in February, 1740-1, his Scheme to prevent the Exportation of Wool; in October, 1741, Reply to Remarks on Consequences; in March, 1741-2, Seasonable Thoughts on Wool; and in June, 1742, 2000 Proposals for Treaties on Trade. 1000 bills "for vote and interest for Islington." In May, 1739, Woodfall appears to have printed, for Millar, Thomson's play of Edward and Eleanora. The only fact of interest is, that 3500 common and 1000 fine royal copies were published of the first edition. Brave times those for dramatic writers! Even of a tragedy by one less celebrated, the numbers printed would startle our degenerate public. Thus of Armenius, by W. Paterson, March, 1739-40, no less than 2000 common and 400 fine copies were struck off for a first edition! It must, however, be admitted that a factitious interest attached to both these plays. As is well known, the chamberlain refused to license Edward and Eleanora, in consequence of Thomson's connexion with the opposition and the court of the Prince of Wales; and it was said that Paterson having acted as a friendly amanuensis to Thomson, the copy of Edward and Eleanora read by the censor was in Paterson's handwriting, and therefore, and for no other reason, a licence was refused to Armenius. I find also in the ledger an account of a tragedy not mentioned in the Biog. Dram., but I know not whether the party charged was author or bookseller. "Mr. R. King, in Basinghall Street. To printing the tragedy of £ s. d. 550" H. Woodfall, Jun., appears to have printed a good deal for Dr. Webster, and Webster, I think, pub 66 "Thomas Carew, Esq.," appears to have taken part in this controversy, as I find him charged with "printing a pamphlet concerning the ex When an edition of Francis's Horace was first published in London does not appear either in Chalmers or Watt; indeed, the first London edition mentioned by Watt is the eighth, that of 1778. Chalmers says that the translation of Horace first made Francis known in England about 1743, and that some time after he came over to England, and in 1753 published a translation of part of the Orations of Demosthenes. Considering the large inferences which have been drawn from an assumed connexion between the son of the Doctor and the son of H. Woodfall in the great Francis-Junius theory, it may not be without interest to show that the fathers were probably acquainted before the sons met at St. Paul's School. "Mr. A. Millar, Dr. 1746, Aug. 20. To printing eight sheets of £ s. d.; &c., with Brevier Notes 18 0 0" I presume that in 1742 Sir Theodore Janssen, the South Sea Director, must have been too old to figure as an author, as he died in 1748, aged ninety-four. Yet, old as he must have been, we find him in the ledger : "Sir Theodore Janssen, Bart. Mar. 9, 1741-2. Discourse on Banks, No. 500 April 16. £ s. d. 112 0 1 10 0" To printing an account of 1741-2, Mar. 16. To printing 2000 quarto £ s. d. "Stephen Theodore Janssen, Esq. pages of Pacific Cardinal To 2000 4to. pages about Guildford Election. 200 Remarkable Speech of K. William III. Three advertisements lished often on his own account. Webster was a 0 60 ,, 206 halfpenny stamps 0 8 7" Some of the entries are not very easily understood. We know that for years after 1740, news letter-writing still continued a trade; and it is probable that Woodfall, from his connexion with a London newspaper, would have been a desirable correspondent; but I find but one entry like the following: ૬ * ઃ” "Mr. Craighton, of Ipswich. I mentioned incidentally that H. Woodfall, Jun., printed occasionally bills and tickets for the benefit performances at the theatres. The Cibbers of course patronised him; and we find "bills and tickets" for Theophilus, for Mrs. Cibber, and for "Miss Betty and Miss Jenny Cibber." The credit accounts are characteristic. The first is acknowledged as "received by note of hand;" the next, "received in part 3s. in the pound; the remainder with an "&c." are in the abstract of "debts due," and "bad" written against all. P. T. P. INEDITED LETTERS OF CHARLES I. 99 I have recently acquired a MS. quarto volume, consisting of copies of letters from King Charles I. to his queen in the year 1646. They are sixtyfour in number, and form a regular series from January 4 to December 26. They are written in a neat close hand (I believe) of the seventeenth century. I am not aware whether the originals are in existence, or have been published. I send you an exact transcript of the first letter as a specimen; and if you think it will be suitable for "N. & Q.," I shall have pleasure in sending you others at intervals. Twenty-four of them are dated at Oxford, and forty at New Castle. I shall be glad to see your opinion, or those of your correspondents, as to the rarity and value of this MS. [* This pamphlet, which makes just seven half-sheets, is entitled "An Account of the Numbers of Men able to bear arms in the Provinces and Towns of France, taken