Chapter C: De D

61. _Order of Greenwich._--I have an impression of an oval ecclesiastical seal, the matrix of which is said to have been found near Kilkenny. The device is the Ascension of the Virgin, beneath which is a shield charged with the royal arms; the _three_ fleur de lis in the first and fourth quarterings showing the seal to be, comparatively speaking, modern. The legend, in Lombardic capitals, runs as follows:--"+ SGILLVM + G[=A]RDI[=A]NI + GR[=V]WVC[=E]SIS +." Query, Does "GR[=V]WVC[=E]SIS" mean "of Greenwich?"

In the _State Papers_, temp. Hen. VIII., vol. iii. p. 285., an abbey in Ireland is said to be of the "order of Greenewich." Query, What order was this?

JAMES GRAVES.

Kilkenny, July 19. 1851.

62. _House of Yvery._--This work is rarely to be met with in a perfect state; but there is one plate about which there exists a doubt, viz. a folding plate or map of the estates of John Perceval, Earl of Egmont.

It would be satisfactory perhaps to many of the readers of "NOTES AND QUERIES," as well as to myself, to know whether any gentleman possesses a copy of the work with such a plan.

H. T. E.

Clyst St. George.

63. _Entomological Query._--Can any of your botanical or entomological correspondents help me to the name of the grub that is apt to become a chrysalis on the _Linaria minor_ (_Antirrhinum minus_ of Linnaeus)? For yesterday, in a chalky field in Berkshire, I found several cocoons of one particular kind on the above plant (itself not common in these parts), and I did not see it on any other plant in the field, although I spent some time in looking about.

J. E.

Oxford, July 29.

64. _Spenser's Portraits_ (Vol. iv., p. 74.).--VARRO states he is "well acquainted with an _admirable portrait_ of the poet, bearing date 1593." Perhaps he could give a satisfactory answer to a Query relative to the engraved portraits of Spenser which appeared in one of the numbers of "NOTES AND QUERIES" for last April, and which was not been yet answered.

E. M. B.

65. _Borrow's Bible in Spain._--In the _Athenaeum_ for Aug. 17, 1850, in a review of Wallis's _Glimpses of Spain_, I find the following remark:--

"Mr. Wallis imputes a want of judgment and of 'earnest desire' for
the objects of his mission to Mr. Borrow _personally_, on the
ground that he--being, as all know, sent out by the Bible Society
to circulate the Protestant Scriptures--did not, instead of
attempting to fulfil that special object of his mission, employ
himself in diffusing the Roman Catholic version of the Vulgate
set forth by the Spanish hierarchy."

It is well known that the Bible Society keeps on its shelves both the Protestant and Roman Catholic versions of French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Its endeavours at present are, I believe, confined to attempting to circulate the Roman Catholic versions, on the ground that it is impossible to circulate the more correct Protestant ones. My Queries are:--

1. Was Mr. Borrow sent out by the Bible Society to circulate the Protestant Scriptures?

2. Whose translation of the Vulgate was set forth by the Spanish hierarchy?

E. M. B.

66. _Dogmatism and Puppyism._--

"Dogmatism is nothing but puppyism come to its full growth."

I find this quotation in a leader of _The Times_. Can you or any of your readers inform me of its origin?

[?]

67. _A Saxon Bell-house._--A reader of "NOTES AND QUERIES," who subscribes himself A LOVER OF BELLS, has kindly referred me to a passage in Hume's _History of England_, in which it is said that, according to a statute of Athelstan, "a ceorle or husbandman who had been able to purchase five hides of land, and had a chapel, a kitchen, a hall, and a _bell_," was raised to the rank of a Thane. The marginal reference in Hume is to Selden's _Titles of Honor_; and in that work the statue is then given:

"If a churle or a countryman so thrived that hee had fully five
hides of his owne land, a church, and a kitchen, a bel-house, a
borough-gate with a seate, and any distinct office in the king's
court, then was he henceforth of equall honour or dignitie with a
Thane."

Selden considers that the _bel-house_ was the dining-hall to which the guests and family were summoned by the ringing of a bell. He thinks the word corresponds with _tinello_, _tinelo_, and _tinel_, the Italian, Spanish, and French words for a "public hall" or "dining-room,"--"so named, because the _tin_ or tingling of a bell at the times of dinner or supper in it were signified by it."

I beg to ask whether the existing knowledge of the details of Saxon architecture substantiates Selden's view; and whether this bell was also the alarum-bell of the castle, hanging in an outside turret?

Many thanks to my correspondent, and to "NOTES AND QUERIES" for the introduction to his notice.

ALFRED GATTY.

Minor Queries Answered.

_Cycle of the Moon._--Can any of your correspondents inform me in what year the new moon last fell on the _1st of January_? I am no astronomer, but I believe the moon's cycles is a period of _nineteen years_, and that whenever the new moon falls on the 1st January, the cycle begins.

BENBOW.

Birmingham.

[The above matter is made the more puzzling to all who are not
astronomers, by the pertinacity with which popular writers persist
in speaking of the moon's motions as if they were regular.

There is no particular beginning to the cycle of nineteen years:
anybody may make it begin when he pleases. What it means is this:
that in any set of nineteen years, the new and full moons
generally (not always) fall on the same days as in the preceding
nineteen years. For instance, in 1831, the 14th of March was a day
of new moon: go on nineteen years, that is, to the 14th of March,
1850; most probably, not certainly, this must be a day of new
moon. It happens, however, otherwise; for in 1850 the new moon is
on the 13th. But in the Aprils of both years, the new moons are on
the 12th; in the Junes, on the 10th. All that can be said is, that
where any day of any year is new moon, most probably _that day
nineteen years_ is new moon also, and certainly either the day
before or the day after. In that cycle of nineteen years, which is
called the cycle of the _golden number_, there is an arbitrary
beginning, which has something to do with the new moon falling
_near_ the 1st of January. The cycle in which we now are, began
(that is, had the year marked 1) in 1843.

