbon above is the legend, "An ass in the Greek pallium teaching." In other respects my copy agrees with MR. CROSSLEY'S description of his, except that the argument (p. 7.) commences, "_The great and good_ King Alfred," &c.

Perhaps the following lines (though I doubt their having been written at the age of thirteen) may be received as germane to the subject:

THE BIRCH: A POEM.
_Written by a Youth of thirteen._

Though the _Oak_ be the prince and the pride of the grove,
The emblem of power and the fav'rite of Jove;
Though Phoebus his temples with _Laurel_ has bound,
And with chaplets of _Poplar_ Alcides is crown'd;
Though Pallas the _Olive_ has graced with her choice,
And old mother Cybel in _Pines_ may rejoice,
Yet the Muses declare, after diligent search,
That no tree can be found to compare with the _Birch_.
The Birch, they affirm, is the true tree of knowledge,
Revered at each school and remember'd at college.
Though Virgil's famed tree might produce, as its fruit,
A crop of vain dreams, and strange whims on each shoot,
Yet the Birch on each bough, on the top of each switch,
Bears the essence of grammar and eight parts of speech.
'Mongst the leaves are conceal'd more than mem'ry can mention,
All cases, all genders, all forms of declension.
Nine branches, when cropp'd by the hands of the Nine,
And duly arranged in a parallel line,
Tied up in nine folds of a mystical string,
And soak'd for nine days in cold Helicon spring,
Form a sceptre composed for a pedagogue's hand,
Like the Fasces of Rome, a true badge of command.
The sceptre thus finish'd, like Moses's rod,
From flints could draw tears, and give life to a clod.
Should darkness Egyptian, or ignorance, spread
Their clouds o'er the mind, or envelope the head,
The rod, thrice applied, puts the darkness to flight,
Disperses the clouds, and restores us to light.
Like the Virga Divina, 'twill find out the vein
Where lurks the rich metal, the ore of the brain.
Should Genius a captive in sloth be confined,
Or the witchcraft of Pleasure prevail o'er the mind,
The magical wand but apply--with a stroke
The spell is dissolved, the enchantment is broke.
Like Hermes' caduceus, these switches inspire
Rhetorical thunder, poetical fire:
And if Morpheus our temples in Lethe should steep,
Their touch will untie all the fetters of sleep.
Here dwells strong conviction--of Logic the glory,
When applied with precision _à posteriori_.
I've known a short lecture most strangely prevail,
When duly convey'd to the head through the tail;
Like an electrical shock, in an instant 'tis spread,
And flies with a jerk from the tail to the head;
Promotes circulation, and thrills through each vein,
The faculties quickens, and purges the brain.
By sympathy thus, and consent of the parts,
We are taught, _fundamentally_, classics and arts.
The Birch, _à priori_, applied to the palm,
Can settle disputes and a passion becalm.
Whatever disorders prevail in the blood
The birch can correct them, like guaiacum wood:
It sweetens the juices, corrects our ill humours,
Bad habits removes, and disperses foul tumours.
When applied to the hand it can cure with a switch,
Like the salve of old Molyneux, used in the itch!
As the famed rod of Circe to brutes could turn men,
So the twigs of the Birch can unbrute them again.
Like the wand of the Sybil, that branch of pure gold,
These sprays can the gates of Elysium unfold--
The Elysium of learning, where pleasures abound,
Those sweets that still flourish on classical ground.
Prometheus's rod, which, mythologists say,
Fetch'd fire from the sun to give life to his clay,
Was a rod well applied his men to inspire
With a taste for the arts, and their genius to fire.
This bundle of rods may suggest one reflection,
That the arts with each other maintain a connexion.
Another good moral this bundle of switches
Points out to our notice and silently teaches;
Of peace and good fellowship these are a token,
For the twigs, well united, can scarcely be broken.
Then, if such are its virtues, we'll bow to the tree,
And THE BIRCH, like the Muses, immortal shall be.

