Chapter I: Life and Works of Gray (2)

"The spot shown as the place of the Nativity, and that of the
manger, both of which are in a crypt or subterraneous chapel
under the church of St. Katherine, are in the hands of the Roman
Catholicks. The former is marked by this simple inscription on a
silver star set in the pavement:

'Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est.'"

The Emperor of the French, as representative of the Latin Church, first raised the question of the sacred places, now likely to involve the Pentarchy of Europe in a _quasi_ civil war, by attempting, through the authority of the Sultan of Turkey, to restore the above inscription, which had been defaced, as is supposed, by the Greek Christians; and thereby encountering the opposition of the Emperor of the Russias, who claims to represent the Eastern Church.

T. J. BUCKTON.

Birmingham.

_Origin of the Word "Cant."_--From the _Mercurius Publicus_ of Feb. 28, 1661, Edinburgh:

"Mr. Alexander Cant, son to Mr. Andrew Cant (who in his
discourse _De Excommunicato trucidando_ maintained that all
refusers of the Covenant ought to be excommunicated, and that
all so excommunicated might lawfully be killed), was lately
deposed by the Synod for divers seditious and impudent passages
in his sermons at several places, as at the pulpit of Banchry;
'That whoever would own or make use of a service-book, king,
nobleman, or minister, the curse of God should be upon him.'

"In his Grace after Meat, he praid for those phanaticques and
seditious ministers (who are now secured) in these words, 'The
Lord pity and deliver the precious prisoners who are now
suffering for the truth, and close up the mouths of the
_Edomites_, who are now rejoicing;' with several other articles
too long to recite."

From these two Cants (Andrew and Alexander) all seditious praying and preaching in Scotland is called "Canting."

J. B.

_Epigram on Four Lawyers._--It used to be said that four lawyers were wont to go down from Lincoln's Inn and the Temple in one hackney coach for one shilling. The following epigram records the economical practice:

"Causidici curru felices quatuor uno
Quoque die repetunt limina nota 'fori.'
Quanta sodalitium præstabit commoda! cui non
Contigerint socii cogitur ire pedes."

See _Poemata Anglorum Latina_, p. 446. Lemma, "Defendit numerus."--_Juv._

J. W. FARRER.

* * * * *

Queries.

CONTRIBUTORS TO "KNIGHT'S QUARTERLY MAGAZINE."

I shall feel exceedingly obliged if you or any of your correspondents will inform me who were the writers in _Knight's Quarterly Magazine_, bearing the following fictitious signatures:--1. Marmaduke Villars; 2. Davenant Cecil; 3. Tristram Merton; 4. Irvine Montagu; 5. Gerard Montgomery; 6. Henry Baldwin; 7. Joseph Haller; 8. Peter Ellis; 9. Paterson Aymer; 10. Eustace Heron; 11. Edward Haselfoot; 12. William Payne; 13. Archibald Frazer; 14. Hamilton Murray; 15. Charles Pendragon; 16. Lewis Willoughby; 17. John Tell; 18. Edmund Bruce; 19. Reginald Holyoake; 20. Richard Mills; 21. Oliver Medley; 22. Peregrine Courtenay; 23. Vyvyan Joyeuse; 24. Martin Lovell; 25. Martin Danvers Heaviside.

I fear I have given you so long a list as to deter you from replying to my inquiry but if you cannot spare time or space to answer me fully, I have numbered the writers in such a way as that you may be induced to give the numbers without the names, except you think that many of your readers would be glad to have the information given to them which I ask of you.

_Tristram Merton_ is T. B. Macaulay, who wrote several sketches and five ballads in the _Magazine_; {104} indeed, it was in it that his fine English ballads first appeared.

_Peregrine Courtenay_ was the late Winthrop Mackworth Praed, who was, I believe, its editor.

Henry Nelson Coleridge and John Moultire were also contributors, but under what signatures they wrote I cannot tell.

_Knight's Quarterly Magazine_ never extended beyond three volumes, and it is now a rather scarce book. Any light you can throw upon this subject will have an interest for most people, and will be duly appreciated by

E. H.

Leeds.

* * * * *

THE STATIONERS' COMPANY AND ALMANACK.

Having recently had occasion to consult the Lansdown MSS., No. 905., a volume containing documents formerly belonging to Mr. Umfreville, I observed the following:

"Ordinances, constitutions, rules, and articles made by the
Court of Star Chamber relating to Printers and Printing, Jan.
23, anno 28 Eliz."