To find the last time when the new moon fell on the 1st of January
with certainty, would be no easy problem for any but an
astronomer. The nearest which our correspondent can do is this.
Take Mr. De Morgan's recently published _Book of Almanacs_, and
turn to almanac 37. Take the day in question (Jan. 1), and from
the first of the Roman numbers written opposite (xxx.) subtract
one (xxix.). Look back into the new style index (p. 7.), then any
one year which has the epact 29 is very likely to have the new
moon on the 1st of January; epact 30 may also have it. Now, on
looking, we find that we are not in that period of the world's
existence at which epact 29 makes its appearance; no such thing
has occurred since 1699, nor will occur until 1900. We are then in
a period in which new moons on the 1st of January are
comparatively infrequent. Our best chance is when the epact is 30,
as in 1843: here there is a narrow miss of what we want, for it
was new moon on the day previous, as late as seven in the evening.

Our correspondent's notion that the moon's cycle begins with a new
moon on the 1st of January, is probably derived from this, that
the calendar is so contrived that for a very long period the years
which have 1 for their golden number, have a new moon _near_ the
1st of January, either on it, or within a day of it.]

_Cocker's Arithmetic._--At a sale of books by Messrs. Puttick and Simpson, a copy of Cocker's _Arithmetic_ was sold for 8_l._ 10_s._, date 1678, said to be one of the only two extant. It is stated Dr. Dibdin had never seen any edition printed in the seventeenth century, and mentions the thirty-second as the earliest he had met with. I have in my possession a copy bearing date 1694, seeming to be one of a further impression of the first edition, as it gives no edition, but simply has in the title page:

"This impression is corrected and amended with many additions
throughout the whole."

"London: Printed by J. R. for T. P., and are to be sold by John
Back, at the Black Boy on London Bridge, 1694."

Perhaps you can give me some information on the edition, if you think it a fit subject for your valuable publication.

E. K. JUTT.

Frome, Somerset.

[Mr. De Morgan, in his _Arithmetical Books_, says that the
earliest edition he ever possessed is that of 1685: and what
edition was not stated. The fourth edition was of 1682, the
twentieth of 1700. The matters cited by our correspondent, which
we have omitted, are in all, or nearly all, editions. We have
heard of _three_ copies of the _first_ edition: one sold in Mr.
Halliwell's sale, one in the library of the Roman Catholic College
at Oscott, and one sold by Puttick and Simpson, as above, in April
last: but we cannot say that these are three _different_ copies,
though we suspect it. Our correspondent's edition is not mentioned
by any one. The _fifty-second_ edition, by Geo. Fisher, appeared
in 1748, according to the Catalogue of the Philosophical Society
of Newcastle.]

_Sanskrit Elementary Books._--Will some one of your correspondents kindly inform me what are the elementary works necessary for gaining a knowledge of Sanskrit?

DELTA.

[Wilson's _Sanskrit Grammar_ (the 2nd edition), and the
_Hitopadesa_, edited by Johnson, are the best elementary works.]

_Townley MSS., &c._--I request the favour to be informed where are the Townley MSS.? They are quoted by Sir H. Nicolas in Scrope and Grosvenor Rolls. Also where are the MSS. formerly _penes_ Earl of Egmont, often quoted in the _History of the House of Yvery_? And a folio of Pedigrees by Camden Russet?

S. S.

[The Townley Heraldic Collections are in the British Museum, among
the Additional MSS., Nos. 14,829-14,832. 14,834. In the same
collection, No. 6,226. p. 100., are Bishop Clayton's _Letters to
Sir John Perceval, first Earl of Egmont_.]

_"Man is born to trouble," &c._--In an edition of _The Holy Bible, with_ TWENTY THOUSAND EMENDATIONS: London, 1841, I read as follows, at Job v. 7.: "For man is NOT born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards." Query 1. Is there any authority from MSS., &c. for the insertion of the word "not"? 2. Is this insertion occasioned by the oversight of the printer or of the editor?

N.

[There is no authority for the insertion of the word "not," that
we can find, either in MSS. or commentators. As to the oversight
of the printer or editor we cannot speak; but are rather inclined
to attribute that and other emendations to the second-sight of one
of the parties concerned. Our correspondent will find Dr.
Conquest's _emandated Bible_ ably criticised by one of the best
Hebrew scholars of the day in the _Jewish Intelligencer_, vol. ix.
p. 84.]

Replies.

BELLARMIN'S MONSTROUS PARADOX.

(Vol. iv., p. 45.)

