Chapter II: Part III: , price 6d (1)

9. Railway Accidents. Chap. I.
10. The Planets. Are they Inhabited Globes? Chap. IV. and last.
11. Meteoric Stones and Shooting Stars. Chap. II.
12. Railway Accidents. Chap. II.
13. Light.

"This serial, which will form quarterly eighteenpenny volumes, is, we
are disposed to think, the best literary investment of a penny a week
now extant."--_Examiner._

"This series, besides affording popular but sound instruction on
scientific subjects, with which the humblest man in the country ought
to be acquainted, also undertakes that teaching of 'common things'
which Lord Ashburton and every well-wisher of his kind are anxious to
promote."--_Times._

London: WALTON & MABERLY, Upper Gower Street, and Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row.

* * * * *

SMEE'S BINOCULAR PERSPECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHS.--A full account of the mode of taking these extraordinary Likenesses in "Smee on the Eye," just published, price 5s.

HORNE, THORNTHWAITE & WOOD, 123. Newgate Street, London.

* * * * *

CLASSICAL MUSICAL LIBRARY.--Subscribers are liberally supplied, on loan, with every description of New Vocal and Instrumental Music, and have also at their disposal upwards of 3,000 volumes, including the Standard Operas, Italian, German, French, and English Songs, and all kinds of Instrumental Music. During the Term of Subscription, each Subscriber has the privilege of selecting--for his own property--from 100,000 different pieces, 3 Guineas' worth of Music. Prospectuses forwarded Free on application.

JULLIEN & CO., 214. Regent Street.

* * * * *

ALLEN'S ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE, containing Size, Price, and Description of upwards of 100 articles, consisting of PORTMANTEAUS, TRAVELLING-BAGS, Ladies' Portmanteaus, DESPATCH-BOXES, WRITING-DESKS, DRESSING-CASES, and other travelling requisites, Gratis on application, or sent free by Post on receipt of Two Stamps.

MESSRS. ALLEN'S registered Despatch-box and Writing-desk, their Travelling-bag with the opening as large as the bag, and the new Portmanteau containing four compartments, are undoubtedly the best articles of the kind ever produced.

J. W. & T. ALLEN, 18 & 22. West Strand.

* * * * *

This Day is published, price 8s. cloth or gilt, 8s. 6d., embellished with numerous Engravings,

WANDERINGS OF AN ANTIQUARY: chiefly upon the Traces of the ROMANS IN BRITAIN. By THOMAS WRIGHT, ESQ., M.A., F.S.A.

CONTENTS:--1. Iron Works of the Forest of Dean. 2. Roman Cities on the Welsh Borders. 3. Verulamium. 4. Anglo-Saxon Graves in Kent. 5. Sandwich, and Rutupiae. 6. The Kentish Coast. 7. Pevensey. 8. Potteries on the Medway. 9. Valley of Maidstone. 10. Hill Entrenchments on the Welsh Borders. 11. From York to Goodmanham. 12. Isuriam or Aldborough. 13. Bramber Castle and Sussex Churches. 14. Bignor. 15. Stonehenge. 16. Old Sarum.

"Got up with very good taste in style and matter. We recommend this
excellent little book."--_Dover Chronicle._

"Avoiding wild and speculative theories on the one hand, and aiming to
further the purposes of pure history on the other."--_Morning Post._

"Mr. Wright conveys sound antiquaries information at every step in a
pleasing and popular manner, which must render the volume a grateful
companion to all who have not made our national ancient monuments a
professed study: and even the experienced archaeologist will often find
unsuspected new views of old opinions which it may be at least
wholesome to revise or reconsider."--_Gentlman's Magazine._

NICHOLS & SONS, 25. Parliament Street.

* * * * *

Second Edition, price 5s. 6d. cloth,

THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Translated and compiled from the Works of Augusti; with numerous Additions from Rheinwald, Siegel, and others. By the REV. LYMAN COLEMAN.

Second Edition, price 6s. 6d. cloth,

A HISTORY OF THE HEBREW COMMONWEALTH. Translated from the German of JOHN JAHN, D.D. With an Appendix, containing the History of the Jews to the Reign of Adrian, translated from Basnage. By C. E. STOWE, A.M.

Fourth Edition, price 6s. cloth,

BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. By JOHN JAHN, D.D. Translated from the Latin, with Additions and Corrections. By T. C. UPHAM, Bowdoin College, United States. With Map and Three Engravings.

Fourth Edition (500 pages), price 12s. cloth,

LECTURES ON CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. By GEORGE CHRISTIAN KNAPP, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of Halle. Translated by LEONARD WOODS, JUN., D.D., Andover, U.S.

WARD & CO., 27. Paternoster Row.

* * * * *

In 8vo., cloth lettered, price 4s. 6d., or Free by Post, 5s.

GOMER; or, a Brief Analysis of the Language and Knowledge of the Ancient Cymry. By JOHN WILLIAMS, A.M., Oxon, Archdeacon of Cardigan.

London: HUGHES & BUTLER. 15. St. Martin's-le-Grand.

* * * * *

AS SECRETARY OR AMANUENSIS.

A GENTLEMAN who is fully conversant with the French, German, and Italian Languages is desirous of obtaining some PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT. He can give satisfactory references as to Competency and Respectability of Family and Connexions.

Address. F. G. H., care of MR. NEWMAN, Publisher, 9. Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate Street.

* * * * *

{319}

_LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1854._

* * * * *

Notes.

ARABIAN TALES AND THEIR SOURCES.

The Arabians have been the immediate instruments in transmitting to us those Oriental tales, of which the conception is so brilliant, and the character so rich and varied, and which, after having been the delight of our childhood, never lose entirely the spell of their enchantment over our maturer age. But while many of these tales are doubtless of Arabian origin, it is not to be supposed that all are equally so. If we may believe the French translator of the _Thousand and One Tales_, that publication does not include the thirty-sixth part of the great Arabian collection, which is not confined to books, but has been the traditional inheritance of a numerous class, who, like the minstrels of the West, gained their livelihood by reciting, what would interest the feelings of their hearers. This class of Eastern story-tellers was common throughout the whole extent of Mahomedan dominion in Turkey, Persia, and even to the extremity of India.

