Chapter C: H. Cooper

PERPETUAL LAMP.

(Vol. iv., p. 501.)

The reported discovery at the dissolution of monasteries of a lamp that had burned in a tomb nearly 1200 years, to which your correspondent B. B. adverts, is, I presume, the discovery referred to by Camden (Gough's ed. vol. iii. p. 242.), where he says:

"I have been informed by persons of good credit, that upon the
dissolution of monasteries in the last age, a lamp was found
burning in a secret vault of a little chapel, where, according to
tradition, Constantius was buried. For Lazius writes that the
ancients had the art of reducing gold to a consistent fluid, by
which they kept fire burning in vaults for a long time, and even
for many ages."

The lamp of the alleged tomb of Constantius Chlorus was the subject of a communication by Mr. Albert Way to the York meeting of the Archæological Institute in 1846, in which he compared the ignited lamp said to have been found therein, with the story of a similar sepulchral lamp in a Roman family tomb, beneath the site of the ancient Castellum Priscum in the province of Cordova, as communicated to the Institute by Mr. Wetherell of Seville. It seems well worthy the attention of modern archæologists to ascertain what foundation in fact exists for the statements advanced by ancient writers as to the possibility of preparing a lamp that would burn for centuries in the tomb. Mr. Way remarks that the curious discovery communicated from Seville is unfortunately not authenticated by the observation at the time of any person skilled either in natural history or archæology. Some, however, may consider the tale of the sepulchre of Chlorus, though rejected by Drake and others, as not wholly unworthy of consideration; and Mr. Way suggests the possibility of a substance having been compounded which, on the admission of purer air to the tomb, became for a short time ignited. An abstract of his interesting communication is in the _Athenæum_ for 8th August, 1846. The prince whose tomb is said to have been discovered near the church of St. Helen's on the Walls, in York, was the H. Valerius Constantius who came to York about a century after the death of Severus, and was father of Constantine the Great.

Let me now ask where the story may be found of

"The bright lamp that lay in Kildare's holy fane,
And burned through long ages of darkness and storm?"

W. S. G.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

KIBROTH HATTAVAH AND WADY MOKATTEB: NUM. XI. 26. CRITICALLY EXAMINED.

(Vol. iv., p. 481.; Vol. v., p. 31.)

In order that the readers of "N. & Q." may have an opportunity of judging for themselves of the question between DR. TODD and myself, as to the identity of Kibroth Hattavah and Wady Mokatteb, it will be necessary, in the first place, that a more comprehensive view should be taken of the camp of Israel than DR. TODD'S criticism seems to imply. A population of six hundred thousand, besides women and children, must have occupied a larger extent of ground than a single valley; and the valley which is called _par excellence_ Wady Mokatteb would by no means suffice for the accommodation of half the multitude, were it not joined to many other valleys,--both sides, by means of narrow windings.

In the second place, it must be borne in mind that the "Tabernacle was pitched without the camp, afar off from the camp" (Exod. xxxiii. 7.); a circumstance which DR. TODD overlooked, which made him hazard the strange statement that I "did not explain how Eldad and Medad were in Wady Mokatteb, more than Moses and the rest of the seventy."

In the third place, it must be observable to every intelligent reader, that there is not the least shadow of warrant for supposing that Eldad and Medad were two of the seventy elders "gathered" by Moses; on the contrary, there is unmistakeable evidence against the notion. We are expressly told by inspired authority, that the seventy elders--not sixty-eight--were set round about the tabernacle; and there and then did Jehovah take of the spirit that was upon Moses, "and gave it unto the seventy elders,"--not to sixty-eight only. Another proof that Eldad and Medad cannot be considered as two of the seventy elders, but as persons belonging to the mass of the laity, is derivable from Moses' answer to Joshua, "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets" (ver. 29.). If they were of the seventy, what cause was there for surprise and consternation? Would Joshua have asked for a prohibition? and would Moses have given such an answer?

But what is to be done with the statements, "And they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle, and they prophesied in the camp?" How are these statements to be explained? Very easily, by a reference to the original Hebrew. The words םיבותכב המהו do not mean "and they were of them that were written," but "and they were amongst the writings" or inscriptions, that is Wady Mokatteb, _i.e._ in that part of the encampment which was pitched there. If the inspired narrator had meant to convey the idea that Eldad and Medad were two of the seventy elders, he would have employed the proper word for it, which םיבותכב is certainly not. The proper word would have been either םיפוסאהמ, "of them that were gathered," or םינקזהמ, "of the elders." We have no account of Moses writing down the names of the seventy, to authorise such a translation. Besides, even if we had such an account, and the sacred historian wished to intimate as much in the verse under review, he would assuredly have used the word םיבותכהמ, and not םיבותכב. It appears that the ב was a difficulty to the LXX, as well as to the author or authors of the Vulgate, to Rashi and the translators of the English version. The Greek particle ἐκ and the Latin _de_ are literal translations of the equivalent Hebrew particle ןמ or מ, and not of ב. It would appear, moreover, that DR. TODD himself found the ב insurmountable, and therefore omitted it in his last Hebrew quotation. Again, in the Pentateuch, wherever the word םיבותכ occurs, it implies written records, but not written names of persons.

