PASSAGE IN HAMLET.

My father gave me an acre of land,Sing ivy, sing ivy.My father gave me an acre of land,Sing green bush, holly, and ivy.I plough'd it with a ram's horn,Sing ivy, &c.I harrow'd it with a bramble,Sing ivy, &c.I sow'd it with a peppercorn,Sing ivy, &c.I reap'd it with my penknife,Sing ivy, &c.I carried it to the mill upon the cat's back,Sing ivy, &c.

My father gave me an acre of land,

Sing ivy, sing ivy.

My father gave me an acre of land,

Sing green bush, holly, and ivy.

I plough'd it with a ram's horn,

Sing ivy, &c.

I harrow'd it with a bramble,

Sing ivy, &c.

I sow'd it with a peppercorn,

Sing ivy, &c.

I reap'd it with my penknife,

Sing ivy, &c.

I carried it to the mill upon the cat's back,

Sing ivy, &c.

Then follows some more which I forget, but I think it ends thus:

I made a cake for all the king's men,Sing ivy, sing ivy.I made a cake for all the king's men,Sing green bush, holly, and ivy.

I made a cake for all the king's men,

Sing ivy, sing ivy.

I made a cake for all the king's men,

Sing green bush, holly, and ivy.

Nursery Tale.— I saddled my sow with a sieve full of buttermilk, put my foot into the stirrup, and leaped nine miles beyond the moon into the land of temperance, where there was nothing but hammers and hatchets and candlesticks, and there lay bleeding Old Noles. I let him lie, and sent for Old Hippernoles, and asked him if he could grind green steel nine times finer than wheat flour. He said he could not. Gregory's wife was up in the pear-tree gathering nine corns of buttered peas to pay Saint James' rent. Saint James was in the meadow mowing oat cakes; he heard a noise, hung his scythe at his heels, stumbled at the battledore, tumbled over the barn-door ridge, and broke his shins against a bag of moonshine that stood behind the stairsfoot door, and if that isn't true you know as well as I.

Legend of Change.—In one of the Magazines for November, a legend, stated to be of oriental origin, is given, in which an immortal, visiting at distant intervals the same spot, finds it occupied by a city, an ocean, a forest, and a city again: the mortals whom he found there, on each occasion, believing that the present state had existed for ever. I have seen in the newspapers, at different times, a poem (or I rather think two poems) founded on this legend; and I should like to know the author or authors, and whether it, or either of them, is to be found in any collection of poems.

D. X.

"Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,Unhousell'd, disappointed, unaneld'd."Hamlet, Act I. Sc. 5.

"Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,

Unhousell'd, disappointed, unaneld'd."

Hamlet, Act I. Sc. 5.

Boucher, in hisGlossary of Archaic and Provincial Words(art.Anyeal), has a note on this passage which seems to me to give so much better an idea of the worddisappointedthan any I have met with, that I am induced to send it you as a Note:—

"The last two words have occasioned considerable difficulty to the critics. The old copies, it is said, concur in givingdisappointed, which Dr. Johnson is willing to understand as meaningunprepared; a sense that might very well suit the context, but will not be easily confirmed by any other instance of the use of the worddisappointed. Dissatisfied, therefore, with this interpretation, some have readunanointed, and someunappointed. Not approving of either of these words, as connected withunanealed, Pope, no timid corrector of texts, readsunaneld, which he supposes to signifyunknelled, or the having no knell rung. To these emendations and interpretations Mr. Theobald, whose merit as a commentator of Shakspeare Mr. Pope, with all his wit and all his poetry, could not bring into dispute, urged many strong objections. Skinner rightly explainsanealedas meaningunctus; from the Teutonic prepositionan, andele, oil. As correction of the second word is admitted by all the commentators to be necessary, it is suggested that a clear and consistent meaning, consonant with Shakspeare's manner, will be given to the passage, if, instead ofdisappointed,unassoiled, which signifies 'without absolution,' be substituted."The line—'Unhousell'd, unassoil'd, unaneal'd,'will then signify 'without receiving the sacrament: without confession and absolution: and without extreme unction.'"Theunassoiledwas no less proper, will appear from due attention to the wordassoile, which of course is derived fromabsolvo; and the transition fromabsolveintoassoyleis demonstrated in the following passage from Piers Plowman, Vision, p. 3.:'There preached a pardoner, as he a priest were,Brought forth a bul, with many a bishop's seales,And saide, that himself might absoyle hem alle,Of falshode, of fasting, and of vowes broken.'As a further confirmation of the propriety of substituting a word signifyingabsolution, which pre-supposes confession, the following sentence fromPrince Arthurmay be adduced: 'She was confessed and houselled, and then she died,' part ii. p. 108."It must be allowed that no instance can be given of the wordunassoiled: but neither does any other instance occur to me of the wordunhouseledexcept the line inHamlet."

"The line—

'Unhousell'd, unassoil'd, unaneal'd,'

will then signify 'without receiving the sacrament: without confession and absolution: and without extreme unction.'

