Notes and Queries, Number 184, May 7, 1853

Chapter II: Act V: Sc. 5 (1)

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" . . . . . like silly beggars,
Who sitting in the stocks, refuge their shame,
That many have [sat] and others must sit there."

And even from a much later writer, Bolingbroke:

"This dedication may serve for almost any book that has, is, or shall
be published."

Where we must supply _been_ after _has_. But in the passage I attempted, and I think successfully, to set right, admitting that custom would allow of the ellipsis of the participle _been_, after the auxiliary _have_, to what can "am, have, and will be" possibly refer?

" . . . . . I do professe
That for your highness' good, I euer labour'd
More then mine owne, that am, haue, and will be."

What? Add _true_ at the end of the line, and it mars the verse, but make the probable correction of _true_ for _haue_, and you get excellent sense without any ellipsis. I am as averse to interpolation or alteration of the text, when sense can by any rational supposition be made of it, as my opponent, or any true lover of the poet and the integrity of his language, can possibly be; but I see nothing rational in refusing to correct an almost self-evident misprint, which would redeem a fine passage that otherwise must always remain a stumbling-block to the most intelligent reader. We have all I trust but one object, _i. e._ to free the text of our great poet from obvious errors occasioned by extremely incorrect printing in the folios, and at the same time to strictly watch over all attempts at its corruption by unnecessary meddling. This, and not the displaying of our own ingenuity in conjectures, ought to be our almost sacred duty; at least, I feel conscious that it is mine.

S. W. SINGER.

"That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain."
_Hamlet_.

The notable quotation of this line by the Earl of Derby, in the Lords, on Monday evening, April 25, has once more reminded me of my unanswered Query respecting it, Vol. vi., p. 270.

On the 26th February (Vol. vii., p. 217.) MR. COLLIER was good enough to say, that his only {450} reason for not answering it was, that he had not then within his reach the copy of "N. & Q." wherein it had been proposed; politely adding, that if I would reprint the Query, he would at once answer it.

Supposing, however, that MR. COLLIER'S absence from his library would be only temporary, I deemed it less troublesome to the Editor of "N. & Q." to wait until MR. COLLIER could refer to the Query, as already printed.

Two months have since elapsed, and I now no longer hesitate to ask the Editor for an opportunity of again referring to it, trusting that a sufficient excuse will be found in the importance of the subject, as affecting the fundamental sense of a passage in Shakspeare.

A. E. B.

Leeds.

_Mr. J. Payne Collier's "Notes and Emendations."_--There can be no doubt that many of these emendations are rational and judicious; but I cannot help thinking, _on the whole_, that MR. COLLIER has rather overrated their value, and placed too implicit faith in the infallibility of his unknown guide. At all events, there is not a shadow of authority given for any one of the corrections, and we have therefore a full right to try them, as the lawyers would say, "upon the merits;" or, in other words, to treat them as mere speculative alterations, and to adopt or reject them, as may appear advisable in each particular case. It is difficult to conjecture what can have been the position in life, or the occupation of this mysterious annotator. That his pursuits were not purely literary, I think is plain: first, from the very circumstance of his not authenticating any of his notes, which a literary inquirer would certainly have done; and, secondly, from the very minute attention which is paid to the _business_ of the scene and the movements of the actors. These considerations, coupled with the fact of his frequently striking out whole passages of the text (which a literary enthusiast would _not_ have done), would at first lead us to suppose that the writer was a theatrical manager, and that the alterations were made to suit either the fancies, or perhaps the peculiar qualifications of certain performers. But in this case one can hardly suppose that the remarks would have extended to more than a certain number of plays, which were most frequently acted. Thus much, however, appears certain, that the commentaries are rather those of an _habitual play-goer_, than of a studious critic; and it will be easy to show that a great portion of the new readings he proposes are really changes _for the worse_, while a still larger number are at least unnecessary! I shall content myself with only a few instances, on this occasion, as I am unwilling to encroach too far on your space; but I can easily multiply them, if I am encouraged to renew the subject.

In the first place, I differ from MR. COLLIER entirely as to the famous passage from _Henry VIII._, p. 324., which he brings so prominently forward as to give it special notice in his Introduction. To me, I confess, the phrase--

"To steal from spiritual _labour_ a brief span,"

appears quite tame and poor in comparison with

"To steal from spiritual _leisure_ a brief span,"

and, moreover, destroys all the poetry of the thought. Nor can I see the slightest difficulty in the _sense_ of the original passage. The king means to say that Wolsey cannot steal from the _little leisure_ afforded him by his spiritual labours "a brief span, to keep his earthly audit:" and surely this is much more poetical than the substituted passage.

In p. 323., from the same play, we have--

"to the sharp'st _kind_ of justice,"

transformed to "sharp'st _knife_ of justice:" but I cannot assent to this change. The obvious meaning of the poet is, that the contempt of the world, "_shutting all doors_" against the accused, is a sharper _kind_ of justice than any which the law could inflict: but, to be given up to "the sharp'st _knife_ of justice" could only mean, being consigned to the public executioner,--which was just what Katherine was deprecating.