But do not all the ancient paraphrasts sanction the translation of the authorised version? What of that, if they happen to be wrong! Such a consideration will never interfere with my own judgment, founded on a thorough knowledge of the meaning of the Hebrew word. I have long since learned that opinions are not necessarily true, because they are old ones, nor doctrines undeniably infallible, because we may have believed in them from our cradles. I am positive, however, that had the LXX, the authors of the Vulgate, Rashi, and the translators of the authorised version, known the locality of Wady Mokatteb, they would have hesitated before they put so unnatural a construction on the word. Aye, and DR. TODD too, if he were in the valley, and traced, with his generally correct mind, the wanderings of the people of Israel, would have exclaimed, "Surely this is none other than the Kibroth Hattavah of Scripture, and rightly named "םיבותכ."

Onkelos, however, in his _Chaldee Paraphrase_--DR. TODD evidently overlooked that, for he grouped the _Chaldee Paraphrase_ amongst the mistranslators--renders the words םיבותכב המהו literally and grammatically by the Chaldee words איביתכב ןונאו, "And they were amongst the inscriptions."

But do not the words "but they went not out into the tabernacle, and they prophesied in the camp," "completely overturn my hypothesis?" They may according to DR. TODD'S criticisms, but not according to the correct sense of that interesting portion of Scripture. The people in the camp were evidently under the impression that it was not right for any one but the seventy to prophesy, nor was it lawful to prophesy any where else but at the tabernacle, as they were accustomed to hear Moses do; the fact, therefore, that two men, who were _not_ of the seventy, and far away from the tabernacle, probably in the very centre of the camp of Israel, which I conceive Wady Mokatteb to have been, being gifted with a spirit of prophecy, seemed so astounding and unprecedented in the history of Israel's wanderings, that the inspired writer is induced to make a particular note of the few circumstances connected with that extraordinary event.

The above is a _fair_, _sound_, and _well-digested_ view of the passage in question. Adding to it the stubborn fact--which _Dr. Todd_ ignores--that where the ancient maps have Kibroth Hattavah, the modern maps have Wady Mokatteb, the conclusion is inevitable that _Wady Mokatteb is mentioned in Num. xi. 26_.

MOSES MARGOLIOUTH.

Replies to Minor Queries.

"_Theophania_" (Vol. i., p. 174.).--An inquiry is made by your correspondent as to the author of this romance, printed in 4to. in 1655, to which no answer has yet been returned. In my copy, under "By an English Person of Quality," in the title-page, is written, in a contemporary handwriting, "Sr. W. Sales." In the same handwriting is a MS. key, annexed to the book, to all the names. This is too long to copy here, but if your correspondent wishes for a transcript I shall be happy to supply him with one.

JAS. CROSSLEY.

_Royal Library_ (Vol. iv., p. 446.).--I cannot let GRIFFIN'S observation on my contradiction of the fable about an intended sale of the library to Russia pass unanswered, as it might seem as if I acquiesced in his criticism, and so leave a doubt on the point. He asks, "Must the story be false because the Princess de Lieven never heard of it? that is, must a whole story be untrue if a part of it is?" To which I answer, Yes, when the part refuted is the sole evidence for the rest. The story of the sale to Russia stood on the _sole_ alleged evidence of the Princess de Lieven. I had myself good reason to believe that the story was false, but I delayed contradicting it on general grounds, till I had obtained the direct testimony of the Princess that she had not only not said or done what had been imputed to her, but that she had _never before heard of any such proposition_. Those who know anything of the _English Court_ and _Russian Embassy_ of those days, will acknowledge that this is also a complete refutation of GRIFFIN'S new, but still more vague, version, that _perhaps_ it was "the _Russian ambassador, or some distinguished Russian_," that was engaged in the matter. I believe that I know as much about it as any one now alive, and though I cannot trust my memory to state all the details, I can venture to assert that I never heard of any _Russian_ proposition, and that I am confident that there never was one.

C.

_Reichenbach's Ghosts_ (Vol. iv., p. 5.).--DR. MAITLAND asked what "thousands of ghost-stories" Reichenbach thought he had disproved. Certainly those by which it is said "the spirits of the departed wander over their graves" (Ashburner's _Reichenbach_, p. 177.). He shows that superstition to be popular in Germany. The weakness of the Baron's _tirade_ (a bad style, in which he rarely indulges,) lies in this, that the best class of ghosts is an entirely different class. So that enlightenment and freedom, superstition and ignorance, have not yet wound up their accounts. See Gregory's _Letters to a Candid Enquirer_, p. 277., where enlightenment and freedom get a slap on the face. He maintains that even grave-lights (probably) humaniform apparitions; and that all other ghost-stories, not connected with the place of interment, equally belong to bi-od or animal magnetism.