by the King's Orders in 1743, &c. To which is added, An Account of the Military Forces of France for both Land and Sea Service, as settled by the Council of State on May 1, 1743; London, printed for M. Cooper, at the Globe in Paternoster Row, 1744."] "I desired thee to take notice that with the year I begin to new number my letters, hoping to begin a year's course of good luck. I have heard of, but seen no letters from thee since Christmas Day: the reason is evident, for our intelligence with the Portugal's agent is obstructed, so that I am not so confident as I was that any of my letters will come safe to thee. But methinks, if Card. Mazarin were but half so kind to us as he professes to be, it would be no great difficulty for him to secure our weekly intelligence. And in earnest I desire thee to put him to it; for, besides that if the effects of it succeed it will be of great consequence to me, I shall very much judge of the reality of his intentions according to his answer in this. If Ashburnham complain to thee of my wilfulness, I am sure it is that way, which at least thou wilt excuse, if not justify me in; but if thou hadst seen a former paper (to which being but accessary, I must not blame his judgment) thou wouldest have commended my cholerick rejection of it, the aversion to which it is possible (though I will not confess it until thou sayest so) might have made me too nice in this, of which I will say no more, but consider well that which I sent in the place of it, and then judge. 66 My great affairs are so much in expectation, that for the present I can give thee but little account of them, albeit yet in conjecture (as I believe) that the rebels will not admit of my personal treaty at London; and I hope well of having 2000 foot and horse, out of my smaller garrisons. As for the Scots, we yet hear no news of them, neither concerning this treaty, nor of that which I have begun with David Lesley. And lastly, that the Duke of York's journey is absolutely broken both in respect of the loss of Hereford, as that the relief of Chester is yet but very doubtful. But upon this design, having commanded Sir George Ratcliff to wait upon him, I desire thy approbation that he may be sworn Gentleman of his Bedchamber; for which, though he be very fit, and I assure thee that he is far from being a Puritan, and that it will be much for my son's good to have him settled about him, yet I would not have him sworn without thy consent. So God bless thee, sweet heart. [SHAKSPEARIANA. 1. "Henry the Eighth."-I read in Fraser for July, that "Schlegel has committed himself to the rash assertion that Henry the Eighth has somewhat of a prosaic appearance;" and that "the exact critic seems to have nodded," before he completed his survey of that great historical tragedy, or, rather, tragic history. I am of opinion that Schlegel's meaning is, that the versification of the Henry the Eighth borders upon prose in its structure, compared with the usual blank-verse manner of Shakspeare-as it undoubtedly does; and I have always felt it to be evidential of Shakspeare's fine feeling of the "fitness of things"-this abandoning of the "mighty line," in a theme of, as it were, his own scene and day. The structure of the verse of Henry the Eighth is remarkably unlike that of any of the other "histories." 3. Random Notes on Shakspeare.-The Two Gentlemen of Verona is one of Shakspeare's shortest plays, and may be taken as the average length of our modern five act pieces. It contains 1962 lines. The longest known play of antiquity is the Edipus Coloneus of Sophocles, which contains 1779 lines. The longest known play of Euripides is the Phænissa, 1766 lines. The average length of his plays is 1500 lines. These numbers tend to show that our modern plays are considerably longer than those of the ancients. Nor is this to be wondered at, for they often listened to four or five pieces at a sitting. The first line of the beautiful opening scene in Twelfth Night is repeated, almost word for word, in Antony and Cleopatra, Act II. Sc. 5. : "Music, moody food Of us that trade in love." Our poet seems to have had some stock Latin phrases which he repeated on occasion. Among these is "Cucullus non facit monachum" in Measure for Measure, Act V. Sc. 1.; and again in Twelfth Night, Act I. Sc. 5. It is rendered into English in Henry VIII., Act III. Sc. 1., "But all hoods make not monks." Another is " pauca verba," in Love's Labour's Lost, Act IV. Sc. 2., repeated in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act I. Sc. 1., where, perhaps for the sake of the quibble, the French parson translates it falsely as "good worts." In All's Well that ends Well, Act II. Sc. 3., Parolles says: "A young man married, is a man that's marr'd." The same quibble in the same form of words, though with a different meaning, is used in another language by a writer who had probably never heard of Shakspeare: This is