Chapter C: De D

_Quistourne_ (Vol. iv., p. 116.).--Here is a word so very like the Devonshire one which has puzzled a correspondent, that it may be the same one in sense as well in sound. In one of the Low-Norman insular dialects, it denotes a slap with the _back_ of the _hand_; in French-British[3], KIS DOURN, _revers de main_.

[Footnote 3: I was asked by a great and true scholar, now no more,
What do you mean by _British_? My answer was, "The nation that you
have nicknamed _Welsh_ or _Strangers_, which they are not. With me
the English are still English, the Scotch Scots, the Britons in
France the British there."]

G. M.

_Seneca's Medea_ (Vol. i., p. 107.; Vol. iii., p. 464.).--I cannot feel much doubt that the prophecy ascribed to Medea was a mere allusion to events actually past. It was a compliment to Claudius upon the recent reduction of Britannia under the Roman arms, with nothing future, unless it were an encouragement to bring Caledonia, Ireland, and the small islands, into similar subjection. The Oceanus was supposed to extend indefinitely westward, beyond the world, into the regions of Night and Chaos, and was not only dreaded for its stormy navigation, but from feelings of religious awe. The expedition to Britain was peculiar from being ultra-mundane, and an invasion of the ocean, so that

"Oceanus
Vincula rerum laxet et ingens
Pateat tellus."

For that reason only they called the Britons "penitus toto divisos orbe." "Britain (said the pseudo-Hegesippus) lying out of the world, was by the power of the Roman empire reduced into the world," cit. Camden. And the same is implied in another place of Seneca himself--

"Ille Britannos
_Ultra noti_
_Littora ponti_, etc.
Dare Romuleis
Colla catenis
Jussit."

But the "Poemata Pithaeana," reprinted in Camden, form the most lively commentary on the chorus of the Medea. They are likewise of the Claudian age, they relate to the conquest of Britain, and they are nothing but an expansion of that one idea, the trans-oceanic voyage and ultra-mundane conquest--

"Oceanus.... Qui finis mundo, non erit imperio. Oceanus medium
venit imperium. At nunc Oceanus geminos interluit orbes, Pars est
imperii, terminus ante fuit. Et jam Romano cingimur Oceano.
Oceanus jam terga dedit, etc. Conjunctum est, quod _adhuc_ (i.e.
_nunc_) orbis, et orbis erat," &c.

The Chorus of Seneca has no more of prophecy, or sagacious conjecture, or other anticipation of the future, than Gray's "Bard," or the prophecy of Medea in Pindar's "Pythians," both of them fulfilled before the poet's time. Whatever may seem of a larger import, in Seneca's language, than events had fully justified, belongs to the obscure and lofty strain of remote vaticinations, or to the exaggerations of flattery.

A. N.

_The Editor of Jewel's Works in Folio_ (Vol. iv., p. 225.).--Colet speaks of the editions of Jewel published in 1609 and 1611 as "edited by Fuller." On meeting with the statement elsewhere, I supposed it to be a mistake, as Fuller was born in 1608; but when I found it apparently countenanced by the notice of Jewel in Fuller's _Abel Redivivus_ (Camb. 1651, p. 313.), I was much puzzled, until, on turning to the Introduction, [section] 11., I discovered that the writer of that notice, and editor of the folios, was not _Fuller_, but _Featley_.

J. C. R.

_Poetaster_ (Vol. iv., p. 59.).--In reply to A BORDERER, I do not think _poetaster_ to be a genuine Latin word, though where first used I do not know. The French equivalent is _poetereau_; the Italian _poeterio_; both formed according to the analogies of the respective languages. _Poetaster_ seems to me to be formed upon the model of _oleaster_, _pinaster_, &c., as though to indicate that the person to whom the name is applied is as unlike a true poet as the wild olive to the true olive, or the wild pine to the true pine. What then is the derivation of _aster_ as a termination? Some punster will say, respecting _oleaster_, that it is _olea sterilis_. Is it not [Greek: agrios]? or is it rather a form cognate to the Greek termination [Greek: -azo], which generally means the performance of some energy, or the exhibiting of some state, implied in the substantive; as though the wild olive affected the characteristics and condition of the genuine olive? I am fully aware of many difficulties in the admission of these derivations. I would suggest another. Does _aster_ signify that which affects or approaches the characteristics of the substantive to which it is added, as the terminations _-estis_ or _-estris_, whereby adjectives are formed; as _agrestis_, _sylvestris_, _campestris_, at the same time that the forms are allied, _-aster_, _-estris_, _-estis_?