Appended to these ordinances, &c. is a statement from which I have made the following extracts:

"Viii^o Januarii, 1583.

"Bookes yeilded into the hands and disposition of the Master,
Wardens, and Assistants of the Mysterie of the Stationers of
London for the releife of y^e poore of y^e saide companie
according to the discretion of the Master, Wardens, and
Assistants, or the more parte of them.

"Mr. Barker, her Ma^{ties} printer, hath yeilded unto the saide
disposition and purpose these bookes following: viz.

"The first and second volume of Homelies.

"The whole statutes at large, w^{th} y^e pamble as they are
now extant.

"The Paraphrasis of Erasmus upon y^e Epistles and Gospells
appoynted to be readd in Churches.

"Articles of Religion agreed upon 1562 for y^e Ministers.

"The Several Injunctions and Articles to be enquired of through
y^e whole Realme.

"The Profitt and Benefite of the two most vendible volumes of
the New Testament in English, commonlie called Mr. Cheekes'
translation: that is, in the volume called _Octavo_, w^{th}
Annotacions as they be now: and in the volume called _Decimo
Sexto_ of the same translation w^{th}out notes, in the Brevier
English letter only.

"Provided that Mr. Barker himselfe print the sayde Testaments at
the lowest value by the direction of the Master and Wardens of
the Company of Stationers for the tyme being. Provided alwaye
that Mr. Barker do reteyn some small number of these for diverse
services in her Ma^{ties} Courtes or ... [MS. illegible] and
lastlye that nothing that he yeildeth unto by meanes aforesaide
be preiudiciall to her Ma^{ties} highe prerogative, or to any
that shall succeed in the office of her Ma^{ties} printer."

The other printers named are, Mr. Totell, Mr. Watkins, Mr. John Daye, Mr. Newberye, and Henrie Denham.

I wish to raise a Query upon the following:

"Mr. Watkins, now Wardein, hath yeilded to the disposcion and
purpose aforesaide this that followeth: viz.

"The Broad Almanack; that is to say, the same to be printed on
one syde of a sheete, to be sett on walls as usuallie it hath
bene."

Query 1. Is this _Broad Almanack_ the original of the present _Stationers' Almanack_?

2. When was this _Broad Almanack_ first issued?

3. When were sheet almanacks, printed on one side of a sheet, first published?

B. H. C.

P.S.--The books enumerated in this MS., under the other printers' names, are some of them very curious, and others almost unknown at the present time.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_John Bunyan._--The following advertisement is copied from the _Mercurius Reformatus_ of June 11, 1690, vol. ii. No. 27.:

"Mr. John Bunyan, Author of the _Pilgrim's Progress_, and many
other excellent Books, that have found great Acceptance, hath
left behind him Ten Manuscripts prepared by himself for the
Press before his Death: His Widow is desired to print them (with
some other of his Works, which have been already printed, but
are at present not to be had), which will make together a Book
of 10s. in sheets, in Fol. All persons who desire so great and
good a Work should be performed with speed, are desired to send
in 5s. for their first Payment to Dorman Newman, at the King's
Arms in the Poultrey, London: Who is empower'd to give Receipts
for the same."

Can any of your readers say whether such a publication as that which is here proposed ever took place: that is, a publication of "ten manuscripts," of which none had been previously printed?

S. R. MAITLAND.

Gloucester.

_Tragedy by Mary Leapor._--In the second volume of _Poems_ by Mary Leapor, 8vo., 1751, there is an unfinished tragedy, begun by the authoress a short time before her death. Can you give me the name of this drama (if it has any), and names of the _dramatis personæ_?

A. Z.

_Repairing old Prints._--N. J. A. will feel thankful to any one who will give him directions for the cleaning and repairing of old prints, or refer him to any book where he can obtain such information. He wishes especially to learn how to detach them from old and worn-out mountings.

N. J. A.

{105} _Arch-priest in the Diocese of Exeter._--I am informed that there is, in the diocese of Exeter, a dignitary who is called the Arch-priest, and that he has the privilege of wearing lawn sleeves (that is of course, properly, of wearing a lawn alb), and also precedence in all cases next after the Bishop.

Can any of your Devonian readers give additional particulars of his office or his duties? They would be useful and interesting.

W. FRASER.

Tor-Mohun.

