Chapter I: Part 1

NOTES AND QUERIES:

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

* * * * *

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

* * * * *

No. 41.] SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1850. [Price Threepence. Stamped Edition 4d.

* * * * *{161}

CONTENTS.

NOTES:
Sir William Gascoigne, by Edward Foss
An old Guy, by Dr. Bell
Folk Lore:--Folk Lore of South Northamptonshire,
No. 2 Mice, Snakes, Poultry, Crows, Owls, Cuckoos,
&c.
Minor Notes:--Hon. A. Erskine--Gloves--Punishment
of Death by Burning--India Rubber

QUERIES:
The "Bar" of Michael Angelo, by S.W. Singer
Annotated Copies of Bishop Andrewes' Works
Minor Queries:--Robert Innes, a Grub Street Poet--Sicilian
Vespers--One Bell--Treasure Trove--Poeta
Anglicus--Hornbooks--Ben Jonson, or Ben Johnson--MS. Book
of Prayers belonging to Queen Catherine
Parr--Waltheolf--De Combre Family--Ilda--"De
Male quæsitis"--Westminster Abbey--Haberdasher--Martinet--
"Querela Cantabrigiensis"--Long Lonkin

REPLIES:
Treatise of Equivocation
Boethius' Consolations of Philosophy, by C.H. Cooper
Etymological Queries answered, by Albert Way
Replies to Minor Queries:--Solingen--Blackguard--The
Three Dukes--Bonny Dundee--Was Quarles
pensioned?--Collar of Esses--The Story of the
Three Men and their Bag of Money--Will. Robertson
of Murton--Long Meg of Westminster--Churchwardens'
Accounts of St. Antholin's--The Plant
"Hæmony"--Mildew in Books--The Carpenter's
Maggot--Martello Towers--Highland Kilts--Derivation
of Penny--Scarf--Smoke-money--Common,
Mutual, and Reciprocal--Juice Cups--Curfew--Derivation
of Totnes, &c.

MISCELLANEOUS:
Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, &c
Books and Odd Volumes Wanted
Notices to Correspondents
Advertisements

* * * * *

NOTES.

SIR WILLIAM GASCOIGNE.

Although you and I no doubt unite in the admiration, which all our fellow-countrymen profess, and some of them feel, for our immortal bard, yet I do not think that our zeal as Shakspearians will extend so far as to receive him as an unquestionable authority for the facts introduced into his historical plays. The utmost, I apprehend, that we should admit is, that they represent the tradition of the time in which he wrote, and even that admission we should modify by the allowance, to which every poet is entitled, of certain changes adopted for dramatic effect, and with the object of enhancing our interest in the character he is delineating.

Two facts in his Second Part of _Henry IV_, always referred to in connection with each other, notwithstanding the ingenious remarks on them made by Mr. Tyler in his _History of Henry V._, are still accepted, and principally by general readers, on Shakspeare's authority, as undoubtedly true. The one is the incident of Prince Henry's committal to prison by Chief Justice Gascoigne; and the other is the magnanimous conduct of the Prince on his accession to the throne, in continuing the Chief Justice in the office, which he had shown himself so well able to support.

The first I have no desire to controvert, especially as it has been selected as one of the illustrations of our history in the House of Lords. Frequent allusion is made to it in the play. Falstaff's page says to his master, on seeing the Chief Justice:

"Sir, here comes the nobleman that committed the prince for
striking him about Bardolph."

And Falstaff in the same scene thus addresses Gascoigne:

"For the box of the ear that the prince gave you,--he gave it
like a rude prince, and you took it like a sensible lord. I have
checked him for it, and the young lion repents."

And Gascoigne, when Henry refers to the incident in these words:

"How might a prince of my great hopes forget
So great indignities you laid upon me?
What! rate, rebuke, and roughly send to prison
The immediate heir of England! Was this easy?
May this be wash'd in Lethe, and forgotten?"

thus justifies himself to the king:

"I then did use the person of your father;
The image of his power lay then in me:
And in the administration of his law,
Whiles I was busy for the commonwealth,
Your highness pleased to forget my place,--
The majesty and power of law and justice,
The image of the king whom I presented,--
And, struck me in my very seat of judgment;
Whereon, as an offender to your father,
I gave bold way to my authority,
And did commit you." {162}

Now this is a relation that we are well content, although unsupported by contemporaneous authority, to receive on tradition; because in the nature of the circumstances we cannot expect to find any authentic evidence of the occurrence. But we should never think of citing these passages as fixing the fact of the _blow_, as chronicled by Hall, in opposition to the milder representation of the story as told by Sir Thomas Elliott in "The Governour." The bard makes that selection between the two versions which best suits the scene he is depicting.

We cannot, however, be so easily satisfied with the second fact,--the reappointment of Gascoigne,--thus asserted by Shakspeare when making Henry say:

"You did commit me;
For which, I do commit into your hand
The unstain'd sword that you have us'd to bear;
With this remembrance,--that you use the same
With the like bold, just, and impartial spirit,
As you have done 'gainst me."

We require better evidence for this than tradition, because, if true, better evidence can be adduced. A noble writer has very recently declared that he can "prove to demonstration that Sir William Gascoigne survived Henry IV. several years, _and actually filled the office of Chief Justice of the King's Bench under Henry V_." As to the first of these points he implicitly follows Mr. Tyler's history, who proves that Gascoigne died in December 1419, in the seventh year of the fifth Henry's reign; but as to the second point, deserting his authority and omitting the dates introduced in it, he entirely fails in supporting his assertion. The assertion, however, having been made in so recent a work, it becomes important to investigate its truth.

The only fact that gives an apparent authenticity to the story is that Gascoigne was summoned to the first parliament of Henry V. as "Chief Justice of our Lord the King." When we recollect, however, that this summons was dated on March 22, 1413, the day following the king's accession, we must see that his Majesty could have had little more time than to command a parliament to be summoned; that the officer who made out the writs would naturally direct them to those peers, judges, and others who were summoned to the preceding parliament; and that the proper title of Gascoigne was Chief Justice until he was actually superseded. This evidence, therefore, is anything but conclusive, and in fact gives very little assistance in deciding the point at issue.