The sudden rise of the Saracen empire, and its rapid transition from barbarism to refinement, and from the deepest ignorance to the most extensive cultivation of literature and science, is an extraordinary phenomenon in the history of mankind. A century scarcely elapsed from the age of Amrou, the general of Caliph Omar, who is said to have burned the great Alexandrian library, to the period when the family of the Abbasides, who mounted the throne of the Caliphs A.D. 750, introduced a passionate love of art, science, and even poetry. The celebrated Haroun Al Raschid never took a journey without at least a hundred men of science in his train. But the most munificent patron of Arabic literature was Al Mamoun, the seventh Caliph of the race of the Abbasides, and son of Haroun Al Raschid. Having succeeded to the throne A.D. 813, he rendered Bagdad the centre of literature: collecting from the subject provinces of Syria, Armenia, and Egypt the most important books which could be discovered, as the most precious tribute that could be rendered, and causing them to be translated into Arabic for general use. When Al Mamoun dictated the terms of peace to Michael, the Greek emperor, the tribute which he demanded from him was a collection of Greek authors.

The Arabian tales had their birth after this period; and when the Arabians had yielded to the Tartars, Turks, and Persians, the empire of the sword. Soldiers are seldom introduced; the splendours of the just Caliph's reign are dwelt upon with fond remembrance; the style is that of a mercantile people, while riches and artificial luxuries are only rivalled by the marvellous gifts of the genii and fairies. This brilliant mythology, the offspring of the Arabian imagination, together with the other characteristics of the Arabian tales, has had an extensive influence on our own literature. Many of these tales had found their way into our poetry long before the translation of the _Arabian Nights_; and are met with in the old _Fabliaux_, and in Boccacio, Ariosto, and Chaucer. But while these tales are Arabian in their structure, the materials have been derived, not only from India, Persia, and China, but also from ancient Egypt, and the classical literature of Greece.

I shall content myself at present with adducing one example of such probable derivation from the source last mentioned. The stories to be compared are too long for quotation, which, as they are well known, will not be necessary. I shall therefore merely give, in parallel columns, the numerous points of resemblance, or coincidence, between the two. The Arabian tale is that of "Ali Baba and the Forty Robbers;" the corresponding story will be found in Herodotus, b. II. c. cxxi.; it is that of Rhampsinitus and the robbery of his royal treasury:

THE EGYPTIAN TALE.

1. The king constructs a stone edifice for the security of his vast
riches.

2. In the wall of this treasury is a stone so artfully disposed that a
single person can move it, so as to enter and retreat without leaving
any trace of his having done so.

3. Two brothers become acquainted with the secret opening into the
treasury, and enter it for the purpose of enriching themselves.

4. One of the brothers becomes rich by abstracting large sums of money
from the royal treasury.

5. The other brother is caught in the snare which the king had laid
within the treasury, for the detection and apprehension of the
intruders.

6. At his own request the brother thus caught is beheaded by the other
to avoid recognition, and to secure the escape of one. The dead body is
hung from the wall of the treasury, for the purpose of discovering his
accomplice.

7. The surviving brother, at his mother's earnest request, carries off
the dead body, and brings it home on the back of one of his asses.

8. The king, unable to ascertain how his treasury had been entered, is
enraged at the removal of the body, and alarmed at finding that some
one who possesses the secret still survives.

9. The king has recourse to stratagem, for the purpose of detecting the
depredator, but without success.

10. The surviving brother baffles the king's first attempt to detect
him, by means of some asses, which, in the character of a wine-seller,
he had loaded with wine-flasks, making the king's guards drunk, and
leaving them all fast asleep.

THE ARABIAN TALE.

1. In a rock so steep and craggy that none can scale it, a cave has
been hewn out, in which the robbers deposit their prodigious wealth.

2. In this rock is a door which opens into the cave, by means of two
magical words, "Open Sesame;" and closes again in like manner by
pronouncing the words "Shut Sesame."

3. Two brothers become acquainted with the door of the cave, and the
means of opening and shutting it; and they enter it for the purpose of
enriching themselves.

4. Ali Baba, one of the two brothers, becomes rich by carrying off a
great quantity of gold coin from the robbers' cave.

5. Cassim, the other brother, is caught as in a snare, by forgetting,
when in the cave, the magical words by which alone ran exit could be
obtained.

6. Cassim, in his attempt to escape, is killed by the robbers, and his
dead body is quartered, and hung up within the door of the cave, to
deter any who might be his accomplices.

7. Ali Baba, at the instance of Cassim's widow, carries off his remains
from the cave, and brings them home on the back of one of his asses.

8. The robbers, unable to guess how their cave had been entered, are
alarmed at the removal of Cassim's remains, which proves to them that
some one who possesses the secret still survives.

9. The robbers have recourse to stratagem, for the purpose of
discovering the depredator, but without success.

10. Ali Baba, assisted by his female slave, baffles the robber
captain's first attempt upon him, by means of some oil in a jar, his
men being concealed in the other jars, with which the captain, in the
character of an oil-merchant, had loaded some asses: thus the latter,
who thought his men asleep, finds them all dead.

{320}

THE EGYPTIAN TALE.

11. In the darkness of the night, the surviving brother tells the
king's daughter, whom her father had employed to detect him, the story
of his exploits in baffling the guards and carrying off the body of his
brother.

12. The king's daughter attempts to seize the brother, but he baffles
her, by leaving in her hand a dead arm instead of his own.

13. The king, who admires the audacity and ingenuity of the surviving
brother, offers him, by proclamation, pardon and reward; and, on his
coming forward, gives him his daughter in marriage.

THE ARABIAN TALE.

11. In the dusk of the evening, Baba Mustapha relates to the two
robbers in succession, who had been employed to detect Ali Baba, the
story of his having sewed a dead body together; and, blindfold, himself
conducts each of them to Ali Baba's door.

12. The two robbers successively mark the house of Ali Baba with chalk;
but his female slave baffles them by putting a similar mark on the
other houses, in consequence of which they are put to death instead of
her master.