_Medal in honour of the Chevalier de St. George._--It appears that Prince James (styled the Chevalier de St. George) served in several campaigns in the Low Countries under the Marquis de Torcy. On one occasion, when the hostile armies were encamped on the banks of the Scarpe, medals were struck, and distributed among the English, bearing, besides a bust of the prince, an inscription relating to his bravery on a former occasion. Are any of these now in existence? They would probably be met with in those families whose ancestors served under Marlborough.

A. S.

_Robert Bloet._--Can you certify me whether it is received as an undoubted historical fact that "Robertus, comes Moritoniensis," William the Conqueror's uterine brother, was identical with _Robert Bloet_, afterwards Chancellor and Bishop of Lincoln?

J. SANSOM.

_Sir J. Wallace and Mr. Browne._--I inclose an extract from _The English Chronicle or Universal Evening Post_, February 6th to February 8th, 1783. Can any of your learned correspondents state the result of the _fracas_ between Mr. Browne and Sir J. Wallace?

"Yesterday about one o'clock, Sir J----s W----e and Lieutenant
B----e, accidentally meeting in Parliament Street, near the
Admiralty Gate, Mr. B----e, the moment he saw Sir J----s, took a
stick which a gentleman he was in company with held in his hand,
and, after a few words passing, struck Sir J----s, and gave him
a dreadful wound in the forehead; they closed, and Sir J----s,
who had no weapon, made the best defence possible, but being a
weaker man than his antagonist, was overpowered. Mr. B----e, at
parting, told Sir J----s, if he had anything to say to him, he
would be found at the Salopian Coffee House. An account of this
transaction being communicated to Sir Sampson Wright, he sent
Mr. Bond after Mr. B----e, who found him at the Admiralty, and
delivered the magistrate's compliments, at the same time
requesting to see him in Bow Street. Mr. B----e promised to wait
upon Sir Sampson, but afterwards finding that no warrant had
issued, did not think it incumbent on him to comply, and so went
about his avocations.

"Sir J----s's situation after the fracas very much excited the
compassion of the populace; they beheld that veteran bleeding on
the streets, who had so often gloriously fought the battles of
his country! The above account is as accurate as we could learn;
but should there be any trivial misstatement, we shall be happy
in correcting it, through the means of any of our readers who
were present on the spot.

"Sir James Wallace has not only given signal proofs of his
bravery as a naval officer, but particularly in a duel with
another marine officer, Mr. Perkins, whom he fought at Cape
François; each taking hold of the end of a handkerchief, fired,
and although the balls went through both their bodies, neither
of the wounds proved mortal! The friars at Cape François, with
great humanity, took charge of them till they were cured of
their wounds."

J. LOCKE.

Dublin.

_Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester._--I should be glad if any of your correspondents would refer me to any authentic account of the death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Queen Elizabeth's favourite. He is said by some to have been _accidentally_ poisoned by his wife; by others _purposely_, by some of his adherents. This affair, though clouded in mystery, appears not to have been particularly inquired into. Likewise let me ask, on what authority is Stanfield Hall, Norfolk (the scene of a recent tragedy), described as the birthplace of Amy Robsart, the unfortunate first wife of this same nobleman?

A. S.

_Abbott Families._--Samuel Abbott, of Sudbury, in the county of Suffolk, gentleman, lived about 1670. Can any of your genealogical contributors inform me if he was in any way connected with the family of Archbishop Abbott, or otherwise elucidate his parentage? It may probably be interesting to persons of the same name to be acquainted that the _pears_ worn by many of the Abbot family are merely a corruption of the ancient inkhorns of the Abbots of Northamptonshire, and impaled in Netherheyford churchyard, same county, on the tomb of Sir Walt. Mauntele, knight, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Abbot, Esq., 1487, viz. a chev. between three inkhorns. The resemblance between pears and inkhorns doubtless occasioned the error. I believe the ancient bottles of Harebottle were similarly corrupted into icicles.

J. T. ABBOTT.

Darlington.

_Authorship of a Ballad._--In the _Manchester Guardian_ of Jan. 7, the author of a stanza, written on the execution of Thos. Syddale, is desired; as also the remainder of the ballad. From what quarter is either of these more likely to be obtained than from "N. & Q.?"

P. J. F. GANTILLON.

_Elias Petley._--What is known of the life or works of Elias Petley, priest, who dedicated to Archbishop Laud his translation of the English Liturgy into Greek. The book was published at the press of Thomas Cotes, for Richard Whitaker, {106} at the King's Arms, St. Paul's churchyard, in 1638. Is it remarkable for rarity or merit?