"Theunassoiledwas no less proper, will appear from due attention to the wordassoile, which of course is derived fromabsolvo; and the transition fromabsolveintoassoyleis demonstrated in the following passage from Piers Plowman, Vision, p. 3.:

'There preached a pardoner, as he a priest were,Brought forth a bul, with many a bishop's seales,And saide, that himself might absoyle hem alle,Of falshode, of fasting, and of vowes broken.'

'There preached a pardoner, as he a priest were,

Brought forth a bul, with many a bishop's seales,

And saide, that himself might absoyle hem alle,

Of falshode, of fasting, and of vowes broken.'

As a further confirmation of the propriety of substituting a word signifyingabsolution, which pre-supposes confession, the following sentence fromPrince Arthurmay be adduced: 'She was confessed and houselled, and then she died,' part ii. p. 108.

"It must be allowed that no instance can be given of the wordunassoiled: but neither does any other instance occur to me of the wordunhouseledexcept the line inHamlet."

B. J. S.

The recent observations of your correspondentMr. Noake(Vol. vi., p. 531.) on the superstitions of the people of Worcestershire regarding the weather, have called my attention to the present extraordinary wet season, on which subject I have been asked many questions. Although I do not account myself any more weatherwise than my neighbours, yet I may note that, for many years past, I have remarked that whenever we have had any very serious volcanic disturbance in the Mediterranean or its neighbourhood, or at Mount Hecla, we have always had some corresponding atmospheric agitation in this country, either in excessive heat or moisture, or both, and accompanied with very perceptible vibrations, at times so strong as to answer the name of earthquakes; and these vibrating so generally in the direction from north-west to south-east, I have been convinced that underneath us there is a regular steam passage from Mount Hecla in Iceland to Mount Vesuvius in Italy. I have unfortunately mislaid my memoranda on this subject, and have no regular roster of these occasional visitations to refer to, but I think my attention to this effect was first impressed on me by the season which followed the destruction at Lisbon in 1796. I recollect a friend of mine, the late Mr. Empson, of Bouley, while attending some drainage improvements in his carrs within the Level of Ancholme, was aroused by an extraordinary noise, which he thought was occasioned by some "drunken fools," as he called them, racing with their waggons upon the turnpike road above the hill, which was two miles off from where he then was in the carrs. His uphill shepherd, however, told him, when he got home, that there had been no such occurrence as he supposed on the turnpike, as, had such been the case, he must have heard and seen it. The next day, however, added fresh information, and better observers discovered that the noise heard across the carrs was underground; and further intelligence confirmed the suspicion that it was occasioned by a species of earthquake that had been felt at different places with different intensities, through Yorkshire and Lancashire, and amongst the islands west of Scotland; and afterwards came the same kind of intelligence across France, confirming me in my conclusions before noted. And ever since this period of 1796 we have never had any extraordinary alternation of extreme heat or wet, without its being to me the result of some accompanying volcanic agitation in Mount Hecla, or Mount Vesuvius or its neighbourhood; and the recurrence of the violent ebullition that has this year being going on at Mount Etna may therefore be considered as the electric cause not only of the extraordinary heat of our late summer, but also of the floods that have subsequently poured down upon us. It is only of late years that scientific men have paid due attention to these physical phenomena. Sir Humphrey Davy, I think, was the first who laid down their causes; and if we recollect the account given by Sir Stamford Raffles of the appalling effects of the tremendous explosion of Tombora, in Sambowa, one of the islands east of Java, in the year 1815, described as so violent in its immediate neighbourhood as to cause men, and horses, and trees to be taken up into the air like chaff; and of its effects being perceptible in Sumatra, where, nearly at a thousand miles distance from it, they heard its thundering noisy explosions,—thinking of this, we may well accede the comparatively small vibrations that we occasionally feel, as arising from the interchange of civilities passing between our volcanic neighbours Hecla and Vesuvius, or Etna; and glad we may be that we have them in no more inconvenient shape or degree than we have hitherto experienced them. I have some friends in Lancashire who have been a good deal alarmed by the vibrations they have lately experienced; and I must confess that my good wife and myself were, on the morning of the 10th Dec., not a little startled in our bed by a shock that aroused us early to inquire after the cause of it, but for which we cannot account otherwise than that, from its sudden electric character, the Lancashire vibration had reached us. The chief purport, however, of my present communication is, to make inquiry amongst your readers, whether any of them, like myself, have observed and experienced any recurrence of these concomitant and physical obtrusions.

Wm. S. Hesledon.

Barton upon Humber.