In p. 325. the lines relating to Wolsey's foundations at Ipswich and Oxford are printed thus in the folio--

"one of which fell with him,
Unwilling to outlive the good that did it:"

that is, unwilling to outlive the virtues which prompted it,--a passage teeming with poetical feeling: but the commentator has ruthlessly altered it to--

"Unwilling to outlive the _good man_ did it;"

which, I submit, not only destroys all the poetry, but is decidedly _not English!_

The next passage I would notice is from _Much Ado about Nothing_, p. 76. How, I would ask, can the phrase--

"And sorrow wag,"

be a misprint for "call sorrow joy?" No compositor, or scribe either, could possibly be misled by any sound from the "reader" into such a mistake as that! The words "and sorrow wag," I admit, are not sense; but the substitution of "call sorrow joy" strikes me as bald and common-place in the extreme, and there is no pretence for its having any authority. If, then, we are to have a mere fanciful emendation, why not "bid sorrow wag?" This would be doing far less violence to the printed text, for it would only require the alteration of two letters in the word "and;" while it would preserve the Shakspearian character of the passage. "Wag" is a favourite expression in {451} the comedies of the Bard, and occurs repeatedly in his works. The passage would then run thus--

"If such a one will smile and stroke his beard,
_Bid sorrow wag_--cry hem! when he should groan."

In p. 73. we find--

"Soul-tainted flesh," &c.

substituted for "_foul_ tainted flesh;" and we are told that the critics have been all wrong, who supposed that Shakspeare intended any "metaphor from the kitchen!" If so, what meaning can be attached to the line--

"And salt too little which may season give?"

If that is not a metaphor from the kitchen, I know not what could be? I still believe that "foul tainted flesh" is the correct reading. The expression "_soul_-tainted flesh" is not intelligible. It should rather be "_soul-tainting_ flesh." The _soul_ may be tainted by the _flesh_: but how the _flesh_ can be _soul-tainted_, I cannot understand.

Turning further back, to p. 69., we find it asserted, quite dogmatically, that the word "truths" of the folios ought to be "proofs;" but no reason whatever is offered for the change. I cannot help thinking that "seeming _truths_" is much the most poetical expression, while in "seeming _proofs_" there is something like redundancy,--to say nothing of the phrase being infinitely more common-place!

In the play of the _Tempest_, p. 4., the beautiful passage--

"he being thus _lorded_
Not only with what my revenue yielded," &c.,

is degraded into "he being thus _loaded_," &c. Can there be a moment's doubt that "lorded" was the word used by Shakspeare? It is completely in his style, which was on all occasions to coin verbs out of substantives, if he could. "He being thus _lorded_," i. e. _ennobled_ "with what my revenue yielded," is surely a far superior expression to "being thus _loaded_,"--as if the poet were speaking of a costermonger's donkey!

Again, in p. 10.:

"Wherefore _this_ ghastly looking?"

or, this ghastly appearance? Who will venture to say, that the substitution of "_thus ghastly_ looking" is not decidedly a change for the worse?

In the Merchant of Venice, p. 118.:

"and leave itself _unfurnished_,"

is altered to "leave itself _unfinished_!" I confess I cannot see the slightest warrant for this change. The words--

"having made one,
Methinks IT should have power to steal _both his_,"

distinctly show that the author was alluding to the _eye_ only, and not to the _portrait_ and how could the eye (already _made_) describe itself as _unfinished_? Surely the sense is _unfurnished_, that is, _unfurnished_ with its companion, or probably with the other accessories required to complete the portrait.

P. 119. has the line--

"And swearing 'til my very _roof_ was dry,"

transmogrified into--

"And swearing 'til my very _tongue_ was dry."

Now, why "this lame and impotent conclusion?" What can be a more common expression than the "roof of the mouth?" and it is just the part which is most affected by a sensation of dryness and pricking, after any excitement in speaking, whereas the _tongue_ is not the member that suffers!

In _As You Like It_, p. 127., in the line--

"Mistress dispatch you with your _safest haste_,"

the last two words are made "fastest haste," which, to say the least, are tautology, and are like talking, of the "highest height", or the the "deepest depth!" Surely, the original form of words, "Dispatch you with your _safest haste_;" that is, with as much haste as is consistent with your personal safety--is much more dignified and polished address from the duke to a _lady_, and at the same time more poetical!

In p. 129.,

"The constant _service_ of the antique world,"

is converted into

"The constant _favour_ of the antique world:"

in which line I cannot discover any sense. If I might hazard a guess, I should suggest that the error is in the _second_ word, "service," and that it ought to be "servants:"

"When _servants_ sweat for duty, not for meed."

In the _Taming of the Shrew_, p. 143., the substitution of "_Warwickshire_ ale" for "sheer ale" strikes me as very far-fetched, and wholly unnecessary. There is no defect of sense in the term "_sheer_ ale." Sly means to say, he was "fourteen pence on the score for ale alone:" just as one speaks of "sheer nonsense," _i. e._ nothing but nonsense, "sheer buffoonery," "sheer malice," &c. Why should Sly talk of being in debt for _Warwickshire_ ale at Wincot? If he kind been drinking ale from Staffordshire, or Derbyshire, or Kent, he might possibly have named the county it came from; but to talk of _Warwickshire_ ale within a few miles of Stratford-on-Avon seems absurd. It is as if a man came from Barclay and Perkins's, and talked of having been drinking "_London_ porter."