A. N.

_Marriage Tithe in Wales_ (Vol. v., p. 29.).--It is well known to your readers that the whole of the tithes in England and Wales have recently been commuted for rent-charges; and the present writer can confidently affirm that, throughout the commutation, no tithe of marriage goods has been admitted to be valid, nor does he believe that any such tithe has been claimed. Tithes in Wales have not differed in any material respect from those payable in England: an excessive subdivision of ownership being the only circumstance which is remarkable in regard to them. As each article of titheable produce is capable of becoming a separate property, and this property may again become divided amongst an indefinite number of owners, the complexity occasioned by such minute interests may be imagined. The bee, for instance, produces three distinct titheable articles,--honey, wax, and swarms,--and a case actually occurred in Wales, in which the honey belonged to one class of owners, and the wax and swarms to another class, one of the classes owning in undivided eighty-eighth parts. There have also been some curious cases of modus in Wales, of which the following may be taken as a specimen:--In a parish on the sea-coast in Pembrokeshire, an estate was exempt from tithes by a modus of a cup of ale and an egg, rendered by way of refreshment to the parson, whenever, in consequence of the state of the tide, he was compelled to pass the house of the landowner on his way to perform divine service in the parish church.

H. P.

_Paul Hoste_ (Vol. iv., p. 474.).--I would recommend your correspondent ÆGROTUS to examine the new edition of P. Paul Hoste's _Treatise on Naval Tactics, translated with Notes and Illustrations_, by Captain J. Donaldson Boswall, a 4to. vol. published in 1834, when, I have no doubt, he will there find the information he is in quest of.

T. G. S.

Edinburgh.

_John of Halifax_ (Vol. iii., p. 389.; Vol. v., p. 42.).--Since every country has its _Holywood_, and _de Sacrobosco_ does not distinguish Holy_wood_ from Hali_fax_, John of Halifax has been claimed both by Ireland and Scotland, and, if I remember right, by some foreign countries. The manuscripts of his works, as well as the earlier printed editions, call him _Anglus_ or _Anglicus_; and he lived in a time at which the natives of the three countries were as distinct as Frenchmen, Spaniards, and Italians. Bale, quoting Leland, calls him Halifax; as does Tanner: Pits gives his birth to Halifax. He was buried in the Maturin convent at Paris, where his epitaph existed in the sixteenth century. Pits implies that it appears from the epitaph that he died in 1256: Mæstlinus expressly affirms that it can be collected from the epitaph, in the _Ad Lectorem_ of his _Epitome Astronomiæ_. All the authorities believe him to be English; and Leland thought he traced him as a student at Oxford. But had the manuscripts called him anything but English, the other evidence would not have weighed them down; for there are plenty of Holywoods, and there was, notoriously, a press of foreign students to Oxford in the thirteenth century. But name and residence in England may come in aid of the manuscripts.

The statement that he died in 1244 probably arises as follows. In the epitaph, according to Pits, are the following lines:--

M. Christi bis C quarto deno quater anno
De Sacrobosco discrevit tempora Ramus
Gratia cui nomen dederat divina Johannis,

meaning that in 1244 a bough from the holy wood _discrevit tempora_. This Pits calls an obscure reference to the time of his death, in the same sentence in which he places that time in 1256. Very obscure indeed, if a reference to his death in 1256 be intended. But if _discrevit tempora_ refer, not to death, but to the matter of his celebrated work _de anni ratione, seu ... computus Ecclesiasticus_, there is no obscurity at all. And at the end of a Merton manuscript of this _computus_, Tanner found the preceding lines inserted; the copyist taking them to allude, of course, to the date of the book.

M.

_Age of Trees_ (Vol. iv., p. 401.).--Your correspondent L. inquires after authentic evidence respecting the age of ancient trees:

"In the 12th vol. of Loudon's _Gardener's Magazine_, p. 588., the
Cowthorpe Oak [standing at the extremity of the village of
Cowthorpe, near Wetherby in Yorkshire], is said to be 'undoubtedly
the largest tree at present known in the kingdom.'

"Professor Burnet says, 'the Cowthorpe Oak is sixteen hundred
years old. We may ask, how is this ascertained? From tradition, or
calculated on botanical data? If the latter, it is possibly far
removed from truth. The method of calculating the age of
dicotyledonous trees, with _hollow trunks_' [and he elsewhere
says, so large is the hollow of the Cowthorpe Oak, that it is
reported to have had upwards of seventy persons at one time
therein assembled], 'is by multiplying the number of rings
comprised in a given portion of the remaining wood, by the
proportion which half the entire diameter of the trunk bears to
the selected portion.... It is evident, however, that this
calculation proceeds on the assumption of two circumstances, whose
probable variations may seriously affect the result.

"'1st. That all the rings are of equal width.

"'2nd. That each ring is of uniform width on both sides of the
tree.