It is well known that Sir William Hankford was Gascoigne's successor as Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and the real question is, when he became so. Dugdale states that the date of his patent was January 29, 1414, ten months after King Henry's accession; and if this were so, the presumption would follow that Gascoigne continued Chief Justice till that time. Let us see whether facts support this presumption.

Now, Hankford was a Judge of the Common Pleas at the end of the previous reign; but he was omitted when his brethren of that court received their new patents from Henry V., which were not issued till May 2, a day or two before Easter Term. And yet we find the name of Hankford in the Year-book reports of both that and Trinity Term; and we find it, not as acting in the Common Pleas, but as ruling in the King's Bench.

Further, although Gascoigne was summoned to the first parliament on March 22, yet on its meeting on May 15, he was not present;--added to which, his usual position, as first named legal trier of petitions, was filled by Sir William Hankford, placed too in precedence of Sir William Thirning, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.

These facts, so contradictory to Dugdale's date, rendered it necessary to refer to the roll. This, by the kindness of Mr. Duffus Hardy (who certainly can never be called the "streict-laced" gaoler of the records, alluded to in your fourth number, Vol. i., p. 60.), has been inspected; and the result is that the date of Hankford's appointment, instead of being _January_ 29, 1414, as stated by Dugdale, turns out to be _March_ 29, 1413; just eight days after King Henry's accession, and ten days previous to his coronation.

The peculiar period chosen for this act, and its precipitancy in contrast with the delay in issuing the new patents to the other judges, tend strongly, I am afraid, to deprive us of the "flattering unction" of supposing that it resulted from Gascoigne's choice, rather than Henry's mandate. Nor is the royal warrant of November 1414, 2 Henry V. (twenty months afterwards), granting him four bucks and four does yearly, during his life, out of the forest of Pontefract, a sufficient proof of favour to countervail the impression created by his early removal.

With these facts before us, King Henry's supposed generosity in renominating Gascoigne can no longer be credited. But, even presuming that none of these facts had been discovered, I must own myself surprised that any one could maintain that Gascoigne was ever Chief Justice to Hen. V., with two existing records before him, both containing conclusive proof to the contrary.

The first is the entry on the Issue Roll of July, 1413, of a payment made of an arrear of Gascoigne's salary and pension, in which he is called "_late_ Chief Justice of the Bench of _Lord Henry, father of the present King_."

The second is the inscription on his monument in Harwood Church in Yorkshire, where he is described as "_nuper_ capit. justio. de banco Hen. _nuper_ regis angliæ _quarti_."

I think I may fairly ask whether it is possible to suppose that in either of these records, particularly {163} the latter, he would have been docked his title, had he ever been Chief Justice of the reigning king?

Allow me to take this opportunity of thanking L.B.L. for his extracts from the Hospitaller's Survey (Vol. ii., p. 123.), which are most interesting, and, to use a modern word, very _suggestive_.

Edward Foss.

Street-End House, near Canterbury.

* * * * *

AN OLD GUY?

No one would at present think of any other answer to a Query as to the meaning of this term than that the phrase originated with the scarecrows and stuffed apings of humanity with which the rising generation enlivens our streets on every fifth of November, and dins in our ears the cry, "Please to remember the guy," and that it alludes to the Christian name of the culprit, Guido. Have, however, any of your readers met this title, or any allusion to it, in any writer previously to 1605? and may its attribution to the supposed framer of the Gunpowder Plot only have been the accidental appropriation of an earlier term of popular reproach, and which had become so since the conversion of the nation to Christianity? This naturally heaped contumely and insult upon every thing relating to the Druids, and the heathen superstitions of the earlier inhabitants.

Amongst others, _Guy_ was a term by which, no doubt, the Druids were very early designated, and is cognate, with the Italian _Guido_ and our own _Guide_, to the Latin _cuidare_, which would give it great appropriativeness when applied to the offices of teachers and leaders, with which these lordly flamens were invested. Narrowly connected with their rites, the term has descended to the present day, as is decidedly shown in the French name of the mistletoe, _le Gui_, and as denoting the priesthood. The common cry of the children at Christmas in France, _au gui l'an neuf_, marks the winter solstice, and their most solemn festival; so _ai-guil-lac_, as the name of new year's gifts, so necessary and expensive to a Frenchman, which they particularly bear in the diocese of Chartres, can only be explained by referring it to the same origin. In the French vocabulary at present this word, as I have before observed, is restricted to the mistletoe, the _viscum album_ of Linnæus: but in Germany we have pretty much the same conversion of a favourite druidical plant, the trefoil, or shamrock, and the cinquefoil; both of them go in Bavaria and many other parts of Germany under the name of _Truten-fuss_, or Druid's foot, and are thought potent charms in guarding fields and cattle from harm; but there too, as with us, possibly the oldest title of guy, the term Druid, has grown into a name of the greatest disgrace: "_Trute, Trute, Saudreck_," "Druid, Druid, sow dirt," is an insulting phrase reserved for the highest ebullitions of a peasant's rage in Schwaben and Franken.

Whilst on the subject of the mistletoe, I cannot forbear to mark the coincidences that run through the popular notions of a country in all ages. Pliny, in his very exact account of the druidical rites, tells us, when the archdruid mounted the oak to cut the sacred parasite with a golden pruning-hook, two other priests stood below to catch it in a white linen cloth, extremely cautious lest it should fall to earth. One is almost tempted to fancy that Shakspeare was describing a similar scene when he makes Hecate say

"Upon the corner of the moon,
There hangs a vap'rous drop profound,
I'll catch it ere it come to ground."

In a very excellent note to Dr. Giles' translation of Richard of Cirencester, p. 432., he adduces the opinion of Dr. Daubeny, of Oxford, that as the mistletoe is now so rarely found in Europe on oaks, it had been exterminated with the other druidical rites on the introduction of Christianity. I am not sufficiently botanist to determine how far it is possible to destroy the natural habitat of a plant propagated by extrinsic means, and should be more inclined to account for the difference then and now by supposing that the Druids may have known the secret of inoculating a desirable oak with the seeds where birds had not done so, and practised it when necessary.