In p. 144., I submit, with great deference, that turning "Aristotle's checks" into "Aristotle's ethics" is the very reverse of an improvement. What can be more intelligible than the line--

"And so devote to Aristotle's _checks_;"

that is, to the checks which Aristotle's rules impose upon profligacy? The idea is more poetical, {452} and the line runs more smoothly; while the altered line is prosaic in comparison, and the metre is not correct.

My dwindling space warns me that I must very soon pause; but these examples can be extended _ad infinitum_, should another opportunity be afforded me.

The instances of alterations simply _unnecessary_ are too numerous to be recorded here. I have already a list of forty odd, selected from only eight plays.

CECIL HARBOTTLE.

* * * * *

Minor Notes.

_Local Rhymes, Norfolk._--

"Halvergate hares, Reedham rats,
Southwood swine, and Cantley cats;
Acle asses, Moulton mules,
Beighton bears, and Freethorpe fools."

Z. E. R.

"_Hobson's Choice._"--I, the other day, in a paper of 1737, came upon the inclosed, if of interest sufficient for insertion in "N. & Q.:"

"Upon the mention of Mr. Freeman being appointed one of the four horse
carriers to the university of Cambridge, we had the following
paragraph:--'This was the office that _old Hobson_ enjoyed, in which he
acquired so large a fortune as enabled him to leave the town that
ever-memorable legacy the conduit, that stands on the Market Hill, with
an estate to keep it perpetually in repair. The same person gave rise
to the well-known adage, 'Hobson's choice--this or none;' founded upon
his management in business. He used to keep, it seems, hackney horses,
that he let out to young gentlemen of the university, with whose
characters being well acquainted, he suited his beast to its rider, who
upon a dislike was sure to receive that answer from him, 'This or
none.'"

J. W. G. G.

_Khond Fable._--The following is a free version of a fable current among the Khonds of Oriosa, of whom a very interesting account is given by Captain Macpherson in the _Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society_ for 1852:

"A mosquito was seated on the horn of a bull, and fearing that his
weight might be oppressive to the quadruped, he politely accosted him,
begging that, if he felt any inconvenience, he would mention it, and
professing himself ready, in that case, to remove to some other
position. The bull replied, 'O mosquito, so far are you from oppressing
me with your weight, that I was not even aware of your existence.'"

The moral of this is common enough, but is the fable found elsewhere in a similar _form_?

J. C. R.

_Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart._--As those who have read the deeply interesting memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton are aware, he was placed at a school in Donnybrook in the year 1802, and shortly after "entered" the University of Dublin. His success in that seat of learning, where able competitors were many in number, was brilliant; for "on the 14th of April in the same year [1807], he received his thirteenth premium, and also the highest honour of the university,--the gold medal. With these distinctions, and the four silver medals from the Historical Society, he prepared to return to England." In fact, so high did his character stand, that a proposal was made to him by the electors (which, however, he deemed it prudent to decline) to come forward as a candidate for the representation of the university in the imperial parliament, and good grounds were given him to expect a triumphant return.

Now, this man was doubtless an honour to the "silent(?) sister" in Ireland; and, as an Irishman, I feel some little degree of pride in our having educated him so well for his subsequent career. With surprise, then, do I find, on referring to the _Dublin University Calendar_ for the present year, the name of a "Mr. _John Powell_ Buxton" in the list of gold medallists. The editor appears to be sadly ignorant of the proper person, and cannot lay the blunder at the printer's door, having very unaccountably repeated it from year to year. I have taken the trouble of examining many volumes of the _Calendar_.

ABHBA

_Anagrams._--I beg to forward the following:

"Antonius B. Magliabechius"

(He was the librarian at Florence, about the end of the sixteenth century). This name makes--

"Is unus Bibliotheca magna."

In the poems of some Jesuit father (Bacchusius, I think) the following rather offensive one is mentioned, on the celebrated father Costerus:

"Petrus Costerus Jesuita!"

_i. e._

"Vere tu es asinus: ita!"

PHILOBIBLION.

* * * * *

Queries.

SEAL OF WILLIAM D'ALBINI.

A few years since there was published a _History of the Parish of Attleburgh, in Norfolk_, by the then rector, Dr. Barrett. It is a very handsome volume in quarto, and reflects great credit upon the learning and taste of the reverend editor.

What I wish more particularly to allude to is an engraving of the seal of William de Albini, who was called "William with the Strong Hand;" of whom Dugdale records, that having distinguished himself at a tournament appointed by a queen of France, then a widow, she became so enamoured of him that she offered him marriage. But he, having plighted his troth to Adeliza, widow to {453} King Henry I. of England, refused her. In revenge for this refusal, the queen of France inveigled him into a den in the garden, where was a fierce lion. Being in this danger, he rolled his mantle about his arm, and putting his hand into the mouth of the beast, pulled out his tongue by the root; followed the queen to her palace, and gave it to one of her maids to present to her. Returning to England with the fame of this glorious exploit, he was forthwith advanced to the earldom of Arundel, and for his arms the lion given him.