Value of MSS.—In the cause of Calvertv.Sebright, a question arose as to the sale of a collection of manuscript books by the late Sir John Sebright in the year 1807. In aid of the inquiry before the Master, as to the difference in value of the manuscripts in 1807 and the year 1849, Mr. Rodd made an affidavit, from which I have made the following extract, showing the prices at which five lots were sold in 1807, and the prices at which the same lots were sold at the late Mr. Heber's sale in 1836:

"No. in Catalogue, 1185. Bracton de (Hen.) Consuetudinibus et Legibus Anglicæ. (In pergamena) literis deauratis. Sold in 1807 for 1l.13s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 6l.6s."Lot 1190. Gul. Malmesburiensis de Gestis Regum Anglorum. (In pergamena.) Sold in 1807 for 1l.7s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 63l."Lot 1195. Chronica Gulielmi Thorn. (In membranis.) Sold in 1807 for 12s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 85l."Lot 1198. Henrici Archid. Huntindoniensis de Gestis Anglorum et Gyr. Cambriensis expugnatio Hiberniæ. (In pergamena.) Sold in 1807 for 2l.1s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 78l.15s.6d."Lot 1206. Chronica Matt. Parisensis sine Historia Minor cum vitâ authoris, per Doctissimum Virum Rog. Twysden Bar. (In papyro.) Sold in 1807 for 2l.8s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 5l.15s.6d.Total produce in 1807, 8l.1s.: in 1836, 238l.17s."

"No. in Catalogue, 1185. Bracton de (Hen.) Consuetudinibus et Legibus Anglicæ. (In pergamena) literis deauratis. Sold in 1807 for 1l.13s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 6l.6s.

"Lot 1190. Gul. Malmesburiensis de Gestis Regum Anglorum. (In pergamena.) Sold in 1807 for 1l.7s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 63l.

"Lot 1195. Chronica Gulielmi Thorn. (In membranis.) Sold in 1807 for 12s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 85l.

"Lot 1198. Henrici Archid. Huntindoniensis de Gestis Anglorum et Gyr. Cambriensis expugnatio Hiberniæ. (In pergamena.) Sold in 1807 for 2l.1s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 78l.15s.6d.

"Lot 1206. Chronica Matt. Parisensis sine Historia Minor cum vitâ authoris, per Doctissimum Virum Rog. Twysden Bar. (In papyro.) Sold in 1807 for 2l.8s.: produced at Heber's sale, 1836, 5l.15s.6d.Total produce in 1807, 8l.1s.: in 1836, 238l.17s."

In the catalogue of Heber's books, &c., Nos. 447. 1006. 498. 118. and 1016. correspond with the Nos. 1185. 1190. 1195. 1198. 1206.

F. W. J.

Robert Hill.—I possess a Latin Bible which formerly belonged to this person, and contains many MS. notes in his handwriting. The following is by another hand:

"This book formerly belonged to Mr. Robert Hill, a taylor of Buckingham, and an acquaintance of my cousin John Herbert, surgeon of that town. J. L.""In literature we find of this profession (i. e.that of a taylor) John Speed, a native of Cheshire, whose merit as an historian and antiquary are indisputable—to whom may be added the name of a man who in literature ought to have taken the lead, we mean John Stow. Benjamin Robins, the compiler ofLord Anson's Voyage, who united the powers of the sword and the pen, was professionally a taylor of Bath; as was Robert Hill of Buckingham, who, in the midst of poverty and distress, while obliged to labour at his trade for the support of a large family, acquired a knowledge of the Hebrew, and other languages, such as has only been equalled by Magliabecchi, who studied in a cradle curtained by cobwebs and colonised by spiders."—See "Vestiges Revived," No. XX.European Mag.for Mar. 1813.

"This book formerly belonged to Mr. Robert Hill, a taylor of Buckingham, and an acquaintance of my cousin John Herbert, surgeon of that town. J. L."

"In literature we find of this profession (i. e.that of a taylor) John Speed, a native of Cheshire, whose merit as an historian and antiquary are indisputable—to whom may be added the name of a man who in literature ought to have taken the lead, we mean John Stow. Benjamin Robins, the compiler ofLord Anson's Voyage, who united the powers of the sword and the pen, was professionally a taylor of Bath; as was Robert Hill of Buckingham, who, in the midst of poverty and distress, while obliged to labour at his trade for the support of a large family, acquired a knowledge of the Hebrew, and other languages, such as has only been equalled by Magliabecchi, who studied in a cradle curtained by cobwebs and colonised by spiders."—See "Vestiges Revived," No. XX.European Mag.for Mar. 1813.

The above choice note is, I presume, an extract from theEurop. Mag., and may serve to show that although ordinarily it takes "nine tailors to make a man," it may occasionally require nine men to make such a tailor as R. Hill seems to have been.

B. H. C.

English Orthography.—The agricultural newspapers and magazines in the United States have generally restored the spelling ofplowin place ofplough, which has crept in since the translation of the Bible into English.

Could notcloke, the old spelling, be also restored, in place ofcloak, which has nothing butoakto keep it in countenance; whilstclokeis in analogy withsmoke,poke,broke, &c.?

There are two English words, in pronouncing which not a single letter of them is sounded; namelyewe(yo!) andaye(I!)

Uneda.

Philadelphia.

