Chapter I: Part 1

NOTES AND QUERIES:

A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.

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"When found, make a note of."--CAPTAIN CUTTLE.

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No. 38.] SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1850 [Price Threepence. Stamped Edition 4d.

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CONTENTS

NOTES:--
Meaning of Delighted as used by Shakspeare, by S. Hickson
Authors of "The Rolliad," by Lord Braybrooke
Notes on Milton
Derivation of Easter, by J. Sansom
Folk Lore--Passages of Death, by Dr. Guest--Divination
at Marriages
Francis Lenton the Poet, by Dr. Rimbault
Minor Notes:--Lilburn or Prynne--Peep of Day--Martinet--
Guy's Porridge Pot
QUERIES:--
Nicholas Ferrar of Little Gidding, by John Miland
Stukeley's "Stonehenge," by Henry Cunliffe
Athelstane's Form of Donation--Meaning of "Somagia,"
by J. Sansom
Minor Queries:--Charade--"Smoke Money"--"Rapido
contrarius orbi"--Lord Richard Christophilus--
Fiz gigs--Specimens of Erica in Bloom--Michael
Scott the Wizard--Stone Chalices
REPLIES:--
Ulrich von Hutten and the "Epistolæ Obscurorum
Virorum," by S.W. Singer
Caxton's Printing-office, by J.G. Nichols
The New Temple
Strangers in the House of Commons
Replies to Minor Queries:--Morganatic Marriage--
Umbrellas--Bands--Scarf--Jewish Music--North
Sides of Churchyards unconsecrated--"Men are but
Children" &c.--Ventriloquism--Cromwell's Estates
--Magor--Vincent Gookin--All-to brake
MISCELLANEOUS:--
Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, Sales, &c.
Books and Odd Volumes Wanted
Notices to Correspondents
Advertisements

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NOTES.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF "DELIGHTED," AS SOMETIMES USED BY SHAKSPEARE.

I wish to call attention to the peculiar use of a word, or rather to a peculiar word, in Shakspeare, which I do not recollect to have met with in any other writer. I say a "peculiar word," because, although the verb _To delight_ is well known, and of general use, the word, the same in form, to which I refer, is not only of different meaning, but, as I conceive, of distinct derivation the non-recognition of which has led to a misconception of the meaning of one of the finest passages in Shakspeare. The first passage in which it occurs, that I shall quote, is the well known one from _Measure for Measure_:

"Ay, but to die, and go we know not where;
To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot,
This sensible warm motion to become
A kneaded clod; and the _delighted_ spirit
To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside
In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice;
To be imprison'd in the viewless winds
And blown with restless violence round about
The pendant world." Act iii. Sc. 1.

Now, if we examine the construction of this passage, we shall find that it appears to have been the object of the writer to separate, and place in juxtaposition with each other, the conditions of the body and the spirit, each being imagined under circumstances to excite repulsion or terror in a sentient being. The mind sees the former lying in "cold obstruction," rotting, changed from a "sensible warm motion" to a "kneaded clod," every circumstance leaving the impression of dull, dead weight, deprived of force and motion. The spirit, on the other hand, is imagined under circumstances that give the most vivid picture conceivable of utter powerlessness:

"Imprison'd in the viewless winds,
And blown with restless violence round about
The pendant world."

To call the spirit here "delighted," in our sense of the term, would be absurd; and no explanation of the passage in this sense, however ingenious, is intelligible. That it is intended to represent the spirit simply as _lightened_, made light, relieved from the weight of matter, I am convinced, and this is my view of the meaning of the word in the present instance.

_Delight_ is naturally formed by the participle _de_ and _light_, to make light, in the same way as "debase," to make base, "defile," to make foul. The analogy is not quite so perfect in such words as "define," "defile" (file), "deliver," "depart," &c.; yet they all may be considered of the same class. The last of these is used with us only in the sense of _to go away_; in Shakspeare's time (and Shakspeare so uses it) it meant also _to part_, or _part with_. A correspondent of Mr. Knight's suggests {114} for the word _delight_ in this passage, also, a new derivation; using _de_ as a negation, and _light (lux), delighted_, removed from the regions of light. This is impossible; if we look at the context we shall see that it not only contemplated no such thing, but that it is distinctly opposed to it.

I am less inclined to entertain any doubt of the view I have taken being correct, from the confirmation it receives in another passage of Shakspeare, which runs as follows:

"If virtue no _delighted_ beauty lack,
Your son-in-law shows far more fair than black."

_Othello_, Act i. Sc. 3.

Passing by the cool impertinence of one editor, who asserts that Shakspeare frequently used the past for the present participle, and the almost equally cool correction of another, who places the explanatory note "*delightful" at the bottom of the page, I will merely remark that the two latest editors of Shakspeare, having apparently nothing to say on the subject, have very wisely said nothing. Yet, as we understand the term "delighted," the passage surely needs explanation. We cannot suppose that Shakspeare used epithets so weakening as "delighting" or "delightful." The meaning of the passage would appear to be this: If virtue be not wanting in beauty--such beauty as can belong to virtue, not physical, but of a higher kind, and freed from all material elements--then your son-in-law, black though he is, shows far more fair than black, possessing, in fact, this _abstract_ kind of beauty to that degree that his colour is forgotten. In short, "delighted" here seems to mean, _lightened_ of all that is gross or unessential.

There is yet another instance in Cymbeline, which seems to bear a similar construction:

"Whom best I love, I cross: to make my gifts
The more delay'd, _delighted_."

Act v. Sc. 4.

That is, "the _more_ delighted;" the longer held back, the better worth having; lightened of whatever might detract from their value, that is, refined or purified. In making the remark here, that "delighted" refers not to the recipient nor to the giver, but to the gifts, I pass by the nonsense that the greatest master of the English language did not heed the distinction between the past and the present participles, as not worth a second thought.

The word appears to have had a distinct value of its own, and is not to be explained by any other single word. If this be so, it could hardly have been coined by Shakspeare. Though, possibly, it may never have been much used, perhaps some of your correspondents may be able to furnish other instances from other writers.

SAMUEL HICKSON.

St. John's Wood.

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AUTHORS OF "THE ROLLIAD."

The subjoined list of the authors of _The Rolliad_, though less complete than I could have wished, is, I believe, substantially correct, and may, therefore, be acceptable to your readers. The names were transcribed by me from a copy of the ninth edition of _The Rolliad_ (1791), still in the library at Sunninghill Park, in which they had been recorded on the first page of the respective papers.