Amongst the many illustrations in Dr. Barrett's book is the seal of this William de Albini, representing a knight on horseback, in the usual style of such knightly seals; but in front of the knight is a young lion, and under the feet of the horse some sort of animal of the lizard kind.

In elucidation of this seal, there is a long and elaborate note, with remarks by Mr. Hawkins of the British Museum, with a view of showing that the device on this seal alludes to the story of his combat with the lion.

The attempt to establish this point appears to me amusing; for there seems nothing on the face of the seal different from the usual seals of royal and knightly rank in ancient times.

It strikes me, that the true interpretation of this device, and the introduction of the lion and the lizard-like animal under the horse's feet, may be found in the 13th verse of Psalm xci.:

"Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon
shalt thou tread under thy feet."

I should like to learn from some of your correspondents, whether this Psalm, or this portion of it, was used in the solemnities attendant on the installation of a knight, which would tend much to confirm my conjecture.

SENEX.

* * * * *

FORMS OF JUDICIAL OATH.

The forms of an oath are different among different denominations of Christians. The Roman Catholics of the Continent swear by raising the hand; the Scotch Presbyterians follow the same practice. The Protestants of the Church of England are sworn on the Gospels; so also are the Irish Roman Catholics. The Quakers reject every form of oath, and confine themselves to a simple affirmation. Upon these points I beg leave to submit the following Queries.

1. What form of judicial oath was first sanctioned by the professors of Christianity as a body? It is stated in Haydn's _Dictionary of Dates_, that "oaths were taken on the Gospels so early as A.D. 528." How were they taken before then?

2. Did the practice of swearing on the Gospels prevail in England before the Reformation? If not, at what period was it introduced?

3. When was that form of oath first adopted by the Irish; and was its adoption a voluntary proceeding on their part, or enforced by legislative enactment?

4. Was the practice of raising the hand in use in Scotland before the Reformation?

5. At what period was the latter form adopted by the Continental Christians, in lieu of the more solemn oath on the Gospels?

6. Are there now, or have there been at any former period, any forms of judicial oath in use among Christians, other than the forms above mentioned?

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_Passage in Boerhaave._--Will any of our readers kindly oblige me by the _exact word_ of a passage in Boerhaave, of which I cite the following from memory?--

"The only malady inherent in the human frame, is the decay of old age."

A FOREIGN SURGEON.

7. Charlotte Street, Bedford Square.

_Story of Ezzelin._--Where is the story to be found from which Fuseli derived the subject for his remarkable picture of Ezzelin (Braccioferro) musing over the body of Meduna? It was engraved by J. R. Smith, and published by Jas. Birchel, 473. Strand, May, 1781. What has become of the original picture?

J. SANSOM.

_The Duke._--Can any of your readers tell me whether Sir Arthur Wellesley's speech in the House of Commons upon Mr. Paull's charge against his brother, was the first he made in Parliament?

ROBERT J. ALLEN.

Oxford.

_General Sir Dennis Pack._--This gallant officer, who, in command of the light division of the Duke's army, distinguished himself in nearly every battle of the Peninsula, and finally at Waterloo, was descended from a younger son of Simon, son of Sir Christopher Pack, Alderman and Lord Mayor of London. The family was originally from Leicestershire. Sir Christopher, having advanced money for the reduction of the Irish rebels of 1641, received a grant of land in the county of Westmeath; and his younger son, Simon, settled in Ireland about that period. From this Simon descended Thomas Pack, Esq., of Ballinakill in the Queen's County, grandfather of Sir Dennis Pack.

As I have in the press a _History of the Cathedral of St. Canice_, Kilkenny, which latter contains a monument and a fine bust of Sir Dennis Pack by Chantrey, and of which his father the Rev. Thomas {454} Pack, D.D., was dean, any information which will enable me to complete the pedigree between Simon Pack and the above-named Thomas will be thankfully received.

JAMES GRAVES.

Kilkenny.

_Haveringemere._--Gervase of Tilbury, in the 4th book of his _Otia Imperialia_, sect. 88., mentions a certain pond or mere lying near the confines of Wales, and named Haveringemere, of which the peculiarity is, that if a person passing over it in a boat utters, in a loud voice, certain opprobrious words, a commotion arises in the waters and sinks the boat. The words, as printed in the edition of Leibnitz (Leibnitii _Scriptores Brunsvicenses_, tom. i. p. 990.), are "_Prout haveringemere_ aut _allethophe cunthefere_;" which he explains to mean, "_Phrut_ tibi, mare, et omnibus qui te transfretant." He adds with great simplicity: "Et satis mirandum, quod aquæ hujus modi concipiunt indignationes." It is plain that we ought to read, "Phrut Haveringemere, and alle thai that on thee fere" (_i. e._ ferry). _Phrut_ or _prut_ is a word of contempt, of which Mr. Halliwell gives an instance, _s. v._ Prut, from an Harleian MS.: "And seyth _prut_ for thy cursing prest." Is anything known of this mere at the present day, and is there any remnant of this old superstition? Gervase wrote his book anno 1211.