Bookselling in Glasgow in 1735.—The following curious report of a law case appears in Morison'sDictionary of the Decisions of the Court of Session, p. 9455. It appears from it that, so late as 1735, the city of Glasgow, now containing a population of nearly 400,000, was considered too limited a sphere for the support of onlytwobooksellers.

"1735, January 15. Stalker against Carmichael. Carmichael and Stalker entered into a co-partnery of bookselling within the City of Glasgow, to continue for three years; and becausethe place was judged too narrow for two booksellers at a time, it was stipulated that after the expiry of three years, either of them refusing to enter into a new contract upon the former terms, should be debarred from any concern in bookselling within the city of Glasgow. In a reduction of the contract, the Lords found the debarring clause in the contract is a lawful practice, and not contrary to the liberty of the subject."

X. Y.

Edinburgh.

Epitaph on a Sexton.—Epitaph on a sexton, who received a great blow by the clapper of a bell:

"Here lyeth the body of honest John Capper,Who lived by the bell, and died by the clapper."

"Here lyeth the body of honest John Capper,

Who lived by the bell, and died by the clapper."

Answer to the foregoing:

"I am not dead indeed, but have good hope,To live by the bell when you die by the rope."

"I am not dead indeed, but have good hope,

To live by the bell when you die by the rope."

With the siege of Calais, and its surrender to Edward III. in 1347, is associated the name of Eustache de St. Pierre, whose loyalty and devotedness have been immortalised by the historian, and commemorated by the artist's pencil. The subject of Queen Philippa's intercessions on behalf of Eustache and his brave companions is, no doubt, familiar to most of your readers: the stern demeanour of the king; the tears and supplicating attitude of the Queen Philippa; and the humiliating position of the burgesses of Calais, &c. But what if Eustache de St. Pierre had been bought over by King Edward? For without going the length of pronouncing the scenes of the worthy citizens, with halters round their necks, to have been a "got up" affair, there is, however, some reason to doubt whether the boasted loyalty of Eustache de St. Pierre was such as is represented, as will appear from the following notes. And however much the statements therein contained may detract from the cherished popular notions regarding Eustache de St. Pierre, yet the seeker after truth is inexorable, or, to use the words of Sir Francis Palgrave (Hist. of Norm. and Eng., i. 354.), he is expected "to uncramp or shatter the pedestals supporting the idols which have won the false worship of the multitude; so that they may nod in their niches, or topple down."

In one of the volumes forming part of that valuable collection published by the Frenchgovernment,and commenced, I believe, under the auspices of M. Guizot, namely, theDocumens inédits sur l'Histoire de France, the following passage attracted my notice:

"Il (M. de Bréquigny) a prouvé par des titres authentiques et inconnus jusqu'à présent, qu'Eustache de St. Pierre, dont on a si fort vanté le dévouement pour les habitans de Calais, fut séduit par Edouard, et qu'il reçut de ce prince des pensions et des possessions fort peu de temps après la prise de cette place, aux conditions d'y maintenir le bon ordre, et de la conserver à l'Angleterre."—SeeLettres de Rois, &c., vol. i. Preface, p. cix.

The above statement is founded on a memoir read before the Académie des Belles-Lettres by M. de Bréquigny, respecting the researches made by him in London (seeMém. de l'Acad. des Belles-Lettres, tom. xxxvii.).

Lingard throws a doubt over the matter. He says:

"Froissart has dramatised this incident with considerable effect; but, I fear, with little attention to truth.... Even in Froissart there is nothing to prove that Edward designed to put these men to death. On the contrary, he takes notice that the King's refusal of mercy was accompanied with a wink to his attendants, which, if it meant anything, must have meant that he was not acting seriously."—Lingard, 3rd edit. 1825, vol. iv. p. 79., note 85.

Again, in Hume:

"The story of the six burgesses of Calais, like all extraordinary stories, is somewhat to be suspected; and so much the more, as Avesbury, who is particular in his narrative of the surrender of Calais, says nothing of it, and, on the contrary, extols in general the King's generosity and lenity to the inhabitants."—Hume, 8vo. 1807, vol. ii., noteH.

Both Hume and Lingard mention that Edward expelled the natives of Calais, and repeopled the place with Englishmen; but they say nothing as to Eustache de St. Pierre becoming a pensioner of the King's "aux conditions d'y maintenir le bon ordre, et de la conserver à l'Angleterre."

Châteaubriand (Etudes Hist., 1831, 8vo., tome iv. p. 104.) gives Froissart's narrative, by which he abides, at the same time complaining of the "esprit de dénigrement" which he says prevailed towards the end of the last century in regard to heroic actions.

Regarding Queen Philippa's share in the transaction above referred to, M. de Bréquigny says:

"La reine, qu'on suppose avoir été si touchée du malheur des six bourgeois dont elle venait de sauver la vie, ne laissa pas d'obtenir, peu de jours après, la confiscation des maisons que Jean d'Acre, l'un d'eux, avait possédées dans Calais."