P.S. Since writing the above, I recollect that the Latin verse,

"_Ad viscum Druidæ_: Druidæ clamare solebant,"

is frequently quoted from Ovid, sometimes, and that recently, specifying the Fasti. I need not tell you that it is not to be found there, and I wish to inquire if any of the numerous readers of your valuable publication can say where I can meet with it; if classical, it is another remarkable evidence of the endurance of popular customs to the present day. In the following quotation from Keyssler's Treatise _de Visco_, the Anklopferleinstag would be also a noisy demonstration dating from druidical times, at a period of the year not far removed from the beginning of November.

"In superiori Germaniæ parte, Marchionatu Onolsbacensi
comprehensa, cujus inolæ plurimas Gentilismi reliquias retinent,
regio ipsa multis Druidum vestigiis abundat, tempore adventus
Christi, sive media Hyeme (am Anklopferleinstag), vulgus per
vias et pagos currit malleisque pulsat fores et fenestras
indesinenter clamans _Gutheyl! Gutheyl!_ Quod quidem non salutem
per Christi adventum partam indicat, quasi diceres: Gut Heyl;
bona salus; multo minus fictitam Sanctam Günthildem, quam
rustici illius tractus miris fabulis ac nugis celebrant, sed
nomen ipsum visci est." {164}

The present popular and only German name of the mistletoe, the parent of our English denomination, is _Mistel_, which is evidently only _Meist-heyl_ (most heal, or healing), the superlative of the above _Gut-heyl_, and both wonderfully agreeing with the name which Pliny says it bore in his time, _Omnia sanans_.

William Bell, Ph.D.

* * * * *

FOLK LORE.

_Folk Lore of South Northamptonshire._--No. 2.

_Mice._--A sudden influx of mice into a house, hitherto free from their ravages, denotes approaching mortality among its inhabitants. A mouse running over a person is considered to be an infallible sign of death, as is also the squeaking of one behind the bed of an invalid, or the appearance or apparition of a white mouse running across the room. To meet with a shrew-mouse, in going a journey, is reckoned ominous of evil. The country people have an idea that the harvest-mouse is unable to cross a path which has been trod by man. Whenever they attempt, they are immediately, as my informant expressed it, "struck dead." This, they say, accounts for the numbers which on a summer's evening may be found lying dead on the verge of the field footpaths, without any external wound or apparent cause for their demise.

_Snakes._--There is a very prevalent belief that a snake can never die till the sun is down. Cut or hack it as you will, it will never die till sunset. This idea has evidently its source in the amazing vitality common to the species.

_Poultry._--The crowing of a hen bodes evil, and is frequently followed by the death of some member of the family. When, therefore, Dame Partlet thus experiments upon the note of her mate, she pays her head as the price of her temerity, a complete severance of the offending member being supposed to be the only way of averting the threatened calamity. No house, it is said, can thrive whose hens are addicted to this kind of amusement. Hence the old proverb often quoted in this district:

"A whistling woman and a crowing hen,
Is neither fit for God nor men."

According to Pluquet, the Normans have a similar belief, and a saying singularly like the English one:

"Un Poule qui chante le coq, et une fille qui siffle, portent
malheur dans la maison."

Before the death of a farmer his poultry frequently go to roost at noon-day, instead of at the usual time. When the cock struts up to the door and sounds his clarion on the threshold, the housewife is warned that she may soon expect a stranger. In what is technically termed "setting a hen," care is taken that the nest be composed of an odd number of eggs. If even, the chickens would not prosper. Each egg is always marked with a little black cross, ostensibly for the purpose of distinguishing them from the others, but also supposed to be instrumental in producing good chickens, and preventing any attack from the weasel or other farm-yard marauders. The last egg the hen lays is carefully preserved, its possession being supposed to operate as a charm upon the well-doing of the poultry. In some cases, though less commonly, the one laid on Good Friday is preserved, from the same reason. When a baby is first taken out to see its friends, it is customary for them to give it an egg: this, if preserved, is held to be a source of good fortune to the future man. (Vide _Brand_, ii. p. 48.) The first egg laid by a pullet is usually secured by the shepherd, in order to present to his sweetheart,--the luckiest gift, it is believed, he can give her.

_Crows._--To see a crow flying alone is a token of bad luck. An odd one, perched in the path of the observer, is a sign of wrath.

_Owls._--The ominous screech of this, the most ominous of all birds, is still heard with alarm; and he remains with us, as in Chaucer's days,

"The oule eke that of deth the bode bringeth."

When, as sometimes happens, he exchanges the darkness of his ivy bush for the rays of the sun at noon-day, his presence is looked upon as indicative of bad luck to the beholder. Hence it not infrequently happens that a mortal is as much scared by one of these occasional flights as the small bird denizens of the tree on which he may happen to alight.

_Cuckoos._--When the cry of the cuckoo is heard for the first time in the season, it is customary to turn the money in the pocket, and wish. If within the bounds of reason, it is sure to be fulfilled. In reference to the pecuniary idea respecting the cuckoo, the children sing,

"Cuckoo, cuckoo, cherry tree
Catch a penny and give it to me."

_Robins and Wrens._--The robin is considered a sacred bird: to kill one is little less than sacrilege, and its eggs are free from the destroying hand of the bird-nester. It is asserted that the respect shown to it by man is joined in by the animals of the wood. The weasel and wild cat, it is said, will neither molest it, nor eat it when killed. The high favour in which this bird is held is usually attributed to the ballad of _The Babes in the Wood_. Few, however, among the peasantry of this district have even heard of it; and, however much that beautiful tale may have tended to popularise the belief, it is evident that we must trace the origin to a more remote source. One cause for the veneration in which it is held may be the superstition which represents him as the medium through which mankind are warned of approaching death. {165} Before the death of a person, a robin is believed, in many instances, to tap thrice at the window of the room in which he or she may be. The wren is also a bird which superstition protects from injury; but it is by no means treated with such reverence as the robin. The praises of both are sung in the old couplet:--

"The robin and the wren,
Be God A'mighty's cock and hen."