I copy from a MS. extract-book, and shall be glad of a reference to any place in which these lines have appeared in print.

BALLIOLENSIS.

* * * * *

THE DUTCH EAST-INDIA COMPANY.

(Vol. vi., p. 316.)

These folio volumes appeared in 1646, without name or place of either author or printer, under the title--

"Begin ende Voortgang van de Vereenighde Nederlandsche Geoctroyeerde
Oost-Indische Compagnie, vervattende de voornaemste Reysen, by de
inwoonderen derselver provincien derwaerts gedaen, alles nevens de
{160} beschryvinghen der Rycken, Eylanden, Hovenen, Rivieren, Stroomen,
Rheden, winden, diepten, ondiepten, mitsgaders religien, manieren,
aerdt, politie, ende regeeringhe der volckeren, oock mede haerder
Specerÿen, drooghen, geldt ende andere koopmanschappen; met veele
discoursen verryckt, nevens eenighe koopere platen verciert. Nut ende
dienstig alle curieuse ende andere zee-varende. Met dry besondere
tafels ofte registers; in twee Delen verdeelt, waer het eerste begrypt
veerttien voyagien den meerendeelen voor desen noyt in 't licht
geweest. Gedrukt in den jaere 1646."

(_Translation._)

Commencement and progress of the United Dutch Chartered East-India
Company, containing the principal travels made among the inhabitants of
the provinces there, together with a description of the kingdoms,
courts, islands, rivers, roadsteads, winds, deeps, shallows, as well as
religions, manners, character, police, and governments of the people;
also their spices, drugs, money, and other merchandise, enriched with
many discourses, and adorned with copperplates. Useful and profitable
to all curious and seafaring virtuosi. With three separate tables or
registers; divided into two parts, of which the first contains fourteen
voyages, the most part never before published. Printed in the year
1646.

The compiler, however, goes too far in asserting that the greatest part of these voyages had never been printed. The contrary appears when we open the folio catalogue of the Leyden Library, containing a fine collection of these early voyages of our ancestors.

These voyages were printed consecutively in small folio before 1646; as also the _Oost Indische en West Indische Voyagien_, Amsterdam, by Michel Colyn, boekverkooper (_East Indian and West Indian Voyages_, Amsterdam, by Michel Colyn, bookseller), anno 1619, one volume, in the same form and thickness as those of 1646: some of the plates also in this volume are similar to those of 1646.

This work was dedicated, 28th February, 1619, to the Heeren Gecommitteerde Raden ter Admiraliteit residerende te Amsterdam (Advising Committee to the Admiralty residing at Amsterdam), and begins with the _Reis naar Nova Sembla_ (_Voyage to Nova Zembla_), printed at Enkhuizen in 1617, by Jacob Lenaertsz Meijn, at the Vergulde Schryfboek (Gilt Writing-book), so that it is not improbable that the whole work was printed at Enkhuizen. Michel Colyn also published other Dutch voyages in 1622.

Concerning Cornelis Claesz (_i.q._ son of Nicholas), printer at Amsterdam, I have to observe that he died before 1610, but that the late Lucas Jansz. Wagenaer had bought all his plates, maps, privileges, &c.

By a notarial act passed 16th August, 1610, at Enkhuizen, Tryn Haickesdr., widow of the above-named Wagenaer, declared that the widow of Cornelis Claesz might make over to Jacob Lenaertsz all the above-mentioned maps, privileges, &c. See a resolution of the States-General of 13th September, 1610, in Dodt's _Kerkelÿk en Wereldlÿk Archief_, p. 23. (_Ecclesiastical and Civil Archives_).--_From the Navorscher._

ELSEVIER.

Leyden.