Miss Strickland (Lives of Queens, 1st edit., vol. ii. p. 336.) likewise gives the story as related by Froissart, but mentions the fact of Queen Philippa taking possession of Jean d'Acre's property, and the doubt cast upon Eustache's loyalty; but she would appear to justify him by reason of King Philip's abandoning the brave Calaisiens to their fate. However this may be, documents exist proving that the inhabitants of Calais were indemnified for their losses: and whether or not the family of Eustache de St. Pierre approved his conduct, so much is certain, that, on the death of the latter, the property which had been granted to him by King Edward was confiscated, because they would not acknowledge their allegiance to the English.

I wish to ask whether this new light thrown on the subject, through M. de Bréquigny's labours, has been hitherto noticed, for it would appear the story should be re-written.

Philip S. King.

I will put the following case as briefly as I can.

Throughout the mediæval ages, the worddeviseformed the generic term for every species of emblazonment. Thus we have "Devises Heroiques, per Claude Paradin, Lyons, 1557;" "Devises et Emblems d'Amour moralisés, par Flamen;" "The Paradise of Dainty Devices, 1576;" "Minerva Britannica, or a Garden of Heroical Devices furnished and adorned with Emblems and Impressa's of Sundry Natives, newly devised, moralised, and published by Henry Peachum, 1612;" and lastly, Henry Estienne's "discourse of hieroglyphs, symbols, gryphs, emblems, enigmas, sentences, parables, reverses of medals, arms, blazons, cimiers, cyphers, and rebus," which learned discourse, be it observed, is entitledThe Art of making Devises, 1646. As an additional proof that device included the motto, take the following:

"Henry III. commanded to be written by way of device in his chamber at Woodstock, 'Qui non dat quod amat non accipit ille quod optat;'"

quoted by Sir Eger. Brydges. Here I must stop, though I could add many illustrations; and go on to observe, that whereas all the explanations which I have ever met with, of the unique appellation of "Castrum Divisarum," or the castle of Devises, are totally un-historic, if not ridiculous, I crave the attention of all whom it may concern to a new solution of the difficulty.

First, then, in order to clear the way, I would observe, that if, as commonly stated, the name had signified a frontier fort, would it not have been called the castle of the division [singular] rather than the castle of the divided districts? In other words, why make it a plural term?

Secondly. If, as I surmise, the Italian worddivisabore at the time of the Conquest its present meaning of "device," in greater force than thesense of divisions or partitions, is it unreasonable to suppose that Castrum Divisarum implied and constituted, at that early period, the deposit or fountain-head of the blazonry of the Norman leaders?

It was certainly not unsuited for such a species of heralds' college; being central, inland, a royal treasury, and the frequent scene of a court. When in the ensuing age re-edified by Bishop Roger, the monkish historians, without a dissentient voice, proclaimed it the most splendid castle in the realm; and though it may be objected that this observation belongs to a date not to our purpose, yet the pre-existence of the fortress is proved by its having been the temporary prison of Duke Robert. I am aware that such a notion as Devizes having formed the nucleus of the tree heraldic in England is not countenanced, nor even suspected, by any of the popular writers on the art. I may add, that one gentleman, holding an important position therein, has signified his disapproval of so early an origin being assigned to the institution. But over-against this, I beg to parade a passage from a letter written by Thomas Blore in 1806 to Sir Egerton Brydges:

"The heralds," says he, "seem originally not to have been instituted for the manufacturing of armorial ensigns, but for the recording those ensigns which had been borne."—Censura Literaria, vol. iii. p. 254.

My case is now stated. I shall be well content that some of your archæological friends should scatter it to the winds, provided they will explain how it is that Devizes, in common with some of the ancient cities of Egypt and Greece, has so long rejoiced in a plural name. To aid this last endeavour, I close with one more statement. The castle stood nearly midway between two other adjoining towns or villæ, also bearing plural names: Potternæ=arum [Posternæ?] and Kaningæ=arum.

J. Waylen.

P.S.—I think I may plead the privilege of a postscript for the purpose of recording (what may be taken as) an indication, though perhaps not a proof, that the idea of devices or contrivances was implied in the name so recently as the period of the civil war. TheMercurius Civicus, a parliamentary paper, 1644, states that Devizes was being garrisoned for the king, in the following terms:

"Hopton is fortifying amain at the Devises in Wiltshire, but I fear greater fortifyings for the Devices in Oxford."

Gold Signet Ring.—I possess an ancient gold signet ring, which was dug up a few years since not far from an old entrenchment in the borough of Leominster, in the county of Hereford, the device thereon being acock; it is of very pure metal, and weighs 155 grains. It is in fine preservation: and device is rudely cut, but I beg to inclose an impression from which you may judge. Can any of your antiquarian readers throw any light on the subject to whom this device originally belonged?

In levelling the fortified entrenchment above referred to some half century ago, various utensils of pottery, burnt bones, spear and arrow heads, tesselated tiles, fragments of sculptured stones, and other relics of antiquity, were found.