_Pigeons._--No one, it is believed, can die on pigeons' feathers. In the northern parts of the county, the same thing is said of game feathers,--a superstition also current in Kent.--_Ingolsby Legends_, Third Series, p. 133.

_Wasps._--The first wasp seen in the season should always be killed. By so doing you secure to yourself good luck and freedom from enemies throughout the year.

_Bees._--The superstitious ceremonies and observances attached to these animals appear to be current throughout the kingdom, and by no means suffer any diminution in this county. Among others of less common occurrence, we have the belief that they will not thrive in a quarrelsome fammily.

The wild, or, as we term him, the _humble bee_, is not without a share of the superstitions which pertain to his more civilised brethren. The entrance of one into a cottage is deemed a certain sign of death.

_Spiders._--The small spiders called "money spinners" prognosticate good luck; in order to propitiate which, they must be thrown over the left shoulder.

T.Y.

* * * * *

Minor Notes

_The Hon. A. Erskine._--In J. Reed's Copy of _Boswell's and Hon. A. Erskine's Correspondence_, 12mo. 1763, was the following note in Reed's autograph:--

"The Hon. A. Erskine was fourth son of the fifth Earl of Kelley.
Mr. Boswell told me the 30th of May, 1794, that A.E., having
spent all his property, in a fit of despair threw himself from a
rock into the sea last winter, and was drowned. His body was
found five days after, when it appeared it was a deliberate act,
as he had filled his pockets with stones."

_Gloves._--The question of F.E. (Vol. i., p. 366.), "Why are gloves not worn before royalty?" having hitherto received no answer, may probably be as difficult of solution as another custom in which a glove figures as a token of defiance. Perhaps, however, covered hands, as well as a covered head, may have been considered discourteous. Indeed, we learn frown Cobarruvias, in his _Tesoro_, that it was so considered in Spain:--

"ENGUANTADO. El que entra con Guantes adonde se le ha de tener a
descortesia. El que sirve no los ha de tener delante de su
Senor: ni Vasallo, sea quien fuere, delante de su Rey." Fo. 453.
b. ed. 1611.

The use of gloves must be of very high antiquity. In the Middle Ages the priest who celebrated mass always, I believe, wore them during that ceremony; but it was just the contrary in courts of justice, where the presiding judge, as well as the criminal, was not allowed to cover his hands. It was anciently a popular saying, that three kingdoms must contribute to the formation of a good glove:--Spain to prepare the leather, France to cut them out, and England to sow them.

I think the etymology of the word _glove_ is in far from a satisfactory state. It is a good subject for some of your learned philological correspondents, to whom I beg leave to recommend its elucidation.

S.W. Singer.

Mickleham, July 26. 1850.

_Punishment of Death by Burning_ (Vol. ii., pp. 6, 50, 90.).--Your correspondent E.S.S.W. gives an account of a woman burnt for the murder of her husband in 1783, and asks whether there is any other instance of the kind in the latter part of the last century. I cannot positively answer this Query, but I will state a circumstance that occurred to myself about the year 1788. Passing in a hackney-coach up the Old Bailey to West Smithfield, I saw the unquenched embers of a fire opposite Newgate; on my alighting I asked the coachman "What was that fire in the Old Bailey, over which the wheel of your coach passed?" "Oh, sir," he replied, "they have been burning a woman for murdering her husband." Whether he spoke the truth or not I do not know, but I received it at the time as truth, and remember the impression it made on me.

It is, perhaps, as well to state that there were some fifteen to twenty persons standing around the smouldering embers at the time I passed.

Senex.

_India Rubber_ is now so cheap and common, that it seems worth while to make a note of the following passage in the _Monthly Review_ for Feb. 1772. It occurs at p. 71., in the article on "A familiar Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Perspective, by Joseph Priestly, LL.D. F.R.S., 8vo. 5s., boards. Johnson."

"Our readers, perhaps, who employ themselves in the art of
drawing, will be pleased with a transcript of the following
advertisement:--'I have seen, says Dr. Priestly, a substance,
excellently adapted to the purpose of wiping from paper the
marks of a black lead pencil. It must, therefore, be of singular
use to those who practise drawing. It is sold by Mr. Nairne,
mathematical instrument-maker, opposite the Royal Exchange. He
sells a cubical piece, of about half an inch, for three
shillings; and, he says, it will last several years.'"

N.B.

* * * * *{166}

QUERIES

THE "BAR" OF MICHAEL ANGELO.

In that delightful volume, _In Memoriam_, in which Mr. Tenyson has so nobly and pathetically enshrined the memory of his friend, Arthur Hallam, the following passage occurs, pp. 126, 127.:--

"To these conclusions, when we saw
The God within him light his face,
And seem to lift the form, and glow
In azure orbits heavenly-wise;
And over those ethereal eyes
_The bar of Michael Angelo_."

To what does this allude? In the fine profile portrait by Julio Bonasoni, Michael Angelo appears to have had a protuberant brow; and Condivi says, in his very interesting and detailed account of his person, that his forehead was square, and that, seen in profile ("quasi avanza il naso"), it projected almost beyond the nose. It is remarkable that the same spirit pervades these verses which we find in the Platonic breathings of the _Rime_ of the great artist; but we are most forcibly reminded of the poet of Vaucluse. The grief of the poet for the loss of his friend has however had a happier effect on his mind than the more impassioned nature of that of the lover of Laura produced: yet a kindred feeling, of spiritual communion with the lost one, pervades both poets; and this might have been the motto of Mr. Tenyson's volume:--

"Levommi il mio pensiero in parte ov' era
Quello eh' io cerco, e non ritrovo in terra;
... in questa spera
Sarai ancor meco, s' el desir non erra."