illustrated by a passage in Henry IV., Part I. Act III. Sc. 3., where Falstaff says: "But the sack that thou hast drunk me would have bought me lights as good cheap at the dearest chandler's in Europe." In Troilus and Cressida, Hector, speaking of Achilles, says: "But for Achilles, my own searching eyes Shall find him by his large and portly size." Act IV. Sc. 5. This is not in character. Achilles was celebrated for his agility, and is therefore called in Homer, módas Hus, fleet of foot. Now Hector could hardly expect such a man to be "large and portly." A. G. 5. Frailty of Woman. The ejaculation of Hamlet, "Frailty, thy name is woman!" is a very condensed sentence, compared with that of Saxo Grammaticus; from whom Shakspeare directly or indirectly borrowed, if not this idea, at least the whole of this "history." Saxo's style is elaborate and stately: "Ita votum omne fœmineum, fortunæ varietas abripit, temporum mutatio dissolvit, et muliebris animi fidem lubrico nixam vestigio, fortuiti rerum casus extenuant: quæ sicut ad pollicendum facilis, ita ad persolvendum sequis: variis voluptatis irritamentis astringitur, atque ad recentia semper avidius expetenda, veterum immemor: anhela, præceps cupiditate dissultat." This is said after Hamlet had experienced, as a bigamist, the conduct of his two wives cotemporaneously, in addition to the troubles involved in his mother's conduct. He is a great favourite with Saxo, who concludes the exit of Hamlet by saying: "Hic Amlethi exitus fuit, qui si parem naturæ atque fortunæ indulgentiam expertus fuisset, æquasset fulgore superos, Herculea virtutibus opera transcendisset." But as Saxo dilates much on the cunning and talents of Hamlet, for which Hercules was not remarkable, and has nothing to say as to his strength and powers of endurance, Mercury would have been a more suitable deity with whom to compare him (Historia Danor., lib. iv. p. 31. A., Basil, 1534). The Hamlet of Shakspeare is quite a distinct conception from the historical "Amlet."* T. J. BUCKTON. Lichfield. ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS, 1582-1650. about; and, though to the last a party man, he was never long of the same party. Like all political speculators, he sometimes mistook the tide. He was a prisoner in the Tower; and twice paid heavy fines, at the instance of Laud. To meet them his valuables were sold-pictures, for which he had given 400l., fetching 57. ` (Campbell's Life of Williams.) He did much for the Church and the advanceAbbey at his own expense. He rebuilt the epiment of learning. He restored Westminster scopal palace at Buckden, and Lincoln College, Oxford. He was a munificent benefactor to St. Per John's College, Cambridge, where he had been He was, however, a faithful servant. Nothing could exceed his devotion when James I. lay dying; and when, in his old age, he heard the sad news of Charles' violent end, he burst into an agony of grief, and declared that "he never would take comfort more." A good life of Williams is much wanted. Like "Williams," says Mr. Macaulay, was one of Wolsey, he had an "honest chronicler." Dr. those who are wiser for others than for them- Hacket, who had been his chaplain, poured forth selves." The remark is beyond question just; a lament after his death, in which he ascribed to him the virtues of an angel. Later writers have reversed the picture. Such extreme views must be erroneous. Feeling that Williams had many faults, and that his public conduct was often marked by interested motives, I am convinced that an impartial biographer would discover much that was good in his hero. Despite his grandeur, he grows pale beside such men as Ken and Sancroft. Admitting this, I still see a prelate devoted to good works; and in no age may we speak lightly of those who never forgot the poor and needy. for no one knew better how to counsel a banished As a politician, his conduct was often reprehensible. He was not straightforward. He shifted *The latter should, however, be read and studied by an actor of this very difficult character. He Williams was not buried in his cathedral. rests in a humble country churchyard near Penrhyn. Dr. Hacket wrote an epitaph, which, in point of flattery, is an epitome of the Scrinia Reserata. J. VIRTUE WYNEN. 1. Portland Terrace, Dalston. August 31, 1654. "This evening to Cambridge; and went first to St. John's College, well built of brick, and library which I think is the fairest of that University. There hangs in the library the picture of John Williams, Archbishop of York, sometime Lord Keeper, my kinsman and their great benefactor."