J. O. B.

Wicken.

_Canaletto's Views round London._--Antonio Canaletto, the painter of Venice, the destruction of one of whose most powerful works has been of late the subject of so much agitation, was here amongst us in this city one hundred years since; as seen by his proposal in one of the journals of 1752:

"Signior Canaletto gives notice that he has painted Chelsea
College, Ranelagh House, and the River Thames; which, if any
gentleman, or others, are pleased to favour him with seeing the
same, he will attend at his lodgings at Mr. Viggans, in Silver
Street, Golden Square, from fifteen days from this day, July 31,
from 8 to 1, and from 3 to 6 at night, each day."

Here is that able artist's offer in his own terms, if, not his own words.

I have to inquire, are these pictures left here to the knowledge of your readers? did he, in short, find buyers as well as admirers? or, if not, did he return to Venice with those (no doubt) vividly pictured recollections of our localities under his arm?

GONDOLA.

_A Monster found at Maidstone._--In Kilburne's _Survey of Kent_, 4to. 1659, under "Maidstone," is the following passage:

"Wat Tiler, that idol of clownes, and famous rebell in the time
of King Richard the Second, was of this town; and in the year
1206 about this town was a monster found stricken with
lightning, with a head like an asse, a belly like a man, and all
other parts far different from any known creature, but not
approachable nigh unto, by reason of the stench thereof."

No mention of this is made by Lambarde in his _Perambulation of Kent_. Has this been traditional, or whence is Kilburne's authority? And what explanation can be offered of the account?

H. W. D.

_Page._--What is the derivation of this word? In the _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_, edited by Dr. W. Smith, 1st edit., p. 679., it is said to be from the Greek ~paidagôgos~, _pædagogus_. But in an edition of Tacitus, with notes by Boxhorn (Amsterdam, 1662), it is curiously identified with the word _boy_, and traced to an eastern source thus:--Persian, _bagoa_; Polish, _pokoigo_; Old German, _Pagie_, _Bagh_, _Bai_; then the Welsh, _bachgen_; French, _page_; English, _boy_; and Greek, ~pais~.

Some of your correspondents may be able to inform me which is correct.

B. H. C.

* * * * *

Minor Queries with Answers.

_The Fish "Ruffins."_--In Spenser's _Faerie Queene_ we read (book iv. canto 11.), among the river guests that attended the nuptials of Thames and Medway came "Yar, soft washing Norwitch walls;" and farther on, that he brought with him a present of fish for the banquet called _ruffins_, "whose like none else could show." Was this description of fish peculiar to the Yare? and is there any record of its having been esteemed a delicacy in Elizabeth's reign?

A. S.

[This seems to be the fish noticed by Izaak Walton, called the
_Ruffe_, or _Pope_, "a fish," says he, "that is not known in
some rivers. He is much like the perch for his shape, and taken
to be better than the perch, but will grow to be bigger than a
gudgeon. He is an excellent fish, no fish that swims is of _a
pleasanter taste_, and he is also excellent to enter a young
angler, for he is a greedy biter." In the _Faerie Queene_, book
I. canto iv., Spenser speaks of

"His _ruffin_ raiment all was stain'd with blood
Which he had spilt, and all to rags yrent."

To these lines Mr. Todd has added a note, which gives a clue to
the meaning of the word. He says, "Mr. Church here observes,
that _ruffin_ is reddish, from the Latin _rufus_." I suspect,
however, that the poet did not intend to specify the _colour_ of
the dress, but rather to give a very characteristical expression
even to the raiment of Wrath. Ruffin, so spelt, denoted a
swashbuckler, or, as we should say, a _bully_: see Minsheu's
_Guide into Tongues_. Besides, I find in _My Ladies'
Looking-Glasse_, by Barnabe Rich, 4to. 1616, p. 21., a passage
which may serve to strengthen my application of _ruffin_, in
this sense, to garment: "The yong woman, that as well in her
behaviour, as in the manner of her apparell, is most _ruffian_
like, is accounted the most gallant wench." Now, it appears,
that the _ruff_, or _pope_, is not only, as Walton says, "a
greedy biter," but is extremely voracious in its disposition,
and will devour a minnow nearly as big as itself. Its average
length is from six to seven inches.]