J. A. de Chalmot, in his _Biographical Dictionary of the Netherlands_, vol. vii. p. 251., names as author, or rather as compiler of this work, Isaak Commelin, born at Amsterdam 19th October, 1598, died 3rd Jan. 1676, and quotes Kasp. Commelin's _Description of Amsterdam_, which I have not at hand to refer to. The work was printed at Amsterdam without printer's name: each _voyagie_ or description is separately paged; some places have a French text. In the second volume is a _Generale beschryvinghe van Indien, &c._, naer de copÿe ghedruckt tot Batavia in de druckerÿe van Gansenpen, anno 1638 (_General Description of India, &c._, according to the copy printed at Batavia at the office of the _Goose Quill_). Whether any other pieces which Commelin compiled had been earlier printed, I have not been able to discover.--_From the Navorscher._

J. C. K.

* * * * *

"ITS."

(Vol. vi., p. 509.)

The following are earlier instances of the employment of _its_ by the poets, than any that your correspondent seems to have met with:

"How sometimes nature will betray _its_ folly,
_Its_ tenderness, and makes itself a pastime
To harder bosoms!
_Winter's Tale_, Act I. Sc. 2.

"Each following day
Became the next day's master, till the last
Made former wonders _its_."
_Henry VIII._, Act I. Sc. 1.

"On the green banks which that fair stream in-bound,
Flowers and odours sweetly smiled and smell'd,
Which, reaching out _its_ stretched arms around,
All the large desert in _its_ bosom held."
Fairefax, _Godfrey of Bulloigne_, xviii. 20., 1600.

I doubt if there are any earlier instances among the poets. I have had no opportunity of examining the prose writers of the sixteenth century, but think they must have employed _its_ earlier than the poets. As we may see in the version of the Bible, and other works of the time, the English, like the Anglo-Saxon, long continued to use the genitive _his_ for neuters as well as for masculines; and _thereof_ for our present _of it_, _its_.

_Its_ leads me to reflect how ignorant people were of the old languages in the last century. If ever there was a palpable forgery, it is the Poems of Rowley: yet, if my memory does not deceive me, {161} Tyrwhitt regarded them as genuine; and Malone authoritatively affirmed that "no one except the nicest judges of English poetry, from Chaucer to Pope, was competent to test their genuineness." Why, this little word _its_ might have tested it. You see we have not been able to trace it in poetry higher up than the end of the sixteenth century; and I am quite sure that it is not to be found in either Chaucer or Spenser: and yet, in the very first page of Rowley, we meet with the following instances of it:

"The whyche in _yttes_ felle use doe make moke dere."

"The thynge _yttes_ (_ytte is?_) moste bee _yttes_ owne defense."

But there is a still surer test. We can hardly read a line of Chaucer, Gower, or any other poet of the time, without meeting with what the French term the feminine _e_, and which must be pronounced as a syllable to make the metre. From one end to the other of the Poems of Rowley, there is not a single instance of it!

THOS. KEIGHTLEY.

* * * * *

COMMENCEMENT OF THE YEAR.

(Vol. vi., p. 563.)

It may be of service to the inquirer as to the commencement of the year, to call his attention to the note appended to the "Table of moveable Feasts" in editions prior to 1752. As given by Keeling, from the editions antecedent and subsequent to the last review, in 1662, they are as follows:

"_Note._--That the supputation of the year of our Lord in the Church of
England beginneth the xxvth day of March, the same day supposed to be
the first day upon which the world was created, and the day when Christ
was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary" [1604].

"_Note._--That the supputation of the year of our Lord in the Church of
England beginneth the xxvth day of March" [1662].

Of course, after the act for alteration of the style (24 Geo. II. c. 23.) was passed, this note was omitted. But up to that date the old supputation was authoritative and legal. Reference to Hampson's _Medii Ævi Kalendarium_ might further illustrate the point.

To this Note allow me to append a Query. After the collect for St. Stephen's Day follows this rubric:

"Then shall follow the collect of the Nativity, which shall be said
continually until New Year's Eve."

Query, Was this collect to be repeated from December 25 to March 24? for, according to the above supputation, that would be New Year's Eve.