The defence of Cardinal Bellarmin set up by your correspondent J. W. CT. is not new, and is exceedingly plausible at first sight. Allow me, however, to direct the attention of your readers to the following reply to a similar defence, which I take from the _Sequel to Letters to M. Gondon_, by Dr. Wordsworth, Canon of Westminster, pp. 10. 11.:

"I would first beg leave to observe that my three reviewers, in
their zeal to speak for Cardinal Bellarmine, have not allowed him
to speak for himself. They seem not to have remembered that this
very passage was severely censured in his life-time, and that in
the _Review_ which _he_ wrote _of his own works_, by way of
explanation, he endeavoured to set up a defence for it, which is
_wholly at variance with their apologies_ for him. He says, 'When
I affirmed that, if the Pope commanded a vice or forbad a virtue,
the church would be bound to believe virtue to be evil and vice
good, I was speaking concerning _doubtful_ acts of virtue or vice;
for if he ordered a _manifest_ vice, or forbad a _manifest_
virtue, it would be necessary to say with St. Peter, We must obey
God rather than man.' Recognitio Librorum omnium Roberti
Bellarmini ab ipso edita, Ingolstad, 1608, p. 19. 'Ubi diximus
quod si Papa praeciperet vitium aut prohiberet virtutem, Ecclesia
teneretur credere virtutem esse malam et vitium esse bonum, locuti
sumus de actibus _dubiis_ virtutum aut vitiorum; nam si praeciperet
_manifestum_ vitium aut prohiberet _manifestam_ virtutem, dicendum
esset cum Petro _obedire oportet magis Deo quam hominibus_.'

"This is his own defence; let it be received for what it is worth;
it differs entirely from that which the reviewers make for him."

It would occupy too much of your valuable space to insert the whole of Dr. Wordsworth's observations, which, however, every one who is desirous of thoroughly investigating the subject, _ought_ to read and consider.

TYRO.

Dublin.

THE GOOKINS OF KENT.

(Vol. i., pp. 385. 492.)

In the 1st volume of the _New England Historical and Genealogical Register_, pp. 345., &c., and in subsequent volumes, an interesting account, by J. W. Thornton, Esq., of Boston, may be found of the "Gookins of America," who are descendants of Sir Vincent Gookin, Knt., to whom your correspondents refer.

Mr. Thornton explains the omission of the descendants of Vincent and Daniel in the pedigree found in Berry's _Kent_, p. 113., and which is from the original visitation in Heralds' College, by the fact, that they probably went to the co. Cork, and Daniel from thence to Virginia. He cites undoubted proof that Daniel arrived in Virginia in November, 1621, and was one of twenty-six patentees to whom, in 1620, King James granted a patent of land in that colony, they having "undertaken to transport great multitudes of persons and cattle to Virginia." In 1626 this Daniel is described in a deed as of "Carygoline, in the county of Cork, within the kingdom of Ireland, Esquire." In February 1630 a deed is recorded, made by "Daniel Gookin, of Newport Newes, Virginia, the younger, Gentleman." Upon the records of the Court of James City, held Nov. 22, 1642, Captain John Gookin is mentioned. Mr. Thornton infers that the elder Daniel returned to Ireland, and that Daniel the younger, and Captain John Gookin, were his sons. During the religious troubles which arose in Virginia, Daniel, junior, and Mary his wife, left for New England, where they arrived on May 10, 1644, and where he became, as he had been, a person of considerable influence. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General in the colony, and died March 19, 1686-7, aet. 75. For further mention of him, see Carlyle's _Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell_, Let. 143. and Note; Thurloe's _State Papers_, vol. iv. pp. 6. 440. 449.; vol. v. p. 509.; vol. vi. p. 362. He is spoken of, says Mr. Thornton, by an authority of the time, as a "Kentish soldier." Colonel Charles Gookin, whom Penn sent as a governor to his colony, is described by the latter in a letter, dated London, Sept. 28, 1708, as "of years and experience," "and of what they call a good family, his grandfather Sir Vincent Gookin having been an early great planter in Ireland, in King James First's and the first Charles's days." Governor Gookin assumed his duties in Pennsylvania in 1708, and was recalled in 1717. He was never married.

In a letter dated Philadelphia, Nov. 28, 1709, Governor Gookin writes to a grandson of Major-General Daniel Gookin, of New England: "I assure you that the account you gave me of that part of our family settled in America was extremely satisfactory;" and again, Nov. 22, 1710, to the same he says: "By a letter from Ireland I am informed two of our relatives are lately dead, viz. Robert Gookin, son of my uncle Robert, and Augustine Gookin, eldest son of my uncle Charles." He subscribes himself "cousin," &c.

From Mr. Thornton's account, and the remarks of your correspondent, I think I may venture to deduce the following table:--

|
+---------------------------+------------------------+
| |
SIR VINCENT G., Kt., DANIEL,
Lived at Highfield who went
House, Bitton, to
Gloucester, Virginia.
which he purchased --married
in 1627, xv.
d. 1637, and bu. |
at Bitton. |
--married JUDITH, dau. of xx. Wood, |
d. 1642, bu. at Bitton. |
| |
| |
+--------+-------+-----+---------+--------+ +-----+---+
| | | | | | |
SAMUEL, VINCENT, FRANCES, ROBERT. CHARLES. Maj.-G. JOHN.
buried publishes baptized | | DANIEL,
at his pamphlet at | | --married
Bitton, in 1634, Bitton, | | Mary xx.
1635. left Bitton 1637. | | |
in 1646, | | |
living in | | |
1655. | | |
--married | | |
Mary x. | | |
| | | |
| | | |
ROBERT, ROBERT, AUGUSTINE, DANIEL,
conveys Bitton d. 1710. eldest SAMUEL,
in 1646. son, d. NATHANIEL,
1710. &c., some
of whose
descendants
still live
in New
England.

EDWARD ARMSTRONG,

Recording Secretary of the
Historical Society of
Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia, July 2. 1851.

CURIOUS MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION.

(Vol. iv., p. 20.)