C. W. G.

_Old Pictures of the Spanish Armada._--At Beddington Hall, famous for its fine banqueting-hall, in which Queen Elizabeth feasted, I have heard that there used to be one or more pictures of the Spanish Armada, presented by Elizabeth herself to the family resident there. Can any reader of "N. & Q." inform me whether these pictures (if more than one) are still in existence: if so, where they are, and whether they are to be seen? A large gilt lock, also presented by Queen Elizabeth, still remains on one of the doors of the said banqueting-hall.

J. S. A.

Old Broad Street.

_Bell Inscription._--The following inscription occurs on two bells formerly belonging to St. Sepulchre's Church, Cambridge. I should be glad of an explanation:

"[DE] + [PVRI] SANTI EDMONDVS STEFANVS TOMMI ME FECIT [WL] 1576."

C. W. G.

_Loselerius Villerius, &c._--I wish to know who was Loselerius Villerius, who edited an edition of the Greek Testament, with the Vulgate and Beza's Latin version (I think) in parallel columns. This edition seems to have been successful, as I have a copy of the third edition. The title-page of my copy is missing, but the dedication to Henry Earl of Huntingdon is dated "London, vi cal. Nov. 1573." Any information about Loselerius would be acceptable. I should also be glad to know whether the edition is considered at all valuable.

Whilst upon this subject, let me ask whether there is any list of editions of the Bible that can be looked upon as in any way complete? I have had occasion to refer to the Duke of Sussex's catalogue, but have there been unable to find all that I required. There is, for instance, in a friend's possession, a Bible which his family traditions maintain to be of great rarity. I find it catalogued nowhere, and should be glad to know if it is really so great a curiosity. It is a fine folio, profusely illustrated. I subjoin a copy of the title-page:

"The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, &c., with most
profitable Annotations on all the hard Places, and other Things of
great Importance; which Notes have never before been set forth with
this new Translation, but are now placed in due order, with great Care
and Industry. A Amsterdam, printed for Stephen Swart, at the Crowned
Bible, on the West Side of the Exchange. 1679."

S. A. S.

Bridgewater.

_The Vinegar Plant._--Is it indigenous or imported? Some botanists and _savans_ who have examined the subject take the former view. I should be inclined to take the latter, for the following among other reasons:--First, because it is known that many specimens of it _have been so introduced_ from various quarters. Secondly, because in all the attempts to produce it that I have heard of, including some experiments made by myself, in no instance has a specimen been procured by means of any of the moulds that are of spontaneous growth in this country, which has entirely resembled the vinegar plant, or which has been so efficient in the production of vinegar. Thirdly, because in tropical and warm climates abnormal variations of vegetable productions are much more likely to originate, and to become naturalised, than in this country. If imported, perhaps some of your correspondents could say where it was originally brought from.

FRITZ.

_Westminster Parishes._--What are the names of the respective parishes in the city of Westminster in 1630; how far back do their records extend; and what charge would be made for a search in them? I wish to trace a family whose ancestor was born in that city, but in what parish I am ignorant. Were any churches in _Westminster_, as distinguished from _London_, destroyed in the Great Fire?

Y. S. M

Dublin.

_Harley Family._--Can any reader of your invaluable miscellany give an account of Thomas Harley, citizen of London, who died in the year 1670, ætat. fifty-six? The Thomas Harley referred to possessed good estate in the county of Leicester, {455} particularly at Osgathorpe, Walton-on-Wolds, Snibston, and Heather. He founded a hospital at Osgathorpe, and endowed the same at 60l. for the maintenance and support of six clergymen's widows. Moreover he also erected a free-school, which he endowed with 60l. a year. He married Mary, widow of William Kemp, citizen of London. His daughter, and sole heiress, married into the family of Bainbrigge of Lockington Hall, county of Leicester; which alliance carried with it the estate of Thomas Harley into that family.

The arms of Thomas Harley are: Crest, a lion's head rampant; shield, Or, bend cotized sable.

Is the foregoing family a branch of that of Herefordshire, now ennobled; or does it come down from one of the name anterior to the time when such earldom was made patent, viz. from Sir Richard Harley, 28 Edward I.: whose armorial bearings, according to one annalist, is mentioned as _Or, bend cotized sable_?

Brian de Harley, son of Sir Robert Harley, in the reign of Henry IV., changed his crest; which was a buck's head proper, to a lion rampant, gules, issuing out of a tower, triple towered proper.

ALDRORANDUS.

Leicester.

_Lord Cliff._--In 1645, James Howell published his _Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ_; amongst the letters was one on Wines, addressed to the Right Hon. Lord Cliff. Who was he? The letter is dated Oct. 7, 1634.

Y. S. M

Dublin.

_Enough._--Was this word always pronounced as at present, _enuf_? I am inclined to think not; for Waller, in his poem "On a War with Spain," rhymes it with _bough_:

"Let the brave generals divide that bough,
Our great Protector hath such wreaths _enough_."

And again, in his "Answer to Sir John Suckling's Verses," he couples it with _plough_, in those anti-Malthusian lines:

"The world is of a large extent we see,
And must be peopled: children there must be!--
So must bread too; but since there are _enough_
Born to that drudgery, what need we plough?"