13. Ali Baba, saved from the robber captain's designs by the course and
ingenuity of Morgiana, his female slave, gives her freedom, and marries
her to his son.

Here, then, are above a dozen striking coincidences in this one example; and they are given with but slight dislocation or transposition. Other examples might be adduced, but I must reserve them for another communication.

J. W. THOMAS.

Dewsbury.

* * * * *

LA ROCHEFOUCAULD.

Meeting occasionally, in reading new French works and journals, with sentiments and criticisms by eminent living writers on the characteristic peculiarities of some of the most distinguished French authors of the age of Louis XIV. and subsequently, perhaps you will allow me to send you, from time to time, "notes" or extracts from the criticisms alluded to, in case you should be of opinion that they may be agreeable to some of your readers, who may not be aware of the healthier and more Christian tone that now pervades one, at least, of the most influential organs of public opinion in France. Let us begin with _La Rochefoucauld_, as recently reviewed in the _Journal des Debats_.

J. MACRAY.

Oxford.

_"La Rochefoucauld._

"Pourquoi La Rochefoucauld m'inspire-t-il une repugnance invincible?
Pourquoi cette souffrance en le lisant? Ah! le voici, je crois. La
morale de La Rochefoucauld c'est la morale Chretienne, moins, si je
puis m'exprimer ainsi, le Christianisme lui-meme; c'est tout ce qui
peut humilier et abattre le coeur dans la severe doctrine de
l'Evangile, moins ce qui le releve; c'est toutes les illusions
detruites sans les esperances qui remplacent les illusions. En un mot,
dans le Christianisme La Rochefoucauld n'a pris que le dogme de la
chute; il a laisse le dogme de la redemption. En faisant briller un
cote du flambeau, celui qui desenchante l'homme de lui-meme, il eclipse
l'autre, celui qui montre a l'homme dans le ciel sa force, son appui,
et l'espoir d'une regeneration. La Rochefoucauld ne croit pas plus a la
saintete qu'a la sagesse, pas plus a Dieu qu'a l'homme. Le penitent
n'est pas moins vain a ses yeux que le philosophe. Partout l'orgueil,
partout le _moi_, sous la haire du Trappiste, comme sous le manteau du
cynique.

"La Rochefoucauld n'est Chretien que pour poursuivre notre pauvre coeur
jusque dans ses derniers retranchemens; il n'est Chretien que pour
verser son poison sur nos joies et sur nos reves les plus chers.... Que
reste-t-il donc a l'homme? Pour les ames fortes, il ne reste rien qu'un
froid et intrepide mepris de toutes choses, un sec et stoique
contentement a envisager le neant absolu; pour les autres, le desespoir
ou les jouissances brutales du plaisir comme derniere fin de la vie!

"Et voila ce que je deteste dans La Rochefoucauld! Cet ideal dont j'ai
soif, il le detruit partout. Ce bien, ce beau, dont les faibles images
me ravissent encore sous la forme imparfaite de nos vertus, de notre
science, de notre sagesse humaine, il le reduit a un sec interet."--S.
De Sacy, _Journal des Debats_, Janv. 28.

* * * * *

SHROPSHIRE BALLAD.

Your correspondent B. H. C. (Vol. viii., p. 614.) gives, from recollection, a Northamptonshire version of the old "Ballad of Sir Hugh of Lincoln." It reminded me of a similar, though somewhat varied, version which I took down, more than forty years ago, from the lips of a nurse-maid in Shropshire. It may interest the author of _The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon_, to know that it was recited in the place of his birth. Its resemblance to the ballad in Percy's _Reliques_ was my inducement to commit it to paper:

It hails, it rains, in Merry-Cock land,
It hails, it rains, both great and small,
And all the little children in Merry-Cock land,
They have need to play at ball.
They toss'd the ball so high,
They toss'd the ball so low,
Amongst all the Jews' cattle
And amongst the Jews below.
Out came one of the Jews' daughters
Dressed all in green.
"Come, my sweet Saluter,
And fetch the ball again."
"I durst not come, I must not come,
Unless all my little playfellows come along,
For if my mother sees me at the gate,
She'll cause my blood to fall."
She show'd me an apple as green as grass,
She show'd me a gay gold ring,
She show'd me a cherry as red as blood,
And so she entic'd me in.
She took me in the parlour,
She took me in the kitchen,
And there I saw my own dear nurse
A picking of a chicken.
She laid me down to sleep,
With a Bible at my head, and a Testament at my feet;
And if my playfellows come to quere for me,
Tell them I am asleep.

S. P. Q.

* * * * *

{321}

"OF THE BENEFIT OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST," BY AONIO PALEARIO.

The total, or almost total, disappearance of books at one time largely circulated, is a curious fact in the history of literature. One cause of it may be found in the efforts made by the Church of Rome to suppress those works which were supposed to contain unsound doctrine.

"Heretical books," says Mr. T. B. Macaulay, "were sought out and
destroyed with unsparing rigour. Works which were once in every house,
were so effectually suppressed, that no copy of them is now to be found
in the most extensive libraries. One book in particular, entitled _Of
the Benefit of the Death of Christ_, had this fate. It was written in
Tuscan, was many times reprinted, and was eagerly read in every part of
Italy. But the inquisitors detected in it the Lutheran doctrine of
justification by faith alone. _They proscribed it; and it is now as
utterly lost as the second decade of Livy._"

This book was published without a name. But the author was Aonio Paleario. It was translated into various languages, as French, Spanish, English, and possibly others; and within six years after its first appearance, 40,000 copies are said to have been circulated.

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to meet with a copy of the English version, which was made from the French, not from the original. This copy was printed in 1638, and was, according to the title-page, the fourth (English) edition. From it I edited the work, prefixing a short notice of the author, and verifying the references to the Fathers. It was subsequently retranslated into Italian, and has, I am informed, been much read in Italy. Some time after this publication, I became aware of the existence of a copy (in private hands) of the apparently first English edition, bearing the date of 1573. This I was allowed to inspect: and I hope hereafter to put forth another edition, in which the text of this copy will be followed, and two or three inaccuracies which had crept into the former impression will be corrected.