The inscription on the tombstone of Christ. Burraway, in Martham Church, copied by your correspondent E. S. T., singular as it is, and startling as the story attached to it seems, is not without a parallel, for we have a similar inscription on another _mysterious mother_ of the name of Marulla in ancient times, which is given by Boxhornius in his _Monumenta Illustrium Virorum et Elogia_, Amst. 1638, fol. 112. He appears to have found it on a ruined sarcophagus at Rome, of which he has given representation, and in his Index thus refers to it:

"Hersilus cum Marulla, quae ei mater, soror, et sponsa fuit."

Your correspondent has not mentioned the source of his explanation of the enigma: I presume it is traditional. The ancient inscription, it will be seen, solves it in the last two lines. The coincidence of these two inscriptions is not a little remarkable.

"SENICAPRI QVICVMQVE SVBIS SACRARIA FAVNI
HAEC LEGE ROMANA VERBA NOTATA MANV.
HERSILVS HIC IACEO MECVM MARVLLA QVIESCIT
QVAE SOROR ET GENITRIX, QVAE MIHI SPONSA FVIT
VERA NEGAS, FRONTEMQVE TRAHIS: ENIYGMATA SPHYNGOS
CREDIS, SVNT PYTHIO VERA MAGIS TRIPODE.
ME PATER E NATA GENVIT, MIHI IVNGITVR ILLA,
SIC SOROR ET CONIVNCX, SIC FVIT ILLA PARENS."

In that entertaining volume _La Sylva Curiosa de Julian de Medrano, Cavallero Navarro_, first printed in 1583, and reprinted at Paris in 1608, a somewhat similar story is related, and the monumental inscription in French is given. Some of these stories must surely be apocryphal.[2]

[Footnote 2: Stories of the same nature are told in the
_Heptameron of the Queen of Navarre, 3me Journee, Nouvelle 30e_,
where the scene is laid in Languedoc; and by Jeremy Taylor in his
_Ductor Dubitantium_, B. i. C. iii. Sect. 3., who cites Comitolus
as his authority: here the scene is laid in Venice. By others the
scene has been placed in London, and also in Scotland. Horace
Walpole's Postscript to his Tragedy will of course be known to
most of your readers.]

"Passing through the Bourbonnese country I was told, that many
years since a young gentleman there had, by some fortuitous
accident, lain with his own mother, who became pregnant by him.
That some time after, a favourable opportunity offering, he went
to the wars, and was absent from his home some fourteen or fifteen
years. At the expiration of that time returning home, he found his
mother well stricken in years, who had a few days previous taken
into her service a handsome lass, who had been brought up from
infancy in the mountains of Auvergne. This young woman being of a
naturally affectionate disposition, seemed much attached to her
mistress, and relieved her of all her household cares, without
knowing how nearly they were related; for she was her daughter,
the fruit of the intercourse with her son, now master of the
house; notwithstanding there was no one in those parts that knew
it. The young man seeing her virtuous, graceful, and handsome,
became enamored of her, in so much that, although his relations
wished him to marry a rich wife, and all that his friends
endeavoured to divert his passion, and counselled him to bestow
his love elsewhere, it was all to no purpose, but, preferring her
to all others he had seen, he married her. They lived together
many years, had several children, and were buried in the same
tomb, without either of them having ever known that they were
father and daughter, brother and sister! until after a lapse of
time, a shepherd from Auvergne coming into the Bourbonnese
country, told the history to the inhabitants of the place where
this doubly incestuous couple lived. When I passed through the
country I was shown the spot where they dwelt, and the church
where they were interred; and a copy of the epitaph which was
placed upon their tomb was given me, which was as follows:

"'Cy gist la fille, cy gist le pere,
Cy gist la soeur, cy gist le frere,
Cy gist la femme et le mary,
Et si n'y a que deux corps ici.'"

S. W. SINGER.

Mickleham, July 28. 1851.

THE LATE MR. WILLIAM HONE.

(Vol. iii., pp. 477. 508.; Vol. iv., p. 25.)

Having been acquainted with Mr. Hone, when a bookseller in the Strand (the firm, I think, was Hone and Bone), who published several catalogues of scarce works in poetry and the drama, I feel some interest in the question raised upon his religious principles. It was no doubt this avocation which gave to Mr. Hone that extensive circle of information, which enabled him to conduct those amusing publications, _The Every-day Book_, _The Year Book_, and _The Table Book_. In what way my schoolfellow Charles Lamb became acquainted with Mr. Hone I know not; but I frequently heard him speak of his misfortunes, and I was witness to his endeavours to relieve his difficulties, by requesting his acquaintance to visit the coffee-house which Mrs. Hone opened in Gracechurch Street. I may communicate hereafter some information upon the intimacy which existed between Charles Lamb and Mr. Hone; my present note being confined to some more extensive and interesting pieces of information relative to Mr. Hone's conversion from infidelity to the pure principles of Christianity, than are furnished by MR. WILLIAM BARTON. For this purpose I transcribe a letter of Mr. Hone's, descriptive of his conversion, the cause which led to it, and his earnest desire to impress upon the public mind his sincerity in the change which had taken place. A more touching picture of real conviction, and of a renewed state of mind, is not perhaps upon record, and cannot too extensively be made known. The letter appeared a few years ago in the _Churchman's Penny Magazine_, vol. ii. p. 154., with the initials "T. H."

"Dear Sir,

"Your kindness towards me, and the desire you express of becoming
serviceable to me, require that I should be explicit as regards
the circumstances under which we met, a little time ago, and have
since conversed on. I think my statement should be in writing, and
hence this letter.