There seems to be no doubt that they were originally communicated by Mr. George Ellis, who has always been considered as one of the most talented contributors to _The Rolliad_. He also resided for many years at Sunninghill, and was in habits of intimacy with the owners of the Park. Your correspondent C. (Vol. ii., p. 43.) may remark that Lord John Townshend's name occurs only twice in my list; but his Lordship may have written some of the papers which are not in the Sunninghill volume, as they appeared only in the editions of the work printed subsequently to 1791, and are designated as _Political Miscellanies_.

_Names of the Authors of the Rolliad_.

Dedication to Kenyon Dr. Laurence. Family of the Rollos Tickell, &c. Extract from Dedication General Fitzpatrick. Criticisms from the No. _Rolliad_ George Ellis 1 & 2. ---- Dr. Laurence 3. ---- Richardson 4. ---- General Fitzpatrick 5. ---- Dr. Laurence 6, 7, 8. ---- General Fitzpatrick 9. ---- Richardson 10 & 11. ---- General Fitzpatrick 12. Criticisms not in the original, but probably written by Dr. Laurence 13 & 14. Criticisms, &c. Part. ii. George Ellis 1 & 2. ---- Richardson 3 & 4. ---- General Fitzpatrick 5. Criticisms, not in the original Mr. Reid 6. ---- Dr. Laurence 7.

_Political Eclogues_.

Rose Dr. Laurence. The Liars General Fitzpatrick. Margaret Nicholson Mr. Adair. Charles Jenkinson George Ellis. Jekyl Lord John Townshend.

_Probationary Odes_.

All the Preliminaries Mr. Tickell. Irregular Ode Mr. Tickell No. 1. Ode to the New Year George Ellis 2. Ode Rev. H. Bate Dudley 3. ---- Richardson 4. Duan John Ellis 5. {115} Ossianade Unknown 6. Irregular Ode Unknown 7. Ode to the Attorney- General Mr. Brummell 8. Laureate Ode Mr. Tickell 9. New Year's Ode Mr. Pearce 10. Ode by M.A. Taylor Mr. Boscawen 11. ---- by Major Scott Lord John Towns- hend 12. ---- Irregular(Dundas) Never known to the Club 13. ---- by Warton Bishop of Ossory (Hon. William Beresford) 14. ---- Pindaric General Fitzpatrick 15. ---- Irregular Dr. Laurence 16. ---- Prettyman General Burgoyne 17. ---- Graham Mr. Reid 18. Letter, &c. and Mount- morres Richardson 19. Birthday Ode George Ellis 20. Pindaric Ode Unmarked 21. Real Birthday Ode T. Warton 22. Remaining prose Richardson.

I am not certain whether Mr. Adair, to whom "Margaret Nicholson," one of the happiest of the Political Eclogues, is attributed, is the present Sir Robert Adair. If so, as the only survivor amongst his literary colleagues, he might furnish some interesting particulars respecting the remarkable work to which I have called your attention.

BRAYBROOKE.

Audley End, July, 1850.

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NOTES ON MILTON.

(Continued from Vol. ii., p. 53.)

_Il Penseroso._

On l. 8 (G.):--

"Fantastic swarms of dreams there hover'd,
Green, red, and yellow, tawney, black, and blue;
They make no noise, but right resemble may
Th' unnumber'd moats that in the sun-beams play."

_Sylvester's Du Bartas._

Cælia, in Beaumont and Fletcher's _Humorous Lieutenant_, says,--

"My maidenhead to a mote in the sun, he's jealous."

Act iv. Sc. 8.

On l. 35. (G.) Mr. Warton might have found a happier illustration of his argument in Ben Jonson's _Every Man in his Humour_, Act i. Sc. 3.:--

"Too conceal such real ornaments as these, and shadow
their glory, as a milliner's wife does her wrought
stomacher, with a smoaky lawn, or a _black cyprus_."

--Whalley's edit. vol. i. p. 33.

On l. 39. (G.) The origin of this uncommon use of the word "commerce" is from Donne:--

"If this commerce 'twixt heaven and earth were not
embarred."

--_Poems_, p. 249. Ed. 4to. 1633.

On l. 43. (G.):--

"That sallow-faced, sad, stooping nymph, whose eye
Still on the ground is fixed steadfastly."

_Sylvester's Du Bartas_

On l. 52. (G.):--

"Mounted aloft on Contemplation's wings."

_G. Wither_, P. 1. vol. i. Ed. 1633.

Drummond has given "golden wings" to Fame.

On l. 88. (G.):--

Hermes Trismegistus.

On l. 100. (G.):--

"Tyrants' bloody gests
Of Thebes, Mycenæ, or proud Ilion."

_Sylvester's Du Bartas._

* * * * *

_Arcades._

On l. 23. (G.):--

"And without respect of odds,
Vye renown with Demy-gods."

_Wither's Mistresse of Philarete_, Sig. E. 5. Ed. 1633.

On l. 27. (G.):--

"But yet, whate'er he do or can devise,
Disguised glory shineth in his eyes."

_Sylvester's Du Bartas._

On l. 46. (G.):--

"An eastern wind commix'd with _noisome airs_,
Shall _blast the plants_ and the _young sapplings_."

_Span. Trag. Old Plays_, vol. iii. p. 222.

On l. 65. (G.) Compare Drunmond--speech of Endymion before Charles:--

"To tell by me, their herald, coming things,
And what each Fate to her stern distaff sings," &c.

On l. 84. (M.):--

"And with his beams enamel'd every greene."

_Fairfax's Tasso_, b. i. st. 35.

On l. 97. (G.):--

"Those brooks with lilies bravely deck't."

_Drayton_, 1447.

On l. 106. (G.):--

"Pan entertains, this coming night,
His paramour, the Syrinx bright."

_Fletcher's Faithful Shepherdess_, Act i.

J.F.M.

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DERIVATION OF EASTER.

Southey, in his _Book of the Church_, derives our word _Easter_ from a _Saxon_ source:--

"The worship," he says, "of the goddess _Eostre_ or _Eastre_,
which may probably be traced to the Astarte of the Phoenicians,
is retained among us in the word _Easter_; her annual festival
having been superseded by that sacred day."

