Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

his deprivation, presented them to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, of which he had been Master. Archbishop Tennison bequeathed a portion of his library to Lambeth, a part to St. Paul's Cathedral, and part to the library which he had founded in the parish of St. Martin's-in-theFields-which part was sold by auction a few years since!

During the next fifty years, when the see was filled by Wake, Potter, Herring, and Hutton, few additions were made to the library. Bu Archbishop Secker, besides expending upwards of 300%. in improving the MS. library, directed by his will all the books in his own library of which there existed no copies in the archiepiscopal collection to be added to it.

and Commonwealth of this Realm," opens up a point which does not seem to have been duly considered-namely, that while on the one hand the archbishop may fairly be called upon to contribute somewhat to the maintenance of the library, in return for the advantages which he may derive from it, the larger contribution should be made by or on behalf of the Crown, the Church, and the Commonwealth, who share that advantage, but in a much larger proportion. I must reserve for another paper my notes on the librarians. WILLIAM J. THOMS.

FOLK-LORE: SUPERSTITIONS.-Pretty well acquainted with popular superstitions, I have this Archbishop Cornwallis caused the large col-week met with two which are either new or very lection of tracts which had accumulated between the time of Henry VII. and Queen Anne to be arranged and bound in sixty volumes; and Archbishop Manners-Sutton is said to have largely added to the collection of theology.

Of the nature and value of the library it is impossible to speak at length in these columns. The names of the donors are a guarantee for the richness, utility, and importance of the books. But there is one class of works which deserves to be specially noticed, the more so that neither Dr. Ducarel nor Mr. Beriah Botfield makes any allusion to it. I mean the books sent in for the approval of the licenser; but which, in consequence of the license being refused, were never published. The copies sent in for approval were, however, retained in the library, and have thus been preserved for reference at the present day.

The library, which consists of about twenty-five thousand volumes, is now deposited in the Great Hall built by Juxon, and beautifully restored for the purpose by Blore, at the cost of Archbishop Howley. The books are arranged in oaken bookcases which surround the room and project at intervals from the walls, making in each recess a little book-room, the very beau-ideal of a place of study.

Such is the origin of this remarkable and most important library- a library which the present excellent Primate has declared it was "his wish and intention to render as useful as possible to the public"- thereby acting entirely in the spirit of the founders, who, as we have seen, adjured their successors to suffer the books, "as far as lieth in them, to descend from age to age, and from succession to succession, to the service of God and His Church, of the Kings and Commonwealth of this Realme, and particularly of the Archbishops of Canterbury."

The fact that, though intended particularly for the Archbishops of Canterbury, the library was not intended for their exclusive use, but for "the service of God and His Church, and of the Kings

faintly remembered. A worthy laundress neighbour is in sore distress-the cock has crowed on two or three nights at nine o'clock! It is the sure sign of an early death in her family, and that will be the dying hour. The event happened exactly as fore-crowed when she lost her last daughter. The "robin weeping" on the windowsill was another certain indication of approaching death! As I had never heard of a robin weeping, I asked what was meant, and was told the name was given to the little sharp querulous note of the bird often heard when it perches near without breaking into song. Are these superstitions generally known? BUSHEY HEATH.

IRISH FOLK-LORE.-The two following bits of folk-lore are, I think, worth being laid up in the treasury of "N. & Q." Some years ago I was on a visit at the house of a relative in the West of Ireland. The lands had been a grant from Queen Elizabeth to an ancestor, and the house had been inhabited by members of the family for nearly three hundred years. Originally a farm-house, rooms had been added on as required, with perfect contempt of facility of access. Sons brought home their wives, and of course settled down in the paternal mansion. Orphan cousins were adopted, particularly if of the weaker sex, until provided for by marriage (some never married), and at one time, exclusive of "the master's" family, two male and three female branches of the stock, all long past the usual or unusual age of matrimony, were residing in the house, and a happier family was unknown through the length and breadth of the land. When I saw it, the house had taken the form of two sides of a rightangled triangle, and scarcely one room in it was accessible without passing through two or three others! Having been originally thatched, the additions were also thatched; and now comes my first bit of folk-lore. The tenants who had "lived under his honour and his honour's father and grandfather for hundreds of years," were highly

clannish in their feelings towards the "ould family," and regularly on Candlemas Day the principal man among them, who was a sort of Overseer of the rest, came with much ceremony and deposited in various parts of the roof short sticks, each with three branches, as a preservative against fire; and as the house was not burned down, no doubt the remedy was infallible. As my other bit of folk-lore contains a query as well as a note, I will keep it till another opportunity. CYWRM.