_Origin of the Word Etiquette._--What is the original meaning of the word _etiquette_? and how did it acquire that secondary meaning which it bears in English?

S. C. G.

[Etiquette, from the Fr. _étiquette_, Sp. _etiqueta_, a ticket;
delivered not only, as Cotgrave says, for the benefit and
advantage of him that receives it, but also entitling to place,
to rank; and thus applied to the ceremonious observance of rank
or place; to ceremony. Webster adds, "From the original sense of
the word, it may be inferred that it was formerly the custom to
deliver cards containing orders for regulating ceremonies on
public occasions."]

_Henri Quatre._--What was the title of Henry IV. (of Navarre) to the crown of France? or in what way was he related to his predecessor? If any {107} one would be kind enough to answer these he would greatly oblige.

W. W. H.

[Our correspondent will find his Query briefly and satisfactorily
answered by Hénault, in his _Abrégé de l'Histoire de France_, p.
476. His words are: "Henri IV. roi de Navarre, né à Pau, le 13
Décembre, 1553, et ayant droit à la couronne, comme descendant de
Robert, Comte de Clermont, qui étoit fils de St. Louis, et qui
avoit épousé l'héritière de Bourbon, y parvient en 1589." The
lineal descent of Henri from this Count Robert may be seen in
_L'Art de vérifier les Dates_, vol. vi. p. 209., in a table
entitled "Généalogie des Valois et des Bourbon; St. Louis IX.,
Roi de France."]

_"He that complies against his will," &c.; and "To kick the bucket."_--Oblige T. C. by giving the correct reading of the familiar couplet, which he apprehends is loosely quoted when expressed--

"Convince a man against his will," &c.

or,

"Persuade a man against his will," &c.

Also by stating the name of the author.

Likewise by giving the origin of the phrase "To kick the bucket," as applied to the death of a person.

[The desired quotation is from Butler's _Hudibras_, part III.
canto iii. l. 547-8.:

"He that complies against his will,
Is of his own opinion still."

As to the origin of the phrase "To kick the bucket," the
tradition among the slang fraternity is, that "One Bolsover
having hung himself to a beam while standing on the bottom of a
pail, or bucket, kicked the vessel away in order to pry into
futurity, and it was all UP with him from that moment--_Finis_!"
Our Querist will find a very humorous illustration of its use
(too long to quote) in an article on "Anglo-German Dictionaries,"
contributed by De Quincy to the _London Magazine_ for April,
1823, p. 442.]

_St. Nicholas Cole Abbey._--There is a church in the city of London called St. Nicholas Cole Abbey: what is the origin of the name or derivation?

ELLFIN AP GWYDDNO.

[This Query seems to have baffled old Stowe. He says, "Towards
the west end of Knight Rider Street is the parish church of St.
Nicolas Cold Abby, a comely church, somewhat ancient, as
appeareth by the ways raised thereabout; so that men are forced
to descend into the body of the church. It hath been called of
many _Golden Abby_, of some _Gold_ (or _Cold_) _Bey_, and so
hath the most ancient writing. But I could never learn the cause
why it should be so called, and therefore I will let it pass.
Perhaps as standing in a _cold_ place, as _Cold Harbour_, and
such like." For communications on the much-disputed etymology of
COLD HARBOUR, see "N. & Q.," Vol. i., p. 60.; Vol. ii., pp. 159.
340.; and Vol. vi., p. 455.]

* * * * *

Replies.

TRENCH ON PROVERBS.

(Vol. viii., pp. 387. 519. 641.)

The courteous spirit which generally distinguishes the communications of your correspondents, renders the "N. & Q." the most agreeable magazine, or, as you have it, "medium of inter-communication for literary men," &c. I was so much pleased with the general _animus_ which characterised the strictures on my proposed translation of Ps. cxxvii. 2., that I was almost disposed to cede to my critics, from sheer good-will towards them. But the elder D'Israeli speaks of such a thing "as an affair of literary conscience," which consideration prescribes my yielding in the present instance; but I trust that our motto will always be, "May our difference of opinion never alter our inter-communications!"

I must however, at the outset, qualify an expression I made use of, which seems to have incurred the censure of all your four correspondents on the subject; I mean the sentence, "The translation of the authorised version of that sacred affirmation is unintelligible." It seems to be perfectly intelligible to MESSRS. BUCKTON, JEBB, WALTER, and S. D. I qualify, therefore, the assertion. I mean to say, that the translation of the authorised version of that sacred affirmation was, and is, considered unintelligible to many intelligent biblical critics and expositors; amongst whom I may name Luther, Mendelsohn, Hengstenberg, Zunz, and many others whose names will transpire in the sequel.