Foscolo has remarked that "when a great poet describes his own heart, his picture of _Love_ will draw tears from the eyes of every sensitive mortal in every age." And no one can read these effusions of deepfelt virtuous affection without emotions of a happy tendency.

S.W. SINGER.

* * * * *

ANNOTATED COPIES OF BISHOP ANDREWES' WORKS.

Acting on a suggestion given in previous number, I beg to state that I shall be much obliged by the use of any annotated copies of the following works of Bp. Andrewes, which I am engaged in taking through the press:--_Tortura Torti; Responsio ad Apolog. Cordius Bellarmini; Opuscula Posthuma; Two Answers to Cardinal Perron, &c.; Preces Privitæ_.

JAMES BLISS.

Ogburne St. Andrew, near Marlborough.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_Robert Innes, a Grub Street Poet._--Is there anything known respecting a strange "madcap," one Robert Innes, who, according to a printed broadside now before me, was a pauper in St. Peter's Hospital, 1787? He was in the habit of penning doggrel ballads and hawking them about for sale. Some of them have a degree of humour, and are, to a certain extent, valuable at the present time for their notices of passing events. In one of these now rare effusions, he styles himself "R. Innes, O.P.," and in explanation gives the following lines:--

"Some put unto their name A.M.,
And others put a D. and D.,
If 'tis no harm to mimick them,
I adds unto my name O.P.

"Master of Arts, sure I am not,
No Doctor, no Divine I be
But OAKUM PICKING is my lot,
Of the same clay are we all three."

The "works" of this "rogue and vagabond," now in my possession, were given me by the late Mr. Catnach of Seven Dials.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

_The Sicilian Vespers._--In what English work can a full and correct narrative of this event be found?

C.H. COOPER.

Cambridge, July 29. 1850.

_One Bell._--Can any of your readers favour me with a reference to some authority for the following, which may be found in Southey's _Book of the Church_ (vol. ii. p. 121.)?

"Somerset pretended that one bell in a steeple was sufficient
for summoning the people to prayer; and the country was thus in
danger of losing its best music."

What follows is so beautiful and appropriate, that I may perhaps be excused for lengthening my quotation:

"--a music, hallowed by all circumstances, which, according
equally with social exultation and with solitary pensiveness,
though it falls upon many an unheeding ear, never fails to find
some hearts which it exhilarates, and some which it softens."

It is a curious fact, that in many towers there may be often found a solitary _black-letter Bell_ (if I may so call it), evidently of ante-Reformation date, making one of the peal.

H.T.E.

_Treasure Trove._--The prejudicial effect which the law of _Treasure Trove_, as it now exists in this country, has been found to exercise upon the preservation of objects of archaeological interest, especially if such articles happen to be formed of either of the precious metals, is just now exciting the attention of the antiquarian world. Any notes upon the state of this law upon the Continent, any references to instances of valuable "finds" which have been lost to archaeological investigation through the operation of this law, or to cases in which the decisions of the courts have been given upon questions of this law; in short, any hints {167} or information upon any points connected with the subject of _Treasure Trove_ will be thankfully received by,

EFFESSA.

_Poeta Anglicus._--The gloss on the Prooemium to the _Constitutions of Clement V._, col. iv. "Corp. Jur. Can." t. iii. Lugd. 1671, has the following remark:--

"Et dicitur a _Papæ_, quod est, interjectio admirantis, et vere
admirabilis: quia vices Dei in terris gerit. Inde dixit ille
Anglicus in poetria nova: _Papa stupor mundi._ Et circa fin.,
_Qui maxima rerum, nec Deus es nec homo, quasi neuter es inter
utrumque_."

Who is the Anglicus Poeta? What is the name of his poem?

J.B.

_Hornbooks._--Can either of your numerous intelligent readers give me an account of the hornbooks from which our ancestors learned their letters? If so, I shall feel especially obliged for the information.

JOHN TIMBS.

_Ben Jonson, or Ben Johnson._--Among some papers I possess of the Digby family, I have an autograph poem on _The Picture of the Minde of the Lady Venetia Digby_, by Ben "Johnson." Is this the same as Ben "Jonson?" and if so, how comes it the "h" has been dropped from his name? Or was there some other Ben "Johnson," a poet of that period?

N.A.B.

_MS. Book of Prayers belonging to Queen Catherine Parr._--In vol. ix. of the _Gentleman's Magazine_ is a description of a MS. book of prayers, bound in silver, which probably belonged to Queen Catherine Parr. Can you or any of your numerous readers inform me in whose possession the volume is _now_?

J.L.W.

_Waltheof--De Combre Family--Ilda._--In _Waltheof, or the Siege of York_, an historical drama published at York, 1832, one of the _dramatis personæ_, Judith, the niece of the Conqueror, and daughter of the Countess of Albemarle, is made to say,--

"When gallant _Waltheof, as his country's champion_,
On bus'ness of high import and high matters,
_Oft at my royal uncle's court appeared_,

...

"We married privately.
Two years and more have passed since this has happened,
And one sweet pledge of love has crowned our vows."

Now I am anxious to know,

1. Whether there be any historical authority for Waltheof being sent as envoy to William? and, if so, on what mission?

2. Is it not the more correct account, that the Conqueror gave his niece Judith in marriage to Waltheof _after_ the surrender of the city, [at the same time that he conferred other honours upon him, out of respect for his brave defence of the city; creating him, first, Earl of Northhampton and Huntingdon, and afterwards Earl of Northumberland, A.D. 1070.] And if so, as Waltheof could certainly not have had any "pledge of love" _before_ the siege of York; so neither is it probable that he had any issue at all by Judith, as in the same year, 1070, he was beheaded by William, for supposed participation in a conspiracy at York.