Should he not rather have given a _British_ origin to the name of our Christian holy day? Southey acknowledges that the "heathenism which the {116} Saxons introduced, bears no [very little?] affinity either to that of the Britons or the Romans;" yet it is certain that the Britons worshipped Baal and _Ashtaroth_, a relic of whose worship appears to be still retained in Cornwall to this day. The Druids, as Southey tells us, "made the people pass through the fire in honour of Baal." But the _festival_ in honour of Baal appears to have been in the _autumn_: for

"They made the people," he informs us, "at the beginning of
_winter_, extinguish all their fires on one day and kindle them
again from the sacred fire of the Druids, which would make the
house fortunate for the ensuing year; and, if any man came who
had not paid his yearly dues, [Easter offerings, &c., date back
as far as this!] they refused to give him a spark, neither durst
any of his neighbours relieve him, nor might he himself procure
fire by any other means, so that he and his family were deprived
of it till he had discharged the uttermost of his debt."

The Druidical fires kindled in the _spring_ of the year, on the other hand, would appear to be those in honour of _Ashtaroth_, or _Astarte_, from whom the _British Christians_ may naturally enough have derived the name of _Easter_ for their corresponding season. We might go even further than this, and say that the young ladies who are reported still to take the chief part in keeping up the Druidical festivities in Cornwall, very happily represent the ancient _Estal_ (or _Vestal_) virgins.

"In times of Paganism," says O'Halloran, "we find in _Ireland_
females devoted to celibacy. There was in Tara a royal
foundation of this kind, wherein none were admitted but virgins
of the noblest blood. It was called Cluain-Feart, or the place
of retirement till death," &c ... "The duty of these virgins was
to keep up the fires of Bel, or the sun, and of Sambain, or the
moon, which customs they borrowed from their Phoenician
ancestors. They both [i.e. the Irish and the Phoenicians] adored
Bel, or the sun, the moon, and the stars. The 'house of
_Rimmon_' which the Phoenicians worshipped in, like our temples
of Fleachta in Meath, was sacred to the _moon_. The word
'_Rimmon_' has by no means been understood by the different
commentators; and yet, by recurring to the Irish (a branch of
the Phoenician) it becomes very intelligible; for '_Re_' is
Irish for the moon, and '_Muadh_' signifies an _image_, and the
compound word '_Reamhan_,' signifies _prognosticating by the
appearance of the moon_. It appears by the life of our great S.
Columba, that the Druid temples were here decorated with figures
of the sun, the moon, and stars. The Phoenicians, under the name
of _Bel-Samen_, adored the Supreme; and it is pretty remarkable,
that to this very day, to wish a friend every happiness this
life can afford, we say in Irish, 'The blessings of _Samen_ and
_Bel_ be with you!' that is, of the seasons; Bel signifying the
sun, and Samhain the moon."

--(See O'Halloran's _Hist. of Ireland_, vol. i. P. 47.)

J. SANSOM.

* * * * *

FOLK LORE.

_Presages of Death_.--The Note by Mr. C. FORBES (Vol. ii., p. 84.) on "High Spirits considered a Presage of impending Calamity or Death," reminded me of a collection of authorities I once made, for academical purposes, of a somewhat analogous bearing,--I mean the ancient belief in the existence of a power of prophecy at that period which immediately precedes dissolution.

The most ancient, as well as the most striking instance, is recorded in the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis:--

"And Jacob called his sons and said, Gather yourselves together
_that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last
days_.... And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons,
he gathered up his feet into his bed, and yielded up the ghost,
and was gathered unto his people."

Homer affords two instances of a similar kind: thus, Patroclus prophesies the death of Hector (Il. [Greek: p] 852.)[1]:--

[Greek: "Ou thaen oud autos daeron beae alla toi aedae
Agchi parestaeke Thanatos kai Moira krataiae,
Chersi dament Achilaeos amnmonos Aiakidao."][2]

Again, Hector in his turn prophesies the death of Achilles by the hand of Paris (Il. [Greek: ch.] 358.):--

[Greek: "Phrazeo nun, mae toi ti theon maenima genomai
Aemati to ote ken se Pharis kai phoibus Apollon,
Esthlon eont, olesosin eni Skaiaesi pulaesin."][3]

This was not merely a poetical fancy, or a superstitious faith of the ignorant, for we find it laid down as a great physical truth by the greatest of the Greek philosophers, the divine Socrates:--

[Greek: "To de dae meta touto epithumo humin chraesmodaesai, o
katapsaephisamenoi mou kai gar eimi aedae entautha en o malist
anthropoi chraesmodousin hotan mellosin apothaneisthai."][4]

In Xenophon, also, the same idea is expressed, and, if possible, in language still more definite and precise:--{117}

[Greek: "Hae de tou anthropou psuchae tote daepou theiotatae
kataphainetai, kai tote ti ton mellonton proora."][5]

Diodorus Siculus, again, has produced great authorities on this subject:--

[Greek: "Puthagoras ho Samios, kai tines heteroi ton palaion
phusikon, apephaenanto tas psuchas ton anthropon uparchein
athanatous, akolouthos de to dogmati touto kai progignoskein
autas ta mellonta, kath hon an kairon en tae teleutae ton apo
tou somatos chorismon poiontai."][6]

From the ancient writers I yet wish to add one more authority; and I do so especially, because the doctrine of the Stagirite is therein recorded. Sextus Empiricus writes,--

[Greek: "Hae psuchae, phaesin Aristotelaes, promanteuetai kai
proagoreuei ta mellonta--en to kata thanaton chorizesthai ton
somaton."][7]

Without encroaching further upon the space of this periodical by multiplying evidence corroborative of the same fact, I will content myself by drawing the attention of the reader to our own great poet and philosopher, Shakspeare, whose subtle genius and intuitive knowledge of human nature render his opinions on all such subjects of peculiar value. Thus in _Richard II_., Act ii. sc. 1., the dying Gaunt, alluding to his nephew, the young and self-willed king, exclaims,--

"Methinks I am a prophet new inspired;
And thus, expiring, do foretel of him."

Again, in _Henry IV., Part I._, Act v. sc. 4., the brave Percy, when in the agonies of death, conveys the same idea in the following words:--

"O, I could prophesy,
But that the earthy and cold hand of death
Lies on my tongue."