Having made that concession, I may now proceed with the replying to my Querists, or rather Critics. MR. BUCKTON is entitled to my first consideration, not only because you placed him at the head of the department of that question, but also because of the peculiar mode in which he treated the subject. My replies shall be _seriatim_.

1. Luther was not the first who translated ¤ken iten liydido sheinah¤ "Denn seinen Freunden gibt er _es_ schlafend." A far greater Hebraist than Luther, who flourished about two hundred years before the great German Reformer came into note, put the same construction on that sacred affirmation. Rabbi Abraham Hacohen of Zante, who paraphrased the whole Hebrew Psalter into modern metrical Hebrew verse (which, according to a P.S., was completed in 1326), interprets the sentence in question thus:

¤ki ken yiten el teref
l'yidido ushnato meenehu lo taref¤

"For surely God shall give food
To His beloved, and his sleep shall not be withheld from him."

2. It is more than problematical whether the eminent translator, Mendelsohn, was influenced by {108} Luther's _error_ (?), or by his own superior knowledge of the sacred tongue.

3. I do not think that the phrase, "the proper Jewish notion of gain," was either called for or relevant to the subject.

4. The reign of James I. was by no means as distinguished for Hebrew scholarship as were the immediate previous reigns. Indeed it would appear that the knowledge of the sacred languages was at a very low ebb in this country during the agitating period of the Reformation, so much so that even the unaccountable Henry VIII. was forced to exclaim, "Vehementer dolere nostratium Theologorum sortem sanctissime linguæ scientia carentium, et linguarum doctrinam fuisse intermissam." (_Hody_, p. 466.)

When Coverdale made his version of the Bible he was not only aided by Tindale, but also by the celebrated Hebrew, of the Hebrews, Emanuel Tremellius, who was then professor of the sacred tongue in the University of Cambridge, where that English Reformer was educated; and Coverdale translated the latter part of Ps. cxxvii. 2. as follows: "For look, to whom it pleaseth Him, He giveth it in sleep."

When the translation was revised, during the reign of James I., the most accomplished Anglo-Hebraist was, by some caprice of jealousy, forced to leave this country; I mean Hugh Broughton. He communicated many renderings to the revisers, some of which they thoughtlessly rejected, and others, to use Broughton's own phrase, "they thrust into the margin." A perusal of Broughton's works[6] gives one an accurate notion of the proceedings of the revisers of the previous versions.

5. Coverdale's translation is not "ungrammatical" as far as the Hebrew language is concerned, notwithstanding that it was rejected in the reign of James I. ¤lechem¤, "bread," is evidently the accusative noun to the transitive verb ¤yiten¤, "He shall give." Nor is it "false," for the same noun, ¤lechem¤, "bread," is no doubt the antecedent to which the word _it_ refers.

6. Mendelsohn does _not_ omit the _it_ in his Hebrew comment; and I am therefore unwarrantably charged with supplying it "unauthorisedly." I should like to see MR. BUCKTON's translation of that comment. If any doubt remained upon MR. B.'s mind as to the intended meaning of the word ¤yitenhu¤ used by Mendelsohn, his German version might have removed such a doubt, as the little word _es_, "it," indicates pretty clearly what Mendelsohn meant by ¤yitenhu¤. So that, instead of proving Mendelsohn "at variance with himself," he is proved most satisfactorily to have been in perfect harmony with himself.

7. Mendelsohn does not omit the important word ¤ken¤; and if MR. B. will refer once more to his copy of Mendelsohn (we are both using the same edition), he will find two different interpretations proposed for the word ¤ken¤, viz. _thus_ and _rightly_. I myself prefer the latter rendering. The word occurs about twenty times in the Hebrew Bible, and in the great majority of instances _rightly_ or _certainly_ is the only correct rendering. Both Mendelsohn and Zunz omit to translate it in their German versions, simply because the sentence is more idiomatic, in the German language, without it than with it.

8. I perfectly agree with MR. B. "that no version has yet had so large an amount of learning bestowed on it as the English one." But MR. B. will candidly acknowledge that the largest amount was bestowed on it since the revision of the authorised version closed. Lowth, Newcombe, Horne, Horsley, Lee, &c. wrote since, and they boldly called in question many of the renderings in the authorised version.