Porth-yr-Aur, Carnarvon.

NAMES RETAINING THEIR ANCIENT SOUND.-It is curious to remark how often, and for how long a period, names retain their ancient sound in the vernacular pronunciation, though their written form may have been greatly changed. Thus, in a charter of King Alfred, the two manors of Gissic and Funtmal are granted to Shaftesbury Abbey, much more nearly representing the ordinary pronunciation than Gussage and Fontmel, as these names are now written.

Again, in another ancient West Country document, I find the word flannel written, as it is still commonly called by the poor, flannen, suggestive rather of a Celtic than a Romance derivation.

But I would also call attention to another fact, which, if there be anything in it, is still more remarkable. There is a family in this neighbourhood whose name is constantly written Elsworth, but pertinaciously pronounced by the common people Elford. I have sometimes dreamed that this may possibly be the old Saxon name of Wulfheard, still lingering amongst us, land in Cheselborne, Dorset, having been granted by Eadgar to a person of that name. C. W. BINGHAM.

THE MADONNA_DELLA SEDIA (AFTER RAFFAELLE) BY MANY ENGRAVERS.-This most charming picture of Raphael's seems to have been the favourite theme of many engravers. In the catalogue of the "Valuable Stock and Collection of Works of Art of the late John Clowes Grundy," of Manchester,* I find the names of the following engravers, who all have immortalised themselves in this work: Calametta, Garavaglia, E. Mandel, Raphael Morghen (two different plates-the small one is a very gem), Johann Gotthard Müller (perhaps the most refined of all modern engravers, the worthy pupil of the great Wille), Perfetti, P. Pelée, Petersen, Schaeffer, Schüler, and Schia

vone.

HERMAN KINDT.

FIRST TURKISH NEWSPAPER IN LONDON.-The Mukhbir, the first Turkish weekly newspaper in London, was begun in August of this year. It is

Well known as an excellent connoisseur of works of art, and as the earliest friend of David Cox. The sale

lasted from November 4th to the 23rd of the same month.

edited by Suavi Effendi. It was first published in Constantinople, and suppressed. HYDE CLARKE.

32, St. George's Square, S.W.

SCRIPTURE BAPTISMAL NAMES. — Being called on to give private baptism last Sunday (third in Advent) to a child, I was struck with the names of child and mother; and on inquiry found, with some personal interesting family history, that the mother's family consisted of six sons, named respectively Absalom, Barzillai, Eleazar, Azariah, Ezra, and Benjamin; and six daughters, named Tamar, Abigail, Naomi, Tirzah, Unice, and Zipporah. Í thought it worthy of a note in "N. & Q." GEORGE LLOYD.

Darlington.

LINES BY DR. HENRY KING.-At no great distance from the communications of MR. J. M. COWPER and DR. RIX, in pages 390 and 486 of your valuable miscellany, should appear the following lines by Dr. King, 1591-1669:

"Sic Vita.

"Like to the falling of a star, Or as the flights of eagles are; Or like the fresh spring's gaudy hue, Or silver drops of morning dew; Or like the wind that chafes the flood; Or bubbles which on water stood; Ev'n such is man, whose borrow'd light Is straight call'd in, and paid to night. The wind blows out, the bubble dies ; The spring entombed in autumn lies; The dew dries up; the star is shot; The flight is past-and man forgot." Newcastle-on-Tyne.

J. MANUEL.

[blocks in formation]

The interest felt in everything connected with Caxton and the introduction of printing to England, is perhaps more widely spread at the present time than at any former period; and I therefore hope that the following data, all seen in the original by myself, will be found interesting, as they form the foundation on which any correct account of Caxton must be built. The documents in full were published by me five years ago, although not in the consecutive form here given. The publication last month of an imposing folio on "The History of the Art of Printing," by H. Noel Humphreys, in which Caxton is again dressed up in much of the

outlandish costume provided for him 100 years ago by Bagford and his successors, and in which most of the following "facts are ignored, although the author quotes the very volume in which they appear, induces me to beg for them a greater publicity in the pages of "N. & Q." than they will otherwise receive.

1438. Caxton was bound apprentice to Robert Large: therefore the usual year ascribed to his birth (1412) must be erroneous. 1441. Legacy from Large to Caxton of twenty marks; the other and older apprentices receiving larger

amounts.