When did the change of pronunciation take place? Perhaps some reader of "N. & Q." can also give the etymology of the word.

ROBERT WRIGHT.

_Archbishop Magee._--In a committee of the House of Lords, 1825, Lord Holland asked Archbishop Magee: "Does your grace really think that there is any person capable of holding such a monstrous opinion, as that the Roman Catholic religion is idolatrous?" The Archbishop calmly fixed his eyes on Lord Holland's countenance, and replied "My Lord, _some have sworn to it_."--I only quote so much of the anecdote (which your readers will find in Archbishop Magee's _Works_, vol. i. p. 67., 1842) as my purpose requires.

As reported in _The Times_, on April 18, 1853, Lord Lansdown, speaking of an old committee in the House of Lords, said:

"During those two days, a right reverend prelate was examined; and he
was required to state upon oath whether the Creed of St. Athanasius was
necessary to salvation. The reply was, 'He would not say whether it was
that, but a great many persons had sworn that it was.'"

Some correspondent may be able to state whether these two extracts pertain or not to one and the same occurrence, and which is the true version.

INDAGATOR.

_Carpets at Rome._--In a cutting from a newspaper or periodical, apparently of the year 1790, narrating an accident that happened to Lady Augusta Clavering, daughter of the Duke of Argyle (whilst staying at Rome) by her muslin dress catching fire, it is said:

"Fortunately, the gentlemen did not lose their presence of mind; and
there happening to be a carpet in the room, _a thing very uncommon in
that that country_, they covered her with it," &c.

Can any of your readers oblige me by informing me whether it is a fact, that the luxury of a carpet was _very uncommon_ at Rome at the period referred to; and when carpets were first introduced at Rome?

L. A. M.

Great Yarmouth.

_Nursery Rhymes._--Can you or any of your correspondents tell me where I shall find an account of the origin of our common nursery rhymes? Is there not reason to believe that many of them are of great antiquity?

Oxford.

_Gloves at Fairs._--I think that I have read that at some large fair it was customary to hang out on the town-hall a large gilt glove, as a token of freedom from arrest for debt during the period that the fair lasted. Can any of your correspondents inform me if such was the case, and where? In Halliwell's _Dictionary_, "hoisting the glove" is said to be practised at Lammas Fair, in Devonshire: but why? In the east of England certain village fairs are called _Gants_,--Mattishall Gant, &c. Forby derives this from A.-S. _gan_, to go; but may it not have some reference to the French _gants_, gloves?

E. G. R.

_Mr. Caryl or Caryll._--Every one knows that the _Rape of the Lock_ was written at the request of _Mr. Caryl_, stated by Pope to have been private secretary to James II.'s queen before the {456} Revolution. It also appears in the Prolegomena to the _Life of James_, that two royal warrants issued at St. Germains by the abdicated monarch and his son the Pretender in 1701 and 1707, are counter-signed _Caryll_ as Secretary of State. Is there any doubt that this is the same person; and if not, is there any account of when and on what terms he returned to England? where he must have been again domiciled in 1711, and some years after, during which period he corresponded with Pope. His family was settled near East Grinstead, in Sussex.

_Early Reaping-machines._--Have the former Numbers of "N. & Q." contained an account of the invention of a reaping-machine in the last century, similar in design and construction to the one lately invented in America? A friend of mine has in his possession a work, entitled _The Complete Farmer, or a General Dictionary of Husbandry_; containing the various methods of improving the land, &c., together with great variety of new discoveries and improvements, the 4th edition, by a society of gentlemen. There is no date on the title-page; but from internal evidence, I am led to think that the work was not published before 1780. If it be thought desirable, I shall be happy to send an extract from the work, giving an account of the machine, or, if drawings be admitted into the pages of "N. & Q.," the work might be sent to the Editor.

H. D. W.

* * * * *

Minor Queries with Answers.

"_Diary of a Self-Observer._"--

"Augustine's _Confessions_ may be in some degree compared with the _Private Diary of a Self-Observer_ (_Geheimes Tagebuch von einem Beobachter seiner selbst_) which has in our own days been read with so great eagerness and sympathy. Not as if the celebrated author of the latter work did not in many ways deserve a preference above the African bishop," &c.--Schröckh's _Kirchengeschichte_, xv. 376.: Leipzig, 1790.

What is the book here meant, and by whom was it written?

J. C. R.

[This _Diary_ is by the celebrated John Caspar Lavater, author of
_Essays on Physiognomy_. In 1769 he commenced it under the title of
_Secret Journal of a Self-Observer_. In the following year it fell into
the hands of a stranger, and from him it was transmitted to Zollikofer,
with such alterations, however, as to conceal the real author.
Zollikofer, thinking that it contained much useful matter, had it
printed; and among others, sent a copy of it to his friend Lavater, who
was beyond measure astonished at the sight. However, as it was now
before the world in a somewhat disfigured state, Lavater edited it with
the necessary alterations, and with an additional volume: Leipsic, 1771
and 1773. In 1795, the German original was translated into English by
the Rev. Peter Will, of the Reformed German Chapel in the Savoy, in two
vols. 8vo. Prefixed to the second volume is a letter from Lavater to
the editor, with the editor's reply. See Chalmers's _Biographical
Dictionary, s. v._, and Heisch's _Memoirs of John Caspar Lavater_, pp.
58-60.]