-Evelyn. t Lives of Sacred Poets, vol. i. p. 268., Art. HERBERT. TOPOGRAPHY OF LONDON. Thames Salmon. In 1376, 50 Edw. III., a petition to the crown prayed, that whereas the salmon, and other fish in the Thames, was taken and destroyed by engines placed to catch the fry, which, fry was then used for feeding pigs, a law might be passed to take up all the trunks ("tous les trynks") between London and the sea, and forbid them for time to come: also, that no salmon be taken between Gravesend and Henley Bridge in winter; that is to say, between the Feast of the finding of the Cross and the Epiphany; and that the river-guardians suffer no net but of large mesh. The petition (which is in French) concludes thus: "Awaiting which, most redoubtable lord, if it shall please your Highness thus to make order for the three next years, all your people repairing to London, or bordering the river, shall buy as good a salmon for two shillings as they now get for ten." (Petitiones in Parliamento.) Smithfield Market a Nuisance of Five hundred Years' standing.—1380, 3 Richard II. " The gentlemen about Court, and others the frequenters and inhabitants of Smithfield and Holborn, make petition, that by reason of the great and horrible putrescence and deadly abominations (grantz et horribles puours et abominations morteles') day by day prevailing there, from corrupt blood, entrails of oxen, sheep, and pigs, slain in the butchery near the church of St. Nicholas at Newgate, and thrown into the various ditches of two enclosures (gardyns) near Holborn Bridge, the aforesaid people about the Court by the infection of the air have already suffered much disease, and humbly pray that for their own ease and quietness, as well as for the honour of the city, a penal ordinance shall compel the butchers henceforth to kill all their beasts at Knightsbridge; or wherever they shall not be a nuisance to the King's subjects, on pain of forfeiting all animals killed at Newgate, and imprisonment for one year; and obliging the Lord Mayor and Aldermen to enforce judgment." To this petition it was replied, that there was already an Ordinance enrolled in Chancery in the time of the late King Edward, designed to remedy the evil. J. W. PERMUTATING HEXAMETERS. In the Catholic serial The Lamp, for June 17, 1854, there is a paper on the "Curiosities of the Anagram," in which the statement is made, as from the Athenæum, that "the verse Tot tibi sunt dotes, Virgo, quot sidera cœlo' will admit of its words being combined in 1022 different ways." Now this assertion, although true, does not contain the whole truth, for the words of which the line in question is composed being nine, they are of course susceptible of a far greater number of permutations, viz. 362,880; but as they form a verse, and as such are subject, as to their position, to the laws of prosody (for instance, the line cannot begin or end with tibi, or end with sidera, &c.), the number of permutations is greatly restricted, but not so far, as a subsequent quotation will show, as to 1022. The misstatement is of course of little moment; but its rectification allows me to notice a forgotten curiosity of literature, of which no mention is made by Sir A. Croke or Mr. Sandys in their respective essays on Rhyming Latin Verse and Macaronic Poetry, to neither of which classes of facetiæ, indeed, it can be said to belong. The title of the work in question is as follows: è societate Jesv Protevm Parthenivm, Vnius Libri Versvm, Vnius Versys Librum. Stellarum numero, siue formis M.XXII., variatum. Antverpiæ, Ex Officina Plantiniana, M.DC.XVII., folio, pp. 122." "Eryci Pvteani Pietatis Thymata in Bernardi Bavhvsi The author of this laborious trifle was Henri Dupuy, otherwise Van de Putte, better known under his Latinised cognomen of Erycius PuteaHe was a native of Vanlo in Guelders, and occupied the chair of Belles-Lettres at the University of Louvain for the greater part of his life. nus. To a notice of this author and his works in the Biog. Universelle, tom. xii. p. 323., is appended the following note in relation to the verse, of the repetition of which in its various forms the book mainly consists: "Ce vers imaginé par le P. Bauhuys, jésuite de Louvain, peut réellement se retourner de 3312 manières, comme mais Dupuy, voulant suivre l'allégorie indiquée par le l'a démontré Jacq. Bernouilli dans son Ars conjectandi; Les vers même, s'en est tenu à 1022, nombre des étoiles fixés dans tous les catalogues des anciens astronomes. amateurs de semblables bagatelles citent les vers suivant de Th. Lansius: Crux, fax, fraus, lis, mars, mors, nox, pus, sors, mala, Styx, vis,' qui peut former 39,916,800 combinaisons différentes.” I have seen complicated statements, which have appeared to me to be erroneous, as to the number of permutations of which a "letter padlock" is susceptible. Let such a lock be composed of n revolving rings, each ring containing a letters of the alphabet then I imagine that the formula "; will correctly express the permutability of the inWILLIAM BATES. strument. Birmingham. CONINGSBY FAMILY. In Vol. vi., p. 406., I gave an account of a singular memorial erected in the churchyard of Areley-Kings, Worcestershire, to "Sir Harry" Coningsby, who, I stated, had previously lived in |