"'It is known that the width of the rings diminishes with the age
of the tree, until, at the latter part of its life, they are of
very inconsiderable width, compared with those near the centre of
the trunk.... Again, it is also known that the width of the rings
differs according to season, being of course wider in those
seasons most favourable to the action of the leaves, and the
general processes of growth; but greatly diminished in seasons
affected by blight, cold, or other causes of injury to the leaves.
It also happens that the rings are often of unequal width on
opposite sides of the trunk.... While, if the tree be so hollow as
to have no portion of its centre remaining ... will expose the
calculation to ... error. In reference, therefore, to the
Cowthorpe Oak, we abandon all scientific pretension.'"

The foregoing is extracted from an account of the Cowthorpe Oak by C. Empson, Esq., 1842: Ackerman, Strand.

COKELY.

"_Mirabilis Liber_" (Vol. iv., p. 474.).--I have a copy of this book, from which a "prophecy" is quoted in "N. & Q." p. 474., but the translation there given differs from the prophecy, as given in my book. I have therefore copied it out _at length_, and exactly as given in the original, with all the faults of barbarous Latin and want of stops.

My book is a small 8vo. without date: the first part in Latin, and the second in French, in Gothic characters. The colophon runs thus: "On les vend au roy David en la rue St. Jacques."[5]

[Footnote 5: [For a notice of the various editions of this work,
see Brunet, _Manuel du Libraire_, _s. v._ Mirabilis, tome iii. p.
401.--ED.]]

The "prophet" is _S. Severus_ not _S. Cæsario_.

"PROPHETIA SANCTI SEVERI ARCHIEPISCOPI.

"Propter incohabitationem doni tertii reviviscet scisma in
ecclesiâ Dei tunc erunt duo sponsi unus verus alter adulter.
Adulter vero videlicet pars diabolica quæ ecclesia appellatur erit
tanta strages et sanguinis effusio quanta nunquam fuit ex quo
gigantes fuerunt. Legitimus sponsus fugiet, ecce leo surget et
aquila nigra veniens ex liguriâ et quasi fulgens eradicabit nido
suos sexatioribus pennis et tunc incipient tribulationes et prælia
terrena et marina et clamabitur pax et non invenietur:
blasphemabitur nomen domini et non erit ratio in terrâ unusquisque
opprimabitur potentiam suam. Væ tibi civitas gentium et divitiarum
in principio. Sed gaudebis in fine. Væ tibi civitas philosophorum
gaudeas. O terra filii Noe edificata quia prefatum habebis gaudium
et totam dominaberis romandiolam. Væ tibi civitas philosophorum
subdita erit. Væ tibi lombardiæ gens turres etiam gaudii tui
dirimentur. Ecce leo magnus et gallicus obviabit aquilæ: et feriet
caput ejus eritque bellum immensum et mors valida unus eorum
amittet fugietque in thuciam illic reassumet vires.

"Et Romandiolam quæ tunc caput italiæ erit in eurola civitate
coronam accipiet ecce prælia et mortalitatis quæ non fuerunt ab
origine mundi neque erunt usque in finem quia illic congregabuntur
ab omni natione.

"Unus eorum vincet et ibit in elephantem: et ibi ponet sedem
antiquam et declarabitur quia fiet postea unus pastor in ecclesia
Dei recipiet utramque ecclesiam cardinalium cum maximâ pace et
prædictus sponsus de dignitate columbinarum assumetur... Tunc
temporanee ecclesie et civitatis et dignitati columbinarum in
romandiola dabuntur et sua operatione fiet concorditer pax et
unitas prædictorum. Et prædictus rex diu regnabit in regno suo: et
deponentur omnes tyranni de ecclesia Dei et sub nomine regis
gubernabuntur omnia: et universitas sanctorum credet in eligendum
tanquam verum sponsum et pastorem prædictum. Et non erit amplius
scisma usque ad tempora antichristi. Et fiet passagium per
prædictum regem et gentes armorum quas secum ducet: et tunc fiet
quasi conversio generalis ad fidem Christi per leonem magnum et
regem prædictum quàm qui tunc in romandiola: et semper gaudebunt
quia erunt amici et perpetui."

W. S.

Denton.

_Cæsarius, &c._--No facts have yet occurred to convince me but that all prophecies are stuff; by no means excepting those which Dr. Gregory printed in _Blackwood for 1850_, and from which (more strange) he is unweaned in 1851. Seeing that you have reprinted (Vol. iv., p. 471.) the prophecy falsely ascribed to that ancient Latin father, Cæsarius Arelatensis, I beg leave to mention that I published in the _British Magazine for 1846_ an historical and chronological explanation of that modern forgery, as well as of the far more ancient predictions ascribed to Queen Basina. Thomas of Ercildoun was anterior in date to the pseudo-Cæsarius, and borrowed the idea of _his_ French revolution from Basina's, if, indeed, that prophecy be authentically from his pen, of which the proofs are very slender. See it quoted in Walter Scott's _Poet. Works_, vi. p. 236., ed. 1820.