_Jockey._--Mr. Borrow, in his Introduction to _The Gypsies of Spain_, says:

"The English gypsies are constant attendants at the race-course. What
jockey is not? Perhaps jockeyism originated with them, and even racing,
at least in England. Jockeyism properly implies _the management of a
whip_; and the word _jockey_ is neither more nor less than the term,
slightly modified, by which they designate the formidable whip which
they usually carry, at present in general use amongst horse-traffickers
under the title of jockey-whips."

Can any of your correspondents give the derivation of _jockey_?

Q. Q.

[Most etymologists derive it from _Jackey_, a diminutive of the Scotch
term _Jock_, or _Jack_, John: primarily, a boy that rides horses.]

_Boyle Lectures._--In that valuable and well-executed work, now publishing by Darling of Great Queen Street, called the _Cyclopædia Bibliographica_, a list of the preachers of the Boyle Lecture is given. The list is very nearly complete, the preachers during the following years only being marked "Unknown:"--1729, 1733-5, 1746, 1753-5, 1764-5. With these few omissions, the names of preachers from 1692 to 1807 are given without exception. Will some of your correspondents kindly supply the hiatus above referred to? Possibly the lectures for those years were not printed, as was the case very frequently (see columns 405. 406. _Cyc. Bibl._)--so there may be some slight difficulty in identifying the preachers.

W. SPARROW SIMPSON, B.A.

[The same omissions occur in the _Oxford Catalogue_, 1837, so that it
is a probable conjecture they were never printed.]

* * * * *

Replies.

THE DISCOVERY AND RECOVERY OF MSS.

(Vol. iii., pp. 161. 261. 340.; Vol. iv., p. 282.; Vol. vii., p. 354.)

I am glad to see that a subject to which I have at various times attempted to turn public attention, has at least been responded to by one voice. When the "N. & Q." was first established, I felt that there was now at least one place where it was possible to print historical documents of various kinds, and no one can deny that at various times very interesting and important papers have been made publicly available, which might otherwise have escaped notice. I may instance a very interesting account of the inquest on Chatterton, which I have myself, in a sketch of that ill-fated {457} youth's fate, been the first to make use of for biographical purposes.

It is still my conviction that at some time or other an association for such purposes will be formed, and I must attain earnestly entreat those persons whose position would command assistance, and whose learning and opportunities would aid the cause I am advocating, to give some sign of their favourable intention toward such a scheme. I must once more place this very important matter before the eyes of the public; I trust that my appeal may not be in vain.

See how in other cases, when something offers itself promising amusement and instruction, societies can be formed and spring into life and activity at once. For instance, I might adduce the beautiful and useful processes of photography; within the short space of a few months the art has been brought to a high decree of excellence: a Photographical Institute is, I believe, now in active working, there is a photographical journal, besides the continued and unwearying co-operation of "N. & Q." itself. Why may not historical documents have something of the same sort? For a slight sum (but a few shillings a year), if the reading public were willing, such a society might be founded, and many invaluable documents of every description placed where they would be available for the historian, for the archæologist, for the editor, and for the general inquirer.

Let me hope that something may be proposed; I have myself hunted through dusty MS. folios, quartos, duodecimos innumerable, and my investigations have not been wholly useless.

If there be any who look with a favourable eye upon these hints, I shall be glad to hear from them.

KENNETH R. H. MACKENZIE.

68. Mortimer Street.

* * * * *

"THE WHIPPIAD."

(Vol. vii., pp. 393. 417.)

Perhaps a few lines from a fellow-collegian of Reginald Heber, during his last years of residence at Brazenoze College, may throw light on this discussion.

My contemporary MS. copy of _The Whippiad_ contains Heber's _own notes_, additional ones by myself, explanatory of places and persons mentioned, autographs of the latter, and Blackwood's printed copy (the subject of inquiry), No. 333., July, 1843.

The _notes_ subjoined to Blackwood's printed copy are _Heber's notes_, varying only from my MS. copy in immaterial points.

As to the _epigram_ mentioned in p. 417., the two first stanzas were by Heber, and written (as I think) after his election to All Souls. The third was attributed to Mr. Wilson, the learned High Master of Clithero School.

Very many _jeux d'esprit_ by Heber, relative to convivialities and passing events in Brazenoze and All Souls, live in the memory and MSS. of his surviving friends; but their amiable author would doubtless have wished them to be forgotten, with the subjects to which they related. The forbearance of Mr. Halliwell made him vainly anxious for the suppression of _The Whippiad_.

I subjoin from Heber's autograph a Song for a Bow Meeting, near St. Asaph, in or about 1808. It has an airy freshness, and is (as I believe) unpublished.

LANCASTRIENSIS.

The Soldier loves the laurel bright,
The Bard the myrtle bough,
And smooth shillalas yield delight
To many an Irish brow.
The Fisher trims the hazel wand,
The Crab may tame a shrew,
The Birch becomes the pedant's hand,
But Bows are made of yew.