THEOPHYLACT.

_Post Pascha_ (Vol. iv., p. 151.).--A parallel to the "hypertautology" noticed by M. may be found in the determination of the University of Orleans on the question of Henry VIII.'s divorce, which is dated "die quinto mensis Aprilis, _ante pascha_," from which it has been argued, that that document must have been drawn up in 1530, not (as stated in the printed copies) in 1529, when Easter fell on March 28.

J. C. R.

_Linteamina and Surplices_ (Vol. iv., p. 192.).--It seems probable that the surplice became an ecclesiastical vestment at an early date, though the exact period of its introduction into the Christian church it is difficult to ascertain; it may not unlikely have been taken from the white linen ephod of the Jewish priests. Wheatly (c. ii. [section] 4.) quotes a passage from Jerome to the following effect: "What offence can it be to God for a bishop or priest to proceed to communion in a white garment;" and he considers it not improbable that it was in use in Cyprian's days. Bingham (_French Churches' Apology_, book iii. chap. vii.) cites a letter of Peter Martyr to Bishop Hooper on the vestment controversy, in which he states that a distinction of habits may be proved by many passages of Eusebius, Cyprian, Tertullian, and Chrysostom. By the twelfth canon of the Council of Narbonne, A.D. 589, the clergy were forbidden to take the _albe_ off until after mass was ended. In ancient times, as Mr. Palmer observes (_Orig. Lit._ ii. 409.), the _surplice_ probably differed not from the _albe_; it differs now only in having wider sleeves.

N. E. R. (a Subscriber.)

_Climate_ (Vol. iv., p. 231.).--A _climate_ was a zone contained between two parallels of latitude. The climates were made to contain various arcs of _latitude_, in different systems. See Hutton's _Mathematical Dictionary_ at _Climate_, or any work which efficiently explains old astronomical terms. Thus a _climate_ originally meant a certain range of latitude; and as we now speak of warm and cold latitudes, so it became customary to speak of climates, until the last word became wholly meteorological.

M.

"_Climate_ or _Clime_ in geography is a part of the surface of the
earth, bounded by two circles parallel to the equator, and of such
a breadth as that the longest day in the parallel nearer the pole
exceeds the longest day in that next the equator by some certain
spaces, viz. half an hour.

"The ancients, who confined the climates to what they imagined the
habitable parts of the earth, only allowed of seven. The first
they made to pass through Meroe; the second, through Sienna; the
third, through Alexandria; the fourth, through Rhodes; the fifth,
through Rome; the sixth, through Pontus; and the seventh, through
the mouth the Borysthenes."--_Encyclopaedia Britannica_, art.
"CLIMATE."

S. C. C.

Corfe Castle.

_Ancient Language of Egypt_ (Vol. iv., pp. 152. 240.).--The only works on the language of ancient Egypt preserved in the hieroglyphical inscriptions that possess any authority are the _Grammaire Egyptienne_ of Champollion[4], and the appendix to the first volume of the Chevalier Bunsen's _Egypt's Place in Universal History_. Much, however, is known to individuals who have studied the language, which has not been published, or perhaps digested into a system; and the works mentioned are by no means to be depended on as to matters of detail, especially as respects the verbs and pronouns, though the general principles of interpretation may be considered as settled. There was another language used by the ancient Egyptians, and expressed in what is called the demotic or enchorial character. Brugsch of Berlin is the highest authority as to this; his work, _De natura et indole linguae popularis AEgyptiorum_, is, I believe, incomplete, but he has published others in Latin and German.