I wish to be informed in what sense, and for what reason, Walter Scott in the same page calls the prophecy-man Robert Fleming, "Mass Robert Fleming."

A. N.

_Tripos_ (Vol. iv., p. 484.).--The original _tripos_, from which the Cambridge class lists have derived their names, was _a three-legged stool_, on which on Ash Wednesday a Bachelor of one or two years' standing (called therefrom the _Bachelor of the Stool_) used formerly to take his seat, and play the part of public disputant in the quaint proceedings which accompanied admission to the degree of B.A. In course of time the name was transferred from the stool to him that sat on it, and the disputant was called the _Tripos_; and thence by successive steps it passed to the _day_ when the three-legged stool became "for the nonce" a post of honour; then to the _lists_ published on that day, containing the seniority of commencing B.A.s arranged according to the pleasure of the Proctors; and ultimately it obtained the enlarged meaning now universally recognised, according to which it stands for the examination whether in mathematics, classics, moral or physical science, as well as the list by which the result of that examination is made known.

The Latin verses which do, or till very lately did, accompany the printed lists, and which it was expected were to partake more or less of a burlesque character, are the only existing relics of the functions of the _Bachelor of the Stool_ (performed in 1556/7 by Abp. Whitgift), to whom, as to the _Prævaricator_ at commencements, or the _Terræ Filius_ at Oxford, considerable license of language was allowed; a privilege which, in spite of the exhortation of the Father (see Bedle Buck's book) "to be witty but modest withal," was not unfrequently abused.

Those who desire further information on this subject may consult the appendixes to Dean Peacock's admirable work _On the Statutes of the University_, pp. ix. x. lxx.

E. V.

"_Please the Pigs_" (Vol. v., p. 13.).--The editorial reply to my query about the origin of this expression is very ingenious, and appears at first sight to be very probable; and, of course, if it can be shown to rest upon authority, it will be accounted satisfactory. But [and here let me say, how conscious I am that it savours something of presumption to be butting my buts against editorial sapience which has been brought to the aid of my own confessed ignorance; yet, as that "purry furry creature with a tail yclept a cat" may with impunity cast its feline glances at a king, I am emboldened to hope that "a pig without a tail" may enjoy the immunity of projecting just one porcine squint at an editor. And so to my _but_ right boldly, though perhaps as blunderingly as pigs are wont] the sound of the word "pyx" has suggested to my mind another solution which, while it is much less ingenious, appears to me to be much more probable. May not the saying be a simple corruption, _all' allegria_, of "please the _pixies_?" This would save the metonymy, and would also avoid what I conceive to be a more formidable difficulty attaching to the idea of "please the _Host_"--viz., the fact that, although I have travelled and resided not a little in Roman Catholic countries, in France, Italy, Spain, and the Mediterranean Islands, I never yet have heard any expression which could be supposed to involve the idea of favour or disfavour from the Host; albeit such expressions applying to the several persons of the blessed Trinity, and to every saint in the calendar, are rife in every mouth.

Having no authority, however, for my conjecture, I put it in the form of a Query, in the hope of provoking an authoritative decision.

PORCUS.

_Basnet Family_ (Vol. iii., p. 495.; Vol. iv., p. 77.).--My attention has been directed to the inquiries made touching this family, and I have looked into my Manuscript Collections for such as related to the name. I find them distinguished by me into Bassenet and Basnet, though the latter writer on the subject identifies them as one and the same. The classification in my books subdivides the notices I possess (as in the instance of other pedigrees, 3000 surnames, for which I have gathered illustrations), according to the localities where _they_ fix the name. These references are numerous in Ireland, and far more in England; especially in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Surrey; as well as in MSS. of rare access. These various notices would be too numerous, and, to the many, too uninteresting, to engross your pages, or I would gladly draw them out. Those who feel interested may receive further information on communicating their wishes to me by letter.

JOHN D'ALTON.

48. Summer Hill, Dublin, New Year's Day, 1852.

_Serjeants' Rings_ (Vol. v., p. 59.).--T. P. asks if the custom of serjeants-at-law presenting rings on taking the coif prevailed so long back as 1670-80; and in C. W. Johnson's _Life of Sir Edward Coke_, 1845 (vol. i. p. 217.), he will find as follows:

"On the rings given by Coke were inscribed, 'Lex est tutissima
cassis'--the law is the safest helmet--a motto which has been
thought very well to apply to his future fortunes.

"This custom of giving rings is of very old standing. Chancellor
Fortescue, who wrote about 1465, tells us that all Serjeants, at
their appointment, 'shall give rings of gold to the value of forty
pounds at the least; and your Chancellor well remembereth that at
the time he received this state and degree, the rings which he
then gave stood him in fifty pounds.' (_Laud. Leg._, c. 59.)
Dugdale also gives an account of the Serjeants' rings in 1556.
Some rings given in 1669 were objected to as wanting weight."

I do not know where to refer T. P. for any record of the rings; but I think if the mottoes and names of donors could be obtained, a very amusing paper might be furnished; the variety would be great, some, as Coke's, alluding to the importance of law; some, as Serjeant Onslow's "Festina lente," punning on the name, &c.