1449. Caxton at Bruges, and defendant in the trial of John Selle versus William Caxton.

1453. Caxton came from Bruges to London, to take up his livery in the Mercers' Company. Caxton fined for not attending the "riding" on Lord Mayor's day. 1462. A letter from Caxton at Bruges to the Mercers at London. 1463. Caxton appointed to the highest office a foreigner could hold at Bruges-"Governor of the English Nation." This was the connecting link between Caxton, and the Court of the Duke of Burgundy. 1464. A letter from the Mercers to Caxton at Bruges, sent by special courier. Caxton appointed an ambassador by Edward IV. 1465. Letter from the Merchant Adventurers at London to Caxton at Bruges.

1466. Reply from Caxton to the Mercers, enclosing a letter he had received from the Earl of Warwick concerning trade regulations. This was the nobleman to whom the Chess-book was dedicated. Also a reply from the Mercers' Company, signed by J. Tate, probably the same who erected the first paper-mill in England. 1468. Caxton, with two others, is recommended by the Court of Mercers as a fit man to be sent by the King on a trade embassy.

1469. Caxton as arbitrator gives a judgment at Bruges. 1471. The translation of "Le Recueil" completed. 1474. Caxton finishes the translation of the Chess-book. 1477. "Dictes and Sayinges"; the first book connected with Caxton in which the date of printing is given.

Will Mr. Humphreys kindly state why he changes the name of Caxton's master, Robert Large, to Robert Strange (six times repeated)? -why he makes Caxton a partner in the business, while he was yet an apprentice ?-why he says we know nothing of Caxton between 1441 and 1464 ?—and finally, on what evidence he turns our printer out of the Almonry and sets him up in King Street, Westminster? WILLIAM BLADES. 11, Abchurch Lane.

"ADESTE FIDELES."-The well-known "Por

tuguese hymn" tune used to be commonly considered of Roman Catholic and Continental origin, but of late years divers editors have attributed it to John Reading, about whom they are not agreed. In the Congregational Psalmist, by Allon and Gauntlett, we read::

"Reading, John, born in 1690, a pupil of Dr. Blow, organist of St. John's, Hackney, St. Dunstan's, &c., died in 1766. Author of the Portuguese hymn,' which was first sung in Lincoln Cathedral. The Duke of Leeds, then

director of the Concerts of Ancient Music, heard it at the

Portuguese Chapel about 1785. Supposing it to be peculiar to the Portuguese service, he introduced it into the Concerts of the Society, under the title of Portuguese hymn."

In the Christian Knowledge Hymnal we are told that

"The tune is by John Reading, organist of the Cathedral at Winchester 1675, who died 1692, and further, the Adeste Fideles was arranged by the late Vincent Novello for the Portuguese Chapel, of which he became organist of the Portuguese hymn." in 1797, and hence it appears to have obtained the name

These statements are sufficiently discrepant, and I cannot attribute much authority to either, as both the books contain numerous historical errors.

The question is, when was the tune first published, or where is the original to be found? During the examination of many hundred volumes of psalmody, I have not met with it before the end of the last century. If composed in the 17th century, where was it all the while? In the present state of the argument I have not ventured to name any composer in my Church of England Psalmody, but as I am now making a final revision of that work, I should be glad to be able to do so.* HENRY PARR.

Yoxford Vicarage.

ANGLICAN EPISCOPATE.-A STUDENT would be thankful to be informed when, and where, Archbishop Cranmer received deacon's and priest's orders. He would also be glad of similar information with regard to Merrick, Bishop of Bangor, 1559; Bentham, Bishop of Litchfield, 1559; Alley, Bishop of Exeter, 1559; Scambler, Bishop of Peterborough, 1560; Downham, Bishop of Chester, 1561; and Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, 1550, and Worcester, 1552.

At

CONSISTORY COURTS, ETC.-At what date were consistory courts first held in cathedrals? what date were fixed pulpits introduced into the naves of cathedrals? EDMUND B. FERREY.

CICINDELÆ.-As I was seated in front of a friend's villa close to the ruins of Velia, famed in Roman times for the mildness of its climate (Hor. Epist. I. xv. 1; Plutarch, Emil. 39), I was surprised in the gloaming to see the whole landscape become suddenly lighted up with star-like points. On asking my friend how it was caused, he said, "These are little insects which we call 'luciole.' They appear in the month of May, when I saw them, and again in August. I have no doubt that

999

[* In "N. & Q." 3rd S. vi. 61, Dr. Rimbault has given some account of three musicians of the name of John

Reading, which may have occasioned the discrepancies in the notices of the author of "Adeste Fideles."-ED.]