The following note, from the preface to Granger's _Biographical History_, may not be out of place:

"The following absurdities, among many others, were occasioned by these
different computations. In 1667 there were two Easters, the first on
the 25th of April, and the second on the 22nd of March following; and
there were three different denominations of the Year of our Lord
affixed to three state papers which were published in one week, viz.
his Majesty's Speech, dated 1732-3; the Address of the House of Lords,
1732; the Address of the House of Commons, 1733."--Page xxiii., edit.
1824.

BALLIOLENSIS.

* * * * *

"PENARDO AND LAISSA."

(Vol. vii., p. 84.)

Your correspondent E. D. is fortunate in the possession of a rare book, worth a "jew's eye" in the good old days of the Bibliomania. It formed a part of the Heber Collection, where (see Part iv. p. 111.) it figures under the following quaint title:

"The First Booke of the Famous Historye of Penardo and Laissa,
other-ways called the Warres of Love and Ambitione, wherein is
described Penardo his most admirable deeds of Arms, his ambition of
glore, his contempt of love, with loves mighte assalts and ammorous
temptations, Laissa's feareful inchantment, hir relief, hir travells,
and lastly, loves admirabel force in hir releiving Penardo from the
fire. Doone in Heroik Verse by Patrik Gordon.

Printed at Dort by George Waters, 1615."

This copy, which was originally John Pinkerton's, cost Mr. Heber 21l., and was resold at his sale for 12l. 5s., for the library of Mr. Miller, of Craigentenny; another is in the possession of Dr. Keith, Edinburgh. Pinkerton, in his _Ancient Scottish Poems_, London, 1792, thus describes _Penardo and Laissa_:

"Rare to excess; nor can more than two copies be discovered, one in the
editor's possession, another in that of an anonymous correspondent in
Scotland. The author was probably so ashamed of it as to quash the
edition, for it is the most puerile mixture of all times, manners, and
religions that ever was published; for instance, the Christian religion
is put as that of Ancient Greece."

Of the author, Patrick Gordon, little or nothing seems to be known beyond the fact of his styling himself "gentleman," probably the only ground for Pinkerton calling him "a man of property." The fame of Gordon, however, rests upon a better foundation than the above work, he having also "doone in heroik verse _The Famous Historie of the Renouned and Valiant Prince Robert, surnamed the Bruce, King of Scotland_," "a tolerable poem," says the same critic, "but not worth reprinting, although it had that compliment twice paid to it." {162}

The "Bruce" of our author is a concoction from Barbour and a certain _Book of Virgin Parchment_, upon the same subject, by Peter Fenton, known only to Gordon, and, like _Penardo_, sets propriety at defiance, "Christ and Jupiter being with matchless indecorum grouped together:"[4] it, too, came originally from the press of Dort, 1615; again from that of James Watson, Edinburgh, 1718; and a third time, Glasgow, by Hall, 1753.

J. O.

[Footnote 4: Irving's _Scottish Poets_.]

* * * * *

ROBIN HOOD.

(Vol. vi., p. 597.)

Ireland, too, is associated with the fame of this renowned wood-ranger. This "_pen_-ultima Thule," which received and protected the refugees of Roman oppression and the victims of Saxon extermination, was looked to in later times as a sanctuary where crime might evade punishment; and in the _Annals of Robin Hood_ this national commiseration was evinced.

"In the year 1189," writes Holinshed, "there ranged three robbers and
outlaws in England, among which 'Robert' Hood and Little John were
chieftains, of all thieves doubtless the most courteous. Robert, being
betrayed at a nunnery in Scotland, called Bricklies, the remnant of the
'crue' was scattered, and every man forced to shift for himself;
whereupon Little John was fain _to flee the realm_ by sailing into
Ireland, where he sojourned for a few days at Dublin. The citizens
being 'doone' to understand the wandering outcast to be an excellent
archer, requested him heartily to try how far he could shoot at random,
who, yielding to their behest, stood on the bridge of Dublin and shot
to a hillock in Oxmantown (thereafter called Little John's shot),
leaving behind him a monument, rather by posterity to be wondered than
possibly by any man living to be counterscored."--_Description of
Ireland_, fol., p. 24.