E. N. W.

Southwark.

[We should be obliged by our correspondents furnishing any such
particulars of the mottoes and donors of Serjeants' rings as they
may meet with in their reading.]

"_Crowns have their Compass_" (Vol. iv., p. 428.).--The author of these lines was Robert Barker, as is ascertained from a MS. in the Ashmolean Museum, quoted in Halliwell's _Life of Shakspeare_, p. 207., where they are entitled, "Certayne verses wrighten by Mr. Robert Barker, his Majestis printer, under his Majestis picture." This is quite confirmatory of, and is confirmed by, MARGARET GATTY'S communication.

R.

[A. GRAYAN, who refers us to Dibdin's _Ames_, vol. ii. p. 1090.,
for the foregoing information, adds, that the last line in the MS.
reads--

"That knowledge makes _the_ Kinge most like his
Maker."]

_Hell paved with the Skulls of Priests_ (Vol. iv., p. 484.).--The French priest referred to in this Query had most probably quoted, at second or third hand, and with rhetorical embellishment--certainly not from the original direct--an expression of St. Chrysostom, in his third homily on the Acts of the Apostles:

"οὐκ οἶμαι εἶναι πολλοὺς ἐν τοῖς ἱερεῦσι τοὺς σωζομένους, ἀλλὰ πολλῷ
πλείους τοὺς ἀπολλυμένους."

"I know not if there be many in the priesthood who are saved, but
I know that many more perish."

Gibbon has also quoted this passage at second hand (v. 399. note z.), for he says:

"Chrysostom declares his free opinion (tom. ix. hom. iii. in Act.
Apostol. p. 29.) that the number of _bishops_ who might be saved,
bore a very small proportion to those who would be damned."

It may be safely asserted that the above expression of Chrysostom is the strongest against the priesthood to be found in any of the Christian Fathers of authority in the Church.

T. J. BUCKTON.

Lichfield.

_Cooper's Miniature of Cromwell_ (Vol. v., p. 17.).--The writer saw a beautiful miniature of this celebrated man by Cooper in the possession of Monckton Milnes, Esq., M.P.

W. A.

_King Street Theatre_ (Vol. v., p. 58.).--For the information of your correspondent B. N., I beg to suggest the "Bristol Theatre" as the one referred to on the _silver_ ticket of admission; it having been situated in King Street in that city long before the days of Garrick, and there it now stands. And although _silver_ is still the medium of admission to it, silver _counters_ have ceased to exist in connexion with it. In its palmy days I doubt not it possessed such luxuries, it having been considered one of the best schools for actors out of London.

J. H.

_Groom, Meaning of_ (Vol. v., p. 57.).--_Guma_ in Anglo-Saxon, and the _Codex Argenteus_, means simply man. Horne Tooke derives bridegroom from it.

"Consider groom of the chambers, groom-porter."--_Nares._

Herd grooms, in Spenser's _Pastorals_, and a passage in Massinger: Gifford, vol. iii. p. 435.

Grome is quoted by Halliwell, as meaning a man. Also _gome_, which he says lasted till the civil wars.

C. B.

_Schola Cordis_ (Vol. iv., p. 404.).--MARICONDA asks for Mr. Tegg's authority for attributing the _Schola Cordis_ to Quarles in his edition of 1845.

The following extract from a very interesting and characteristic note, dated November 24, 1845, that I received from Mr. Tegg in reply to my query of a similar description, will afford the information:--

"Quarles' works were originally printed for me by Mr. Whittingham
of Chiswick, who, with my approbation, engaged the Rev. Mr.
Singer to edit the works. It was from this edition I printed my
books," [_i.e._ the edition of 1845.]

To show the energy of the publisher, and in justice to all the parties concerned, I may add, that four days later he wrote me word, that he "had begun to make inquiry and collate the various editions of Quarles" with his own; and adds, "I have the great satisfaction of saying that my editor has not omitted any article, however trivial, that was inserted in the original editions." He afterwards says that he has "seen seventeen" editions; and concludes by remarking, "that I consider no time or money lost when in pursuit of truth."

Will you allow me to suggest that few of your readers would regret to see some of your pages occupied with a correct bibliographical account of the various productions of both Quarles and Withers.

MATERRE.

_Greek Names of Fishes_ (Vol. iv. p. 501.).--The ὀρφὸς may perhaps be recognised by the zoologist from the following characteristics given by Aristotle in his history of animals:

"1. It is of speedy growth (b. v. c. 9.). 2. Keeps close in shore
(b. viii. c. 13.). 3. Burrows in holes, as the lamprey and conger
(b. viii. c. 15.). 4. Lives only on animal food like other
cartilaginous fishes (b. viii. c. 2.)."

It is therefore of Cuvier's series, _chondropterigii_, of which the sturgeon is _facile princeps_.