The above drama is said to be "by a descendant of one of the _dramatis personæ_," viz. of "De Combre, one of William's generals;" being written by Rev. Thomas Comber, of Oswaldkirk, Yorkshire. This De Combre is represented as having married _Ilda_, a daughter of King Harold, and sister of _Edgar_. Can any of your correspondents furnish me with information as to the origin and antiquity of this family of Comber? I learn from the present representatives of this family, that they have no recorded pedigree which goes higher than the reign of Henry VI., but that the family tradition has always been, that their ancestor came over from Normandy with William, and married Ilda, daughter of Harold. It seems that the name of Ilda is at this very day borne by one of the family. In the _Memoirs of Dr. Thomas Comber, Dean of Durham_, this De Combre is said to have had the manor of Barkham, in Sussex, given to him by the Conqueror. What family had King Harold II.? Had he any daughter Ilda? and, if so, is there any record or mention of her husband's name?

T.E.L.L.

19th July, 1850.

_"De male quæsitis," &c._--Spelman's striking argument, that spoliated church property is seldom enjoyed for more than three generations, seems but a special application of a general principle,--

"De male quæsitis gaudet non tertius hæraes."

Can any of your readers tell me who is the author of the above verse? I find it quoted as "an adage" by John Gadsbury, in his work _On the Doctrine of Nativities_, 1658.

R.P.

_Westminster Abbey._--The late Sir Harry Englefield is known to have had access to some of the original fabric accounts of this venerable structure. Can any of your readers inform me whether he published the information he may have obtained from those documents; and, if so, where it may be found?

J.BT.

_Haberdasher--Martinet._--Can any of your correspondents suggest an etymology for the word _haberdasher_? I ought, perhaps, to say that I am acquainted with the derivations propounded by Mr. Richardson, but consider them all unsatisfactory. While on the subject, I would also ask if Mr. Richardson's _Dictionary_ is considered the best {168} source extant of information on English etymology, because I cannot help thinking that it has very many faults and deficiencies. The very word, for instance, on the derivation of which your valuable correspondent MR. FORBES offered a suggestion in No. 38., viz. _Martinet_, I had in vain sought for in Mr. Richardson's _Dictionary_, at least in his quarto edition, 1887.

PRISCIAN.

* * * * *

"_Querela Cantabrigiensis_."--Is anything known of the authorship of the _Querela Cantabrigiensis: or, a Remonstrance by way of Apologie for the banished Members of the late flourishing University of Cambridge. By some of the said Sufferers. Anno Dom. 1647_? This seems a favourable time for inserting this Query, as there is a chance of _a second series of "The Universities' Complaint"_ making its appearance before the year is out.

J.M.B.

* * * * *

_Long Lonkin._--Can any of your readers give me a clue to the personality of Long Lonkin, the hero of a moss-trooping ballad popular in Cumberland, which commences--

"The Lord said to his ladie,
As he mounted his horse,
Beware of Long Lonkin
That lies in the moss."

And goes on to tell how Long Lonkin crept in at "one little window" which was left unfastened, and was counselled by the wicked maiden to--

"Prick the babe in the cradle"

as the only means of bringing down the poor mother, whom he wished to kill.

Are there any other traditions of him, and can he have any connection with the name bestowed by children on the middle finger, in the following elegant rhyme?--

"Tom Thumbkin,
Will Wilkins,
Long Lonkin," &c.?

This I had always supposed merely to refer to the length of the finger, but the coincidence of names is curious.

SELEUCUS.

* * * * *

REPLIES.

TREATISE OF EQUIVOCATION.

I can now inform you that the MS. _Treatise of Equivocation_, about which J.M. inquired (Vol. i., p. 263.), is preserved in the Bodleian Library (Laud, _Miscellaneous MSS. 655_.). Dodd, in his _Church History_ (vol. ii. pp. 381. 428.), under the names Blackwell and Francis Tresham, mentions the work by its second title, _A Treatise against Lying and fraudulent Dissimulation_, and states that the MS. is in the Bodleian. Through the kindness of Dr. Baudinel, I have seen the tract; and as there is a certain historical interest attached to it, some information on the subject may be acceptable to your readers. But it may be as well first to give the account of its production at the trial of Guy Fawkes and the conspirators, Jan. 27, 1606. (See _State Trials_, vol. ii. col. 180.) After Coke had introduced under the seventh head of his speech, as the fourth means for carrying on the plot, "their perfidious and perjurious equivocating," there follows:--

"And here was showed a Book, written not long before the Queen's
death, at what time Thomas Winter was employed into Spain,
entituled, 'A Treatise of Equivocation,' which book being seen
and allowed by Garnet, the superior of the Jesuits, and
Blackwell, the Archpriest of England, in the beginning thereof
Garnet with his own hand put out those words in the title of
'Equivocation,' and made it thus; 'A Treatise against Lying and
fraudulent Dissimulation.' ... And in the end thereof, Blackwell
besprinkles it with his blessing, saying, 'Tractatus iste valde
doctus, et vere pius et Catholicus est. Certe S. Scripturarum,
patrum, doctorum, scholasticorum, canonistarum, et optimarum
rationum præsidiis plenissime firmat æquitatem æquivocationis;
ideoque dignissimus est qui typis propagetur, ad consolationem
afflictorum Catholicorum, et omnium piorum instructionem.'"

Coke referred to it again at Garnet's trial, March 28, 1606 (_State Trials_, vol. ii. p. 234.); and the importance attached to the discovery of the work may be judged of by Morton's _Full Satisfaction_, 1606: a very large part of which is occupied in discussing it.

The copy in the Bodleian is the one which was produced at the trial. It is a small quarto in a vellum cover, on the outside of which is written, on the front side, in a later hand, "Blackwell de Equivocatione, &c.;" on the other side, in Sir E. Coke's hand, "Equivocations." It consists of sixty-six pages in all; i.e. two leaves at the beginning originally left blank, and not numbered; sixty-one pages numbered continuously, and fifty-nine of them written on: p. 61., that is, the fly-leaf at the end, contains Blackwell's imprimatur as described by Coke. On the first fly-leaf, at the beginning, is the following memorandum:--

"This booke, contening 61 pages, I founde in a chamber in the
Inner Temple, wherein Sr Thomas Tresham used to lye, and whiche
he obteyned for his two younger sonnes. This 5 of December,
1605." EDW. COKE.