I was, however, ignorant that a single copy of the original Italian existed; and all inquiry for it seemed to be vain. But one was near at hand, preserved with diligent care among the literary treasures of St. John's College, Cambridge, by the authorities there, who were well aware of its rarity and value. By their obliging permission, I was a few days ago permitted to examine it.

It is a small square 16mo., bound, in beautiful condition, measuring about 4-1/4 inches by 3, and containing seventy-two pages. The following is the title-page:

"Trattato vtilissimo del beneficio di Giesv Christo crocifisso, verso i
Christiani. Venetiis, Apud Bernardinum de Bindonis. Anno Do.
M.D.XXXXIII."

From the date, it seems to be the first edition.

There is an address

"Alli Lettori Christiani.

"Essendoci venuta alle mani un' opera delle piu pie e dotte, che a
nostri tempi si siano fatte, il titolo della quale e, Del beneficio di
Giesu Christo crocifisso verso i Christiani: ci e paruto a consolatione
e utilita vostra darla [=i] istampa, e senza il nome dello scrittore,
accioche piu la cosa vi muova, che l' autorita dell' autore."

This most curious volume has been for upwards of a century in the library of St. John's College, as the following printed notice, pasted within the cover, will show:

"In grati animi testificationem, ob plurima Humanitatis officia, a
Collegio Divi Joannis Evangelistae apud Cantabrigienses multifariam
collata, librum hunc inter alios lectissimos eidem collegio legavit
Illustrissimus Vir, Dominicus Antonius Ferrari, J. U. D. Neapolitanus,
1744.

"Teste,
"J. CREYK."

But this is not all. The College is happy enough to possess a copy of the rare French translation of the same book. This is somewhat larger in size than the original Italian, and consists of sixty-four leaves. It contains, as will be seen by the title-page, some additional matter:

"Dv benefice de Iesvs Christ crvcifie, envers les Chrestiens. Traduict
de vulgaire Italien, en langage Francoys. Plus, Vne Traduction de la
huytiesme Homelie de sainct Iean Chrysostome, De la femme Cananee: mise
de Latin en Francoys. Venez a moy vous tous qui trauaillez et estes
chargez, et ie vous soulageray, 1552."

There is an address by the French translator: "Le traducteur a tous les Chrestiens qui sont dessoubz le ciel, Salut;" and at the end of the volume is a "Traduction du Psalme xxxiv." The French version is said to have been first published in 1545. This therefore is not, it would seem, the earliest edition.

This volume also, it may be added, was given to the College by Ferrari.

J. AYRE.

Hampstead.

* * * * *

Minor Notes.

_Stone Chisels._--I saw recently an oviform stone implement which had been found on the granite moors of North Cornwall, and apparently had been used as a pickaxe in mining. The following notice shows that such implements were used by the ancient miners in the Lake Superior district:

"The explorers are now much aided by these guiding features, also by
pits, which indicate where an ancient race--probably the Aztecs or
Toltecs--have carried on their superficial operations on the veins.
Some of those I saw were twenty or thirty feet deep, which {322} must
have been the result of much labour, considering their tools--_the only
trace of which we find in the shape of oviformed stones, with a groove
round the centre for the purpose of securing a handle_, then to be used
as a hammer to shatter the vein-stone after it probably had been
reduced by the action of fire and water on the calcareous matter
entering into its composition. In favour of this conjecture, quantities
of charcoal have been found in the bottom of some of these pits, which
are almost effaced by the accumulation of timber decayed and foliage of
ages past."--From a letter in the _Mining Journal_, Jan. 7, 1854.

S. R. PATTISON.

_Acrostic._--I send you a very curious acrostic, copied from a monument in the Church of St. Germans, Cornwall. You will perceive that it is in memory of "Johannes Glanvill, Minister;" and it is surmounted with the arms of that ancient family:

A. D. +-------------------------+ A. D.
1599. | | 1631.
24^{to} | ARMS. | 20^{mo}
Novemb^r | | Octob^r
natus est. +-------------------------+ denatus.

I nditur in gelidum G regis hujus opilio bustu M,
O mnibus irriguus L achrymis simul urbis et agr I.
H ujus erit vivax A tque indelebile nome N,
A rtibus et linguis N ecnon virtute probat I.
N obis ille novae V atem (pro munere) legi S
N aviter et graviter I ucunde et suaviter egi T.
E rgo relanguenti L icet eluctetur ab or E
S piritus; aeternum L ucebit totus ut aste R.

W. D. F.

Walton.

_Simmels._--The Vienna correspondent of _The Times_, whose letter from "Vienna, March 5th," appeared in that paper on Friday the 10th, mentions a Viennese loaf, the name of which so strongly resembles the _simmel_ of our ancestors as to deserve a Note:

"The Viennese witlings, who are much inclined to abuse the hyperbole,
affirm that a magnifying glass will soon be requisite in order to
discover the whereabouts of the _semmeln_, the little wheaten loaves
for which Austria is famous."

W. J. T.

_Ogborne's History of Essex._--I lately fell in with (at a marine store-shop in Somers Town) some scattered materials in Mrs. Ogborne's handwriting for the above highly interesting but unfinished work. I have not yet sorted them, but I perceive that the MSS. contain some information that was never published, relating to Rochford Hundred, &c. The shopkeeper stated that she had used the greater part of Mrs. Ogborne's papers as waste-paper, but I am not without hopes that she will find more. There is a letter from Mr. Leman of Bath, which is published in the work. I am aware that Mr. Fossett has Mrs. Ogborne's MSS.; but those now in my possession are certainly interesting, and might be, to some future historian of Essex, even valuable. Should I discover anything worth inserting in "N. & Q." on examining the MSS. I will send it.

G. I. S.

_Fleas and Bugs._--Has the following explanation of an old saying ever been brought forward, and is it satisfactory? When a person is sent off "with a flea in his ear," the luckless applicant is peremptorily dismissed with an imperative "flee," with the word "flee" sounding in his ear, or, facetiously, "with a _flea_ in his ear."