they are the "cicindela" of Pliny (xviii. 66, 4, ed. Lemaire) who thus speaks of them: " Atque etiam in eodem arvo est signum illius maturitati, et horum sationi commune, lucentes vespere per arva cicindel. Ita appellant rustici stellantes volatus, Græci vero lampyridas, incredibili benignitate naturæ." No better expression than "stellantes volatus" could be selected to give the precise appearance, as they floated before the eye; and the benignity of nature was equally great as in the time of Pliny A.D. 23-79, for the whole air seemed to be replete with them. I tried to catch them, but their brightness at once disappeared, and I could make nothing of them. My friend, who was an entomologist, said that the bright light was given out from the abdomen, which was visible as the wings moved, disappearing when they closed. It is curious, though I was afterwards in every part of Italy, that I never witnessed the same scene. Have any of your correspondents ever seen them in other parts of Italy? My friend said that they were also called "baticesola." What can this mean? "Luciole" is plain enough. Can any one give the etymology of "baticesola"? I have heard" cesendolo" applied to an oil lamp. This seems to have some connection with the other word. CRAUFURD TAIT RAMAGE.

THE CREED AND LORD'S PRAYER.-When did the custom commence of placing the Creed and Lord's Prayer in churches? What is the probable date of the oldest example of this practice? Were these formularies usually inscribed in Latin or English? I find that the Ten Commandments were first ordered, by Queen Elizabeth's advertisements, to be set upon the east wall in the year 1564. W. H. S.

Yaxley.

DRYDEN QUERIES.-1. What action is alluded to in these lines of Dryden in his poem addressed to Nathaniel Lee?

"As his heroic worth struck envy dumb,

Who took the Dutchman, and who cut the boom." Scott explains the lines as referring to an action of Sir Edward Spragge against the Algerines in the Mediterranean; but as "1 the Dutchman was the enemy, that explanation cannot be correct.

2. Can any of your correspondents fix the dates of the composition of Dryden's epitaphs on "Young Mr. Rogers of Gloucestershire," and on "Mrs. Margaret Paston of Burningham in Norfolk," or the dates of the deaths of the parties? The Rogers's of Gloucestershire are of Dowdeswell in that county.

3. Is there any knowledge of the persons for whom Dryden's pastoral elegy "On the Death of Amyntas," and his poem "On the Death of a very young Gentleman," were intended? Can the dates of these poems be fixed?

CH.

[blocks in formation]

EVERY THING, EVERY BODY.-The article on Grammar which Dr. Stoddart (afterwards Sir John Stoddart) wrote for the Encyclopædia Metropolitana is one of the best, if not the best, in our language. He may therefore be taken as a good authority. On referring to that article, it will be found that he never joined adjectives and substantives together, as is sometimes done at the present time. For instance, he always used 66 every as an adjective, thus: every thing, every body; but these words are now frequently joined together. Can any of your readers inform me why? D***1 *R.

FAUSTUS' CONJURING BOOK.-In Mr. Theodore Martin's Memoir of William Edmondstoune Aytoun, pp. 40, 41, is a quotation from one of his lectures, in which he speaks of having examined when in Germany the conjuring-book of Dr. Faustus. When he saw it, the volume was preserved in the archives of the town of Aschaffenburg-onthe-Maine. Where shall I see any further information about this wonderful manuscript? K. P. D. E.

GREYHOUND.—The etymology of this word is very doubtful. It is occasionally spelt grèhound or greihound. Mr. Shirley, in his work on Deer Parks, quotes (p. 100):

"A little before Lady Day, 1489, King Henry VII. roade into Wiltshire on hunting, and slew his gres [buck] in three places in that shire."-From Leland, Collect., vol. iv. p. 248.

One would like authority for this meaning of "gres," because, if it is correct, greyhound only means buck-hound. J. WILKINS, B.C.L.

BISHOP HORNE.-" The influence of the mathematical pursuits to which Bishop Horne assigns the heterodox propensities of some Cambridge theologians." Where? CYRIL.

[ocr errors]

HURSTMONCEAUX TOMBS, &c. The fine tomb of Lord Dacre and his son 1537, in Hurstmonceaux Church, Sussex, is perfect on the south side, but on the north the stone has greatly decayed. I am told it was built of two materials, Caen stone and Sussex marble. I was too late in the day to observe accurately the structure, when I last

[* George F. Nicholas, the doctor's eldest son, died rector of Haddiscoe in 1860. See "N. & Q.," 3rd S. xi. 105.]