"Os quod mentitur occidit animam."

It may be enough to remind the reader, that after Nov. 5, 1605, Coke, being Attorney-General, was engaged in prosecuting the discovery of the plot and seeking for evidence. Francis Tresham, to whom the authorship is attributed by Dodd (vol. ii. p. 427, 428.), was a son of Sir Thomas Tresham; his connection with Garnet and the plot is well known. Sir T. Tresham died Sept. 11, 1605. (Dodd, vol. ii. p. 58.) Francis had been committed {169} to prison, and died Nov. 20, 1605; and Coke found this in searching his chambers a fortnight after. The title originally stood thus:--

"A TREATISE OF EQUIVOCATION, _wherein is largely discussed the
question_, whether a Catholicke or any other person before a
Magistrate being demaunded uppon his oath whether a Prieste were
in such a place, may (notwithstanding his perfect knowledge to
the contrary), without Perjury, and securely in conscience
answere, No: with this secreat meaning reserved in his minde,
That he was not there so that any man is bound to detect it."

The words in small capitals and Italics occupying the first two lines are crossed out, and "whe-," the first syllable of whether, re-written at the beginning of line 3. At the end of this title, interlined by another hand, follow the words "_newly, overseer ... ignorants_;" but these words are also struck through and re-written on the preceding leaf, on which, written by the same hand by which the interlineation was made (Garnet's, as it would seem), the title stands,--

"A Treatise _of_ against Lying and fraudulent Dissimulation.
Newly overseen by the Authour, and published for the defence of
Innocency and for the Instruction of Ignorants."

The "_of_", in Italics, is struck out. The MS. has other corrections throughout in the same (Garnet's) hand; and was evidently prepared for the press, as Blackwell's imprimatur implies.

I have to apologise for some incorrect dates in my last communication.

J.B.

* * * * *

BOETHIUS' CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY.

The celebrated treatise _De Consolatione Philosophiæ_, was translated into English verse by John Walton, otherwise called Johannes Capellanus, in the year 1410. A beautiful manuscript on parchment, of this translation, is preserved in the British Museum (_Harl. MS._ 43.). Other copies are amongst the archives of Lincoln Cathedral, Baliol College, &c. It was printed in the Monastery of Tavestok in 1525, a copy of which impression is of the utmost rarity. There is an English prose translation by "George Colvil, alias Coldewell," printed by John Cawood, 4to. 1556. And again, _Boethius' Five Bookes of Philosophicall Comfort_, translated by J.T., and printed at London in 12mo., 1609.

Viscount Preston's translation was _first_ printed in 8vo., 1695. The edition of 1712, mentioned by your correspondent, was the _second_. Boethius was again translated by W. Causton in 1730, and with notes and illustrations, by the Rev. P. Ridpath, 8vo., 1785. The latter is, I believe, an excellent translation; it is accompanied by a Life of Boethius, drawn up with great care and accuracy. In 1789 a translation by R. Duncan appeared at Edinburgh; and in 1792, an anonymous translation was printed in London. The latter is said to be a miserable performance.

King Alfred's Anglo-Saxon version, with an English translation and notes, by J.S. Cardale, was printed at London, in 8vo., 1829.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

_Queen Elizabeth's Translation of Boethius_ (Vol. ii., p. 56.).--One of JARLTZBERG'S inquiries is, "Has Queen Elizabeth's work (which she executed during her captivity before she ascended the throne) been printed?" Certainly not: if it had been, it would have been well known. May we venture to anticipate an affirmative reply to another parallel question--Does Queen Elizabeth's translation of _Boethius_ exist in manuscript? But where did JARLTZBERG learn that it was "executed during her captivity before she ascended the throne?" We know that she made such a translation when she was sixty years of age, that is, in October and November, 1593, (see Nichols's _Progresses, &c., of Queen Elizabeth_, vol. iii. p. 564., and the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for February last, p. 143.), and it is a very interesting proof of the continuance of her learned studies at that advanced period of her life; and, as the curious document which records this fact is unnoticed in the last edition of _Royal and Noble Authors_ by Mr. Park, it is probably a misapprehension that the same task had engaged some of the hours of her captivity; or rather is it not one of those dove-tailing conjectures in which some of our most popular lady-biographers have recently exhibited such extravagant and misplaced ingenuity?

JOHN GOUGH NICHOLS.

_Boethius' Consolations of Philosophy_ (Vol. ii., p. 56.).--JARLTZBERG is wrong in supposing that Richard Viscount Preston's translation appeared _first_ in 1712. I have now before me an edition in 8vo. "London: printed by J.D. for Awnsham and John Churchill, at the Black Swan, in Paternoster row; and Francis Hildyard, bookseller in York, MDCXCV." Horace Walpole, in his _Royal and Noble Authors_, states that the publication in 1712 was the "_second_ edition corrected;" and Mr. Park says in a note, that the first edition was in 1695, 8vo.

C.H. COOPER

Cambridge, June 24. 1850.

* * * * *

ETYMOLOGICAL QUERIES ANSWERED.

J. MN. (Vol. ii., p. 153.) has propounded a dozen of most recondite and puzzling archaisms, upon which I have to offer a few notes.

"_Rykelot_, a magpie?"--The popular and provincial names of animals deserve more careful notice than they have received from glossarists. I need scarcely observe how frequently personal names were derived from those of birds. In the {170} Hundred Rolls we find a "Richard Rikelot" in Huntingdonshire (vol. ii. p. 626.). I know not what has led to the supposition that this name denotes the magpie. It may possibly be traced to the same root as that of a cognate species, the _cornix frugivora; Roeck_, Germ., according to Gesner; Friesic, _roek_; Ang.-S. _hroc_, the rook: but I am at a loss to discover anything similar in old French to explain the occurrence of the termination, which seems to be a popular or familiar diminutive, a Gallicism, analogous to _partlot_.