Reckoning, therefore, from the time of Jacob, this belief, whether with or without foundation, has been maintained upwards of 3500 years. It was grounded on the assumed fact, that the soul became divine in the same ratio as its connection with the body was loosened or destroyed. In sleep, the unity is weakened but not ended: hence, in sleep, the material being dead, the immaterial, or divine principle, wanders unguided, like a gentle breeze over the unconscious strings of an Æolian harp; and according to the health or disease of the body are pleasing visions or horrid phantoms (_ægri somnia_, as Horace) present to the mind of the sleeper. Before death, the soul, or immaterial principle, is, as it were, on the confines of two worlds, and may possess at the same moment a power which is both prospective and retrospective. At that time its connection with the body being merely nominal, it partakes of that perfectly pure, ethereal, and exalted nature (_quod multo magis faciet post mortem quum omnino corpore excesserit_) which is designed for it hereafter.

As the question is an interesting one, I conclude by asking, through the medium of the "NOTES AND QUERIES," if a belief in this power of prophesy before death be known to exist at the present day?

AUGUSTUS GUEST.

London, July 8.

[Footnote 1: For the assistance of the general reader, I have introduced hasty translations of the several passages quoted.]

[Footnote 2: (And I moreover tell you, and do you meditate well upon it, that) you yourself are not destined to live long, for even now death is drawing nigh unto you, and a violent fate awaits you,--about to be slain in fight by the hands of Achilles, the irreproachable son of Oacus.]

[Footnote 3: Consider now whether I may not be to you the cause of divine anger, in that day when Paris and Phoebus Apollo shall slay you, albeit so mighty, at the Scaean gate.]

[Footnote 4: Wherefore I have an earnest desire to prophesy to you who have condemned me; for I am already arrived at that stage of my existence in which, especially, men utter prophetic sayings, that is, when they are about to die.]

[Footnote 5: That time, indeed, the soul of man appears to be in a manner divine, for to a certain extent it foresees things which are about to happen.]

[Footnote 6: Pythagoras the Samian, and some others of the ancient philosophers, showed that the souls of men were immortal, and that, when they were on the point of separating from the body, they possessed a knowledge of futurity.]

[Footnote 7: The soul, says Aristotle, when on the point of taking its departure from the body, foretells and prophesies things about to happen.]

* * * * *

_Divination at Marriages_.--The following practices are very prevalent at marriages in these districts; and as I do not find them noticed by Brand in the last edition of his _Popular Antiquities_, they may perhaps be thought worthy a place in the "NOTES AND QUERIES."

1. Put a wedding ring into the _posset_, and after serving it out, the unmarried person whose cup contains the ring will be the first of the company to be married.

2. Make a common flat cake of flour, water, currants, &c., and put therein a wedding ring and a sixpence. When the company is about to retire on the wedding-day, the cake must be broken and distributed amongst the unmarried females. She who gets the ring in her portion of the cake will shortly be married, and the one who gets the sixpence will die an old maid.

T.T.W.

Burnley, July 9. 1850.

* * * * *

FRANCIS LENTON THE POET.

In a MS. obituary of the seventeenth century, preserved at Staunton Hall, Leicestershire, I found the following:--

"May 12. 1642. This day died Francis Lenton, of Lincoln's Inn,
Gent."

This entry undoubtedly relates to the author of three very rare poetical tracts: 1. _The Young Gallant's Whirligigg_, 1629; 2. _The Innes of Court_, 1634; 3. _Great Brittain's Beauties_, 1638. In the dedication to Sir Julius Cæsar, prefixed to the first-named work, the writer speaks of having "once belonged to the _Innes of Court_," and says he was "no usuall poetizer, but, to barre idlenesse, imployed that little talent the Muses conferr'd upon him in this little tract." Sir Egerton Brydges supposed the copy of _The Young Gallant's Whirligigg_ preserved in the library of Sion College to be _unique_; but this is not the case, as the writer knows of _two_ others,--one at Staunton Hall, and another at Tixall Priory in Staffordshire. It has been reprinted by Mr. {118} Halliwell at the end of a volume containing _The Marriage of Wit and Wisdom_, published by the Shakspeare Society. In his prefatory remarks that gentleman says,

"Besides his printed works, Lenton wrote the _Poetical History
of Queene Hester_, with the translation of the 83rd Psalm,
reflecting upon the present times. MS. dated 1649."

This date must be incorrect, if our entry in the Staunton obituary relates to the same person; and there is every reason to suppose that it does. The _autograph_ MS. of Lenton occurred in Heber's sale (Part xi. No. 724.), and is thus described:

_Hadassiah_, or the _History of Queen Hester_, sung in a sacred
and serious poeme, and divided into ten chapters, by F. Lenton,
the Queen's Majesties Poet, 1638.

This is undoubtedly the _correct_ date, as it is in the handwriting of the author. Query. What is the meaning of Lenton's title, "the Queen's Majesties Poet"?

Edward F. Rimbault.

* * * * *

Minor Notes.

_Lilburn or Prynne?_--I am anxious to suggest in "Notes and Queries" whether a character in the Second Canto of Part iii. of _Hudibras_ (line 421), beginning,

"To match this saint, there was another,
As busy and perverse a brother,
An haberdasher of small wares,
In politics and state affairs,"

Has not been wrongly given by Dr. Grey to Lilburn, and whether Prynne is not rather the person described. Dr. Grey admits in his note that the application of the passage to Lilburn involves an anachronism, Lilburn having died in 1657, and this passage being a description of one among

"The quacks of government who sate"

to consult for the Restoration, when they saw ruin impending.

CH.

_Peep of Day._--Jacob Grimm, in his _Deutsche Mythologie_, p. 428., ed. 1., remarks that the ideas of light and sound are sometimes confounded; and in support of his observation he quotes passages of Danish and German poets in which the sun and moon are said to _pipe_ (pfeifen). In further illustration of this usage, he also cites the words "the sun began to peep," from a Scotch ballad in Scott's _Border Minstrelsy_, vol. ii. p. 430. In p. 431. he explains the words "par son l'aube," which occur in old French poets, by "per sonitum auroræ;" and compares the English expression, "the peep of day."