J. B. Whitborne.

Ecclesia Anglicana.—I observe, in an interesting letter published in the December Number of theEcclesiologist, in an enumeration of Service Books belonging to the English Church before the Reformation, and now existing in the Pepysian Library, Cambridge, the following title:

"No. 1198. Servicium de omni Officio Episcopali consernenta (sic) chorum ... secundum usum Ecclesie Anglicane."

Now I am anxious to know from any of your readers, who are better informed on these subjects than I am, or who have access to old libraries, whetherEcclesia Anglicanais ausualdesignation of the Catholic Church in England before the Reformation.

Service Books according to the use of some particular cathedral church are of course well known, as in this same list to which I have referred we find "secundum usum insignis ecclesie Eboracensis," "ad insignis ecclesiæ Sarisburiensis usum," &c.: but I should be glad to learn, in these days ofultramontanepretensions, whether, even prior to the Reformation, the distinct nationality of the Anglican church wascommonlyasserted by the use of such a title in her Service Books. I need scarcely observe how many interesting cognate questions might be asked on this subject.

G. R. M.

Tangiers.—English Army in 1684.—A merchant in 1709 deposed that he knew not how long complainant had been asoldier, or beyond the seas before May, 1697, but that he has heretofore seen and knew him at Tomger, before and at the time of the demolishing thereof, being then asoldier; and no doubt could prove that he was in England a considerable time next before May, 1697.

Could the place be other than Tangiers, destroyed in 1684?

Was complainant (a younger son of a well-connected family of gentry, but himself probably in poverty), who in deeds, and on his mon. tablet, is described as gent., likely to have been in 1684 (aged twenty-seven) a private, a non-commissioned, or commissioned officer?

If the latter, would he not have been so described?

A. C.

Smith.—Of what family was —— Smith, confessor of Katherine of Braganza, buried in York Minster? and what are the arms on his tomb? Where can information be obtained as to a Judge Smith, supposed to have been of the same family?

A. F. B.

Diss.

Termination "-itis."—What is the derivation of the termination "-itis," used principally in medical words, and these signifying inflammation, as Pleuritis,vulgopleurisy, inflammation of the pleura, &c.?

Adsum.

Loak Hen.—In two or more parishes in Norfolk was a custom, or modus, of paying aloak henin lieu of tythes of fowls and eggs. I shall feel obliged to any of your correspondents who can inform me what constituted aloak hen?

G. J.

Etymological Traces of the Social Position of our Ancestors.—I remember reading an account of the traces of the social position of our Saxon ancestors yet remaining in our English customs, which interested me much at the time, and which I would gladly again refer to, as, Captain Cuttle's invaluable maxim not being then extant, I neglected "making a note of it."

It described the Norman derivation of the names of all kinds ofmeat, as beef, mutton, veal, venison, &c.; while the correspondinganimalsstill retained their original Saxon appellations, ox, sheep, calf, &c.: and it accounted for this by the fact, that while the animals were under the care of the Saxon thralls and herdsmen, they retained of course their Saxon names; but when served up at the tables of their Norman lords, it became necessary to name them afresh.

I think the wordheronsewes(cf. Vol. iii., pp. 450. 207.; Vol. iv., p. 76.) is another example, which are calledharnseysat this day in Norfolk; as it is difficult, on any other supposition, to account for an East-Anglian giving a French appellation to so common a bird as the heron.

E. S. Taylor.

Locke's Writings.—In an unpublished manuscript of Paley'sLectures on Locke's Essay, it is stated that so great was the antipathy against the writings of this eminent philosopher, at the time they were first issued, that they were "burnt at Oxford by the hands of the common hangman." Is this fact recorded in any Life of Locke; or how may it be ascertained? There is no notice of it, I believe, in either Law'sLife, or in that of Lord King.

George Munford.

East Winch.

Passage in Göthe's "Faust."—Has the following passage from the second part ofFaustever been noticed in connexion with the fact that the clock in Göthe's chamber stopped at the moment that he himself expired? If it has not, I shall congratulate myself on having been the first to point out this very curious coincidence

"Mephistopheles.Die Zeit wird Herr, der Gries hier liegt im Sand,Die Uhr steht still——Chorus.Steht still! Sie schweigt wie MitternachtDer Zeiger fällt.Mephistopheles.Er fällt, es ist vollbracht."Faust, der Tragödie Zweiter Theil, Fünfter Act.

"Mephistopheles.Die Zeit wird Herr, der Gries hier liegt im Sand,

Die Uhr steht still——

Chorus.Steht still! Sie schweigt wie Mitternacht

Der Zeiger fällt.

Mephistopheles.Er fällt, es ist vollbracht."

Faust, der Tragödie Zweiter Theil, Fünfter Act.

W. Fraser.

Schomberg's Epitaph by Swift.—A correspondent asks whether the epitaph alluded to in the following extract from theDaily Courantof July 17, 1731, is given in any edition of Swift'sWorks.