_Apropos_ of proverbial domestic entomology, is there more than lies on the surface in the elegant simile "As snug as a bug in a rug?" A rough variety of dog was termed a "rug" in Shakspeare's time; quartered on which, the insect might find good entertainment--a plentiful board, as well as a snug lodging. It appears, however, that the name has not long been applied to the _Cimex_, so that the saying may be of greater antiquity, and relate to bugbears.

C. T.

_Zeuxis and Parrhasius._--In the Preface to Mr. Grote's _History of Greece_, there occurs the following passage:

"If the reader blame me for not assisting him to determine this--if he
ask me why I do not undraw the curtain, and disclose the picture?--I
reply in the words of the painter Zeuxis, when the same question was
addressed to him on exhibiting his master-piece of imitative art: 'The
curtain _is_ the picture.'"

Compare this with Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ XXXV. 36. s. 3.; from which it appears that Parrhasius, not _Zeuxis_, painted the curtain.

ARCH. WEIR.

_Cure for Hydrophobia._--A gentleman named Monsell, who lived at Kilrush in the county Clare, possessed a cure for hydrophobia which was never known to fail. He required that the patient should be brought to him within nine days from the time of being bitten, and his first proceeding was to cause the person to look in a looking-glass or pail of water: if the patient bore that trial without showing any uneasiness, he declared that there was no doubt of his being able to effect a cure. He then retired to another room, leaving the patient alone for a short time; and when he returned, he brought two bits of cheese which he said contained the remedy, and caused the person to swallow them. He then desired that the patient should return home, and for nine days frequently drink a few sips of water; and also take opportunities to look at water or a looking-glass, so as to accustom the nerves to be under control. I knew a case of a peasant girl, who was bitten by a mad dog, and who had to be brought to him tied on a car, whom he cured. The dog, before he was killed, bit several valuable dogs, all of {323} which had to be destroyed; he also bit two pigs, which, after showing most frightful symptoms of hydrophobia, had to be shot and their flesh burned. Mr. Monsell always refused to declare what his remedy was, "lest it might be used for anything but a human being." It would appear that in a great measure he worked on the imagination of his patients: still some other means may have been used, and, as he has been dead some time, it is to be hoped he did not let his secret die with him. He never would take any remuneration from those he cured, or their friends. I never heard any person in that part of the country express the least doubt of the efficacy of the remedy he used.

FRANCIS ROBERT DAVIES.

_The "Fusion."_--Is it generally known that there exists, between the two branches of the Bourbons, a much nearer relationship than that which arises from their common descent from Louis XIII.? The Duchess de Berri was niece to Louis-Philippe's queen: so that the Duc de Bordeaux and the Comte de Paris are second cousins.

E. H. A.

* * * * *

Queries.

LYRA'S COMMENTARY.

I possess a copy of the _Textus biblie c[=u] Glossa ordinaria Nicolai de lyra postilla Pauli Brug[=e]sis Additi[=o]ibus Matthie Thoring Replicis_, in 6 volumes folio, printed at Basle in the years 1506-8. The binding is of oak boards and calf leather, stamped with a very spirited design composed of foliated borders, surrounding, on the right cover, six impressions from a die three inches high by one and three quarters wide, consisting of a narrow border enclosing a human figure, who bears in his left hand a knotted staff as high as himself, while in the right he holds a bag or scrip containing many balls (perhaps stones or fruit), which hangs over his shoulder. Under the right arm he carries a sword, and on the wrist a wicker basket. The lower limbs of this strange being are clad in loose garments, like to a modern pair of trousers, with a large ragged hole on each knee. The feet are not seen, as he is behind a fence composed of interlaced branches of trees. To complete the picture, the head, which is much too large for the body, has no other covering but crisped hair.

On the left cover are four impressions of a die three inches high by two wide, on which are six animals whose kinds it is difficult to determine with certainty; the two upper possibly may be horses, the middle a bird and a monkey, the lower a lion and a dog. The animals are separated from each other by a running pattern composed of branches, leaves, and flowers, and are surrounded by a frame, on which is the following in black-letter:

"DEUS DET NOBIS SUAM PACEM
ET POST MORTEM UITAM ETERNAM."

The clasps have engraven on them, in the same character,--

"LIB D[=N]S ET M[=GE]R JOANNIS VAM MERE."

On the title-page, slightly varied in each volume, is the following inscription, in a hand not much later than the publication of the book:

"Liber M. Joachimi Moller ex testamento M. Johan[=i]s vam mer optim et
maximus deus illius anime misereatur. Amen."

I shall be much obliged to any one who will explain to me the figures on the cover, which, doubtless, have some legendary or symbolic meaning; and also give me any notes or references concerning either of the former possessors of the book, both of whom have, I believe, enriched it with manuscript notes.

EDWARD PEACOCK.

Bottesford Moors, Messingham,

Kirton-in-Lindsey.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_Barristers' Gowns._--What is the meaning of the lapel, or piece which hangs from the back of the barristers' gown? Has it any particular name? In shape it is very similar to the representations we see in pictures of the "cloven tongues." It is not improbable that it may be intended figuratively to bear reference to them.

HENRY T. RILEY.

"_Charta Hen. 2. G. G. n. 2. q._"--In Cowell's _Law Dictionary_ (ed. 1727), under the word LUSGUL, I find the following reference: "Charta Hen. 2. G. G. n. 2. q." I should be much obliged to any person who would suggest for what "G. G. n. 2. q." stands.

K.

_Albany Wallace._--Can any of your correspondents, familiar with the drama, tell me who this gentleman was? In 1827, there appeared _The Death of Mary Queen of Scots_, an historic drama in five acts, by A. W., Esq.: Worthing, printed for the author by W. Verrall. His name occurs again on the title-page of _The Reigns of the Stuarts in England dramatised. The First Part of King James the First_, a play in five acts: London, printed by the author, at his private press, Queen Ann Street, 1835.