The Latin _pipio_ or _pipo_, whence the Italian _pipare_, and the French _pépier_, is the ultimate origin of the verb _to peep_; which, in old English, bore the sense of chirping, and is so used in the authorised version of Isaiah, viii. 19., x. 14. Halliwell, in his _Archaic Dictionary_, explains "peep" as "a flock of chickens," but cites no example. _To peep_, however, in the sense of taking a rapid look at anything through a small aperture, is an old use of the word, as is proved by the expression _Peeping_ Tom of Coventry. As so used, it corresponds with the German _gucken_. Mr. Richardson remarks that this meaning was probably suggested by the young chick looking out of the half-broken shell. It is quite certain that the "peep of day" has nothing to do with sound; but expresses the first appearance of the sun, as he just looks over the eastern hills.

L.

_Martinet._--Will the following passage throw any light on the origin of the word _Martinet_?

Une discipline, devenue encore plus exacte, avait mis dans
l'armée un nouvel ordre. Il n'y avait point encore d'inspecteurs
de cavalerie et d'infanterie, comme nous en avons vu depuis,
mais deux hommes uniques chacun dans leur genre en fesaient les
fonctions. _Martinet mettait alors l'infanterie sur le pied de
discipline où elle est aujourd'hui._ Le Chevalier de _Fourilles_
fesait la même change dans la cavalerie. Il y avait un an que
_Martinet_ avait mis la baionnette en usage dans quelque
régimens, &c.--Voltaire, _Siècle de Louis XIV._ c. 10.

C. Forbes.

July 2.

_Guy's Porridge Pot._--In the porter's lodge at Warwick Castle are preserved some enormous pieces of armour, which, _according to tradition_, were worn by the famous champion "Guy, Earl of Warwick;" and in addition (with other marvellous curiosities) is also exhibited Guy's porridge pot, of bell metal, said to weigh 300 lbs., and to contain 120 gallons. There is also a flesh-fork to ring it.

Mr. Nichols, in his _History of Leicestershire_, Part ii. vol. iii., remarks,

"A turnpike road from Ashby to Whitwick, passes through Talbot
Lane. Of this lane and the famous large pot at Warwick Castle,
we have an old traditionary couplet:

"'There's nothing left of Talbot's name,
But Talbot's Pot and Talbot's Lane.'

"Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, died in 1439. His eldest
daughter, Margaret, was married to John Talbot Earl of
Shrewsbury, by whom she had one son, John Viscount Lisle, from
whom the Dudleys descended, Viscount Lisle and Earl of Warwick."

It would therefore appear that neither the armour nor the pot belonged to the "noble Guy"--the armour being comparatively of modern manufacture, and the pot, it appears, descended from the Talbots to the Warwick family: which pot is generally filled with punch on the birth of a male heir to that noble family.

W. Reader.

* * * * *{119}

QUERIES.

NICHOLAS FERRAR OF LITTLE GIDDING.

Dr. Peckard, in his Preface to the _Life of Nicholas Ferrar of Little Gidding_, says the memoir he published was edited or compiled by him from "the original MS. still in my possession" (p. xi.); and in the Appendix adds, that "Mr. John Ferrar," the elder brother of Nicholas, was the author of it (p. 279.).

How he compiled or edited "the original MS." he states with much candour in his Preface (p. xv.):

"The editor's intention," in altering the narrative, "was to
give what is not observed in the original, a regular series of
facts; and through the whole a sort of evenness and simplicity
of stile equally free from meanness and affectation. In short,
to make the old and the new, as far as he could, uniform; that
he might not appear to have sewed a piece of new cloth to an old
garment, and made its condition worse by his endeavours to mend
it."

Again, at page 308., he says,

"There is an antient MS. in folio, giving an account of Mr. N.
Ferrar, which at length, from Gidding, came into the hands of
Mr. Ed. Ferrar of Huntingdon, and is now in the possession of
the editor. Mr. Peck had the use of this MS. as appears by
several marginal notes in his handwriting; from this and some
loose and unconnected papers of Mr. Peck.... the editor, as well
as he was able, has made out the foregoing memoirs."

Can any of your numerous correspondents inform me if this "antient MS." is still in existence, and in whose possession?

Peckard was related to the Ferrars, and was Master of Magdalen Coll., Cambridge.

In "A Catalogue of MSS. (once) at Gidding," Peckard, p. 306., the third article is "Lives, Characters, Histories, and Tales for moral and religious Instruction, in five volumes folio, neatly bound and gilt, by Mary Collet." This work, with five others, "undoubtedly were all written by N. Ferrar, Sen.," says Dr. Peckard; and in the Memoir, at page 191., he gives a list of these "short histories," ninety-eight in number, "which are still remaining in my possession;" and adds further, at p. 194.,

"These lives, characters, and moral essays would, I think, fill
two or three volumes in 8vo., but _they are written in so
minute_ a character, that I cannot form any conjecture to be
depended upon."

I have been thus particular in describing these "histories", because the subjects of them are identical with those in Fuller's _Holy and Profane State_, the first edition of which was published at Cambridge, in 1642. "The characters I have conformed," says Fuller in his Preface, "to the then standing laws of the realm (a twelvemonth ago were they sent to the press), since which time the wisdom of the King and state hath" altered many things. Nicholas Ferrar died December 2, 1637, and the Query I wish to ask is, Did Fuller compose them (for that he was really the author of them can hardly be doubted) at the suggestion and for the benefit of the community at Gidding, some years before he published them; and is it possible to ascertain and determine if the MS. is in the handwriting of Ferrar or Fuller?

Is there any print or view in existence of the "Nunnery," at Little Gidding?

In the _Life of Dr. Thomas Fuller_, published anonymously in 1661, it is stated, that at his funeral a customary sermon was preached by Dr. Hardy, Dean of Rochester, "which hath not yet (though it is hoped and much desired may) passe the presse," p. 63.

Query. Was this sermon ever published? and secondly, who was the author of the _Life_ from which the above passage is quoted?

John Miland.

* * * * *

STUKELEY'S "STONEHENGE."

May I request a space in your periodical for the following Queries, drawn from Dr. Stukeley's _Stonehenge and Abury_, p. 31.?

1st. "But eternally to be lamented is the loss of that tablet of
tin, which was found at this place (Stonehenge) in the time of
King Henry VIII., inscribed with many letters, but in so strange
a character that neither Sir Thomas Elliott, a learned
antiquary, nor Mr. Lilly, master of St. Paul's school, could
make any thing out of it. Mr. Sammes may be right, who judges it
to have been _Punic_. I imagine if we call it Irish we shall not
err much. No doubt but what it was a memorial of the founders,
wrote by the Druids and had it been preserved till now, would
have been an invaluable curiosity."

