Chapter C: H. Cooper

Cambridge. {532}

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FORMS OF JUDICIAL OATHS.

(Vol. vii., p. 458.)

Will you permit me to make a few observations in reply to the Queries of MR. H. H. BREEN on this subject?

There is hardly any custom more ancient than for a person imposing a promise on another to call on him to bind himself by an oath to the due performance of it. In this oath the person swearing calls on God, the king, his father, or some person or thing to whom he attaches authority or value, to inflict on him punishment or loss in case he breaks his oath. The mode of swearing is, in one particular, almost everywhere and in every age the same.

When a father, a friend, a sword, or any corporeal object is sworn by, _the swearer places his hand upon it_, and then swears. When a man, however, swore by the Deity, on whom he cannot place his hand, he raised his hand to heaven towards the God by whom he swore.

When Abraham made Abimelech swear to obey him, he caused him to place his hand under his thigh, and then imposed the oath; and when Jacob, by his authority as a father, compelled his son Joseph to swear to perform his promise, he ordered him to go through a similar ceremony. (Genesis, ch. xxiv. v. 5., and ch. xlvii. v. 29.)

In the prophet Daniel we read that--

"The man clothed in linen which was upon the waters, held up his right
hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for
ever and ever," &c.--Daniel, ch. xii. v. 7.

In the Revelation we also find--

"And the angel, which I saw stand upon the sea and the earth, lifted up
his hand to heaven and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever,"
&c.--Revelation, ch. x. v. 5, 6.

Your correspondent inquires how oaths were taken prior to their being taken on the Gospel.

Among the nations who overthrew the Roman empire, the most common mode of swearing was on the relics of the saints. In England, I think, the most common mode was to swear on the corporalia or eucharistic elements, whence we still have the common phrase "upon your corporal oath." In each case the hand was placed on the thing sworn by.

The laws of the Alamanni as to conjurators, direct that the sacrament shall be so arranged that all the conjurators shall place their hands upon the coffer (containing the relics), and that the principal party shall place his hand on all theirs, and then they are to swear on the relics. (_Ll. Alam._ cap. 657.)

The custom of swearing on the Gospels is repeatedly mentioned in the laws of the Lombards. (_Ll. Longo._ 1 tit. 21. c. 25.; _Ll. Longo._ 2. tit. 55. c. 2., and c. 2. tit. 34. _et al._)

In the _Formularies of Marculphus_, two forms of oaths are given, one says that--

"In palatio nostro super capella domini Martini ubi reliqua sacramenta
percurrunt debeat conjurare."

In the other we read--

"Posita manu supra sacrosanctium altare sancti ... sic juratus dixit.
Juro per hunc locum sanctum et Deum altissimum et virtutis sancti ...
quod," &c.

In the laws of Cnût of England, two forms of oath are given. They both begin with "By the Lord before whom this relic is holy." (_Ancient Laws and Justice of England_, p. 179.)

Your correspondent asks "what form of Judicial oath was first sanctioned by Christians as a body?"

In the history of the Council of Constantinople, it is stated that--

"George, the well beloved of God, a deacon and keeper of the records,
having touched the Holy Gospels of God, swore in this manner, 'By these
Holy Scriptures, and by the God who by them has spoken,'" &c.

At the Council of Nice it is said that--

"Prayer having been offered up, every one saluted the Holy Gospels, the
venerated cross and image of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and of
our Lady the mother of God, and placed his hands upon them in
confirmation of what he had said."

From these I infer that the custom of swearing on the Gospels received the sanction of the church at a very early period.

In reply to the question as to other modes of swearing, it may be said briefly, that men swore by anything to which they attached any importance, and generally by that to which they attached most importance.

By the laws of the Alamanni, a wife could claim her _Morgen-gabe_ (or the gift of the morning after the wedding night) by swearing to its amount on her breast; and by the Droits d'Augsbourg, by swearing to it on her two breasts and two tresses.

Nothing was more common than for a man to swear by his beard. This custom is alluded to by one of Shakspeare's fools, who suggests that if a certain knight swore by his honour, and his mistress by her beard, neither of them _could_ be forsworn.