"It has pleased the Almighty, to have dealings with me for several
years, until, by His Holy Spirit, I have been brought from
darkness to light; to know HIM, through faith in Christ; to rest
in His love, as in the cleft of a rock, safe from the storms and
afflictions of the world. To acquaint all who ever heard of my
name, with this mighty change of heart, has long been my desire;
and it seems to me, that I ought not to exercise my restored
faculties without tendering their first fruits as an humble
offering to the promotion of His cause, by testifying of His great
mercy. It has been my frequent and earnest prayer to God to enable
me to do this, as His doing; to seek nothing but honour to His
holy name, and in the fear of Him, and Him only, without regard to
the praise or dispraise of man--come from what quarter it may--to
have my soul possessed in patience; to wait and be still, as a
mere instrument in His hands, made willing in the day of His
power, to do His work. If it be His work, He will bless it: I pray
that it may be. Now, in this matter, and in this view of it,
self-seeking and personal gratification are out of the question.
The desire to engage in it is the most earnest wish of my heart;
but my heart was submitted to God, and in submission to Him, it
seeks to do His will, to do the will of my Saviour, as my Lord and
my God, who has done all things for me, and will do all things
well. I believe He has put the desire into my heart to do this
homage to His sovereignty, as a subject of His kingdom. To do it
has been the ruling purpose of my mind: as an instance of it, let
me mention, that I have been frequently asked by autograph
collectors to write something in their albums. For the last two
years I have done nothing in this way, till the 3rd of last month,
a lady having brought in her album the night before, I remembered
it was my birth-day, and wrote the following lines:

"'The proudest heart that ever beat
Hath been subdued in me;
The wildest will that ever rose
To scorn Thy cause, and aid Thy foes,
Is quell'd, my God, by Thee.

"'Thy will, and not my will, be done;
My heart be ever Thine:
Confessing Thee, the mighty Word,
My Saviour Christ, my God, my Lord,
Thy Cross shall be my sign.'

"These lines, I thought, would be ill placed among contributions
of different import: I therefore wrote them at the end of my
Bible, and put some others, of a religious and kindly admonitory
tendency, in the lady's album. Not even in the albums can I write
without manifesting, that to please is less my object than to
acknowledge the goodness of God. Well, then, my dear Sir, in this
respect you may gather, in some degree, how it is with me, and how
God has wrought upon my mind, and operates upon it to the end I
speak of. When His hand struck me as for death, it was in a house
of prayer, and whilst being carried from the place in men's arms
as for dead, He lifted my heart to His throne of grace. During the
loneliness of what seemed to be my dying bed, and the discomfort
of my awful infirmity, and the ruin of my house, and family, and
property, He was with me, and comforted me; and hitherto He has
helped me, and I bless His holy name; my faith in Him is unshaken,
and He keeps me constantly to himself; and despite of worldly
affections, and nature's fear, I depend on Him and the workings of
His providence, that He will never leave me nor forsake me. It has
never entered my mind, even as a shadow, that I can do anything
for Him; but what He enables me to do, I will do to His glory. In
the dark seasons of the hidings of His face, I would wait on Him
who waited for me while I resisted the drawings of His love; and
when I sit in the light of His countenance, I would stand up and
magnify His name before the people. And now, that He has
wonderfully raised me up, after a long season of calamity, to the
power of using my pen, I pray that He may direct it to tell of His
mercy to me, and by what way He has brought me to acknowledge Him,
'the Lord our righteousness,' 'God blessed for ever,' at all
times, and in all places, where there may be need of it. I trust I
may never be ashamed to declare His Name; but readily exemplify,
by His help, the courage and obedience of a Christian man, and, as
a good soldier of Christ, fight the good fight with the sword of
the Spirit.

"May God grant me grace to do His will, is my humble supplication.
I am,

"Dear Sir,

"Yours most sincerely,

"WM. HONE."

The foregoing letter may perhaps be considered too pharasaical; but when is added to it the following note by Mr. Hone, relating the afflictions which had overtaken him, and well nigh overwhelmed him, it cannot appear surprising that when he sought comfort and relief from where alone they are to be found, his heart overflowed with thankfulness and praise.

I find the subjoined notice to his readers in Hone's _Table Book_, vol. ii. p. 737.:--

"Note.

"Under severe affliction I cannot make up this sheet as I wish.
This day week my second son was brought home with his skull
fractured. To-day intelligence has arrived to me of the death of
my eldest son.

"The necessity I have been under of submitting recently to a
surgical operation on myself, with a long summer of sickness to
every member of my family, and accumulated troubles of earlier
origin, and of another nature, have prevented me too often from
satisfying the wishes of readers, and the claims of
correspondents. I crave that they will be pleased to receive this
as a general apology, in lieu of particular notices, and in the
stead of promises to effect what I can no longer hope to
accomplish, and forbear to attempt.

"WM. HONE.

"December 12. 1827."

J. M. G.

Worcester.

Mr. Hone, whose friendship I enjoyed for some years, became toward the latter part of his life a devout and humble Christian, and member of the dissenting church under the pastorate of the Rev. Thomas Binney, to which also several members of his family[3] belonged. Meeting him accidentally, about ten years since, in Great Bell Alley, London Wall, he led me to a small bookshop, kept I think by one of his daughters, and showed me part of a pamphlet he was then engaged upon, relative to _his own_ religious life and experience, as I understood him. This, I believe, has never appeared, though he published in 1841 _The early Life and Conversion of William Hone_, of Ripley[4], his father.

[Footnote 3: "His wife, four daughters, and a son-in-law."]

[Footnote 4: London: T. Ward and Co. 8vo. pp. 48.]