[Footnote 4: This contains the latest views of the author, whose
most important discoveries were made near the close of his life.
The _Precis_ contains much that Champollion afterwards rejected as
erroneous. The _Dictionnaire_ is a compilation, made after his
death from what he wrote at different periods of his life. It is
inconsistent with itself, and abounds in errors, so as to be worse
than useless to the student.]

The work on Egyptian chronology, from which most seems to be expected, is that of Lepsius; but he has yet published only the first volume, which consists of preliminary matter. Le Sueur's treatise, though crowned by the French Academie, is a failure. Bunsen's less palpably erroneous, but a great part of the second and third volumes, which were published in German in 1844, would require to be re-written. Those who wish to study the chronology, as systematised by the Egyptians themselves, should consult the Turin _Book Of Kings_, of which an accurate fac-simile, with explanatory text, has been lithographed, and is about to be published by subscription, under the superintendence of a committee, of which Sir Gardner Wilkinson is the most prominent member.

E. H. D. D.

_Welwood's Memoirs_ (Vol. iv., p. 70.).--The edition referred to by MR. ROSS I have not seen, but there is one in my library printed at London in 1702, and which bears to be "the fourth edition," with the dedication to the king, and an address "to the reader" commencing as follows:--

"These sheets were writ some years ago, by the encouragement of
_one_ whose memory will be ever sacred to posterity. It's needless
to mention the occasion; and they had not been published now, if a
surreptitious copy of a part of the manuscript had not crept
abroad."

The volume, which is very well got up in 8vo., is printed for "Tim. Goodwin, and sold by James Round at the Seneca's Head in Exchange Alley."

It may be fairly inferred that this edition came out under the superintendence of Welwood, and it would be interesting to ascertain whether there are any alterations in the sixth edition. Welwood was a Scotchman, and a letter from him to James Anderson, the eminent Scotish antiquary, will be found amongst the Anderson Papers in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates. It has been printed in the appendix to the _Catalogues of Scotish Writers_, Edinburgh, 1833.

J. MT.

Miscellaneous.

NOTES ON BOOKS, SALES, CATALOGUES, ETC.

On Wednesday the curtain fell on the most gorgeous and successful Pageant ever enacted--a Pageant in which all the nations of the earth played a part, with the Crystal Palace for their "tyring house." Honour then to all who had hand or heart in this Triumph of Peace! Honour to our Queen for her most judicious patronage! Honour to Prince Albert for the admirable tact with which he fulfilled the duties of his important office! Honour to our countrymen for the manner in which they have maintained the dignity of a free people! Honour to our foreign visitors for the friendly spirit in which they responded to our invitation and received our welcome! Honour to that efficient corps the Sappers and Miners, (and happily we have only to mention the military to recognise their services as civilians), and to our Police for their good-humoured firmness! Honour to Paxton, for his design--to Fox and Henderson for their execution of it! and, though last not least, honour to that band of zealous and indefatigable spirits, the Digby Wyatts, Dilkes, Coles, Scott Russells, &c., to whose prevision and supervision, at all times and in all places, the success of the World's Fair and the comfort of its visitors, owe so much! If ever there was a fitting time for instituting an ORDER OF CIVIL MERIT, it is now; if ever there were men who deserved to wear such an order, they who planned, and they who carried out the GREAT EXHIBITION OF THE WORKS OF INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS, they are the men.

We could not allow the Great Exhibition to close without making a Note of it: we have therefore little room this week for Notes on Books. We must, however, take notice of six additional volumes of the _National Illustrated Library_, which we have received. Of three of these we may well speak briefly, as they form the Second, Third, and Fourth Volumes of _Boswell's Life of Johnson_, to which we formerly directed the attention of our readers. _The Book of English Songs from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century_ is a very well selected volume. The Editor's endeavour to present a fair view of this branch of our National Literature has been attended with success, and the book will, we have no doubt, be a popular one. _The Orbs of Heaven_, by Mr. Mitchel, the director of the Cincinnati Observatory, is intended to furnish a popular exposition of the great Discoveries and Theories of Modern Astronomy, and to exhibit the structure of the universe so far as revealed by the mind of man. The book is a reprint of a series of lectures delivered in the hall of Cincinnati College, with such success as to have led to the establishment of the Cincinnati Observatory--need we say more? The sixth volume is a very interesting but painful one, _The Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, with Memoirs of the Life and Death of Joseph Smith, the American Mahomet_. How startling is the contrast in the subject-matter of these two books--the one rich in a display of the infinite wisdom of the Creator, the other depicting most vividly the foolishness of man.