[blocks in formation]

GEORGE LOCKEY.-A rude ballad once existed in a broadside form commemorating the execution of George Lockey, of Gainford, in the county of Durham, who murdered a person called Barker in a solitary place near Easby Abbey. He was hanged at Tyburn, near York, on Monday, March 23rd, 1789. I am anxious to see a copy of this. Some extracts from it are given in Walbran's CORNUB. Hist. of Gainford, p. 55.

MARRIAGE LICENSE.-A man about to marry obtains a license, consisting of a piece of parchment or paper, which he hands to the officiating clergy man. This is not returned to him, but is retained by the clergyman. What does he do with it? Is it returned to the Probate Court of the Diocese, or put into the waste-paper basket of the vestryroom? If sent to the Court, is it registered, and rendered accessible? If so, would it not be the quicker mode of ascertaining where a marriage took place, say, a hundred years since. than hunting in the registers of divers parishes? W. P.

ADMIRAL MOULTON.—Will any of your readers be good enough to inform me where I can find an account of this worthy of the 17th century-what his exploits were, and of what family of that name he was? N. V. RUDEE: DEFAMEDEN: BIRE. What is the meaning of rudee, in the following passage? "Sothely no man sendith ynne a medlynge of rudee clothe in to an olde clothe."- Wycliffe, St. Matthew,

ix. 16.

Is rudee the same as ruddy; and are we to understand this ruddy in the sense of fresh, new? We talk of a "fresh complexion," meaning a ruddy one; and rode or rudde, is "the complexion" itself. Are the ideas of redness and newness synonymous? If so, does this meaning of red come from the Anglo-Saxon dæg-red-dawn?

In verse 31 of the same chapter, defameden seems used in the general, not the bad, sense: "But thei goynge out, defameden hym thoru3 al that lond."

In chap. viii. v. 32, we have another unusual word, bire=force:

[merged small][ocr errors]

66

In Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight, we have"With alle be bur in his body he ber hit on lofte."

1. 2261.

[ocr errors]

Again, in The Arcadia (edition 1629, p. 54):while the terrible wit of Gynecia, carried with the Beere of violent love, runes through us all." JOHN ADDIS, JUN.

Rustington, Littlehampton, Sussex.

SILBURY HILL.-As Silbury Hill has attracted some special notice of late, I enclose an extract from an old memorandum-book of my great uncle, dated 1776. It will of course only be taken for what it is worth, but it mentions the fact of Silbury Hill having been opened in 1723, and some articles found there. Is there any record of the examination then made?

From an old Memorandum Book of Mr. John Morgan of Tredegar, 1778.

"SILBURY HILL.-Cumdha, King, buried at Silbury. His body taken up in 1723 in March, near the surface at top of the hill, which is 60 cubits in diameter. There was also a bridle-bit, some buck horns, and an iron knife with a bone handle taken up. Diameter of Silbury 100 ft. and cubits or 170 ft.; the solid contents of Silbury Hill 500 ft. at bottom. Exact perpendicular altitude, 100 amount to 13,558,809 cubic feet. Supposed now to make

such a hill would cost 20,0001."

OCTAVIUS MORGAN.

The Friars, Newport, Monmouth. SISYPHUS AND HIS STONE.-I have an indistinct recollection of two (I think) hexameter lines in one of the Latin poets, describing very graphically, by the clever use of spondees and dactyls, the work of Sisyphus in Hades with his stone. I should be much obliged if you can give me the lines, and the name of the author. A. SMITHER.

THREE ECLIPSES-As calculated and drawn out

by Shri Nat Veiaz, a Brahmin at Cambay, according to a Sanskrit MS. in the Fraser Collection, v. p. 37, Fraser's Nâdir Shâh.

1. What memorable events were celebrated on the festivals of the different eclipses, Sun or Moon, above referred to, and what particulars are given regarding the Hindu days of the week and month on which they fell?

2. What account is given of the parentage of Shri Nat Veiaz of Cambay, and can he be identified with Vyûsa, the celebrated astronomer, who officiated at a sacrifice held at Harihara, in Western India, on an eclipse of the sun visible in Europe on April 7, A.D. 1521?

3. What date is affixed to the work? Who was the ruling authority at the time in Gujrât, and what account is given of the chief to whom it is dedicated ? R. R. W. ELLIS.

Starcross, near Exeter.

WEDNESDAY.-Johnson derives this word from the Anglo-Saxon "Woden's-day," or Odin's day. Zalkind Hourwitz (who lived in the last century), a learned Jew and the author of Apologie des Juifs,

1

« ElőzőTovább »