"The Latin Inscription, composed by the Rev. Dr. Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's, and ordered by the Dean and Chapter to be fixed up in the Cathedral of the said Church, over the place where the body of the great Duke of Schomberg lies, has been with all possible care and elegance engraved on a beautiful table of black Kilkenny marble, about eight feet long and four or five broad; the letters are gilded, and the whole is now finished with the utmost neatness. People of all ranks are continually crowding to see it, and the Inscription is universally admired."

TheDaily Gazetteerof Saturday, July 12, 1740, gives a detailed account of the rejoicings in Dublin on the Tuesday preceding, being the anniversary of the battle of the Boyne, and a particular account of the bonfire made by Dean Swift in St. Kevin's Street, near the watch-house.

The Burial Service said by Heart.—Bishop Sprat (in hisDiscourse to his Clergy, 1695, for which seeClergyman's Instructor, 1827, p. 245.) relates that, immediately after the Restoration, a noted ringleader of schism in the former times was interred in one of the principal churches of London, and that the minister of the parish, being a wise and regular conformist, and afterwards an eminent bishop, delivered the whole Office of Burial by heart on that occasion. The friends of the deceased were greatly edified at first, but afterwards much surprised and confounded when they found that their fervent admiration had been bestowed on a portion of the Common Prayer. Southey (Common-Place Book, iii. 492.) conjectures that the minister was Bull. This cannot be, for Bull, I believe, never held a London cure. Was it Hackett? And who was the noted ringleader of schism?

J. K.

Shaw's Staffordshire MSS.—Can any of your Staffordshire correspondents furnish information as to the present depository of the Rev. Stebbing Shaw's Staffordshire MSS., and the MS. notes of Dr. Thomas Harwood used in his two editionsof Erdeswick'sStaffordshire? And can they refer to a pedigree of Thomas Wood, Esq., Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, 1501; who is said to have built Hall O'Wood, in Batterley, near Botley, Staffordshire.

N. C. L.

"Ne'er to these chambers," &c.—

"Ne'er to these chambers where the mighty restSince their foundation, came a nobler guest,Nor to th' immortal entrance e'er convey'dA loftier spirit, or more welcome shade."

"Ne'er to these chambers where the mighty rest

Since their foundation, came a nobler guest,

Nor to th' immortal entrance e'er convey'd

A loftier spirit, or more welcome shade."

Where do these lines come from?

Aram.

Swillington.

County History Societies.—I would suggest the idea whether County History Societies might not be formed with advantage, as there are so many counties which have never had their histories written. They are very expensive and laborious for individuals to undertake, and constantly require additions on account of the many changes which are taking place, to make them complete as works of reference for the present time: I think that by the means suggested they might be made very useful, particularly if complete statistical tables were annexed to the general and descriptive account. With comparatively little expense, the history and statistics of every county could be brought down to the latest date, making a valuable work of reference to which all could refer with confidence for the information which is constantly being sought for.

G. H.

Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter.—Is any pedigree extant of the family of Hugh Oldham? Baines speaks of him (Hist. of Lanc., vol. ii. p. 579.) as "descended from an ancient family," born, "according to Wood and Godwin, at Manchester; but, according to Dodsworth, at Oldham."

What arms did he adopt?

J. B.

The English Domestic Novel.—My first intention was to ask whether Defoe was the founder of this pleasing class of literature, but have just recollected, that Mrs. Aphara Behn wrote something of the kind in the time of Charles II. My first question will be, therefore, who was the earliest writer of this description? And, secondly, is not the matter of sufficient interest to ask your readers' assistance in the formation of a list, giving full titles, authors' names, and dates extending to 1730 or 1750?

John Miland.

Dr. Young.—In the most authentic biographical accounts we leave of Dr. Young the poet, it is stated that he left in the hands of his housekeeper a collection of manuscript sermons, with an injunction that after his death they should be destroyed; it is also added, that this request was only complied within part. Can any of your correspondents confirm the hope that these sermons may still be in existence; and if so, in what quarter information may be obtained concerning them? The housekeeper is said to have been the widow of a clergyman, and therefore was not regarded by the Doctor in the light of a servant.

J. H.

Cambridge.

Bishop Hall's Meditations.—I have an old copy before me, the title-page of which runs as follows:

"Occasionall Meditations by Jos. Exon. Set forth by R. H. The Third Edition: with the Addition of Forty-nine Meditations not heretofore published: London, printed by M. F. for Nathaniel Butter, 1633."

It is edited by Bishop Hall's son (Robert). I should be glad to learn whether this is a scarce edition.

Bœoticus.

Edgmond, Salop.

Chatterton.—Dr. Gregory, in hisLife of Chatterton, p. 100. (reprinted by Southey in the first volume of his edition of Chatterton'sWorks, p. lxx.), says: "Chatterton, as appears by the coroner's inquest, swallowed arsenick in water, on the 24th of August, 1770, and died in consequence thereof the next day."