The μέμβρας is classed by Aristotle (b. vi. c. 15.) under the general term ἀφύη, which appears to correspond well with Cuvier's genus _clupea_ (including the herring, pilchard, sprat, white-bait, &c), and was taken, Aristotle says, all the year, except from autumn to spring, which corresponds with the migrations of this genus; the shad coming in May and departing in July, the anchovy appearing from May to July, the pilchard in July, the herring in October and beginning of November, and the sprat in November. The ἀφύη, he also says, were salted for keeping. The μέμβρας was obtained in the Phaleric harbour (b. vi. c. 15.), close to the marsh and street of the same name at Athens.[6] Aristotle also represents the τρίχιαι as coming from the τρίχιδες, and the latter from the μεμβράδες; hence it is to be inferred that the fishermen called this fish at different stages of its growth by different names, in mistake. The τρίχιδες appear also to have been as abundant at Athens as sprats are with us, the latter selling sometimes at sixpence the bushel, and being used for manure, whilst Aristophanes mentions the price of five farthings (one _obolus_) the hundred of τρίχιδες (_Knights_, 662.). The ἀφύη was obtained from the Attic shores of Salamine and Marathon (_Aristot. H. A._ b. vi. c. 15.), and the supply was stopped or much diminished by war (_Knights_, 644.). The ὀρφὸς was a more valuable fish than the μέμβρας, as the refusing the latter and buying the former furnished the next stallman with the opportunity of insinuating that the purchaser was forgetful of liberty, equality, &c. (_Wasps_, 494.; _Knights_, 851.). Theodore Gaza, the Latin translator of Aristotle's _History of Animals_, renders ὀρφὸς by _cernua_. Amongst his various banquets, Homer never mentions _fish_, afterwards admitted as a delicacy of the costliest kind at Grecian and Roman feasts.

[Footnote 6: Not from a fish called _Phalerica_, as stated in
Scapula's lexicon.]

T. J. BUCKTON.

Lichfield.

_Dutch Commentary on Pope_ (Vol. v., p. 27.).--The passage in Pope has nothing to do with ducks and drakes.

"Verbum quo utitur Popius, monstrat, cogitâsse eum de quodam quod
cadit, non quod jacitur. Sed neque est _lapis_. Cur de Hollandico
loquitur? quia ut puto, latrinæ in Hollandiâ peditæ sunt aliquando
super aquam, ibi abundantem, _circuli_ sunt ii, quos omne quod
cadit in aquam, naturâ facit."

There is the same idea, as Warburton observes, in the _Essay on Man_, ep. iv. 364.

C. B.

_Sir William Hankford_ (Vol. v., p. 43.).--I see that MR. FOSS (_Judges of England_, vol. iv. p. 325.) disbelieves the story of the suicide of Sir William Hankford, as told by Prince in his _Worthies of Devon_, because there was then nothing in the political horizon to justify the "direful apprehension of dangerous approaching evils," assigned by Prince as the judge's inducement for wishing to die. His death, however it occurred, happened in 1422.

MR. FOSS'S doubts seem in some measure to be warranted by the fact that Holinshed places the incident about half a century later, in 1470 or 1471; and he thinks it more probable (_Ibid._ p. 427.) that the suicidal story may apply to Sir Robert Danby, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, because that judge disappeared in the latter year; and the circumstances of the time were really such as were likely to excite the fears described as the cause of the catastrophe. Sir Robert Danby, who had been a judge of the Common Pleas under Henry VI., was made chief justice of that court by Edward IV. in 1461, the first year of that king's reign. On the restoration of Henry VI. in 1470, he was continued in his office, and the sudden return of Edward IV. in the following year might occasion an apprehension in a weak mind sufficiently strong to lead to the tragical result. Certain it is that a new chief justice, Sir Thomas Brian, was then appointed, and nothing more is told of Sir Robert Danby.

The Hankford's Oak at Annery, the remains of which were seen by Prince, was as likely to have received its name from its having been planted by Hankford, as from its being the spot where he died.

Perhaps some correspondents may be able to throw more light on the transaction, and assist in deciding which is the correct version.

R. S. V. P.

_Abigail_ (Vol. iv., p. 424.; Vol. v., p. 38.).--We are told in No. 115. that Abigail was a _handmaid_. The Bible, however, tells us, that she was the _wife_ of Nabal, a rich man, as I pointed out in a letter which has not been printed. Speaking to David, no doubt, she repeatedly uses the common phrase in the Bible, "thine handmaid," which would equally prove that the Virgin Mary was a servant.

C. B.

_Moravian Hymns_ (Vol. iv., p. 502.; Vol. v., pp. 30. 63.).--With regard to Moravian hymns, it would be very valuable to know whether the little book by Rimius, London, 1753, is really honest, which contains such shocking and inconceivable extracts from them. It is a translation from a Dutch book by Stinstra.

C. B.

Miscellaneous.

NOTES ON BOOKS, SALES, CATALOGUES, ETC.