The danger, however, of being taken drove Little John thence to Scotland, where, adds the annalist, "he died at a town or village called Moravie."

JOHN D'ALTON.

I may perhaps be allowed to subscribe to the opinion expressed by H. K., that "though men of the name of Robin Hood may have existed in England, that of itself could afford no ground for inferring that some one of them was the Robin Hood of romantic tradition;" and at the same time to express my dissent from the conclusion, that "any pretence for such a supposition is taken away by the strong evidence, both Scotch and French," which H. K. has "adduced in support of the opposite view."

The inferences which I draw from the facts adduced by H. K. are, that the fame of the hero of English ballads probably extended to France and Scotland, and that the people of Scotland probably sympathised with this disturber of the peace of the kingdom of their "aulde ennemies."

I must, however, confess that I have not met with any portion of "the discussion about the nature of Robin Hood," excepting that contained in Ritson's Notes and Hunter's Tract, and that the evidence adduced in the latter publication, in support of the tradition handed down to us in the ballad entitled _A Lyttel Geste of Robyn Hode_, seems to me to satisfactorily show that "the Robin Hood of romantic tradition really existed in England in the time of Edward II."

J. LEWELYN CURTIS.

* * * * *

PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES AND QUERIES.

_Originator of Collodion Process_ (Vol. vii., pp. 47. 92. 116.).--The fairest way of deciding M. Le Gray's claims would be, to quote what he really says.

Willat's pamphlet, published in 1850, entitled _A Practical Treatise, &c._, by Gustave Le Gray, translated by Thomas Cousins, ends with an appendix, which runs thus:

"I have just discovered a process upon glass by hydrofluoric ether, the
fluoride of potassium, and soda dissolved in alcohol 40°, mixed with
sulphuric ether, and afterwards saturated with collodion; I afterwards
re-act with aceto-nitrate of silver, and thus obtain proofs in the
camera in five seconds in the shade. I develope the image by a very
weak solution of sulphate of iron, and fix with hyposulphite of soda. I
hope by this process to arrive at great rapidity. Ammonia and bromide
of potassium give great variations of promptitude. As soon as my
experiments are complete I will publish the result in an appendix. This
application upon glass is very easy: the same agents employed with
albumen and dextrine, give also excellent results and very quick. I
have also experimented with a mucilage produced by a fucus, a kind of
sea-weed, which promises future success. I hope by some of these means
to succeed in taking portraits in three or four seconds."

I know not at what time of the year the pamphlet came out, nor whether the appendix was subsequently added; but any copy containing it was bought about the middle of August, 1850.

THOS. D. EATON.

[We have much pleasure in inserting this communication, as it may be
the means of drawing fresh attention to the other substances mentioned
by Le Gray; for we are strongly of opinion that, notwithstanding the
advantages of collodion, there are other _media_ which may prove
preferable.--ED.]

_The Soiling of the Fingers_ may be entirely avoided by a simple expedient. Use a slightly concave horizontal dish for sensitizing, and a depth of solution not sufficient to wet the back of the collodionized plate, and after the impressed plate {163} has been placed on the levelled stand and developed, proceed thus: instead of holding the plate by the fingers to perform the subsequent processes, take a strip of glass (say five inches long and one and a half wide for the ordinary portrait size), put a single drop of water on it, and carefully pass it beneath the developed plate; lift the glass thereby; the adhesion is sufficiently firm to sustain the plate in any required position for the remaining manipulations till it is washed and finished.

COKELY.

_Sir W. Newton's Process.--Chloride of Bromium._--May I ask, through the medium of your very excellent journal, what purpose SIR W. NEWTON intends to meet by the application of his wash of chloride of barium previous to iodizing?