Can you or any of your contributors give me any further information about this inscription?

2. The Doctor continues,

"To make the reader some amends for such a loss I have given a
specimen of supposed Druid writing, out of Lambecius' account of
the Emperor's library at Vienna. 'Tis wrote on a very thin plate
of gold with a sharp-pointed instrument. It was in an urn found
at Vienna, rolled up in several cases of other metal, together
with funeral exuviæ. It was thought by the curious, one of those
epistles which the Celtic people were wont to send to their
friends in the other world. The reader may divert himself with
trying to explain it."

Has this inscription ever been explained, and how? Stukeley's book is by no means a rare one; therefore I have not trusted myself to copy the inscription: and such as feel disposed to help me in my difficulty would doubtless prefer seeing the Doctor's own illustration at p. 31.

Henry Cunliffe.

Hyde Park Street.{120}

ATHELSTANE'S FORM OF DONATION.--MEANING OF "SOMAGIA."

Tristram Risdon, in his quaint _Survey of the Co. of Devon_, after mentioning the foundation of the church of High Bickington by King Athelstane,

"Who," he says, "gave to God and it one hide of land, as
appeareth by the donation, a copy whereof, for the antiquity
thereof, I will here insert: 'Iche Athelstane king, grome of
this home, geve and graunt to the preist of this chirch, one
yoke of mye land frelith to holde, woode in my holt house to
buyld, bitt grass for all hys beasts, fuel for hys hearth,
pannage for hys sowe and piggs, world without end,'"--

adds presently afterwards, that

"Sir John Willington gave _Weeksland_ in this tything, unto
Robert Tolla, _cum 40 somagia annuatim capiend in Buckenholt_
(so be the words of the grant) in the time of K. Edw. I."

The Willingtons were lords of the manor of Umberleigh, where Athelstane's palace stood, with its chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity, formerly rich in ancient monuments, and having a chantry near to it. Some of the monuments from this chapel are still preserved in the neighbouring church of Atherington.

My Queries upon this Note are:

1. Whence did Risdon derive his copy of King Athelstane's form of donation? 2. What is the precise meaning of the word _Somagia_?

In _Ducange_ (ed. Par. 1726, tom. vi. col. 589.) I find:

"_Somegia_. Præstatio, ut videtur _ex summis_, v. gr. bladi,
frumenti. Charta Philippi Reg. Franc. an. 1210. Idem etiam
Savaricus detinet sibi census suos, et venditiones, et quosdam
reditus, qui _Somegiæ_ vocantur, et avenam, et _captagia_
hominum et foeminarum suarum, qui reditus cum una Somegiarum in
festo B. Remigii persolverentur; deinde secunda Somegia in
vicesima die Natalis Domini, et tertia in Octabis Resurrectionis
Dominicæ, ei similiter persolventur; caponum etiam suorum in
crastino Natalis Domini percipiet solutionem: unaquæque vero
somegiarum quatuor denarios bonæ monetæ valet."

Ducange refers also to some kindred words; but, instead of clearing up my difficulty in the word _somagia_, he presents me with another in _captagia_, the meaning of which I do not clearly understand. Perhaps some of your more learned contributors will obligingly help me to the true import of these words?

J. Sansom.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_Charade_.--Can any one tell who is the author of the following charade? No doubt, the lines are well known to many of your readers, although I have never seen them in print. It has been said that Dr. Robinson, a physician, wrote them. It strikes me that the real author, whoever he be, richly deserves to be named in "Notes and Queries."

"Me, the contented man desires,
The poor man has, the rich requires;
The miser gives, the spendthrift saves,
And all must carry to their graves."

It can scarcely be necessary to add that the answer is, _nothing_.

Alfred Gatty.

July 1. 1850.

"_Smoke Money_."--Under this name is collected every year at Battle, in Sussex, by the Constable, one penny from every householder, and paid to the Lord of the Manor. What is its origin and meaning?

B.

"_Rapido contrarius orbi_."--What divine of the seventeenth century adopted these words as his motto? They are part of a line in one of Owen's epigrams.

N.B.

_Lord Richard Christophilus_.--Can any of your readers give any account of Lord Richard Christophilus, a Turk converted to Christianity, to whom, immediately after the Restoration, in July, 1660, the Privy Council appointed a pension of 50l. a-year, and an additional allowance of 2l. a-week.

CH.

_Fiz-gigs_.--In those excellent poems, Sandys's _Paraphrases on Job and other Books of the Bible_, there is a word of a most destructive character to the effect. Speaking of leviathan, he asks,

"Canst thou with _fiz-gigs_ pierce him to the quick?"

It may be an ignorant question, but I do not know what fiz-gigs are.

C.B.

_Specimens of Erica in Bloom_.--Can any of your correspondents oblige me by the information where I can procure specimens in bloom of the following plants, viz. Erica crescenta, Erica paperina, E. purpurea, E. flammea, and at what season they come into blossom in England? If specimens are not procurable without much expense and trouble, can you supply me with the name of a work in which these plants are figured?

E.S.

Dover.

_Michael Scott, the Wizard_.--What works by Michael Scott, the reputed wizard, (Sir Walter's _Deus ex Machina_ in _The Lay of the Last Minstrel_), have been printed?

X.Y.A.

_Stone Chalices_.--Can any of the readers of "Notes and Queries" inform me whether the use of _stone chalices_ was authorised by the ancient constitutions of the Church; and, if so, at what period, and where the said constitutions were enacted?

X.Y.A.

* * * * *{121}

REPLIES.

ULRICH VON HUTTEN AND THE "EPISTOLÆ OBSCURORUM VIRONUM."

(Vol. ii., p. 55.)

I have never seen the article in the _Quarterly Review_ to which your correspondent H.B.C. alludes: he will probably find it by reference to the index, which is not just now within my reach. The neat London edition, 1710, of the _Epistolæ_ was given by Michael Mattaire. There are several subsequent reimpressions, but none worth notice except that by Henr. Guil. Rotermund, Hanover, 1827, 8vo.; and again, with improvements, "cum nova præfatione, nec non illustratione historica circa originem earum, atque notitia de vita et scriptis virorum in Epistolis occurentium aucta," 1830, both in 8vo.

The best edition, however, is that given by Dr. Ernst Münch, Leipsic, 1827, 8vo., with the following title:

"Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum aliaque Ævi Decimi sexti Monimenta
Rarissima. Die Briefe der Finsterlinge an Magister Ortuinus von
Deventer, nebst andern sehr seltenen Beiträgen zur
Literatur-Sitten-und-Kirchengeschichte des xvi'n Jahrhunderts."