Let me not be mistaken; I do most sincerely consider our version superior to _all_ others, but it is not for this reason faultless.

In reply to MR. JEBB's temperate strictures, I would most respectively submit--

1. That considerable examination leads me to take just the reverse view to that of Burkius, that ¤sheinah¤ cannot be looked upon as antithetical to _surgere_, _sedere_, _dolorum_. With all my searchings I failed to discover an analogous antithesis. I shall be truly thankful to MR. JEBB for a case in point. Moreover, Psalms iii. and iv., to which Dr. French and Mr. Skinner refer, prove to my mind that not sleep is the gift, but sustenance and other blessings bestowed upon the Psalmist whilst asleep. I cannot help observing that due reflection makes me look upon the expression, "So He {109} giveth His beloved sleep," as an extraordinary anticlimax.

2. MR. JEBB challenges the showing strictly analogous instances of ellipses. He acknowledges that there are very numerous ellipses even in the Songs of Degrees themselves, but they are of a very different nature. I might fill the whole of this _Number_ with examples, which the most scrupulous critic would be obliged to acknowledge as being strictly analogous to the passage under review; but such a thing you would not allow. Two instances, however, you will not object to; they will prove a host for MR. JEBB's purpose, inasmuch as one has the very word ¤shena¤ elliptically, and the other the transitive verb ¤yitein¤, _minus_ an accusative noun. Would MESSRS. BUCKTON, JEBB, WALTER, and S. D. kindly translate, for the benefit of those who are interested in the question, the following two passages?

¤z'ram'tam, sheinah yih'yu; baboker, kechatzir yachalof¤

_Psalm xc. 5._

¤yiten lifanav goyim um'lachim yard
yiten ke-afar charbo, kikash needaf kashto¤

_Isaiah xli. 2._

The REV. HENRY WALTER will see that some of his observations have been anticipated and already replied to. It remains, however, for me to assure him that I never dreamt that any one would suppose that I considered ¤sheinah¤ anything else but a noun, minus the ¤bet¤ preposition. The reason why I translated the word "whilst he [the beloved] is asleep," was because I thought the expression more idiomatic.

S. D. attempts to prove nothing; I am exempt therefore from disproving anything as far as he is concerned.

Before I take leave of this lengthy and somewhat elaborate disquisition, let me give my explanation of the scope of the Psalm in dispute, which, I venture to imagine, will commend itself, even to those who differ from me, as the most natural.

This Psalm, as well as the other thirteen entitled "A Song of Degrees," was composed for the singing on the road by those Israelites who went up to Jerusalem to keep the three grand festivals, to beguile their tedious journey, and also to soothe the dejected spirits of those who felt disheartened at having left their homes, their farms, and families without guardians. Ps. cxxvii. is of a soothing character, composed probably by Solomon.

In the first two verses God's watchfulness and care over His beloved are held up to the view of the pilgrims, who are impressed with the truth that no one, "by taking thought, can add one cubit to his stature." The best exposition which I can give of those two verses I have learned from our Saviour's "Sermon on the Mount" (Matt. vi. 25-33.). The third and following verses, as well as the next Psalm, are exegetical or illustrative. To whom do you attribute the gift of children? Is it not admitted on all hands to be "an heritage of the Lord?" No one can procure that blessing by personal anxiety and care: God alone can confer the gift. Well, then, the same God who gives you the heritage of children will also grant you all other blessings which are good for you, provided you act the part of "His beloved," and depend upon Him without wavering.

The above is a hasty, but I trust an intelligible, view of the scope of the Psalm.

MOSES MARGOLIOUTH

Wybunbury, Nantwich.

[Footnote 6: Lightfoot, who edited Broughton's works in 1662, entitled them as follows:--"The Works of the great Albionen Divine, renowned in many Nations for rare Skill in Salem's and Athens' Tongues, and familiar acquaintance with all Rabbinical Learning," &c.

Ben Jonson has managed to introduce Broughton into some of his plays. In his _Volpone_, when the "Fox" delivers a medical lecture, to the great amusement of Politic and Peregrine, the former remarks,

"Is not his language rare?"

To which the latter replies,

"But Alchemy,
I never heard the like, or Broughton's books."