F. MAXWELL LYTE.

_The Collodion Process._--Absence from London has prevented my seeing your Numbers regularly; but in one for December I see MR. ARCHER has used my name in connexion with the collodion process. He states that he called several times, and made me familiar with the process; by which he would lead persons to suppose that he taught me in fact to take pictures. Now I beg most distinctly to state that this is incorrect. MR. ARCHER made, it is true, several attempts in my glass room to take a picture, but totally failed. And why? Because he attempted to follow out the process as he himself had published it. From that time I worked it out by myself, assisted by hints from Mr. Fry, who at the time I allude to was a successful manipulator, and had produced and exhibited many beautiful pictures, and at whose suggestion I commenced it in the first instance.

There is also another portion of MR. ARCHER'S letter incorrect; but as this relates to the sale of collodion, I will let it pass, trusting, as you have given insertion to his, you will not refuse space for mine.

F. HORNE.

123. Newgate Street.

_Portable Camera_ (Vol. vii., p. 71.).--If India rubber should turn out to be what H. Y. W. N. thinks he has found it to be, it would be capable of being turned to excellent account. For instance, instead of having a single "portable camera," which is on many accounts very awkward to use, why should not the tourist have a light framework constructed, and covered entirely with this India rubber: in fact, an India rubber box, in which his camera, and a partitioned shelf containing his collodion, developing fluid, hypo-soda solution, &c., might be easily packed, and in which, by the aid of sleeves, &c., he might coat his plates, and develop and fix them, quite apart from his camera? He _must_ have _something_ to pack his camera, &c. in; and the above-described packing-case would be very light, and also waterproof.

J. L. S.

* * * * *

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Chaplains to Noblemen_ (Vol. vii., p. 85.).--The statute in which chaplains to noblemen are first named is 21 Henry VIII. c. 13. (1529); in which, by sect. 11., it is enacted, "that every Archbysshop and Duke may have vj chapleyns;" "every Markes and Erle may have fyve chapleyns;" "every vycecount and other Byshop may have foure chapleyns;" and "the Chancellour of England for the tyme beying and every Baron or Knyght of the Garter may have thre chapleyns:" and one chaplain of each order, whether Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, or Baron, is thereby authorised to purchase "lycence or dispensacion to take, receyve, and kepe two parsonages or benefices with cure of souls" (_Stat. of the Realm_, vol. iii. p. 294.). I believe that X. will find a regular registry of these appointments in Doctors' Commons.

It may be interesting to add, that among the other persons named in this statute are the Master of the Rolls, who may have "two chapleyns;" and the "Chefe Justice of the Kinges Benche," who may have "one chapleyn." By another statute, 25 Henry VIII. c. 16. (1533-4), this last power to have one chaplain is extended to "every Jugge of the seid high courtes" (King's Bench and Common Pleas), "the Chaunceller and Cheffe Baron of the Exchequer, the kynges generall attorney and generall soliciter" (_Ibid._ p. 457.)

EDWARD FOSS.

_Mitigation of Capital Punishment to a Forger_ (Vol. vi., p. 614.).--I have been and still am inquiring into the two cases of mitigation, intending to send the result, when I have found satisfactory evidence, or exhausted my sources of inquiry. The communication of WHUNSIDE is the first direct testimony, and may settle the Fawcett case. As he was "resident at Mr. Fawcett's when the circumstances occurred," perhaps he will be so kind as to state the date and place of the conviction, and the name of the convict. By adding his own name, the facts will stand upon his authority.

H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

_Brydone the Tourist_ (Vol. vii., p. 108.).--A. B. C. inquires the birthplace of Brydone, "the tourist and author." I presume he refers to Patrick Brydone, who wrote _Travels in Sicily and Malta_, and who held, I believe, an appointment under the Commissioners of Stamps, and died about thirty years ago. Some four-and-twenty years back, I arrived, late in the evening, at the hospitable cottage of Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, at Altrieve, in the vale of Yarrow. It happened to be, as it often was, too full of guests to afford me a bed; and I was transferred by my host to the house of a neighbouring gentleman, where I slept. That gentleman was Mr. Brydone, of Mount Benger, {164} who I found was a near relative of Brydone the tourist, whose birthplace was in the Forest of Ettrick.