This contains many important additions, and a copious historical introduction. Both the editors write in German.

That this admirable satire produced an immense effect at the period of its publication, there can be no doubt; but that it has ever been thoroughly understood and relished among us may be doubted. Mr. Hallam, in his _Literature of Europe_, vol. i., seems to have been disgusted with the monkish dog-Latin and bald jokes, not recollecting that this was a necessary and essential part of the design. Nor is it strange that Steele, who was perhaps not very well acquainted with the history of literature, should have misconceived the nature of the publication, when we learn from an epistle of Sir Thomas More to Erasmus, that some of the stupid theologasters themselves, who were held up to ridicule, received it with approbation as a serious work:

"_Epist. Obs. Viror_. operæ pretium est videre quantopere
placeant omnibus, et doctis joco, et indoctis serio, qui dum
ridemus, putant rideri stylum tantum, quem illi non defendunt,
sed gravitate sententiarum dicunt compensatum, et latere sub
rudi vagina pulcherrimum gladium. Utinam fuisset inditus libello
alius titulus! Profecto intra centum annos homines studio
stupidi non sensissent nasum, quamquam rhinocerotico
longiorem."[8]

Erasmus evidently enjoyed the witty contrivance, though he affects to disapprove it as an anonymous libel. Simler, in his life of Bullinger, relates that on the first reading Erasmus fell into such a fit of laughter as to burst an abscess in his face with which he was at that time troubled, and which prevented the necessity of a surgical operation.

The literary history of the _Epistolæ_ and the _Dialogue_ is involved in obscurity. That Ulrich von Hutten had a large share in their concoction there can be no doubt; and that he was assisted by Crotus Rubianus and Hermann von Busch, if not by others, seems highly probable. The authorship of _Lamentationes Obscurorum Virorum_ is a paradox which has not yet been solved. They are a parody, but a poor one, of the _Epistolæ_, and in the second edition are attributed to Ortuinus Gratius. If they are by him, he must have been a dull dog indeed; but by some it has been thought that they are the work of a Reuchlinist, to mystify the monks of Cologne, and render them still more ridiculous; yet, as the Pope's bull against the _Epistolæ_, and Erasmus's disapproving letter, find a prominent place, and some other well-grounded inculpations occur, it appears to me that some slender-witted advocate of the enemies of learning has here shown his want of skill in handling the weapons of the adversary.

How much Sir Thomas More was pleased with the writings of Hutten we may gather from the opening of a letter which Erasmus addressed to Hutten, giving an interesting account of his illustrious friend, in August, 1519:

"Quod Thomæ Mori ingenium sic deamas, ac penè dixerim deperis,
nimirum scriptis illius inflammatus, quibus (ut verè scribis)
nihil esse potest neque doctius neque festivius; istue mibi
crede, clarissime Huttene tibi cum multis commune est, cum Moro
mutuum etiam. Nam is vicissim adeò scriptorum tuorum genio
delectatur, ut ipse tibi plopemodum invideam."

The Dialogue (Mire Festivus), which in the edition of 1710 occurs between the first and second parts of the _Epistolæ_, bears especial marks of Hutten's manner, and is doubtless by him. The interlocutors are three of the illustrious obscure, Magisters Ortuinus, Lupoldus, and Gingolphus, and the first act of the comedy consists in their observations upon the promoters of learning, Reuchlin, Erasmus, and Faber Stapulensis, who afterwards make their appearance, and the discussion becomes general, but no impression can be made upon the stupid and prejudiced monks. The theme is, of course, the inutility of the new learning, Hebrew and Greek and correct Latinity. One short passage seems to me admirable:{122}

"_M. Ging_. Et Sanctus Ambrosius, Sanctus Augustinus, et alii
omnes zelossimi doctores non sciebant ipsi bene tot, sicut iste
Ribaldi? _M. Ort_. Ipsi deberent interponere suis. _M. Lup_. Non
bene indigemus de suo Græco. _M. Ging_. Videtur eis, qui sciunt
dicere _tou, tou, logos, monsotiros, legoim, taff, hagiotatos_,
quod ipse sciunt plus quam Deus. _M. Ort_. Magister noster
Lupolde, creditis, quod Deus curat multum de iste Græco? _M.
Lup_. Certe non, Magister noster Ortuine, ego credo, quod Deus
non curat multum."

Ranke, in his _History of the Reformation_, has very justly estimated the merits and character of these remarkable productions:

"We must not look for the delicate apprehension and tact, which
can only be formed in a highly polished state of society, nor
for the indignation of insulted morality expressed by the
ancients: it is altogether a caricature, not of finished
individual portraits, but of a single type;--a clownish sensual
German priest, his intellect narrowed by stupid wonder and
fanatical hatred, who relates with silly _naïveté_ and gossiping
confidence the various absurd and scandalous situations into
which he falls. These letters are not the work of a high
poetical genius, but they have truth, coarse strong features of
resemblance, and vivid colouring."

Ranke mentions another satire, which appeared in March, 1520, directed against John Eck, the opponent of Luther, the latter being regarded in the light of a successor of Reuchlin, under the title of _Abgehobelte Eck_, or _Eccius dedolatus_, "which, for fantastic invention, striking and crushing truth, and Aristophanic wit, far exceeded the _Literæ Obsc. V._, which it somewhat resembled." I have not yet been able to meet with this; but such high praise, from so judicious a critic, makes me very desirous to see and peruse it.

S.W. Singer.

Mickleham, July 3. 1850.

[Footnote 8: "Ubi primum exissent _Ep. Ob. V._ miro Monachorum applausu exceptæ sunt apud Britannos a Franciscanis ac Dominicanis, qui sibi persuadebant, eas in Reuchlini contumeliam, et Monachorum favorem, serio proditus: quamque quidam egregie doctus, sed nasutissimus, fingeret se nonnihil offendi stylo, consulati sunt hominem."--_Erasm. Epist._ 979.]

_Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum_.--Your Querist H.B.C. (Vol. ii., pp. 55-57.) will find, in the 53rd vol. _Edinb. Rev._ p. 180., a long article on these celebrated letters, containing much of the information required. It is worthy of remark, that in page 195. we are told

"In 1710 there was printed in London the _most elegant_ edition
that has ever appeared of these letters, which the editor, Mich.
Mattaire, gravely represents as the productions of their
ostensible authors."