In the canons of the Fourth Council of Orleans, we read--

"Le Roi lui-même, ou le plus renommé des chevaliers présents, ayant
découpé le paon, se leva, et mettant la main sur l'oiseau, fit un voeu
hardi; Ensuite il passa le plat, et chacun de ceux qui le reçurent fit
un voeu semblable."

In the year 1306, Edward I. of England swore an oath on two swans.

It was also very common from an early period, both in England and abroad, to swear by one, two, seven, or twelve churches. The deponent went {533} to the appointed number of churches, and at each, taking the ring of the church door in his hand, repeated the oath.

One of the most curious specimens of the practice of swearing men by that to which they attached most importance, is to be found in an Hindoo law. It says, let a judge swear a Brahmin by his veracity; a soldier by his horses, his elephants, or his arms; an agriculturist by his cows, his grain, or his money; and a Soudra by all his crimes.

JOHN THRUPP.

Surbiton.

I know nothing about judicial oaths: but the origin of the form MR. BREEN states to be used by the Roman Catholics of the Continent, and the Scotch Presbyterians, may be seen in Dan. xii. 7.: "When he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever." And in Revelation x. 5, 6.: "And the angel ... lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him," &c. See also Genesis xiv. 22.

MARIA.

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PHOTOGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE.

_Washing Collodion Pictures--Test for Lens._--As I was indebted to the kindness of DR. DIAMOND, amongst other friends, for my original initiation into the mysteries of photography, it may appear somewhat presumptuous in me to differ from one who has had so much more experience in a point of practice. I allude to that of _washing_ the collodion negative after developing, previously to fixing with the hyposulphite of soda; but, probably, the reasons I urge may have some weight. As the hyposulphite solution is intended to be used repeatedly, it appears to me not advisable to introduce into it _any free acid_ (which must occur if the negative be not washed, although the quantity at each operation may be small), because it causes a decomposition of the salt, setting free _sulphurous_ acid, and also sulphur; which last is slightly soluble in the hyposulphite of soda, and thus the sulphur is brought in contact with the reduced silver, and forms a sulphuret of that metal. But the change does not stop here: for, by the lapse of time, oxygen is absorbed, and thus a _sulphate of silver_ is formed, and the colour changed from black to white. That sulphur is set free by the addition of an acid to the solution of hyposulphite of soda, is fact so easily demonstrable both to the eyes and nose of the operator, that no one need remain long in doubt who is desirous of trying the experiment.

A correspondent desires to know how to test the coincidence or otherwise of the visual and actinic foci of a combination: this is very readily accomplished by the aid of a _focimeter_, which can be easily made thus:

Procure a piece of stout card-board, or thin wood covered with white paper, on which draw a considerable number of fine black lines, or cover it with some fine black net (what I believe the ladies call _blond_), which may be pasted on. Cut up the whole into a dozen good-sized pieces of any convenient form, so that about four square inches of surface at least be allowed to each piece. Paste over the _net_ a circular or square label about the size of a shilling, bearing a distinctly printed number one on each piece, from 1 upwards; and arrange the pieces in any convenient manner by means of wires inserted into a slip of wood; but they must be so placed that the _whole_ can be seen from one point of view, although each piece must be placed so that it is _one inch_ farther from the operator than the next lowest number. Having placed the camera eight or ten feet from the cards, carefully focus to any one of the numbers, 4 or 5 for instance and observe, not that the _number_ is distinct, but that the minute lines or threads of the net are visible: then take a picture, exposing it a very short time, and the threads of the card bearing the number that was most perfectly in focus visually _ought_ to be most distinct; but, if otherwise, that which is most distinct will not only show whether the lens is over or under corrected, but will indicate the _amount_ of error. If under corrected, a lower number will be most distinct; if over corrected, a higher.

GEO. SHADBOLT.

_Test for Lenses._--I beg to submit to a COUNTRY PRACTITIONER the following very simple test for the coincidence of the chemical and visual foci of an achromatic lens:

Take a common hand-bill or other sheet of printed paper, and having stretched it on a board, place it before the lens in an oblique position, so that the plane of the board may make an angle with a vertical plane of about thirty or forty degrees. Bring any line of type about the middle of the sheet into the true visual focus, and take a copy of the sheet by collodion or otherwise. Then, if the line of type focussed upon be reproduced clearly and sharply on the plate, the lens is correct; but if any other line be found sharper than the test one, the foci disagree; and the amount of error will depend on the distance of the two lines of type one from the other on the hand-bill.