The new volume of Bohn's _Standard Library_ is the second of Dr. Neander's _History of the Planting and Training of the Christian Church by the Apostles, with the Author's Final Additions; and his Antignostikus, or Spirit of Tertullian_, which completes, we believe, the series of translations from the writing of this learned German divine. _The metamorphoses of Ovid, literally translated into English Prose_, forms the new volume of Bohn's _Classical Library_, and the Translator, Mr. Riley, has endeavoured to render the work more inviting to the scholar, and more intelligible to those who are unversed in classical literature, by numerous explanatory notes calculated to throw considerable light upon the origin and meaning of some of the traditions of heathen mythology.

It will be seen by our advertising columns that Messrs. Puttick and Simpson exhibit a numerous List of important Sales of Books, Manuscripts, Autographs, &c., which they have in preparation for the ensuing season.

BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES

WANTED TO PURCHASE.

JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF DUBLIN. Vol. I. Part I. (One or more copies.)

THE ANTIQUARY. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1816. Vols. I. and II.

HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF TWICKENHAM, being the First Part of Parochial Collections for the County of Middlesex, begun in 1780 by E. Ironside, Esq., London, 1797. (This work forms 1 vol. of Miscell. Antiquities in continuation of the Bib. Topographica, and is usually bound in the 10th Volume.)

RITSON'S ROBIN HOOD. 12mo. London 1795. Vol II. (10_s._ will be given for a clean copy in boards, or 7_s._ 6_d._ for a clean copy _bound_.)

DR. JOHNSON'S PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS.

ANNUAL OBITUARY AND BIOGRAPHY. Vol. XXXI.

THEOPHILUS AND PHILODOXUS, or Several Conferences, &c., by Gilbert Giles, D.D., Oxon, 1674; or the same work republished 1679, under the title of a "Dialogue between a Protestant and a Papist."

PECK'S COMPLETE CATALOGUE OF ALL THE DISCOURSES WRITTEN BOTH FOR AND AGAINST PAPACY IN THE TIME OF KING JAMES II. 1735. 4to.

[Star symbol] Letters, stating particulars and lowest price,
_carriage free_, to be sent to MR. BELL, publisher of "NOTES AND
QUERIES," 186. Fleet Street.

Notices to Correspondents.

_We are this week compelled to request the indulgence of our correspondents for the omission of our usual acknowledgement of_ REPLIES RECEIVED.

J. O. D. M. (Worthing). _Mr. Alison the author of_ THE NEW REFORMATION, _is not Mr. Alison the author of_ THE HISTORY OF EUROPE.

F. D. _will find the_ "Sermon against Miracle Plays" _in the_ RELIQUAE ANTIQUAE, vol. ii. p. 42. _There are no collective editions of the dramatic compositions of Nash or Lyllie._

LLAW GYFFES _is referred to our Number of the 4th Oct., p. 206., where he will find his Davies Queries duly inserted._

ALBION _in our next; also_ DR. HENRY'S "Notes on Virgil." _We owe an apology to_ DR. HENRY _for having nodded, and so allowed the word_ impertinent _to pass unerased from a comment upon his Note on_ Servius. _It is an epithet which certainly ought neither to have been applied to him, nor admitted into our columns._

_Copies of our_ Prospectus, _according to the suggestion of T. E. H., will be forwarded to any correspondent willing to assist us by circulating them._

VOLS. I., II., _and_ III., _with very copious Indices, may still be had, price 9s. 6d. each, neatly bound in cloth._