I naturally turned up Mr. Martin's _Privately Printed Books_, but neither our dramatist nor his press is there alluded to. Touching the latter, Mr. Wallace says in his preface,--

"A certain picture was said by a connoisseur to be 'very well painted
for a _gentleman!_' a species of {324} negative praise which gave but
little satisfaction to the artist. Should the amateur printer, however,
meet with as much, he will be very well contented. All he can himself
say for his work is 'that it is legible;' and his type being of a
pretty tolerable rotundity, he does not think it will need an
additional pair of spectacles to be made out."

I am farther desirous of knowing if, in pursuance of his plan, Mr. Wallace _dramatised_ any more of the Stuarts?

J. D.

_Leslie and Dr. Middleton._--In Dr. McNeile's _Lecture on the Jews and Judaism_, Feb. 14, 1854, the four rules given by Leslie as a test of historical truth are thus quoted:

"1. That the matter of fact be such that men's outward senses, their
ears and eyes, may be judges of it.

"2. That it be done publicly, in the face of the world.

"3. That not only public monuments be kept in memory of it, but also
that some outward actions be statedly performed.

"4. That such observances be instituted, and do commence, from the time
at which such matter of fact is done.

"_It is said_ that Dr. Middleton endeavoured for twenty years to find
out some pretended fact to which Mr. Leslie's four rules could be
applied, but in vain."

"It is said." Where; when; by whom?

H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

_Star and Garter, Kirkstall._--What is _now_ a large hotel, at Kirkstall Bridge, near to Kirkstall Abbey in Yorkshire, was many years ago a mere village roadside hostel, under whose sign (the Star and Garter) was inscribed in Greek capitals "[Greek: TO PREPON]." How could such an inscription have got into such a place? Could it have been the suggestion of some "learned clerke" of the neighbouring monastery, as more suited to the genius of the vicinity than the ordinary announcement of "Good Entertainment for Man and Horse?"

J. L. S., Sen.

_Shrove Tuesday._--Happening to be at Newbury on Shrove Tuesday, I was struck with the tolling of the church bell as for a death, and, on inquiry, was informed that such was the custom of the place on this day. Does such a custom exist anywhere else, and what is the origin of it?

NEWBURIENSIS.

"_Tarbox for that._"--On reading a book of funny stories some years ago in the British Museum (a sort of _Joe Miller_ of Charles II.'s time), whenever any story was given that seemed "too good to be true," the anecdote ended with the words "Tarbox for that." Am I right in suspecting that this is equivalent to the expression, "Tell that to the marines," so well known in our day? "Tarbox" was probably a nickname for a bumpkin, or guardian of the tarbox, in which was kept the tar composition used for anointing sheep. Can anybody suggest another solution of the meaning of this expression?

HENRY T. RILEY.

_De Gurney Pedigree._--Can any of your readers inform me whether the following pedigree is correct, so far as it goes?

1170. Robert Fitzhardinge = Eva.
|
-------------------------
| |
Maurice Robert = Hawisia de Gurney.
|
--------------------------------------
| | |
1230. Maurice = Alice de Henry.[1] Matthew =
Gaunt. |
|
-----------------------
|
1269. Robert de Gurney.[2]

Who was the father of Simon de Gaunt, Bishop of Salisbury in 1300?

E. W. GODWIN.

[Footnote 1: First Master of the Hospital of St. Mark in Bristol.]

[Footnote 2: Heir to Maurice, his uncle.]

"[Greek: Pistis]," _unde deriv._--Scapula and Hederic both give [Greek: peitho] as the root; but by what process is [Greek: pistis] so obtained? What objection is there to taking [Greek: histemi] as the root? whence [Greek: ephistamai, epistas, pistos]. No doubt one of your learned readers will kindly aid the inquiry.

[Psi].

_Snush._--When did this name cease to be used for _snuff?_ I think I have met with it as late as the reign of Queen Anne. I believe the Scotch call snuff _snish_, or _snishen_.

HENRY. T. RILEY.

_John Bale, Bishop of Ossory._--A _complete_ list of the works of this voluminous writer, giving the titles in full, will be thankfully acknowledged; also any facts as to his life, not generally known. There is a very imperfect list of Bale's _Works_ given in Harris's _Ware's Bishops_, and most of the Biographical Dictionaries.

JAMES GRAVES.

Kilkenny.

_Proxies for absent Sponsors._--Can any of your readers mention earlier instances than the following of the attendance of proxies on behalf of absent sponsors?

"My daughter, Elizabeth Burrell, was born on Thursday, 25th June, 1696
... She was baptized on Monday, 15th February. My brother, P. Burrell
(by Wm. Board, Esq.), Godfather, my Lady Gee (by my sister Parker), and
my niece Jane Burrell, Godmothers."--"Extracts from the Journal and
Account-Book of Timothy Burrell, Esq., Barrister-at-Law of Ockenden
House, Cuckfield" (_Sussex Archaeological Collections_, vol. iii.
p. 131.).

E. M.

Hastings.

{325}

_Heraldic Query._--Names of the families bearing the following coats of arms are requested:

1. Ermine, on a chief sable, two griffins segreant combatant argent. _Crest_, a demylyon affrontee or.

2. Azure, a bend or, between three spear-heads argent. _Crest_, an armed arm, embowed, grasping a broken spear.

3. Barry of six or and sable (with quarterings). _Crest_, on coil of rope a dog sable collared argent.

E. D.

_Christmas Ballad._--Perhaps some of your correspondents may be able to throw some light upon the following verses, which are sung by the waits at Christmas in the neighbourhood of Falmouth:

"Twelve is twelve as goes to hell,
Eleven is eleven as goes to heaven,
Ten is the Ten Commandments,
Nine is nine so bright to shine,
Eight is the gable angels,
Seven is the seven stars of the sky,
And six is the six bold waiters,
Five is the flamboys under the bough,
And four is the Gospel preachers;
Three of them is thrivers (shrivers?),
Two of them is lilywhite babes, and clothed all in green oh!
And One is One, and all alone, and ever more shall be so."

That the first line alludes to the fate of the twelfth apostle is evident. The meaning of the second, third, sixth, ninth, and last lines, is also apparent. The others I am quite at a loss to explain.