In the _Alchemist_, "Face" is made thus to speak of a female companion:

"Y' are very right, Sir, she is a most rare scholar,
And is gone mad with studying Broughton's works;
If you but name a word touching the Hebrew,
She falls into her fit, and will discourse
So learnedly of genealogies,
As you would run mad too to hear her, Sir."

(See also _The History of the Jews in Great Britain_, vol. i. pp. 305, &c.)]

* * * * *

INSCRIPTIONS ON BELLS.

(Vol. viii., p. 448.)

The inscription on one of the bells of Great Milton Church, Oxon. (as given by MR. SIMPSON in "N. & Q."), has a better and rhyming form occasionally.

In Meivod Church, Montgomeryshire, a bell (the "great" bell, I think) has the inscription--

"I to the church the living call,
And to the grave do summon all."

The same also is found on the great bell of the interesting church (formerly cathedral) of Llanbadarn Fawr, Cardiganshire.

E. DYER GREEN.

Nantcribba Hall.

I beg to forward the following inscription on one of the bells in the tower of St. Nicholas Church, Sidmouth. I have not met with it elsewhere; and you may, perhaps, consider it worthy of being added to those given by CUTHBERT BEDE and J. L. SISSON:

"Est michi collatum
Ihc istud nomen amatum."

There is no date, but the characters may indicate the commencement of the fifteenth century as the period when the bell was cast.

G. J. R. GORDON.

At Lapley in Staffordshire:

"I will sound and resound to thee, O Lord,
To call thy people to thy word."

G. E. T. S. R. N.

Pray add the following savoury inscriptions to your next list of bell-mottoes. The first disgraces the belfry of St. Paul's, Bedford; the second, that, of St. Mary's, Islington:

"At proper times my voice I'll raise,
And sound to my _subscribers'_ praise!"

"At proper times our voices we will raise,
In sounding to our _benefactors'_ praise!"

The similarity between these two inscriptions favours the supposition that the ancient {110} bell-founders, like some modern enterprising firms, kept a poet on the establishment, _e.g._

"Thine incomparable oil, Macassar!"

J. YEOWELL.

A friend informs me, that on a bell in Durham Cathedral these lines occur:

"To call the folk to Church in time,
I chime.
When mirth and pleasure's on the wing,
I ring.
And when the body leaves the soul,
I toll."

J. L. S.

* * * * *

ARMS OF GENEVA.

(Vol. viii., p. 563.)

Your correspondent who desires the blazon of the arms of the "town of Geneva," had better have specified to which of the two bearings assigned to that name he refers.

One of these, which I saw on the official seal affixed to the passport of a friend of mine lately returned from that place, is an instance of the obsolete practice of _dimidiation_; and is the more singular, because only the dexter one of the shields thus impaled undergoes curtailment.

The correct blazon, I believe, would be: Or, an eagle double-headed, displayed sable, dimidiated, and impaling gu. a key in pale argent, the wards in chief, and turned to the sinister; the shield surmounted with a marquis' coronet.

The blazon of the sinister half I owe to Edmondson, who seems, however, not at all to have understood the dexter, and gives a clumsy description of it little worth transcribing. He, and the _Dictionnaire de Blazon_, assign these arms to the Republic of Geneva.

The other bearing would, in English, be blazoned, Checquy of nine pieces, or and azure: and in French, _Cinq points d'or, équipollés à quatre d'azur_. This is assigned by Nisbett to the _Seigneurie_ of Geneva, and is quartered by the King of Sardinia in token of the claims over the Genevese town and territory, which, as Duke of Savoy, he has never resigned.

With regard to the former shield, I may just remark, that the dimidiated coat is merely that of the German empire. How or why Geneva obtained it, I should be very glad to be informed; since it appears to appertain to the present independent Republic, and not to the former seignorial territory.

Let me also add, that the plate in the _Dictionnaire_ gives the field of this half as argent. Mr. Willement, in his _Regal Heraldry_, under the arms of Richard II.'s consort, also thus describes and represents the imperial field; and Nisbett alludes to it as such in one place, though in his formal blazon he gives it as _or_.

Nothing, in an heraldic point of view, would be more interesting than a "Regal Heraldry of Europe," with a commentary explaining the historical origin and combinations of the various bearings. Should this small contribution towards such a compilation tend to call the attention of any able antiquary to the general subject, or to elicit information upon this particular question, the writer who now offers so insignificant an item would feel peculiarly gratified.