At p. 46. of this interesting narrative, he subjoins an extract from a new edition of Simpson's _Plea for Religion_, printed for Jackson and Walford, describing the happy change which had taken place in his own mind. To this account, written, as Mr. Hone says, "by a very dear friend who knows me intimately," he sets his affirmation; so that there can be no doubt of its accuracy.

A Life of William Hone, by one who could treat it philosophically, would be so deeply interesting, that I am surprised it has never been undertaken. "The history of my three days' trials in Guildhall," says he, "may be dug out from the journals of the period: the history of my mind and heart, my scepticism, my atheism, and God's final dealings with me, remains to be written. If my life be prolonged a few months, the work may appear in my lifetime." This was written June 3, 1841. Was any progress, and what, made in it?

Who so fit to "gather up the fragments," as his late pastor, Mr. Binney, the deeply thoughtful author of one of our best biographies extant, the _Life of Sir T. F. Buxton_?

DOUGLAS ALLPORT.

[The concluding words of our correspondent are calculated to
mislead our readers. _The Life_ of Sir T. F. Buxton is by his son;
whereas Mr. Binney's is merely a _sketch of his character_, with
that of other eminent individuals, published, we believe, in a
small pamphlet.]

PLAIDS AND TARTANS.

(Vol. iv., pp. 7. 77.)

I can assure A LOWLANDER that the reviewer's story is quite true, it being gathered from Sir John Sinclair, who, in a letter to Mr. Pinkerton, dated in May, 1796, says:

"It is well known that the philibeg was invented by an Englishman
in Lochabar, about sixty years ago, who naturally thought his
workmen would be more active in that light petticoat than in the
belted plaid; and that it was more decent to wear it than to have
no clothing at all, which was the case with some of those employed
by him in cutting down the woods in Lochabar."--See Pinkerton's
_Correspondence_, vol. i. p. 404.

I never understood that there was any presumed antiquity about the philibeg or kilt. In the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_ it is described as a "modern substitute" for the lower part of the plaid.

Presuming, that I have settled this point, I will pass to the original Query of a JUROR, p. 7., still quoting Pinkerton:

"There is very little doubt but that the 'Tartan' passed from
Flanders (whence all our articles came) to the Lowlands in the
fifteenth century, and thence to the Highlands. It is never
mentioned before the latter part of that century. It first occurs
in the accompts of James III., 1474, and seems to have passed from
England; for the 'rouge tartarin' in the statutes of the Order of
the Bath in the time of Edward IV. (apud Upton de Re Milit.) is
surely red tartan, or cloth with red stripes of various shades."

Again--

"As to the plaid, there is no reason to believe it more ancient
than the philibeg. In the sixteenth century Fordun (lib. ii. cap.
9.) only mentions the Highland people as 'amictu deformis,' a term
conveying the idea of a vague savage dress of skins.

"In the book of dress printed at Paris in 1562, the Highland chief
is in the Irish dress wearing a mantle. The woman is dressed in
sheep and deer skins. Lesley, in 1570, is the first who mentions
the modern Highland dress, but represents the tartan as even then
being exclusively confined to the use of people of rank.

"Buchanan, 1580, mentions the plaids, but says they are _brown_;
even as late as 1715 the remote Highlanders were only clothed in a
long coat buttoned down to the mid-leg; this information was
derived from the minister of Mulmearn (father of the Professor
Ferguson), who said 'that those Highlanders who joined the
Pretender from the most remote parts, were not dressed in
party-coloured tartans, and had neither plaid nor philibeg.'"

So much for the assumed antiquity of the Scottish national costume. More interesting matter on this subject will be found in Pinkerton's _Correspondence_, vol. i. pp. 404-410.

BLOWEN.

THE CAXTON MEMORIAL.

(Vol. iv., pp. 33. 69.)

Whatever be the fate of _The Caxton Memorial_, as suggested by myself, the proposition is clear of interested motives. I neither aspire to the honours of a patron, nor to the honours of editorship. To revive the memory of the man, and to illustrate the literature of the period, are my sole objects.

I have to thank MR. BOTFIELD for his polite information. I was aware of the meeting of the 9th of July 1849, but not aware that the proposal of a _statue of Caxton_ had been entertained at so early a date. The proceedings of the meeting, as reported in _The Times_, were confined to the question of subscriptions: on the statue question there is not the slightest hint.

The advocacy of a _fictitious statue_ by so eminent an antiquary as MR. BOTFIELD, and the assurance which he gives that this object has been under consideration for at least two years, make it the more imperative on me to state my objections to it; and this I shall do with reference to his own arguments.

A maxim of the illustrious sir William Jones very apposite to the point in dispute, has floated in my memory from early life. It is this: "The best monument that can be erected to a man of literary talents is a good edition of his works." Such a man was William Caxton; and on this principle I would proceed. He would then owe the extension of his fame to the admirable art which he so successfully practised.

In the opinion of MR. BOTFIELD, the expense attendant on my project would be "fatal to its success." Now, as the Shakespeare Society prints at the rate of four volumes for a subscription of 1_l._, the committee of the _Caxton Memorial_ could surely produce one volume for 10_s._ 6_d._ I should not advise any attempt at splendour. Paper such as Caxton would have chosen, a clear type, and extreme accuracy of text, are more important objects. Competent editors would soon offer their services; and, proud to have their names associated with so desirable an enterprise, would perform their parts with correspondent care and ability. Besides, it is easier to collect subscriptions, when you can promise a substantial return.