J. A. MILES.

Fakenham, Norfolk.

_Improvement in Positives._--I have great pleasure in communicating to you an improvement in the process of taking positives, which may not be uninteresting to some of your readers, and which ensures by far the most beautiful tints I have yet seen. I take three ounces of the hyposulphite of soda, and dissolve it in one pint of distilled or rain water; and to this I add about one or one and a half grains of pyrogallic acid, and seventy grains {534} of chloride of silver; which must be squeezed up between the finders facilitate its solution and separate the lumps, which, in their dry state, are tough, and not easily pulverised. The whole is then to be set aside for a week or two in a warm place. The solution, at first colourless, becomes brown, and ultimately quite opaque; in this state it is fit for use, and the longer kept the better it becomes. I generally use French paper for this process, and, according to the time of immersion, obtain fine sepia or black tints; the latter requiring long over-exposure to the light, and proportionately long exposure to the action of the liquid; which however will be found, particularly when old, to have a more rapid action than most other setting liquids, and has the merit of always affording fine tints, whatever the paper used. I imagine the pyrogallic acid to possess a reducing influence on the salts of silver employed; but this effect is only produced by its combination with the hyposulphite of soda and chloride of silver. I may add, that in any case the pictures should be much overdone before immersion, as the liquid exerts a rapid bleaching action on them; and when the liquid becomes saturated, a few crystals of fresh hyposulphite will renew its action.

F. MAXWELL LYTE.

Florian, Torquay.

P. S.--In answer to a COUNTRY PRACTITIONER, he will find great assistance in choosing his lens by laying it on a sheet of blue wove post paper, when he will immediately perceive the slightest yellow tinge in the glass, this being the fault which frequently affects many well-ground and well-made lenses. Of course, for sharpness of outline he must be guided entirely by experiment in the camera; but where weakness of action exists, it most frequently arises from this yellow colouration, and which the manufacturers say is very difficult to avoid.

[MR. LYTE having sent with his communication a positive prepared in the
manner described, we are enabled to corroborate all he says as to the
richness and beauty of its tints.]

_Cheap Portable Tent._--M. F. M. inquires for a cheap and portable tent for working collodion out of doors. I have been using one lately constructed on the principle of Francis's camera stand. It has a good size table, made like the rolling patent shutters; and it is not necessary to stoop, or sit down at your work, which is a great consideration on a hot day: you may get them of any respectable dealer in photographic apparatus; it is called Francis's Collodion Tent.

H. D. FRANCIS.

_Rev. Mr. Sisson's New Developing Fluid_ (Vol. vii., p. 462.).--The REV. MR. SISSON's developing fluid for collodion positives, the formula for which was published in the last Number of "N. & Q.," is merely a weak solution of the protonitrate and protosulphate of iron. It does not, as he seems to think, contain any lead; for the whole of the latter is precipitated as sulphate, which the acetic acid does not dissolve even to the smallest extent: and MR. SISSON will find that an equivalent proportion of the nitrate of baryta will answer equally as well as the nitrate of lead.

I have myself for a long time been in the habit of using a weak solution of the protonitrate of iron in conjunction with acetic acid for positive pictures; for, although I do not consider it so good a developer as that made according to the formula of DR. DIAMOND, it produces very good pictures; occupies very little time in preparing, and will moreover keep good for a much longer time than a more concentrated solution would.

J. LEACHMAN.

20. Compton Terrace, Islington.

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Replies to Minor Queries.

_Vanes_ (Vol. v., p. 490.).--Taking up by accident the other day your fifth volume, I saw what I believe is a still unanswered Query respecting the earliest notice of vanes as indicators of the wind; and turning to my notes I found the following extract from Beckman's _Inventions, &c._:

"In Ughelli Italia Sacra, Romæ 1652, fol. iv., p 735., we find the
following inscription on a weathercock then existing at Brixen;
'_Dominus Rampertus Episc. gallum hunc fieri præcepit an. 820._'"