"_Wrusum or Wursum._"--The latter is the correct reading. Trotter Brockett includes the word amongst Northern Provincialisms.--"_Wursum_, pus, particularly when foul." Jamieson is inclined to derive the word _woursom_ or _worsum_, used in the same sense by Douglas, in his translation of Virgil, and by other North Country writers, from Ang.-S. _Wyr_, pus, and _sum_, as denoting quality.

"_Sabraz._"--This term has perplexed me much in preparing notes on the portion of the _Promptorium_ I have now in hand. In the Harl. MS. 221. is found "Sabrace, _sabracia_, Comm." The authority cited, the _Commentarius Curialium_, is still unknown to me; and I have failed in searching for the word _sabracia_, which is not found in Ducange, or other glossaries of debased Latinity. Mr. Halliwell gives "_Sabras_, salve, plaster;" but he cites no authority. It appears, however, rather to signify a tonic or astringent solution than a salve. I have hitherto found it only in the following passage (_Sloane MS_. 73., f. 211., late xv. sec.) in a recipe for making "cheuerel lether of perchemyne." The directions are, that it be "basked to and fro" in a hot solution of "alome roche;--aftir take xelkis of eyren and breke hem smale in a disch, as thou woldist make therof a caudel, and put these to thyn alome water, and chaufe it; thanne take it doun fro the fier, and put it in the cornetrey; thanne tak thi lether and basche it wel in this _sabras_, to it be wel drunken up into the lether." A little flour is then to be added, the mixture heated, and the "perchemyn well basked therein, and th't that saberas be wel drunken up into the lether;" and if it enters not well into the leather, "lay it abroad in a good long vessel that be scheld, the fleschside upward, and poure thi _sabrace_ al abouen the lether, and rubbe it wel yn." It is further recommended to "late the lether ligge so still al a nyzt in his owen _sabras_."

"_I-menbred_, a girdle i-menbred." (Thus, in old French, "menbrer, _membrer_," &c., Roquefort). Charpentier gives similar use of the Latin word,--"Membrare, instruere, ornare, Gall. garnir;" citing a French document, dated 1352: "Item, unam zonam de serico _Membratam_ de argento et esmandis;" and another of 1366: "Duas zonas de serico, argento stofatas et _Membratas_." The term was thus used also in England, as in the inventory of valuables belonging to Edward I. in 1300 (_Liber Garderobæ_, p. 347.):--"Una zona, cum cathenis argenti annell' cum targ' et membris argenti." It might be supposed from this expression, that the _membra_ were, strictly speaking, the transverse bars of metals, or _cloux_, Fr., by which the girdle was divided into several compartments, the intervening spaces being filled by chased ornaments of goldsmiths' work, and occasionally by armorial scutcheons, "_targie_."

But enough for the present. I should esteem it a favour if your correspondent would inform me where these curious terms are found, as the context would greatly facilitate their elucidation.

ALBERT WAY.

Wonham, Reigate, August 3.

* * * * *

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Solingen_ (Vol. ii., p. 135.).--Will you allow me to state, for the information of T.S. LAWRENCE, who inquires who S_a_lingen, the sword cutler, was,--that S_o_lingen is the name of a small town near Elberfeld, in Westphalia; a sort of Sheffield for the whole of that part of Germany. Immense quantities of cutlery of all sorts are made there, and many knives are, I was told, made there, stamped with English names, and imported into England as true British ware,--being equally good with ours, and, of course, cheaper. Solingen is still, and has been for centuries, renowned for its sword blades. You cannot ride through the town without meeting a troop or two of girls with a load of sword blades on their heads.

May I suggest to your inquirer JARLTZBERG that the derivation of _blackguard_ is as likely to be _blagarode_, the Russian for _nobleman_, as many words are to be descended from their reputed parents.

C.B.M.

P.C.S.S. believes that a little research would have enabled MR. LAWRENCE (Vol. ii., p. 135.) to ascertain that _Solingen_ (not S_a_lingen) was not the name of a sword cutler, but of a place in Prussian Westphalia, long celebrated for the fabrication of that weapon, as well as of fencing-foils. Of the latter instrument P.C.S.S. has several pairs in his possession, all marked with the inscription "In Solingen." That the Solingen manufactory still flourishes there, is stated in Murray's _Handbook for Northern Germany_, p. 373.

P.C.S.S.

_Blackguard_ (Vol. ii., p. 134.).--In the second vol. of B. Jonson's works by Gifford, page 169., there is the following note on this word:--

"In all great houses, but particularly in the royal residences,
there were a number of mean, dirty dependants, whose office it
was to attend the wool-yard, sculleries, &c.; of these the most
forlorn wretches seem to have been selected to carry coals to
the kitchens, halls, &c. To this smutty regiment, who attended
the {171} progresses, and rode in the carts with the pots and
kettles, the people in derision gave the name of _black_-guards"

I find also the following in Butlerts _Hudibras_, part 3.:--

"Thou art some paltry, _blackguard_ sprite,
Condemn'd to drudgery in the night;
Thou hast no work to do in the house,
Nor halfpenny to drop in shoes."

AREDJID KOOEZ.

_The Three Dukes_ (Vol. ii., p. 9.).--Perhaps a note which I have just stumbled upon, in a MS. account of the Griffin family, may furnish some clue as to "the Dukes who killed the Beadell."

"Edward Griffin was probably the same person, to whom a pardon
was granted, April 11. 1671, for the death of Peter Werriel; in
the like manner as _was granted to the Duke of Albemarle and
the_ Duke of Monmouth."

At all events, both casualties occurred in the same spring, and a reference to the gazettes of the day would perhaps set the question at rest.

BRAYBROOKE.

Audley End.

_Bonny Dundee_ (Vol. ii., p. 134.) is the name attached to one of the most beautiful of the Scotch melodies. The song is said to be very old. The words, which I recollect to have heard sung to it more than half a century ago, began:

"'O, whar gat ye that hauers-meal bannock,
My bonny young lassie, now tell it to me?'
'I got it frae a sodger laddie,
Between Saint Johnstone and bonnie Dundee."