_NOTES AND QUERIES is published at noon on Friday, so that our country Subscribers may receive it on Saturday. The subscription for the Stamped Edition is 10s. 2d. for Six Months, which may be paid by Post-office Order drawn in favour of our Publisher, MR. GEORGE BELL, 186. Fleet Street; to whose care all communications for the Editor should be addressed._

MESSRS. PUTTICK AND SIMPSON beg to announce that their season for SALES of LITERARY PROPERTY will COMMENCE on NOVEMBER 1st, and would call attention to the ensuing List of Sales in preparation by them. In addressing Executors and others entrusted with the disposal of Libraries, and collections (however limited or extensive) of Manuscripts, Autographs, Prints, Picture, Music, Musical Instruments, Objects of Art and Virtu, and Works connected with Literature, and the Arts generally, would suggest a Sale by Auction as the readiest and surest method of obtaining their full value; and conceive that the central situation of their premises (near St. James Church), their extensive connexion of more than half a century's standings, and their prompt settlement of the sale accounts in cash, are advantages that will not be unappreciated. Messrs. P. & S. will also receive small Parcels of Books or other Literary Property, and insert them in occasional Sales with property of a kindred description, thus giving the same advantages to the possessor of a few Lots as the owner of a large Collection.

[Star symbol] Libraries Catalogued, Arranged, and Valued for the
Probate or Legacy Duty, or for Public or Private Sale.

On Saturday, Nov. 1, a large Collection of VALUABLE BOOKS, removed
from the Country, including many curious and rare Works, and a
good selection of Modern Literature. Six days' sale.

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, EFFECTS of the late STANESBY ALCHORNE,
Esq., of the Tower, including his Numismatic Library, very
important MSS. relating to Mint Affairs, Royal and other
Autographs (30 of Sir Isaac Newton), the celebrated Hydrostatic
Balance made for the adjustment of the Standard in 1758, a most
important series of weights, including the original and unique
Troy Pound, the Collection of Coins and Medals in gold and silver,
in the first condition, many patterns and proofs, and a well-known
and very important picture by Murillo.

On Saturday, Nov. 15, a very extensive and important Collection of
MANUSCRIPTS, CHARTERS, DEEDS, and other DOCUMENTS, chiefly
relating to English Country and Family History.

On Monday, Nov. 17, the LIBRARY of the late RICHARD JONES, Esq.,
removed from his residence, Chapel Street, Belgrave Square,
including an excellent Collection of Dramatic and General
Literature. Four days' sale.

A Selection of CURIOUS BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS of an eminent
Collector, deceased. Two days' sale.

A Collection of AUTOGRAPH LETTERS and Documents of considerable
interest, the property of a well-known Collector relinquishing
that part of his Collection.

The concluding portion of the Collection of AUTOGRAPH LETTERS of
Mons. A. DONNADIEU, comprising, mainly, the period of the first
French Revolution. Three days' sale.

The MUSICAL COLLECTIONS of a Gentleman recently deceased,
including some engraved plates of Copyright Works, Musical
Instruments, &c.

The very important and extensive LIBRARY of the COUNT MONDIDIER,
recently imported, especially rich in Foreign Literature, and
comprising an extraordinary Collection of Books relating to
America, Voyages, Travels, and Itineraries, including some of the
rarest Works in the classes, and many which have been hitherto
unknown to Bibliographers. Ten days' sale.

[Star symbol] Catalogues of any of the before-named Collections
will be sent on application to the Auctioneers, 191. Piccadilly.

Just published, in One Vol. post 8vo., price 7_s._ 6_d._

MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS. By the REV. E. MANGIN, M.A.

London: HOPE and CO., Publishers, 16. Great Marlborough Street; by
whom Books, Pamphlets, Sermons, &c., are printed greatly under the
usual charges; while in the Publishing Department every endeavour
is made to promote an extensive sale.

WESTERN LIFE ASSURANCE AND ANNUITY SOCIETY,

3. PARLIAMENT STREET, LONDON.

Founded A.D. 1842.