C. M. G.

_Hay-bread Recipe._--The Query of your correspondent G. D. (Vol. ix., p. 148.) has reminded me of a question which I wish to ask. By what chemical process may hay be converted into bread?

E. W. J.

_Te Deum._--We read frequently of this hymn being sung in the Russian Church after victories. Can any of your correspondents inform me in what language it is used in the Eastern Churches? It is, I believe, generally admitted that it was originally composed in Latin for the use of the Western Church; but if the Emperor Nicholas, in his famous manifesto (vide Vol. viii., pp. 585. 655.), quotes from this hymn and not from the Psalms, the one being quite as likely as the other, it would almost appear that the Latin version is the one with which he is the most familiar.

HONORE DE MAREVILLE.

Guernsey.

_Mary Queen of Scots at Auchincas._--Auchincas is an interesting ruin on the bank of the Evan in Dumfriesshire, the residence of Randolph, Earl of Murray, Regent of Scotland in 1329. I have heard tradition to the effect that when Mary Queen of Scots was fleeing towards England, she paused to rest here. Can any of your readers confirm or contradict this tradition?

And can any of them furnish farther particulars regarding the history of the same castle, in addition to those given in the ordinary gazetteers, and in Black's _Guide to Moffat?_

ANNANDALE.

_Right of Refuge in the Church Porch._--In one of J. H. Parker's _Parochial Tales_, a custom is spoken of as existing at the present time in Norfolk, by which every parishioner has a right to make the church porch his temporary home until he can find a lodging elsewhere. Is this a fact? In the parish register of Flamstead, Herts, is an entry under the year 1578, of the burial of a child and its father, "w^h bothe died in y^e church porche."

CHEVERELLS.

_Christopher Lemying of Burneston._--The undersigned would be obliged to any of the readers of "N. & Q." who would furnish him with the names of the children and grandchildren of Christopher Lemying of Burneston, nigh Lemying, in Richmondshire, com. York, who lived about A.D. 1600 and 1640? And also with any information concerning the births and deaths of the same? The Heralds' Visitations for the seventeenth century would probably afford the information, but the writer has no access to them at present.

C. P. L.

_Ralph Ashton the Commander._--Your answer to my inquiry relative to "Isabella, the wife of Ralph the Commander" (_Ashton_, Vol. ix., p. 272.), induced me to refer to the work you quoted, Baines's _Lancashire_; but in the list of her sons I did not find named one who is mentioned in the ancient document I have spoken of, namely, "_James_, the son of Isabel, the wife of Ralph the Commander." Did she survive her husband and marry a second time; and, if so, what was his name? I ask this because, probably, that would be the name of the son here alluded to. A reply to this Query would oblige[3]

JAYTEE.

[Footnote 3: We cannot discover that Elizabeth Kaye, the wife of Ralph the Commander, married the second time. See Burke's _Extinct Baronetcies_, pp. 21. 285., ed. 1838.--ED.]

* * * * *

Minor Queries with Answers.

_Roman Roads in England._--Whose is the best treatise on the Roman roads in England?

PRESTONIENSIS.

[Although the credit and fidelity of Richard of Cirencester have
frequently been attacked, still, as {326} Gibbon remarks, "he shows a
genuine knowledge of antiquity very extraordinary for a monk of the
fourteenth century." In 1809, an edition was published in London,
entitled _The Description of Britain_, translated from Ricardus of
Cirencester, with the original treatise _De Situ Britanniae_, with a
map and a fac-simile of the MS., as well as a Commentary on the
Itinerary. It has been reprinted in the _Six Old English Chronicles_ in
Bohn's _Antiquarian Library_, but without the map. The Itinerary
contains eighteen journeys, which Richard says he compiled from certain
fragments written by a Roman general, and from Ptolemy and other
authors. He mentions 176 stations, while Antoninus has only 113.]

_Inscription on the Brass of Sir G. Felbrigge._--Can any of your numerous correspondents afford me an explanation of the following fragment of an inscription from the brass of Sir George Felbrigge, Playford, Suffolk? Each word is separated by the letter [Old English M], and a demi-rose conjoined. The part enclosed in brackets is now lost, but was remaining in Gough's time:

"Funda de per a dieu loange et dieu pur lalme de lui al [dieu quil est
pete ei(t) ceste]."

This is the order in which the words now stand; but as they are quite unintelligible, and the fillet shows evident signs of having been broken in several places, we may reasonably suppose that they were misplaced when the brass was moved from its original slab. The principal word, about which I am in difficulty, is _pete_. Can it be the same as "pitie?" If so, I venture to suggest the following explanation, till some one may offer me a better:

"... _fils_ de pere _qui_ funda ceste _place_, a dieu est loange et
qu'il eit pitie, _priez_ pur l'alme de lui a dieu."

The words printed in Italics are supplied to complete the sense.

F. G.

[Perhaps the following words in Italics may be supplied for those
obliterated: "Ceste _Chaunterie estait_ fonde de part _de George
Felbrigge, Ch^r._ A Dieu _soit_ loange _et gloire_ ... priez pur l'asme
de lui a Dieu quil eit pite ..."

The following notice of the destruction of this beautiful brass is
given in Davy's Suffolk Collections, Add. MSS. 19,086. p. 342.: "The
brass in memory of Sir George Felbrigge, which had for a long time been
covered by the pews, was three or four years ago, in consequence of
some repairs, uncovered, when the incumbent and his curate had it torn
from the stone, and it was for some time lying in pieces at the mercy
of any pilferer. Mr. Albert Way, the Director of the Society of
Antiquaries in Feb. 1844, wrote to me, to ask what was become of the
figure; and, in consequence, as I had not an opportunity of visiting
the church myself, I wrote to Mr. Arthur Biddell for information; and
the following is a copy of his answer, dated Feb. 23, 1844:
'Felbrigge's monument was removed, much against my wishes, from its
former place in the N. E. corner of the church to the chancel under the
communion table, where it is fixed; forming part of the pavement. The
broken pieces of brass are again fixed in the stone; but so many of the
pieces were long ago lost, and I think those which were lately
separated from the stone are not placed in their original position: so,
except the figure, there is little remains to convey an idea of the
ornamental and beautiful work by which the figure was surrounded.'"]