Mr. Barrett, the historian of Bristol, one of Chatterton's best friends and patrons, who, from his profession as a surgeon, was likely to have made, and seems to have made, inquiries as to the circumstances of his death, says, in hisHistory of Bristol, not published before 1789, and therefore not misled by any false first report, that Chatterton's principles impelled him to become his own executioner. He took a large dose of opium, some of which was picked out from his teeth after his death, and he was found the next morning a most horrid spectacle: with limbs and features distorted as after convulsions, a frightful and ghastly corpse" (p. 647.). I do not know whether this contradiction has ever been noticed, and shall be obliged to any correspondent who can give me information. I believe that Sir Herbert Croft'sLove and Madnesswas the authority followed by Dr. Gregory, but I have not the book.

N. B.

Passage in Job.—The wonderful and sublime book of Job, authenticated by subsequent Divine records, and about 3400 years old, is very probably the most ancient writing in the world: and though life and immortality were especially reserved as the glorious gift and revelation of our Blessed Redeemer, the eternal Author and Finisher of our salvation, yet Job was permitted to declare his deep conviction, that he should rise from the dead and see God. This memorable declaration (chap. xix. ver. 25.) can be forgotten by none of your readers; but some of them may not know that the Septuagint adds these words of life to chap. xlii. ver. 17.:"γέγραπται δε, ἀυτόν πάλιν ἀναστήσεσθαι μεθ' ὧν ὁ Κύριος ἀνίστησιν[2]."—(But it is written thathe shall rise again with those whom the Lord raiseth up.)

Our authorised and truly admirable translation of the Holy Scriptures omits this deeply important conclusion of Job's life, so properly noticed by the learned and excellent Parkhurst.

Pray, can you or any of your readers explain the cause of this omission? As your pages have not been silent on the grand consummation which cannot be too constantly before us, I do not apologise for this very short addition to your Notes.

Edwin Jones.

Southsea, Hants.

Footnote 2:(return)This passage was originally printed "γέγραπται, σεαυτόν...". It was corrected by an erratum in next issue—Transcriber.

This passage was originally printed "γέγραπται, σεαυτόν...". It was corrected by an erratum in next issue—Transcriber.

Turner's View of Lambeth Palace.—In a newspaper memoir of the late Mr. Turner, R.A., published shortly after his death, it was stated that the first work exhibited by him at Somerset House was a "View of Lambeth Palace," I believe in water colours. I should be glad to ascertain, through your columns, if this picture be still in existence, and in what collection.

L. E. X.

Clarke's Essay on the Usefulness of Mathematical Learning.—Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." assist me in obtaining a copy of this work? In the same author'sRationale of Circulating Numbers(Murray, London, 1778) it is stated that the demonstrations of all the theorems and problems at the end of the Rev. John Lawson'sDissertation on the Geometrical Analysis of the Ancients"will be given at the latter end ofAn Essay on the Usefulness of Mathematical Learning, which will soon be published." In a subsequent portion of the work, a sketch of the contents of theEssayis given, which include "a Treatise on Magic Squares, translated from the French of Frenicle, as published inLes Ouvrages de Mathématique par Messieurs de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, with several Additions and Remarks." And in a list of "Tracts and Translationswritten and publishedby H. Clarke, LL.D.," which occurs at the end of my copy of the first volume of Leybourn'sMathematical Repository(London, 1805), theEssayappears as No. 10, and is stated to have been published in 8vo. at six shillings. None of my friends are acquainted with the work; but if the preceding description will enable any reader to help me to a copy, I shall esteem it a great favour.

T. T. Wilkinson.

Burnley, Lancashire.

"The General Pardon."—An imperfect copy of a small tract (measuring five and a half inches by three and a half inches) has recently come into my hands, of which I much desire to obtain the wanting parts. It is entitled:

"The general Pardon, geuen longe agone, and sythe newly confyrmed, by our Almightie Father, with many large Priuileges, Grauntes, and Bulles graunted for euer, as is to be seen hereafter: Drawne out of Frenche into English. By Wyllyam Hayward. Imprinted at London, by Wyllyam How, for Wyllyam Pickeringe."

There is no date, but it is believed to have been printed in or about 1571. It is in black letter, and is an imitation of the Roman Catholic pardons. It consists of twelve leaves. In my copy the last seven of these are torn through their middle vertically.

I have not been able to meet with this tract in the catalogues of any of the great libraries which I have consulted;e.g.The British Museum, Bodleian, Cambridge University, Lambeth, and several of the college libraries at Cambridge.

I want any information concerning it, or its original in French, which the readers of "N. & Q." can give: also access to a copy from which to transcribe the parts wanting in mine.

Charles C. Babington.

St. John's Coll. Cambridge.

Edward the Confessor's Rings.—There is an old legend of a ring given to one of our early kings, I think Edward the Confessor, by some saintly or angelic messenger. If any of your readers could give me any of the details of this story, it would very much oblige your constant reader

M. J. T.

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