When we consider the popularity attached to the illustrious name of Humboldt, and the great interest excited by the publication of his travels, we scarcely think Mr. Bohn is doing himself justice by including the _Personal Narrative of Travels in the Equinoctial Region of America during the Years_ 1799-1804, _by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland_; _written in French by Alexander von Humboldt: translated and edited by Thomasina Ross_, of which the first volume is now before us, in his _Scientific Library_. His doing so will have a tendency to discourage its perusal by many readers who, having no claim to be considered scientific, will be deterred from opening the pages of a book which, had they met with it in the _Standard Library_, they would have read and re-read with all the interest which Humboldt's power of contemplating nature in all her grandeur and variety, and of recording the impressions produced by such contemplations, can never fail to excite. We hope this brief notice may be the means of recommending this valuable work to the general reader; to the scientific one it has been so long known, as to render any such recommendation not at all necessary.

We spoke so favourably of _The Woman's Journey round the World_, when noticing the translation of it issued by Messrs. Longman in their _Traveller's Library_, that we have now only to record the appearance of another translation in the _Illustrated National Library_, which differs from the former in being given in an unabridged form; and accompanied by some dozen clever illustrations.

BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES

WANTED TO PURCHASE.

GIBBON'S DECLINE AND FALL. Vol. II. Dublin. Luke White. 1789.

ELSLEY ON THE GOSPEL AND ACTS. London, 1833. Vol. I.

ARISTOPHANES, Bekker. London, 1829. In 2 vols. Vol. II.

SPENSER'S WORKS. Pickering's edition, 1839. Sm. 8vo. Vol. V.

WHARTON'S ANGLIA SACRA. Fol. Vol. II.

LYDGATE'S BOKE OF TROGE. 4to. 1555. (Any fragment.)

COLERIDGE'S TABLE TALK. Vol. I. Murray. 1835.

THE BARBERS (a poem), by W. Hutton. 8vo. 1793. (Original edition, not the fac-simile.)

THE DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE OF THE CHURCH OF ROME TRULY REPRESENTED, by Edw. Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, edited by William Cunningham, Min. Edinburgh.

A CATECHISM TRULY REPRESENTING THE DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES OF THE CHURCH OF ROME, with an Answer to them, by John Williams, M.A.

THE SALE CATALOGUE OF J. T. BROCKETT'S LIBRARY OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN HISTORY, &C. 1823.

DODD'S CERTAMEN UTRIUSQUE ECCLESIÆ; OR A LIST OF ALL THE EMINENT WRITERS, CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS, SINCE THE REFORMATION. 1724.

DODD'S APOLOGY FOR THE CHURCH HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 1742. 12mo.

SPECIMENS FOR AMENDMENTS FOR DODD'S CHURCH HISTORY, 1741. 12mo.

JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF DUBLIN. Vol. I. Part I. (Several Copies are wanting, and it is believed that many are lying in London or Dublin.)

CH. THILLON (DE HALLE) NOUVELLE COLLECTION DES APOCRYPHES. Leipsic, 1832.

THEOBALD'S SHAKSPEARE RESTORED, ETC. 4to. 1726.

A SERMON preached at Fulham in 1810 by the REV. JOHN OWEN of Paglesham, on the death of Mrs. Prowse, Wicken Park, Northamptonshire (Hatchard).

FÜSSLEIN, JOH. CONRAD, BEYTRÄGE ZUR ERLÄUTERUNG DER KIRCHEN-REFORMATIONS-GESCHICHTE DES SCHWEITZERLANDES. 5 Vols. Zurich, 1741.

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Notices to Correspondents.

C. & J. S., _who inquire respecting the phrase_ "At Sixes and Sevens," _are referred to our_ 3rd Vol. pp. 118. 425.

J. E. S. _will find the line_:

"When Greeks joined Greeks then was the tug of war,"

_in Nat. Lee's_ Alexander the Great.

W. S. S. _We are obliged by our correspondent's offer respecting the_ Liber Festivalis, _which we are only deterred from accepting from the fear that want of room may prevent our using his notes._

_The title of the Rev. J. Robertson's book, referred to in our answer to_ G. S. M. _in out last week's Number, is_, "How shall we conform to the LITURGY?" _not_ "Litany," _as was inadvertently printed._

REPLIES RECEIVED.--_Clerical Members of Parliament--Lords Marchers--Hexameter Verses in the Scriptures--Learned Men named Bacon--Derivation of Eva--Collar of SS.--Meaning of Delighted--Sleckstone--Serjeants' Rings--Son of the Morning--Voltaire--The Golden Bowl--Olivarius--Moravian Hymns--Tripos--Age of Trees--Parish Registers--Quarter Waggoner--Valentine's Day--Inveni Portum--Epigram on Burnet--Crosses and Crucifixes--Monody on Death of Sir John Moore--MSS. of Sir H. St. George--Preached from a Pulpit--Coverdale's Bible--Allen of Rossull--Slavery in Scotland--Boiling to Death--Execution of Charles I.--Reichenbach's Ghost Stories._

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