_Directors._

H. Edgeworth Bicknell, Esq.
William Cabell, Esq.
T. Somers Cocks, Jun. Esq. M.P.
G. Henry Drew, Esq.
William Evans, Esq.
William Freeman, Esq.
F. Fuller, Esq.
J. Henry Goodhart, Esq.
T. Grissell, Esq.
James Hunt, Esq.
J. Arscott Lethbridge, Esq.
E. Lucas, Esq.
James Lys Seager, Esq.
J. Basley White, Esq.
Joseph Carter Wood, Esq.

_Trustees._

W. Whateley, Esq. Q.C.
L. C. Humfrey, Esq. Q.C.
George Drew, Esq.

_Consulting Counsel._--Sir William P. Wood., M.P.,
Solicitor-General.

_Physician._--William Rich. Basham, M.D.

_Bankers._--Messrs. Cocks, Biddulph, and Co., Charing Cross.

VALUABLE PRIVILEGE.

POLICIES effected in this Office do not become void through
temporary difficulty in paying a Premium, as permission is given
upon application to suspend the payment at interest, according to
the conditions detailed in the Prospectus.

Specimens of Rates of Premium for Assuring 100_l._, with a Share
in three-fourths of the Profits:--

Age l. _s._ _d._
17 1 14 4
22 1 18 8
27 2 4 5
32 2 10 8
37 2 18 6
42 3 8 2

ARTHUR SCRATCHLEY, M.A., F.R.A.S., Actuary.

Now ready, price 10_s._ 6_d._, Second Edition with material
additions, INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT and EMIGRATION; being a TREATISE
on BENEFIT BUILDING SOCIETIES, and on the General Principles of
Land Investment, exemplified in the Cases of Freehold Land
Societies, Building Companies, &c. With a Mathematical Appendix on
Compound Interest and Life Assurance. By ARTHUR SCRATCHLEY, M.A.,
Actuary to the Western Life Assurance Society, 3. Parliament
Street, London.

ALMANACKS FOR 1852.

THE FAMILY ALMANACK AND EDUCATIONAL REGISTER will contain, in
addition to the more than usual contents of an Almanack for Family
Use, a list of the Universities of the United Kingdom, with the
Heads of Houses, Professors, &c. A List of the various Colleges
connected with the Church of England, Roman Catholics, and various
Dissenting bodies. Together with a complete List of all the
Foundation and Grammar Schools, with an Account of the
Scholarships and Exhibitions attached to them; to which is added
an Appendix, containing an Account of the Committee of Council on
Education, and of the various Training Institutions for Teachers;
mostly compiled from original sources.

WHITAKER'S CLERGYMAN'S DIARY AND ECCLESIASTICAL CALENDAR, will
contain a Diary, with Table of Lessons, Collects, &c., and full
directions for Public Worship for every day in the year, with
blank spaces for Memoranda: A List of all the Bishops and other
Dignitaries of the Church, arranged under the order of their
respective Dioceses; Bishops of the Scottish and American
Churches; and particular: respecting the Roman Catholic and Greek
Churches; together with Statistics of the various Religious Sects
in England; Particulars of the Societies connected with the
Church; of the Universities, &c. Members of both Houses of
Convocation, of both Houses of Parliament, the Government, Courts
of Law, &c. With Instructions to Candidates for Holy Orders; and a
variety of information useful to all Clergymen. Forming a most
complete and convenient Pocket-book for Clergymen.

JOHN HENRY PARKER, Oxford and London.

LONDON LIBRARY, 12. St. James's Square.--Patron--His Royal Highness Prince ALBERT.

This Institution now offers to its members a collection of 60,000
Volumes, to which additions are constantly making, both in English
and foreign literature. A reading room is also open for the use of
the members, supplied with the best English and foreign
periodicals.

Terms of admission--entrance fee, 6_l._; annual subscription,
2_l._; or entrance fee and life subscription, 26_l._

By order of the Committee.

September, 1851.

J. G. COCHRANE, Secretary and Librarian.

THE QUARTERLY REVIEW, No. CLXXVIII., is published THIS DAY.

CONTENTS: