Minor Queries with Answers.

"When Kola's mild blue eyes shall weep."

Pray, to what is allusion made?

A. S. T.

Leamhuil or Lahoel.—Can you, or any of your readers, give me a description of the place, abbey, or other ancient building, calledLeamhuilorLahoel, or refer me to some work where I may find the history of the same? In Lewis'sTopographical Dictionaryit is said to be somewhere in Queen's County, Ireland. Also, inform me whether there has been any family of that name?

Frederick Kenneth.

Clonea.

[Leamchuill is in the barony of Portnehinch, Queen's County. Archdale, in hisMonasticon Hibernicum, p. 595., states, that "St. Fintan-Chorach was abbot here towards the close of the sixth century. By some writers he is said to have been interred here; and fromothers we learn that Cluainednach, or Clonfert Brendan, was the place of his sepulture. St. Mochonna was abbot or bishop here, but at what period is unknown." Stevens, however, says this abbey was in Leinster. "St. Fintan, otherwise called St. Munnu, in the sixth century, founded the abbey of Cluian Ædnach; those of Achad-Arglass, Achad-Finglass, andLanchoilinLeinster, and those of Dumbleske and Ross-Coerach in Munster." (Monasticon Hibernicum, p. 377., edit. 1722.) Consult also the authorities quoted in Butler'sLives of the Saints, art. St. Fintan, October 22nd.]

Orte's Maps, Edition of 1570.—I have in my possession a quarto volume of fifty-three coloured maps, by Abraham Orte, and printed at Antwerp in 1570.

Almost all the maps are ornamented with some miniature paintings, representing the ships or galleys used in the country which the map describes. On many of these there are also the figures of whales and flat-fish. On the map of Russia, in one part, there are three large tents, with three men, clothed in coloured garments, at the entrance of them; and near by some camels are grazing. In another part is seen a cluster of trees, and seated in the branches of the first and largest there is the figure of a saint, to whom it would appear five men, or priests, are kneeling and praying, with their heads uplifted and hands outstretched. On the branches of the trees in the background several persons are hanging.

On the twenty-eighth map there is a large town represented at the foot of a hill, and above it these words: "Urbis Salis Burgensis genuina Descriptio." Can any of your correspondents inform me if there is another copy of this work known to be extant; and, if so, whether the maps are like those I have briefly described? In a catalogue of rare books, I have seen no mention made of this edition of 1570, though reference is made to one of twenty years a later date.

W. W.

Malta.

[This edition is in the British Museum, and agrees in every respect with the one possessed by our correspondent, except that it is in folio. It appears extremely rare.]

Prayer for the Recovery of George III.—In 1815, when I first went to school, one of my schoolfellows had (I think in manuscript in the fly-leaf of his Prayer-Book) a prayer for the king's recovery, of which I remember only two detached portions:—"Restore, we implore Thee, our beloved sovereign to his family and his people"—"and whether it shall seem fit to Thine unerring wisdom, presently to remove from us this great calamity, or still to suspend it over us, dispose us, under every dispensation of Thy Providence, patiently to adore Thine inscrutable goodness." The rest I forget. Can any of your correspondents supply the remainder of the prayer; or tell me where it is to be found, or who was the author?

Laicus.

[This prayer was composed by Dr. Sutton, Archbishop of Canterbury, and will be found in theGentleman's Magazineof November 1810, p. 484.]

(Vol. vi., p. 578.)

Mrs. Mary Mackey was "a real person," and the widow of a conveyancer in good practice. Of him she says (Scraps of Nature, p. 362.):

"The husband of poor Nature was a gentleman and an honest man, made a fortune and spent it nearly, in which his wife had no share, for that he governed and ruled the roast is well known to many: he had a noble and generous soul, but always kept poor Nature's talents under a bushel, where they shall never go again. He was old enough to be her father, and ever treated her like a child."

He left only enough to purchase for her a small annuity. She was uneducated, as she says, p. 274.:

"I never learned to write or spell,Although I read and write so well;"

"I never learned to write or spell,

Although I read and write so well;"

but laboured under the illusion that she was a poetess. She sought an interview with Hewson Clarke by inviting him to meet a lady who admired his writings in White Conduit Fields. He went, and was somewhat mortified to find a matron of about forty-five, who placed her MS. in his hand, and requested his candid opinion on a future day. She was lady-like and sensible upon all matters except her own poems. Of course his opinion was easily formed; but he assured her that, though the poems were very good, they would not suit the public taste, and that she would be rash in publishing. She took his advice, but unfortunately happened to know Peter Pindar, who had been one of her husband's friends. She devotes a "scrap" to a kiss which he gave her (p. 215.). He was blind, but on hearing some of her poems read, he exclaimed, "Oh, my God, madam, there is nothing like this in Shakspeare!" Such a compliment turned her head; she sold her annuity to publish her book, and was reduced to extreme distress and misery. This is stated in a notice of the book inThe British Stage, Sept. 1817, p. 210. The article, which is signed K., was written by the editor, Mr. Jones Broughton of the India House, a friend of Hewson Clarke, and once editor ofThe Theatrical Inquisitor.

I agree with G. C. that the "scraps" areniaiseries; as literature nothing can be worse; but they are curious and, I think, deeply interesting as genuine expressions of feeling. Mary Mackey was vain and weak, but true-hearted,generous, and affectionate; she conceals nothing, and lays bare her poverty and her wish to marry again. She advertises herself under the form of a pony for sale:

"For since she has been free by the death of herLate owner, the poor thing has been a scamperer,And has often known the want of a good meal;For she was highly fed in her old master's lifetime.But he, alas! sleeps in peace, and peace be to his soul.He was a good master and a real gentleman,And left his little trotter to a merciless world:She is gentle by Nature;but the poor thing's heartIs now breaking; yet by kind treatment she mightBe made one of the most valuable and amusingThings in Nature. She is a little foundered, but not to hurtOr retard her movements; she is of some mettle andHigh spirit, notwithstanding her hard fate,She will even kick if roughly handled,Nor would she suffer a dirty hand to touch her."—P. 105.

"For since she has been free by the death of her

Late owner, the poor thing has been a scamperer,

And has often known the want of a good meal;

For she was highly fed in her old master's lifetime.

But he, alas! sleeps in peace, and peace be to his soul.

He was a good master and a real gentleman,

And left his little trotter to a merciless world:

She is gentle by Nature;but the poor thing's heart

Is now breaking; yet by kind treatment she might

Be made one of the most valuable and amusing

Things in Nature. She is a little foundered, but not to hurt

Or retard her movements; she is of some mettle and

High spirit, notwithstanding her hard fate,

She will even kick if roughly handled,

Nor would she suffer a dirty hand to touch her."—P. 105.

Again, she says:

"I wish I had an only friend,To shield me from the winter's blast,For should I live to see another,He may cut keener than the last;And I shall never wish to feelA keener winter than the past."—P. 288.

"I wish I had an only friend,

To shield me from the winter's blast,

For should I live to see another,

He may cut keener than the last;

And I shall never wish to feel

A keener winter than the past."—P. 288.

She complains of a refusal from one to whom she wrote "to beg or solicit some bacon," and says:

"To him she has given,she never did lend,For her plan is to give to the foe or the friend."—P. 180.

"To him she has given,she never did lend,

For her plan is to give to the foe or the friend."—P. 180.

Some one, probably Clarke, wrote an anonymous letter to dissuade her from publishing. This she answers indignantly in prose, concluding:

"Should he be tempted to write again, let him sign his name, or where a letter may find the kind-hearted creature, who has such a love for Nature. His stinging advice was to run down the widow's soul's delight, her dear scraps, which not a block in Nature can suppress"—P. 366.

Throughout the silliness run veins of feeling, respect for her husband, gratitude for the smallest acts of kindness, and cheerfulness under want. In some lines to a cat, apparently written during her husband's sickness, she says:

"Now Grimalkin each day on her throne takes a seat,With a smile on her face when her master can eat;But, alas! he eats little."—P. 309.

"Now Grimalkin each day on her throne takes a seat,

With a smile on her face when her master can eat;

But, alas! he eats little."—P. 309.

Truly Mary Mackey must have been a good wife and friend, and I hope I may claim some credit for extracting evidence thereof from perhaps the weakest verses ever written. Her own opinion was different, and is thus expressed in her

"Preface or no Preface.—No preface can be to the Scraps of Nature, for God gave none when He formed creation, nor was there ever a book sent into the world like the volume of Nature, since the creation of the world, nor ever so bold an undertaking. It has never been seen by any eye, nor corrected by any hand, but the eye and hand of the writer. No volume has more humour," &c.

G. C.'s copy is defective. Mine has a portrait of Mrs. Mary Mackey, which indicates considerable beauty, despite of very poor drawing and engraving, and the execrable thin curls and short waist of 1809. The "falling tear is visible;" but, had not the authoress told us what it was, it might be taken for a mole or a wart. As the face is perfectly cheerful, and the "scrap" is headed "Compliment to the Engraver," I hazard the conjecture that he was instructed to add the tear to a miniature painted before she had been compelled to shed tears on her own account.

H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

(Vol. vii., p. 65.)

Your correspondentAjaxasks information of me as to the best, or even a tolerable, map of Ceylon. I am not surprised at the inquiry, as no satisfactory map of that island exists to my knowledge. It may illustrate this assertion to mention, that in 1849 I travelled through the vast and interesting district of Neura Kalawa, to the north of the Kandyan range; and I carried with me the map of "India and Ceylon," then published, and since reprinted in 1852, by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. In that map the country I was passing through appears as a large blank, with the words "Unknown mountainous region." But I found it abounding in prosperous villages, and tracts of land cultivated both for rice and dry grain. So far from being "unknown," its forests have a numerous though scattered population; and as to its being "mountainous," there is scarcely a hill in the entire "region." There is a meagre map of Ceylon, drawn by George Atkinson, who was civil engineer and surveyor-general of the colony, and published by Wylde in 1836. It is more correct than others, but sadly deficient in information.

Mr. Arrowsmith, of Soho Square, published in 1845 an admirable map of what is called the Kandy Zone, being the central province of the island, prepared by the Deputy Quarter-Master-General, Colonel Frazer; assisted by Captain Gallwey and Major Skinner, of the Ceylon Civil Service. Col. Frazer has since placed in Mr. Arrowsmith's hands a map of the entire island: it has not yet appeared; but when published it will be found to be as nearly perfect in its details as any map can be.

In reply to the inquiry ofAjaxas to the publication of my own work on the history andtopography of Ceylon, it is still in hand; but the pressure of official and parliamentary duties has sadly retarded its preparation for the press.

J. Emerson Tennent.

66. Warwick Square, Belgravia.

(Vol. vii., p.5.)

Independently of the obvious probability that Shakspeare, in these three words, intended to embody the present, the past, and the future, there is another reason why we can by no means part withhave, or suffer it to be changed into any other word; and that is, because it is open to one of those parallel analogies which I have so often upheld as sure guides to the true reading. Only a few lines before, in a previous speech of Wolsey's, he makes use of a precisely similar elliptical coupling together of the verbshaveandbe:

"My loyalty,Which everhas, and evershall be, growing."

"My loyalty,

Which everhas, and evershall be, growing."

Here we have, in "has and shall be," the identical combination which, in the case of "have and will be," has given rise to so much doubt; so that we have only to understand the one phrase as we do the other, and make the slight addition of the personal pronoun I (not before, but afteram), to render Wolsey's exclamation not only intelligible, but full of emphasis and meaning.

But in the first place the King's speech to Wolsey might be more intelligibly pointed if the words "your bond of duty" were made a parenthetical explanation ofthat. The "bond of duty" is the mere matter-of-course duty to be expected from every subject; but the King says that, over and abovethat, Wolsey ought, "as 'twere in loves particular," to bemore! Thereupon Wolsey exclaims—

"I do professThat for your highness' good I ever labour'dMore than mine own."

"I do profess

That for your highness' good I ever labour'd

More than mine own."

Here he pauses, and then immediately continues his protestation in the fine passage, the meaning of which has been so much disputed; suddenly reverting to what the King had just said heoughtto be, he exclaims:

"That, am I, have, and will be,Though all the world should crack their duty to you,and throw it from their soul," &c.

"That, am I, have, and will be,

Though all the world should crack their duty to you,

and throw it from their soul," &c.

Still less can it be permitted to change "crack their duty" into "lack their duty." Setting aside all consideration of the comparative force of the two words, and the circumstance thatcrackis frequently used by Shakspeare in the sense ofsever by violence—the adoption oflackwould be to attribute to Shakspeare an absolute blunder, for how could "all the world"throw from their soulthat which theylacked?

With reference to another alteration ("capable" into "palpable," inAs You Like It, Act III. Sc. 5.), notwithstanding that it seems so obvious, and has been declared so self-evident, "as to be lauded needs but to be seen," I, for one, enter my protest against it, being of opinion that the conservation ofcapableis absolutely essential to the context.

Capablemay be, and has been, defended upon various grounds; but there is one consideration which, with me, is all-sufficient, viz., it is necessary for the explanation and defence of the accompanying word "cicatrice."Capableisconcave, and has reference to thelippedshape of the impression, andcicatriceis alippedscar; therefore one word supports and explains the other. And it is not a little singular thatcicatriceshould, in its turn, have been condemned as an improper expression by the very critic (Dr. Johnson) who, without perceiving this very cogent reason for so doing, nevertheless explains "capable impressure" asa hollow mark.

A. E. B.

Leeds.

(Vol. vi., p. 5.; Vol. vii., p. 7.)

I desire to speak with the greatest deference toMr. Bolton Corney'ssuperior judgment, but still I cannot help saying that Thomas Warton's remarks upon "our common friend Mr. R." and "the late R.'s poems" do not seem to be supported by the facts. Randolph's poems were printed at Oxford in 1638, but in which month we are not told. The first question then is this, Were they printed before or after the 13th of April, when Wotton's letter was written? Ifafterthe 13th, or even the 6th of April, when Milton's presentation copy ofComuswas forwarded, of course the matter is decided. But, allowing for the present that they were printedbeforethe 13th of April in the year 1638, I must ask, in the second place, Could Sir H. Wotton predicate of any volume printed in that year before that date (or rather ofComusstitched up with that volume), that he had viewed itsome long time beforewith singular delight? I certainly think not, but shall be very happy to have my objections overruled.

Then, again, if we admitMr. Bolton Corney's"novel conjecture" (which I freely allow to be a great improvement upon that of Thomas Warton), how comes it the Sir H. Wotton knew nothing of "the true artificer" ofComusuntil he was let into the secret by Milton himself? If Robert Randolph was the "common friend" of Wotton and Milton, was he not likely to haveknown something of the authorship ofComus, and to have enlightened Sir Henry thereon? My principal objection remains. Thomas Randolph was far too popular a poet to have been contemptuously alluded to by Wotton or any one else in that age, and, making all due allowance for laudation and compliment, Wotton does disparage the poems to which Milton'sMasquewas appended.

I think that quaint old Winstanley gives the general opinion of Randolph. He says:

"He was one of such a pregnant wit that the Muses may seem not only to have smiled, but to have been tickled at his nativity, such the festivity of his poems of all sorts."—Lives of English Poets, p. 142., Lond. 1687.

We must therefore, perhaps, look out for some more obscure and worthless poet, whose "principal" Milton's "accessory" was to "help out."

When writing on this subject before, I said that Samuel Hartlib had not settled in England at the time of Sir H. Wotton's letter to Milton (Vol. vi., p. 5.). I am indebted to Warton for that mistake. He fixes the date of his coming hither to "about the year 1640." (Illustrations of Milton's Minor Poems, p. 596.: Lond. 1775.)

Samuel Hartlib figures amongst the correspondents of Joseph Mede in March, 1634, and even then dated from London. (Mede'sWorks, vol. ii. lib. iv. p. 1058.: Lond. 1664, fol.)

Amongst theLetters and Despatchesof Lord Strafforde are two letters from Sir Henry Wotton, which do not appear in theReliquiæ(vide vol. i. pp. 45-48.: Dublin, 1740, fol.), though some sentences in the former of the two may be found at p. 373. of said work. I often find it a pleasant employment to fill up the gaps and trace out the allusions in Wotton's correspondence.

May I give a short specimen of one of his letters filled up? It was written, I suppose, to Nicholas Pey:

"My dear Nic,"More than a voluntary motion doth now carry me towards Suffolk, especially that I may confer by the way with an excellent physician at B., whom I brought myself from Venice."—Reliquiæ, p. 359.

"My dear Nic,

"More than a voluntary motion doth now carry me towards Suffolk, especially that I may confer by the way with an excellent physician at B., whom I brought myself from Venice."—Reliquiæ, p. 359.

By "B." is meant St. Edmund's Bury, and by the "excellent physician" no less thanGaspero Despotine, who, together with Mark Anthony de Dominis, accompanied Sir H. Wotton and his chaplain Bedell from Italy.

However, he was very unlike the archbishop of whom Dr. Crakanthorp used to say, that he was well called "De Dominis in the plural, for he could serve two masters, or twenty if they would all pay him wages." (Hacket'sLife of Williams, part i. p. 103.: Lond. 1693, fol.) Despotine left Italy that he might at the same time leave the communion of the Church of Rome, and when Bedell was appointed to the living of St. Edmund's Bury, he accompanied him thither. One of Wotton's very interesting letters announces the event. (Reliquiæ, p. 400.) Under the fostering care of the saintly Bedell, Despotine rose to eminence in his profession at St. Edmund's Bury, and kept up a kind correspondence with his guide and patron after his promotion to the Provostship of Trinity College, Dublin, and the sees of Ardagh and Kilmore. (Burnet'sLife of Bishop Bedell, ad init.)

In another letter (Reliquiæ, p. 356.) Wotton speaks of having given also to Michael Brainthwaite and the young Lord Scudamore the advice of Alberto Scipioni to himself, to "keep his eyes open and his mouth shut," which Milton sadly disregarded.

Rt.

Warmington.

(Vol. vi., pp. 441. 565.)

Your correspondentJames Gravesseems to consider cooking in a skull impossible. I certainly have never tried it, nor do I wish to express an opinion as to the taste of the Irish or their invaders,A.D.1315, though methinks those who relished the "flesh" need not have demurred to the pot. But as to the possibility, in Ewbank onHydraulic Machines, book i. cap. 3., I find the following mention of

"Primitive Boilers.—The gourd is probably the original vessel for heating water, &c. &c., its exterior being kept moistened by water while on the fire, as still practised by some people, while others apply a coating of clay to protect it from the effects of flame."

He then quotes Kotzebue as finding "the Radack Islanders boiling something in cocoa-shells." A primitive Sumatran vessel for boiling rice is the bamboo, which is still used; by the time the rice is dressed the vessel is nearly destroyed by the fire. This destructibility needs hardly to be considered an objection to the "starving fugitives," as plenty of the same kind must have been at hand, and even an Irishman's skull is probably as little inflammable as gourds, cocoa-sells, or bamboos.

J. P. O.

Should the following extract not be considered as bearing on the question, we must admit that it is a remarkable bit of folk lore.

The quotation is second-hand, being taken from the Chronicles of London Bridge,Family Library, p. 436.; the authority is, however, there given. The passage refers to some parties engaged to refine the coinage, and who were taken ill, affected probably by the fumes of arsenic.

"—— the mooste of them in meltinge fell sycke to deathe, wththe sauoure, so as they were advised to drynke in a dead man's skull for theyre recure."Whereupon he wthothers who had thovergyght of that worke, procured a warrant from the Counsaile to take of the heades vppon London Bridge and make cuppes thereof, whereof they dranke and founde some reliefe, althoughe the moost of them dyed."

"—— the mooste of them in meltinge fell sycke to deathe, wththe sauoure, so as they were advised to drynke in a dead man's skull for theyre recure.

"Whereupon he wthothers who had thovergyght of that worke, procured a warrant from the Counsaile to take of the heades vppon London Bridge and make cuppes thereof, whereof they dranke and founde some reliefe, althoughe the moost of them dyed."

This is supposed to have been about 1560 or 1561.

Thomas Lawrence.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

(Vol. vii., p. 57.)

This, which is headed "Note," ought to have been headedQuery: and it affords an instance of ignorance on the part of some of our correspondents; and of, I fear I must add, inattention on that of our worthy Editor, which I think it right to notice as a warning to all parties for the future: and I appeal to the candour of our Editor himself to give my protest a place.

The first step in this curious affair is to be found in "N. & Q.," Vol. ii., p. 7., where "the Editor of Bishop Warburton's Literary Remains" produced, as attributed to Mr. Charles Yorke, a kind of epitaph of sixteen lines, beginning—

"Stript to the naked soul, escaped from clay."

That the "editor of Bishop Warburton'sLiterary Remains," and his friend "an eminent critic," should have been at a loss to know where these well-known verses were to be found, and should have countenanced their having been Charles Yorke's, seems the more wonderful: for the verses are given inWarburton's own lettersasPope's, and were printed near a hundred years ago in Ruffhead'sLife of Pope,as Pope's; and in the MS. copy furnished by Mr. Yorke, they are marked as "Mr. Pope's."

The next error is, that this mention of Mr. Yorke's name—though his MS. bore the name ofPope—seems to have given rise to the idea thathewas the author, which Lord Campbell has so fully adopted as to have reprinted, in hisLives of the Chancellors(vol. v. p. 428.), the verses as the composition ofCharles Yorke.

We next find in "N. & Q.," Vol. iii., p. 43., a reply of W. S. to the Query of Warburton's editor, stating "that the verses were byPope," andlatelyrepublished in a miscellany by James Tayler, with a statement that theywere not inserted in any edition of Pope's works. The fact being, that they have been inserted in Warton's edition, 1797; and in Bowles', and in all subsequent editions that I have seen: and it seems strange that W. S. did not take the trouble of verifying, by a reference toanyedition of Pope, the statement that he quoted.

Next we have, in the same (3rd) volume of "N. & Q.," a communication fromMr. Crossley, which states correctly all the foregoing circumstances, with the addition, that the verses appeared asAaron Hill'sin an edition of his works as early as 1753. Thence arises another discussion; were they Pope's or Hill's? Roscoe thought they were Hill's;Mr. Crossleythinks they were Pope's. I think, both from external and internal evidence, that they were not Pope's. But that has little to do with my present object, which is to show how often the matter has been already discussed in "N. & Q." I must observe, however, thatMr. Crossleyhas fallen into a slight anachronism. He says that the verses were "transferred from Ruffhead intoBowles'edition;" whereas they, as I have stated, were transferred intoWarton'smany years earlier.

After all this disquisition comes a recent Number of "N. & Q.," of which acolumn and a quarteris wasted by a correspondent A. T. W., who confesses that he (or she) hasnot a modern edition of Pope within reach, and begs to know whether these verses (repeatedin extenso) "have been yet introduced to the public?"

Surely "N. & Q." should beware of correspondents that write to inquire about Pope, without having an edition of his works; and I cannot but wonder that thiscrambe, which had been served up thrice before, and so fully byMr. Crossley, should have beenrecocta, and introduced as a new theme, entitled to a special attention.

(Vol. v., p. 161.)

Allow me to draw your attention to acurious letterwhich I transcribe, with reference to the above. It appears to have escaped the notice ofMr. Croker, although it corroborates his statements. It was written by the bookseller himself who published theLives, and would seem to set the matter as to their authorship completely at rest. Griffiths appears to have been also the editor of theMonthly Review; and Cartwright, the inventor of the power-loom, to whom the letter is addressed, to have been one of his contributors.

"MR. GRIFFITHtoMR. CARTWRIGHT."Turnham Green, 16th June [1781?]."Dear Sir,"I have sent you afeast! Johnson'snewvolumes of theLives of the Poets. You will observe that Savage'sLifeis one of the volumes. I suppose it is the same which he published about thirty years ago, and therefore you will not be obliged to notice it otherwise than in the course of enumeration. In the account of Hammond, my good friend Samuel has stumbled on a material circumstance in the publication of Cibber'sLives of the Poets. He intimates that Cibber never saw the work. This is a reflection on the bookseller, your humble servant. The booksellerhas now in his possession Theophilus Cibber's receipt for twenty guineas (Johnson says ten), in consideration of which he engaged to 'revise, correct, and improve the work, and also to affix his name in the title-page.' Mr. Cibber did accordingly very punctually revise every sheet; he made numerous corrections, and added many improvements: particularly in those lives which came down to his own times, and brought him within the circle of his own and his father's literary acquaintance, especially in the dramatic line. To the best of my recollection, he gave some entire lives, besides inserting abundance of paragraphs, of notes, anecdotes, and remarks, in those which were compiled by Shiells and other writers. I sayother, because many of the best pieces of biography in that collection were not written by Shiells, but by superior hands. In short, the engagement of Cibber, or some otherEnglishman, to superintend what Shiells in particular should offer, was a measure absolutely necessary, not only to guard against his Scotticisms, and other defects of expression, but his virulent Jacobitism, which inclined him to abuse every Whig character that came in his way. This, indeed, he would have done; but Cibber (a stanch Williamite) opposed and prevented him, insomuch that a violent quarrel arose on the subject. By the way, it seems to me, that Shiell's Jacobitism has been the only circumstance that has procured him the regard of Mr. Johnson, and the favourable mention that he has made of Shiell's 'virtuous life and pious end'—expressions that must draw a smile from every one who knows, as I did, the real character of Robert Shiells. And now, what think you of noticing this matter in regard to truth, and the fair fame of the honest bookseller?"—Memoir of the Life, Writings, and Mechanical Inventions of Edmund Cartwright, D.D., F.R.S.: Saunders & Otley.

"MR. GRIFFITHtoMR. CARTWRIGHT.

"Turnham Green, 16th June [1781?].

"Dear Sir,

"I have sent you afeast! Johnson'snewvolumes of theLives of the Poets. You will observe that Savage'sLifeis one of the volumes. I suppose it is the same which he published about thirty years ago, and therefore you will not be obliged to notice it otherwise than in the course of enumeration. In the account of Hammond, my good friend Samuel has stumbled on a material circumstance in the publication of Cibber'sLives of the Poets. He intimates that Cibber never saw the work. This is a reflection on the bookseller, your humble servant. The booksellerhas now in his possession Theophilus Cibber's receipt for twenty guineas (Johnson says ten), in consideration of which he engaged to 'revise, correct, and improve the work, and also to affix his name in the title-page.' Mr. Cibber did accordingly very punctually revise every sheet; he made numerous corrections, and added many improvements: particularly in those lives which came down to his own times, and brought him within the circle of his own and his father's literary acquaintance, especially in the dramatic line. To the best of my recollection, he gave some entire lives, besides inserting abundance of paragraphs, of notes, anecdotes, and remarks, in those which were compiled by Shiells and other writers. I sayother, because many of the best pieces of biography in that collection were not written by Shiells, but by superior hands. In short, the engagement of Cibber, or some otherEnglishman, to superintend what Shiells in particular should offer, was a measure absolutely necessary, not only to guard against his Scotticisms, and other defects of expression, but his virulent Jacobitism, which inclined him to abuse every Whig character that came in his way. This, indeed, he would have done; but Cibber (a stanch Williamite) opposed and prevented him, insomuch that a violent quarrel arose on the subject. By the way, it seems to me, that Shiell's Jacobitism has been the only circumstance that has procured him the regard of Mr. Johnson, and the favourable mention that he has made of Shiell's 'virtuous life and pious end'—expressions that must draw a smile from every one who knows, as I did, the real character of Robert Shiells. And now, what think you of noticing this matter in regard to truth, and the fair fame of the honest bookseller?"—Memoir of the Life, Writings, and Mechanical Inventions of Edmund Cartwright, D.D., F.R.S.: Saunders & Otley.

W. L. Nichols.

Lansdown Place, Bath.

(Vol. ii., pp. 184. 459.; Vol. iii., p. 21.)

From the following extract from theThes. Rek.(Treasury Accounts) of Utrecht, it appears that English actors performed there:

"Schenkelwyn, 31 July, 1597. Sekere Engelsche Comedianten, voor hore speelen op ten Stadhuyse, 8 q. Fransche wyns."—(To certain English Comedians, for their playing at the town-hall, eight quarts of French wine.)

In theGerechtsdagboecken(Minutes of the Council) of Leyden appear several requests of English comedians to perform there in 1614; these I hope soon to have in hand. I can now give the decision of the Council on the request of the Englishman W. Pedel:

"Op te Requeste daerby den voorn. Willem Pedel, versochte aen die van de Gerechte der stadt Leyden omme te mogen speelen verscheyde fraeye ende eerlicke spelen mettet lichaem, sonder eenige woorden te gebruycken, stont geappostileert: Die van de Gerechte deser stadt Leyden hebben voor zoe veel in hem es, den thoonder toegelaten ende geconsenteert, laten toe ende consenteren mits desen binnen dezer stede inde Kercke vant Bagynhoff te mogen spelen voor de gemeente ende syne speelen verthoonen, mits dat hy hem daervan zalt onthouden geduyrende tdoen van de predicatien van Gods woorts, en dat de arme Weesen alhier zullen genieten de gerechte helfte van de incomende proffyten, en dat zulex int geheel zullen werden ontfangen en gecollecteert by een persoon daertoe bij Mrenvan de Arme Weesen te stellen ende committeeren."Aldus gedaen op ten xviij Nov. 1608."(Translation.)On the request by which the aforesaid W. Pedel petitioned the authorities of the city of Leyden to allow him to exhibit various beautiful and chaste performances with his body, without using any words, was determined: The authorities of this city of Leyden have consented and allowed the exhibitor to perform in the church of the Bagynhoff within this city, provided he cease during the preaching of God's word, and that the poor orphans here have half the profits, and that they be received and collected by a person appointed by the masters of the poor orphans.Done on the 18th November, 1608.

"Aldus gedaen op ten xviij Nov. 1608."

(Translation.)

On the request by which the aforesaid W. Pedel petitioned the authorities of the city of Leyden to allow him to exhibit various beautiful and chaste performances with his body, without using any words, was determined: The authorities of this city of Leyden have consented and allowed the exhibitor to perform in the church of the Bagynhoff within this city, provided he cease during the preaching of God's word, and that the poor orphans here have half the profits, and that they be received and collected by a person appointed by the masters of the poor orphans.

Done on the 18th November, 1608.

In 1656 English comedians came to Dordrecht, but were soon obliged to withdraw. About 1600 some appeared in Germany, who considerably diminished the taste for biblical and moral pieces. See Dr. Schotel,Blik in de Gesch. v.h. tooneel.; Gervinus,Neuere Geschichte der poetischen Nationalliteratur der Deutschen, vol. iii. pp. 96-100.—From the Navorscher.

W. D. V.

(Vol. vii., p. 38.)

I am unable to reply toUrsula'squestions; but I would ask permission to solicit from such of your better-informed correspondents as may become votaries toUrsula, that they would extend the range of their genealogical pilgrimage so far as to pay a visit to the ruins of Tor Abbey. I should be glad to learn whether either William LordBriewereor William de laBruere(both of whom were connected with the foundation of that religious house) were of the same family as Thibault de laBruyère, the Crusader, who is one of the subjects ofUrsula'sinquiry. Dr. Oliver (Monast. Exon., note at p. 179.) thinks that these two William Brewers may have represented families originally distinct from each other:

"There is some doubt," he says, "whether the familyDe BrueriâorBruerâ, which was settled in Devon at the time of the Domesday, and then held some of the lands afterwards given by W.Briwereto Torr Abbey, was the same as that of the founder. In this cartulary the two names are spelt differently, and Briwere seemsto have been a purchaser of De Bruerâ. See, upon this subject, Dugdale'sBaronage, vol. i. p. 700., and Lysons'Devonshire, vol. i. p. 106. The names of Brieguerre and De Bruera existed contemporaneously in Normandy. SeeRot. Scacc. Norm. Indices."

Whether these two William Brewers represented distinct families or not, it appears that they became closely allied by marriage. At fol. 81. of an "Abstract of the Tor Cartulary, at Trinity College, Dublin," given by Oliver, p. 187., the following grants occur; viz.:

"Grant from William Briewere to William de la Brueriâ, of four librates of land in Wodeberi, with Engelesia his sister,in liberum maritagium, &c."Grant from said William de la Bruera, with the assent of Engelesia his wife, of all their land in Grendle to William Briewere, brother of the said Engelesia, &c."Confirmation thereof by said Engelesia."

"Grant from William Briewere to William de la Brueriâ, of four librates of land in Wodeberi, with Engelesia his sister,in liberum maritagium, &c.

"Grant from said William de la Bruera, with the assent of Engelesia his wife, of all their land in Grendle to William Briewere, brother of the said Engelesia, &c.

"Confirmation thereof by said Engelesia."

Both families appear to have given the name ofBrewerto their places of residence.

"The tything ofTeign Grace," says Risdon, "ancientlyTeign Brewer, was in the time of King Henry the Second the land of Anthony de la Brewer, whom divers knights of that race succeeded. Sir William de la Brewer, the last of the male line, left this inheritance among co-heirs, Eva, wife of Thomas leGrace, and Isabel, &c.... Concerning which lands these lines I found in the leger-book of the Abbey of Torr: 'Galfridus de Breweria dominus de Teigne pro salut. animæ Will. de Breweria & Argalesia uxor ejus conc. abbat. de Torr liberum transitum in Teigne.'"—P. 135.

Buckland Brewer, on the other hand, derived its name (according to the same authority) from the family of which William Lord Brewer was the representative.

The Brewers appear to have founded other religious houses, and to have held possessions in other parts of England. It was from Welbeck Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, that William Lord Briwere obtained subjects for his abbey at Tor; and Bruern, or Temple Bruer, in Lincolnshire, belonging to the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, Clerkenwell (see Dugdale'sMonast., new edition, vol. vi. par. ii. p. 801.), would seem to owe its name to some connexion with the Brewer family, as did also, perhaps, Bruera in Chester, &c.

Mention is made of a William de la Bruera in theHistory of Northamptonshire(edit. Oxon., 1791, tom. i. p. 233.), in connexion with the township of Grafton, to which manor Joane, his wife, and her sister Bruna, appear to have been co-heirs, as daughters of Ralph de S. Samson, temp. Henry III.

William Brewer, Bishop of Exeter (brotherof the William Lord Briewere already mentioned), was "put in trust" by King Henry III. "to conduct his sister, the Lady Isabella, into Germany, to her intended marriage with the Emperor Frederic." See Jenkins'sHistory of Exeter, 1806, p. 252.

"This Bishop Brewer also went into the Holy Land (transfretavit, cruce signat.) the eleventh of Henry the Third."—Risdon, edit. Lond., 1811, p. 137.

There was another William Brewer, asonof William Lord Brewer; but he died without male issue.

I fear these few notices bear no very precise relation toUrsula'sinquiries. Still I send them, in the hope of discovering, by the kindness of some of your erudite contributors, what is the difference (if any) between the namesLa Bruyère,De la Bruere, andBriewere; and also whether,originally, these names belonged totwoorthreedistinct families, or only to so many different branches of the same family.

J. Sansom.

P.S.—The nameBruereis probably not yet extinct, either in France or in England. In the Bodleian Library there is a letter, addressed byJohn Bruereto the clergy of the diocese of Oxford, written within the last century, and bearing date "May 19, 1793," "Odington, near Islip," of which place the author was probably the rector. And in the British MuseumCatalogue, under the name of (M. de la)Bruere, is mentionedHistoire du Règne de Charlemagne, 2 tom. 12o; Paris, 1745.

(Vol. vii., p. 58.)

Mr. Yarrum'sexposéof Southey's singular blunder is perfectly just; but it does not includethe wholetruth, a consideration of which renders the lapsus even more notable and unaccountable than if it aroseonlyfrom a want of acquaintance with the distribution of Roman Catholic Feriæ.

The allegation of error against the historians, because they had "fixed the appointed day on the eve of Mathias," would seem to imply that they might have fixed upon some other feast-day with more correctness; whereas there is no other in the calendar which could by any possibility be affected by leap-year: but the most extraordinary part of the mistake is, the ignorance it displays (scarcely credible in Southey) of the origin and etymology of the bissextile institution—the very subject he was criticising.

Because the name "bissextile," as every body knows, arose from the repetition in leap-year of the identical day in question: the sixth of the kalends of March; the 24th of February; the feast of the Regifugium amongst the Romans; and of its substitute, that of St. Mathias, amongst the Christians.

It is clear, that since the Regifugium was held upon the sixth day before the 1st of March (both inclusive), that day must, according to ourreckoning, be the 24th of February in common years, and the 25th in leap-years: therefore, the supernumerary or superfluous day, added on account of leap-year, was considered to be the 24th of February, and not the 25th; which latter, in those years, became the true "Sixth before the Kalends." Indeed, it is highly probable, although it cannot be supported by direct evidence, that the first day of the double sextile was distinguished from its name-fellow of the following day by having the word "bis" prefixed tosextum; so that, in leap-years, the 24th of February would be expressed as follows: "Ante diembis-VICalend. Martias;" while the following day, or the 25th of February (being considered the real Simon Pure), would retain the usual designation of "A.D.VI Calend. Mar." Such an hypothesis offers a reasonable explanation of the seeming reversal in terms of calling the day whichfirstarrivedposterior, and that which succeeded itprior.

Although the Church of England Calendar now places the feast of Saint Mathias invariably on the 24th of February in all years, yet the earlier copies of the Book of Common Prayer allocated it to "The Sixth of the Kalends of March," without any direction as to which of the two days, bearing that name in leap-years, it should be appropriated. The modern Reformed Church Calendar therefore repudiates the usage of the Romans themselves, rather than that of the Roman Catholics.

A. E. B.

Leeds.

Portable Camera for Travellers.—Your correspondent E. S. asks for a clear description of a camera that will supersede the necessity of a dark room. Mr. Stokes has invented one; and in the early part of the photographic exhibition at the Society of Arts it was exhibited. The weight of the camera is only nine pounds, including focussing-glass, lens, shutter, &c. The shutter is so arranged that it will contain from twelve to twenty pieces of prepared paper, each piece between separate sheets of blotting-paper. Light and air are completely excluded, by the paper being pressed by the front portion of the shutter. When required for use, the first piece of paper is placed at the back of the glass. By the assistance of a small hood, the impression is then taken; and, by removing the millboard, the paper will fall back into its place. At the same time another piece can be brought forward, ready for a second picture, before focussing, and so on to the end. The hood is made of India rubber cloth, and answers the purpose of a focussing cloth, without the trouble of removing it from the camera throughout the day. The size of the pictures that can be taken by it is 9½ by 12 inches. It has been tried during the latter part of the last year, and proved most successful.

Philip H. Delamotte.

Bayswater.

The Albumen Process.—I shall be greatly obliged toDr. Diamond, or any other photographer, by their kindly communicating through your medium their experience with albumenized glass. I have Thornthwaite'sGuide to Photography.

I should like answers to the following Queries:

Must the albumen be poured off from the plate after it is spread over the surface, in the same manner as collodion?

Is the plate (while roasting, according to the process of Messrs. Thompson and Ross) nearly perpendicular in the process?

Will the iodized albumen, for giving the film, keep; and how long?

How long will the plate retain its sensitiveness after exciting?

May the same sensitive bath be used for a number of plates without renewing, in the same way as silver bath for collodion?

In conclusion, what is the average time with single achromatic lens, six or seven inch focus, to allow to get a good picture?

Will photographers who are chemists turn their attention to obtain sensitive dry glass plates? for I think there can scarcely be any doubt of the advantage of glass over paper forsmallpictures (weight, expense, &c., are perhaps drawbacks for pictures larger than 5 × 4 inches); but the desideratum is a sensitiveness nearly equal to collodion, and a plate that can be used dry.

Thos. Lawrence.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

Black Tints of French Photographers.—Can you inform me, through the medium of your valuable periodical, how those beautiful black tints, so much prized in the French prints from photographic negatives, are obtained? By so doing you will give great pleasure to several excellent amateur photographers, and especially your constant reader,

Philophotog.

Originator of the Collodion Process.—As some think the credit of the invention of the collodion process a matter of dispute, will you allow me to remind your correspondents that the truth will be much easier to discover if they will confine themselves to actual facts?

In No. 167., p. 47., G. C. first recklessly accusesMr. Archerof untruth, and then tests his own claim to truth by quoting from Le Gray's edition of 1852, to prove Le Gray's edition of 1850. Why did he not go back at once to the 1850 edition; and if that contains anything like an intelligible process, why is it altogether omitted from Le Gray's edition of 1851, which was the oneMr. Archerspoke of, and correctly?

The history of collodion is (as far as I know) this. In September, 1850,Dr. Diamondinvited me to meetMr. Archerat his house, and for the first timeMr. Archerproduced some prepared collodion, a portion of which identical sampleDr. Diamondnow has in his possession.

Mr. Archerhad then been trying it some five or six weeks. His experiments then went on, and in March, 1851, he published it in theChemist. Let any of your readers procure that Number, and compareMr. Archer'sclaim with Le Gray's, who, in 1852, states that he published it in 1850, and gave "the best method that has been discovered up to the present time;" and yet, singularly enough, in his edition of 1851, leaves outthis best methodentirely.

W. Brown.

Ewell.

Developing Paper Pictures with Pyrogallic Acid, &c.—Have any of your photographic correspondents tried developing their paper negatives with pyrogallic acid? If so, perhaps he would favour the readers of "N. & Q." with the result of his experiments.

InDr. Diamond'sprocess for paper negatives, he says the paper, after the iodizing solution has been applied, must be dried before soaking in water. I wish to ask whether it may be dried quickly by the fire, or must it be dried spontaneously by suspension, &c.? Again, how long must the paper remain on the sensitive mixture: must it be placed on the sensitive solution, andimmediatelytaken off and blotted, or placed on the sensitive solution, andafter some time(what time?) taken off andimmediatelyblotted?

Have any of your readers substituted iodide of ammonium for iodide of potassium, in preparing paper, collodion, &c., and with what success? And have they substituted nitrate of zinc for glacial acetic acid, as recommended in a French work, with any success?

R. J. F.

Waterloo(Vol. vii., p. 82.).—P. C. S. S. conceives that it may be interesting toPhilobiblionto learn that the greatest man in the world was not ignorant of the passage in Strada regardingWaterloo, to whichPhilobiblionrefers. From a diary kept for some years, it appears that on Saturday, the 30th of October, 1843, P. C. S. S., who was then on a visit at Walmer Castle, had the pleasure of directing the Duke of Wellington's attention to the passage in question, as translated by Du Ryer (Paris, 1665). He well remembers that the Duke seemed to be greatly struck with it; that he more than once referred to it, in subsequent conversations; and that on the following day he requested P. C. S. S. to furnish him with a transcript, which he doubts not might still be found among the Duke's papers.

P. C. S. S.

Your correspondentPhilobiblionhas been led into a double error by a similarity of name. Thepagus Waterloeusmentioned by Strada is the French village of Wattrelo, in the modern Département du Nord, about six miles to the northeast of Lille.

J. S.

Norwich.

Irish Peerages(Vol. vi., p. 604.).—The book alluded to by D. X. as professing to give pedigrees of ennobled Irish families, may be the contemptibleLetters to George IV., by Captain Rock, a miserable attempt at a continuation of Moore'sMemoirsof that mystic personage. Some half of the former book contains libellous notices of the "low origin" of the Irish nobility. Can your correspondent refer me to the play in which there is some sneer that "the housemaid is cousin to an Irish peer?"

Martha Blount(Vol. vii., p. 38.).—An engraving of this lady, from "an original picture, in the collection of Michael Blount, Esq., at Maple-Darham," is prefixed to the tenth volume of Pope'sWorksby Bowles, 1806.

W. A.

In reply toMr. A. F. Westmacott(Vol. vii., p. 38.), I have, in my collection of engraved portraits, one of the subject of his inquiry, "Martha Blount." It is instipple, by Picart, after a picture by Gardner. I have no idea the portrait is rare, and think your correspondent may easily procure it among the printsellers in London.

J. Burton.

Quotations wanted(Vol. vii., p. 40.).—Bacon, in his Essay "Of Studies," has this sentence:

"And if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not."

which is perhaps the reference Miss Edgeworth intended.

"A world without a sun," is from Campbell'sPleasures of Hope, Part II. line 24.:

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