Now this edition, though neat, has no claim to be termed most elegant, which is hardly to be reconciled with what the reviewer says in a note, p. 210., "that the text of this ed. of 1710 is of no authority, and swarms with typographical blunders."

The work on its first appearance produced great excitement, and was condemned by Pope Leo X. See _Dict. des Livres Condamnés, &c._, par Peignot, tom. ii. p. 218.

Many amusing anecdotes and notices are to be found in Bayle's _Dict_. See particularly sub nomine Erasmus. Burton, in his _Anatomy of Mel._ pt. i. sec. 2. Mem 3 sub 6. citing Jovius in Elogiis, says,

"Hostratus cucullatus adeo graviter ob Reuchlini librum qui
inscribitur, Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum dolore simul et pudore
sauciatus, et scipsum interfecerit."

See also _Nouv. Diction. Historique_ in the account of Gratius, O.

There is also a good article on these letters in a very excellent work entitled _Analectabiblion_, or _Extraits Critique de divers Livres rares, &c., tiréz du Cabinet du Marq. D. R. (oure)_. Paris, 1836. 2 tomes 8vo.

F.R.A.

_Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum_.--The article inquired for by H.B.C. (Vol. ii, p. 55) is probably one in the _Edinburgh Review_, vol. liii. p. 180., attributed to Sir William Hamilton, the distinguished Professor of Logic in the university of Edinburgh.

CH.

* * * * *

CAXTON'S PRINTING-OFFICE.

(Vol. ii., p. 99.)

Mr. Rimbault is wrong in giving to Abbot Milling the honour of being the patron of Caxton, which is due to Abbot Esteney. Mr. C. Knight in his _Life of Caxton_, which appropriately formed the first work of his series of _Weekly Volumes_, has the following remarks upon the passage from Stow, quoted by Mr. Rimbault:

"The careful historians of London here committed one error; John
Islip did not become abbot of Westminster till 1500. John
Esteney was made abbot in 1474, and remained such until his
death in 1498. His predecessor was Thomas Milling. In Dugdale's
_Monasticon_ we find, speaking of Esteney, 'It was in this
abbot's time, and not in that of Milling, or in that of Abbot
Islip, that Caxton exercised the art of printing at
Westminster.'"--p. 140. #/

I have no work at hand to which I can refer for the date of Milling's death, but if 1492 be correct, perhaps he may have been promoted to a bishoprick.

With reference to Mr. Rimbault's remark, that Caxton first mentions the place of his printing in 1477, so that he must have printed some time without informing us where, I may be allowed to observe that it seems highly probable he printed, and indeed learned the art, at Cologne. At the end of the third book of his translation of the _Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye_, Caxton says:

"Thus end I this book which I have translated after mine author,
as nigh as God hath given me cunning, to whom be given the laud
and praises ... I have practised and learned, at my great charge
and dispense, to ordain this said book in print, after the
manner and form as you may here see."{123}

And on the title-page he informs us:

"Whyche sayd translacion and werke was begonne in Brugis in
1468, and ended in the holy cyte of Colen, 19 Sept. 1471."

This may refer to the translation only; but as Caxton was both translator and printer, it does not seem unreasonable to regard it as indicating when his entire labour upon the work was brought to a close. I might support the view that Caxton printed at Cologne by other arguments which would make the matter tolerably certain (see _Life of Caxton_, p. 125., &c.); but as the excellent little work to which I am indebted for these particulars is so well known, and so easily accessible, I should not be justified in occupying more of your space, and I will therefore conclude with noting that the parochial library at Shipdham, in Norfolk, is said to contain books printed by Caxton and other early printers. Perhaps some one of your correspondents would record, for the general benefit, of what they consist.

Arun.

Dr. Rimbault has evidently not seen a short article on Caxton's printing at Westminster, which I inserted in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for April, 1846, nor the reference made to it in the magazine for June last, p. 630., or he would have admitted that his objections to Dr. Dibdin's conjectures on this point had been already stated; moreover, I think he would have seen that the difficulty had been actually cleared up. In truth, the popular misapprehension on this subject has not been occasioned by any obscurity in the colophons of the great printer, or in the survey of Stow, but merely by the erroneous constricted sense into which the word abbey has passed in this country. Caxton himself tells us he printed his books in "th' abbay of Westminstre," but he does not say in the church of the abbey. Stow distinctly says it was in the almonry of the abbey; and the handbill Dr. Rimbault refers to confirms that fact. The almonry was not merely "within the precincts of the abbey," it was actually a part of the abbey. Dr. Rimbault aims at the conclusion that "the old chapel of St. Anne was doubtless the place where the first printing-office was erected in England." But why so? Did not the chapel continue a chapel until the Reformation, if not later? And Caxton would no more set up his press in a chapel than in the abbey-church itself. Stow says it was erected in the almonry. The almonry was one of the courts of the abbey, (situated directly west of the abbey-church, and not east, as Dr. Dibdin surmised); it contained a chapel dedicated to St. Anne, and latterly an almshouse erected by the Lady Margaret. The latter probably replaced other offices or lodgings of greater antiquity, connected with the duties of the almoner, or the reception and relief of the poor; and there need be no doubt that it was one of these buildings that the Abbot of Westminster placed at the disposal of our proto-typographer. There was nothing very extraordinary in his so doing if we view the circumstance in its true light; for the _scriptoria_ of the monasteries had ever been the principal manufactories of books. A single press was now to do the work of many pens. The experiment was successful; "after which time," as Stow goes on to say, "the like was practised in the Abbeys of St. Augustine, at Canterbury, St. Alban's, and other monasteries." The monks became printers instead of scribes; but they would not ordinarily convert their churches or chapels into printing-houses. The workmen, it is true, term the meetings held for consultation on their common interests or pleasures, their _chapels_; and whether this may have arisen from any particular instance in which a chapel was converted into a printing-house, I cannot say. In order to ascertain the origin of this term these Queries may be proposed:--Is it peculiar to printers and to this country? Or is it used also in other trades and on the Continent?

John Gough Nichols.

* * * * *

THE NEW TEMPLE.

Although I am unable to give a satisfactory reply to Mr. Foss's inquiries, such information as I have is freely at his service. It may, at all events, serve as a finger-post to the road.