CHORUS.

The yew, the yew, the hardy yew!
Still greenly may it grow,
And health and fun
Have everyone
That loves the British Bow.

II.

'Tis sweet to sit by Beauty's side
Beneath the hawthorn shade;
But Beauty is more beautiful
In green and buff array'd.
More radiant are her laughing eyes,
Her cheeks of ruddier glow,
As, hoping for the envied prize,
She twangs the Cambrian bow.

The yew, the yew, &c.

III.

The Fop may curl his Brutus wig,
And sandy whiskers stain,
And fold his cravat broad and big;
But all his arts are vain.
His nankeen trowsers we despise,
Unfit for rain or dew,
And, pinch'd in stays, he vainly tries
His strength against the yew.

The yew, the yew, &c.

IV.

The heiress, once, of Bowdale Hall,
A lovely lass, I knew--
A Dandy paid his morning call,
All dizen'd out to woo.
I heard his suit the Coxcomb ply;
I heard her answer--"No;"
A true love knot he ne'er could tie,
Who could not bend a bow.

The yew, the yew, &c.

{458}

* * * * *

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.

(Vol. vii., p. 286.)

Leaving the philosophy of this question for the _savans_, I beg to add the following to the alleged cases already referred to. Dr. Lindsley has compiled a table of nineteen instances, from the _Dictionnaire de Médecine_,--not, however, of _spontaneous_ combustion exactly, but of something akin to it; namely, the rapid ignition of the human body (which _per se_ is not combustible) by contact with flame, as a consequence of the saturation of its tissues by alcohol:

The following case is related, on the authority of Dr. Schofield, Upper Canada, in the _Journal of the American Temperance Union_ for March, 1837:--A young man, aged twenty-five, had been an habitual drunkard for many years. One evening at about eleven o'clock he went to a blacksmith's shop: he was then full of liquor, though not thoroughly drunk. The blacksmith, who had just crossed the road, was suddenly alarmed by the breaking forth of a brilliant conflagration in his shop. He rushed across, and threw open the door, and there stood the man, erect, in the midst of a widely-extended silver-coloured flame, bearing, as he described it, exactly the appearance of the wick of a burning candle in the midst of its own flame. He seized him by the shoulder, and jerked him to the door, and the flame was instantly extinguished. There was no fire in the shop, and no articles likely to cause combustion within reach of the individual. In the course of a short time a general sloughing came on, and the flesh was almost wholly removed in the dressing, leaving the bones and a few of the large blood-vessels standing. The blood nevertheless rallied round the heart, and life continued to the thirteenth day, when he died, a loathsome, ill-featured, and disgusting object. His shrieks and cries were described as truly horrible.

Some information will be found in Nos. 44. and 56. of an old magazine called _The Hive_,--a book which may be found in the British Museum. Two cases have occurred recently, one in 1851 at Paris, {459} and one last year somewhere in the north. Both may be found by reference to the newspapers.

SHIRLEY HIBBERD.

* * * * *

MAJOR GENERAL LAMBERT.

(Vol. vii., p. 269.)

LORD BRAYBROOKE speaks of a _tradition_ of Major-General Lambert's having been imprisoned in Cornet Castle, in the island of Guernsey, after the Restoration. The following documents, copies of which exist in Guernsey, will prove that he really was kept as a prisoner in that island:

CHARLES R.

Upon suite made unto us by Mrs. Lambert, for liberty for herself and
children to goe to and remaine w^{th} her husband Collonell Lambert
yo^r prisoner, Wee, graciously inclyninge to gratifye her in that
request, have thought fitt to signify our royall pleasure to you in
that particular, willing and requiring you, upon sight hereof, to
suffer the said Mrs. Lambert, her three children, and three
maid-servants, to goe and remaine w^{th} the said Mr. Lambert, under
the same confinement he himselfe is, untill o^r further pleasure be
knowne. And for soe doinge this shalbe y^r warrant. Given at our Court
at Whitehall, the 17^{th} day Febr., 1661/2.

By his Ma^{ts} Comand,
EDW. NICHOLAS.

To our right trusty and welbeloved Counsello^r S^r Hugh Pollard, K^{nt}
and Bar^t, Governo^r of our Island of Guernsey and Castle there, or to
other our Governo^r for y^e tyme beinge, and in his absence to his
Deputy Governo^r.

This is a true copie of his Ma^{t's} Warrant.

(Signed) HUGH POLLARDE.

[In dorso.]

The King's order for Lambert's children.

In 1662, Christopher Lord Hatton was appointed Governor of Guernsey, upon which the following warrant was issued:

CHARLES R.

Our will and pleasure is, That you take into your custody the person of
John Lambert, commonly called Collonell Lambert, and keepe him close
prisoner, as a condemned traytor, untill further order from us, for
which this shall be your warrant. Given at our Court at Hampton Court,
this 25^{th} day of July, 1662.

By his Ma^{ty's} Co[=m]and,
EDW. NICHOLAS.

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Notes and Queries, Number 184, May 7, 1853Chapter II: Act V: Sc. 5 (1)

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