To the other objections of MR. BOTFIELD, I shall reply more briefly. The biography of Caxton by Lewis is a very _scarce_ book; and, in the opinion of Dibdin, "among the dullest of all biographical memoirs." As to that by MR. KNIGHT, only one fourth part of it relates to Caxton. In the _Typographical antiquities_ we certainly have "copious extracts from his works;" but they are mixed up with much superfluity of disquisition. Whether such a memorial would be "hidden in a bookcase," must depend on the taste of the possessor. It would be _accessible_ in the four quarters of the globe--which is as much as can be said of other books, and more than can be said of a statue.

I cannot admit the propriety of viewing Caxton as a mere printer. By continental writers he is more correctly appreciated. M. de la Serna calls him "homme de lettres, artiste renomme," etc.; and M. Suard observes, "dans presque tous les ouvrages imprimes par lui, il a insere quelques lignes qui toujours attestent la purete des intentions dont il etait anime."

The advocates of a _fictitious statue_ of Caxton have been apprized of my intention, and if certain estimable antiquaries should prove to be of the number, they must consider my opposition as the consequence of general principles.

It should be the object of antiquaries to illustrate "the _history_ of former times"--as we read in a royal charter--not to substitute fiction for history. Now, it is admitted by MR. BOTFIELD that there is "no authentic portrait of Caxton." How then, he must allow me to ask, can it be assumed that the _picture by Maclise is truthful_? It may be much otherwise. Modern artists are no guides for antiquaries.

It is with statues as it is with medals. The first and most obvious use of them, as Addison remarks of the latter objects, is "the showing us the _faces_" of eminent persons. Even Horace Walpole, who has misled so many with regard to Caxton, has expressed himself very forcibly on the value of _real_ portraits. If a statue fail in that particular, it is worthless; and should my own project find no favour with the public--a fountain by day--or, a light by night--or, an inscribed obelisk--or, even an inscribed tablet--would be far preferable as a monument.

If the dean of St. Paul's should resolve to place in other hands the sum which has been collected for this purpose, he may justly insist on the proper application of it; and as the Society of Arts may be induced to take charge of it, I must remind them of the circumstance under which the subscriptions were formerly obtained. It was assumed that a likeness of Caxton had been preserved. I transcribe from _The Times_:--

"The meeting, [12 June, 1847] appeared to have been gratified with
what they had seen and heard, and he [lord Morpeth] had only now
to say to them, and to their fellow-countrymen in every part of
the world, 'Subscribe.' (Applause.)

"A miniature portrait of Caxton, painted upon enamel by Mr. Bone,
was handed to lord Morpeth, who stated that it had been copied
from a likeness of Caxton, in an old illuminated MS."

His lordship was misinformed as to the authenticity of the portrait, it being copied from the Lambeth Ms.--but that circumstance does not affect the argument.

It is manifest, therefore, that a _fictitious statue_ of Caxton, objectionable as it would be on other accounts, would also be very like a breach of faith with the original subscribers.

BOLTON CORNEY.

LADY FLORA HASTINGS' BEQUEST.

(Vol. iii., pp. 443. 522.; Vol. iv., p. 44.)

[MR. E. P. RICHARDS presents his compliments to the Editor of
"NOTES AND QUERIES," and will thank him to insert the
accompanying statement by the Marchioness of Bute, in respect to
the lines said to have been written by her sister, Lady Flora
Hastings, in the next number of his paper.

Cardiff, Aug. 5. 1851.]

A friend has copied and sent to me a passage in the paper named "NOTES AND QUERIES," of Saturday, July 19. 1851, No. 90. page 44.

The passage refers to my sister, Lady Flora Hastings, and a poem ascribed to her. If it were a matter solely of literary nature, I should not have interfered; considering the point in debate may not be interesting to a very extended circle of persons. But I feel it is a duty not to allow an undeserved imputation to rest on any one, especially on one styled a "Christian lady." Probably no person but myself can place the debated question beyond doubt. I do not know who the "Christian lady" or who ERZA may be; but the lines entitled "Lady Flora Hastings' Bequest" are not by Lady Flora Hastings. She solemnly bequeathed _all_ her papers and manuscripts to me, and those verses are not amongst them; else they should have been included in the volume of her poems which I published. Moreover, Lady Flora Hastings never parted with her Bible till, by my brother's desire, I had warned her on the authority of the physicians that _any_ hour might close her existence on earth. She was then unable to read it to herself. It was to _me_ (not to my brother, as stated by CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH) that she confided the book and the message for our mother; and when she did so, she was too weak in body to have committed the simple words of the message to paper. I was with her night and day for many days before she gave the gift and message to my care, and she died in my arms. She could not have composed any verses, or written a word, or dictated a sentence, without my knowledge, for more than a week before she died.

S. F. C. BUTE AND DUMFRIES.

Largo House, Fife, July 30. 1851.

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Inscription on an old Board_ (Vol. iii., p. 240.).--I would suggest that the 31st chapter of Genesis may solve this riddle. We have in the latter part of that chapter the account of a covenant entered into between Jacob and Laban, and we are there told that a pillar was erected as a witness between them of this covenant; Jacob calling it Galeed, also Mizpah. May not the inscription on the board be a token of some covenant of the same kind; and may it not have been placed on a pillar, or on some conspicuous place on the exterior of the house, or over the mantel in some room of the house (this latter being suggested in the article describing the board)? If I am correct, the name of the person who did "indite" the inscription should be one which, if not spelt exactly like Galeed or Mizpah, would in sound resemble the one or the other.

H. H. B.

Monte Cavallo, South Carolina.

_Churches decorated at Christmas_ (Vol. iii., p. 118.).--In the Episcopal churches of our country this custom is religiously observed; the foliage of the holly, cedar, and pine being chiefly used for this purpose at the south, together with artificial flowers. At Easter also most of the _same_ churches are decorated, though some are not; and at that season natural flowers are also used for the purpose, mingled with the evergreen foliage of the trees mentioned above.