_Skipwith._--

"'Here lyeth the body of William Skipwith, Baronet, who deceased the
25th of February, 1764, aged fifty-six years. He descended from Sir
Henry Skipwith of Prestwould, in Leicestershire, created baronet by
King James I., was honoured with King Charles I.'s commission for
raising men against the usurping powers, and proved loyal to his king,
so that he was deprived of his estate by the usurper, which occasioned
his and his sons' death, except Sir Gray Skipwith, grandfather of the
abovesaid Sir William Skipwith, who was obliged to come to Virginia for
refuge, where the family hath continued ever since.'

"Inscription copied from tombstone of Sir William, who lies buried at
Greencroft, near Petersburg, Virginia."--See _South. Messenger_, vol.
ix. p. 591.

I should be obliged for information as to Sir Henry.

T. BALCH.

Philadelphia.

[Sir Henry Skipwith was created a baronet Dec. 20, 1622, and in 1629
obtained, jointly with Sir Thomas Walsingham, Knt., a grant of lands in
the counties of Leicester, Derby, &c.; in 1631 a grant of free-warren
for his lands in Leicestershire; in 1636 was high sheriff for the
county; and in 1637 certain amerciaments against him on account of that
office, which had been returned into the Court of Chancery, were
certified to the Court of Exchequer. Heartily espousing the cause of
Charles I., he was one of the Commissioners of Array for this county,
and on May 28, 1645, had the honour of entertaining his sovereign at
Cotes, after which he was fined 1114l. by the parliamentary
sequestrators. He was the last of the family who resided at Cotes; and
amongst his poems is "An Elegy on the Death of my never enough lamented
master, King Charles I." The others are chiefly of a melancholy turn.
Sir Henry, his second son, died soon after his father, unmarried;
whereupon his title and estate went to his next brother Sir Gray, who,
after the death of the king, went with several other gentlemen, to
avoid the usurpation, over to Virginia, and there married, and left one
son.--Nichols's _Leicestershire_, vol. iii. p. 367., which also
contains a pedigree of the family. Consult also Lloyd's _Worthies_,
p. 649.]

_College Battel._--What is the derivation of a word peculiar to the universities, _battels_: is it connected with _batten?_

S. A.

[In Todd's _Johnson_ we read, "BATTEL, from Sax. [taelan] or [tellan],
to count, or reckon, having the prefix _be_. The account of the
expenses of a student in {327} any college in Oxford." In the _Gent.
Mag._ for Aug. 1792, p. 716., a correspondent offers the following
probable etymology: "It is probably derived from the German _bezahlen_;
in Low German and Dutch _bettahlen_; in Welsh _talz_; which signifies
to pay; whence may be derived likewise the English verb _to tale_, and
the noun a _tale_, or _score_, if not the corrupted expressions _to
tell_ or _number_, and _to tally_ or _agree_."]

_Origin of Clubs._--Can any of your correspondents inform me from whence the cognomen of "club" came to be applied to select companies, and which was the first society that bore that title?

F. R. B.

[Club is defined by Johnson to be "an assembly of good fellows, meeting
under certain conditions." The present system of clubs may be traced in
its progressive steps from those small associations, meeting (as clubs
of a lower grade still do) at a house of public entertainment; then we
come to a time when the club took exclusive possession of the house,
and strangers could be only introduced, under regulations, by the
members; in the third stage, the clubs build houses, or rather palaces,
for themselves. The club at the Mermaid Tavern in Friday Street was,
according to all accounts, the first select company established, and
owed its origin to Sir Walter Raleigh, who had here instituted a
meeting of men of wit and genius, previously to his engagement with the
unfortunate Cobham. This society comprised all that the age held most
distinguished for learning and talent, numbering amongst its members
Shakspeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Selden, Sir Walter
Raleigh, Donne, Cotton, Carew, Martin, and many others. There it was
that the "wit-combats" took place between Shakspeare and Ben Johson, to
which, probably, Beaumont alludes with so much affection in his letter
to the old poet, written from the country:

"What things have we seen
Done at the Mermaid! heard words that have been
So nimble and so full of subtle flame,
As if that every one from whom they came
Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest."

Ben Jonson had another club, of which he appears to have been the
founder, held in a room of the old Devil Tavern, distinguished by the
name of the "Apollo." It stood between the Temple Gates and Temple Bar.
It was for this Club that Jonson wrote the "Leges Convivales," printed
among his works.]

_Royal Arms in Churches._--When were the Royal Arms first put up in churches?

Are churchwardens compelled to place them over the chancel arch, or in any part of the building over which their jurisdiction extends?

In a church without an heraldic coat of Royal Arms, can a churchwarden, or the incumbent _refuse_ legally to put up such a decoration, it being the gift of a parishioner?

AZURE.

[For replies to AZURE'S first Query, see our Sixth Volume _passim_. The
articles at pp. 227. and 248. of the same volume incidentally notice
his other queries.]

_Odd Fellows._--What is the origin of Odd Fellowship? What gave rise to the title of Odd Fellows? Are there any books published on the subject, and where are they to be had? Is there any published record of the origin and progress of the Manchester Unity?

C. F. A. W.

[Our correspondent should consult _The Odd Fellows Magazine_, New
Series, published Quarterly by order of the Grand Master and Board of
Directors of the Manchester Unity of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. We have only seen vols. i. to vii., which appeared between
1828 and 1842. Perhaps some of our readers may wish to know what is an
Odd Fellow. Take the following description of one as given in vol. iv.
p. 287.: "He is like a fox for cunning; a dove for tameness; a lamb for
innocence; a lion for boldness; a bee for industry; and a sheep for
usefulness. This is an Odd Fellow according to Odd Fellowship."]

_Governor-General of India._--Will some of your learned readers be good enough to inform me upon what authority the present Governor-General of India is styled, in all official notices, "The Most Noble?" I have always understood the style of a Marquis to be "Most Honorable."

NOVICE.