H. H. B.

Monte Cavallo, South Carolina.

_Royal Library_ (Vol. iv., p. 69.).--The letter addressed by King George IV. to the Earl of Liverpool, referred to in the above page, will be found in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for February, 1823, page 161. It is dated from the Pavilion, Brighton, on the 15th of the preceding month.

The Committee, in their Parliamentary Report, state that the king had accompanied his munificent _donation_ of this library to the public, "with the _gift_ of a valuable selection of coins and medals;" and they close their Report in the following words:

"The Committee would not do justice to the sentiments with which
they are affected, if they failed to express in the strongest
terms the gratitude they feel, in common with the nation, _for the
act of munificent liberality_ which has brought this subject under
their consideration, and for the disposition which is so strongly
evinced by that act, on the part of his Majesty, of promoting, by
the best means, the science and literature of the country."

Would all this have been said, if the value of the library, in "pounds sterling" was, as has been alleged, to be made good by the country to its late owner?

When urging that this library, containing about 65,000 volumes, might have been preserved at Whitehall, or in some other part of Westminster, as a _distinct_ collection, it may be stated, that on its removal to the Museum, 21,000 duplicates were found in the united libraries, but that "it was not considered advisable _to part with more_ than 12,000; which should be taken from books in the Museum." Why should not the Museum have _retained_ its duplicates, leaving those in the royal library for the benefit of readers in another part of the metropolis? Was the expense of a separate establishment the great obstacle?

J. H. M.

_Proof of a Sword_ (vol. iv., p. 39.).--ENSIS asks, "What is the usual test of a good blade?" The proof by striking on the surface of smooth water, is not uncommon in India; though, in my opinion, it is a very inefficient one, and there is no doubt that "the Toledo blades in the Crystal Palace" would stand it as well as any others of moderate goodness. "The Toledo blades that _roll_ up in a circle" can be as easily made in England as in Spain, but they are useless toys: there is an English one in the Exhibition, Class viii., Case 200., which fits into the circular Toledo scabbard placed above it; but they are only curious to the uninitiated. What, then, is an efficient proof? I reply, first strike the flat side of the blade on an iron table (by means of a machine) with a force of 300 to 400 lbs., and then on the edge and back over a round piece of hard wood with a force of 400 to 500 lbs.: after which thrust the point as hard as possible against a thick iron plate and through a cuirass, without turning or breaking it, and bend so as to reduce the length in the proportion of about one inch and a half to a foot. When thus proved, a sword may be relied on, and the operation may be seen every day at 27. Pall Mall.

HENRY WILKINSON.

_Dr. Young's "Narcissa"_ (Vol. iv., p. 22.).--In reply to W. F. S. of Surbiton it appears, from the most authentic biographical accounts of Dr. Young, that he had not any daughters, and only one son; and that the Narcissa of the _Night Thoughts_ was a daughter of his wife (Lady Elizabeth Lee), by her former husband, Colonel Lee. The writer in the _Evangelical Magazine_ must therefore have written in ignorance of these facts when he termed Narcissa Dr. Young's daughter: or he may have spoken, in a loose way, of the daughter-in-law as the daughter.

J. M.

_Circulation of the Blood_ (Vol. ii., p. 475.).--Having recently had occasion to look into the works of Bede, I have found, in lib. iv., _De Elementis Philosophiae_, the passage which was the subject of my Query. Though not strictly in accordance with the established fact of the circulation of the blood, it will yet be allowed to be a near approximation to it. It is as follows:--

"Sanguine in epate generato, per venas ad omnia transit membra,
calore quorum digestus, in eorum similitudinem transit:
superfluitas, vero, partim per sudorem exit, alia vero pars ad
epar revertitur, ibi decocta cum urina exit descendens, sedimenque
vocatur; sed si in fundo sit urinae dicitur hypostasis; si in
medio, eneortim: si in summo nephile."--_Bedae Opera_, vol. ii. p.
339., ed. Basiliae, MDLXIII.

J. MN.

_Dr. Elrington's Edition of Ussher_ (Vol. iii., p. 496.; Vol. iv., p. 10.).--There is still some obscurity about the publication of the remaining volumes of this important work, notwithstanding DR. TODD'S prompt communication on the subject. He speaks of the 14th volume half printed off, and asks for information which may assist him in completing it; and then announces that highly desirable addition, viz. an Index, which is to form the 17th volume; but of the projected contents of vols. xv. and xvi., he says nothing.[5]

[Footnote 5: Vols. xv. and xvi., consisting of Letters to and from
Archbishop Ussher, were published early in 1849.]

In spite of Dr. Elrington's rejection of the _Body of Divinity_ (which is doubtless what DR. TODD refers to under the name of the _System of Theology_), I would still venture to plead for at least an uniform edition of it; for there is surely much force in the testimony of Dr. N. Bernard (as quoted by Mr. Goode), that, whilst the Archbishop was "indeed displeased at the publishing of it, without his knowledge, but hearing of some good fruit which hath been reaped by it, he hath _permitted it_."

"Several other editions, therefore," (Mr. Goode adds) "were
published in his lifetime; and being thus published with his
_permission_, must of course be considered as in all important
points of doctrine representing his views."--_Effects of Infant
Baptism_, pp. 312, 313.

Possibly some of your correspondents might be able to throw light on this point.

It will scarcely be travelling out of the record to entreat that the Index may be printed on anything but the dazzling milled paper, which everybody I should think must detest.