Minor Queries with Answers.

"Mater ait natæ, dic natæ, filiâ, natamUt moneat natæplangerefiliolam."

"Mater ait natæ, dic natæ, filiâ, natam

Ut moneat natæplangerefiliolam."

"The aged mother to her daughter spake,Daughter, said she, arise;Thy daughter to her daughter take,Whose daughter's daughter cries."

"The aged mother to her daughter spake,

Daughter, said she, arise;

Thy daughter to her daughter take,

Whose daughter's daughter cries."

My object in asking the above question is for the purpose of discovering if such a relationship ever existed.

W. W.

Malta.

Fox of Whittlebury Forest.—In Mr. Jessie'sLife of Beau Brummel, I met with a passage which spoke about the "well-known fox of Whittlebury Forest." Can any of your readers kindly inform me in what the celebrity of this animal consists, that Mr. Jessie takes for granted is so well known?

A Fox Hunter.

Names and Numbers of British Regiments(Vol. iv., p. 368.; Vol. vi, p. 37.).—I feel disappointed that none of your numerous and well-informed readers have responded to my inquiries on this subject. Hoping, however, that answers may still be obtained, I venture to repeat the questions for thethirdtime, viz.:

1. What was the origin of giving British regiments thenameof a certain officer, instead ofnumberingthem as at present?

2. If in honour of an officer commanding the corps, was the name changed when that officer died or removed to another regiment; or what was the rule?

3.Whendid the present mode ofnumberingregiments begin; and by whom was it introduced?

4. What was the rule or principle laid down in giving any regiment a certainnumber? Was it according to the length of time it had been embodied?

5. What is the guide now, in identifying anamedwith anumberedregiment? For example, at the battle of Culloden, in 1746, "Wolfe's," "Barrell's," and "Howard's Foot" were engaged. Now, what is the rule for ascertaining thenumbersof these, and other old regiments, in the British army at the present day?

I shall feel greatly obliged by the above information.

Glasgow.

Daughters of St. Mark.—How many were adopted as daughters of the Republic of St. Mark? Catherine Cornaro was one, and, I believe, Bianca Capello another. I think there were but one or two more: but who were they?

Rosa.

Kentish Fire.—What is the origin of the term "Kentish fire," signifying energetic applause?

Rosa.

Optical Phenomenon.—On the afternoon of the 20th January, at one o'clock, as I stood on the beach of Llandudno Bay, North Wales, I observed a rainbow, from the circumference of which passed a number of bright pencils of light, apparently converging to a point near the invisible centre of the rainbow. What is the explanation of this phenomenon?

C. Mansfield Ingleby.

Birmingham.

Cardinal Bentivoglio's Description of England.—A MS. of this interesting work exists among Bishop Tanner's MSS. in the Bodleian Library. Has it ever been printed? The account is said to have been drawn up with great care and accuracy, and betrays no sinister views.

Did Cardinal Bentivoglio visit England in person, or how did he collect his information?

Edward F. Rimbault.

Remarkable Signs.—Can any of the learned contributors of the "N. & Q." oblige aConstant Readerwith the probable meanings or origins of the following signs, all of which are to be found in the London Directories:

Anti-Gallican (four taverns of this name).Bombay Grab.Essex Serpent.Fortune of War (five).George and Guy (two).Moonrakers (two).Grave Maurice (two).Sun and Thirteen Cantons (two).

Anti-Gallican (four taverns of this name).

Bombay Grab.

Essex Serpent.

Fortune of War (five).

George and Guy (two).

Moonrakers (two).

Grave Maurice (two).

Sun and Thirteen Cantons (two).

J. E.

Fleet Street.

Old Fable.—There is a fable in theVicar of Wakefieldof two brothers, a dwarf and giant, going out to battle, and sharing the victory but not the wounds.

There is another, perhaps a sequel to it, which relates that the dwarf, "tot bellorum superstitem,"was choked in the fraternal embrace, with the sorry consolation that it was "the giant's nature to squeeze hard."

Are these fables wholly modern or not? I have thought that some such are the key to Juvenal's meaning:

"Malim fraterculus esse gigantis;"

to the ordinary construing of which there are positive objections.

J. E. G.

Tide Tables.—Can you, or any of your subscribers, give me a rule for ascertaining the heights of tides and times of high water, the establishment of the port, and rise of springs and neaps, being known? One divested of algebraic formulæ would be preferred: say—

Lancaster.

Passage in Ovid.—In speaking of the rude and unscientific state of the early Romans, in the third book of hisFasti, Ovid has the following verses:

"Libera currebant, et inobservata per annumSidera: constabat sed tamen esse Deos.Non illi cœlo labentia signa tenebant;Sed sua: quæ magnum perdere crimen erat."V. 111-114.

"Libera currebant, et inobservata per annum

Sidera: constabat sed tamen esse Deos.

Non illi cœlo labentia signa tenebant;

Sed sua: quæ magnum perdere crimen erat."

V. 111-114.

The idea expressed in this passage is that the primitive Romans cared more about war than astronomy. They did not observe the stars, though they believed them to be deities. The pun upon the wordsigna—constellations and military standards—is worthy of notice. But what is the meaning oflibera, in the first verse? Is it nearly equivalent toinobservata, and does it denote the absence of the prying curiosity of men? It cannot be intended that the courses of the stars were less regular before they were the subjects of observation, than after the birth of astronomy.

Roger Pele, Abbot of Furness.—Is anything known of the antecedents of Roger Pele, last abbot of Furness, who, after years of trouble and persecution, was at length constrained to execute a deed, dated 5th April, 28 Hen. VIII., whereby he did "freely and hollie surrender, giff, and graunt unto the Kynges highnes and to his heyres and assignes for evermore ... all his interest and titill in the said monasterie of ffurness, and of and in the landes, rentes, possessions, revenous, servyce, both spirituall and temporall," &c.? This deed is, I believe, given at length in the Cotton MSS., Cleopatra E. IV. fol. 244.

Roger Pele was elevated about 1532, and became rector of Dalton, a village near his old abbey, 9th Nov., 29 Hen. VIII. This rectory he held, I believe, during the remainder of his life, in spite of all the efforts made to dispossess him. (See Beck'sAnnales Furnessienses, p. 346. et seq.)

What was the origin and early history of this man, remarkable for the firmness and ability which so long baffled all the power and might of Henry, whose vengeance pursued him even into obscurity.

Abbati.

Curtseys and Bows.—Why do ladies curtsey instead of bow? Is the distinction one which obtains generally; and what is the earliest mention of curtseys in any writer on English affairs?

E. S.

Hampton Court.

Historical Proverb.—I have frequently in youth heard the proverb, "You may changeNormanfor a worser (worse) horse." This sounds like the wise saying of some unpatriotic Saxon, when urged to revolt against the conquering invaders. If so, it is an interesting relic of the days when "Englishrie," though suppressed, yet became peacefully victorious in transmuting the intruders into its own excellent metal.

J. R. P.

Bishop Patrick's "Parable of a Pilgrim."—Can any of your contributors inform me of any bibliographical notice of Bishop Patrick'sParable of a Pilgrim? Its singular title, and the suggested plagiarism of Bunyan, lately attracted my attention; but I incline to the belief that we may still regard thePilgrim's Progressto be as original as it is extraordinary. Patrick's work appears to have been written in 1663, while Bunyan was not committed to prison until 1660, and was released in 1673: having written, or at least composed, his extraordinary work during the interval. Bunyan might therefore have seen and read Patrick's book; but, from a careful comparison of the two works, I am satisfied in my own mind that such a supposition is unnecessary, and probably erroneous. I may add that Patrick honestly confesses, that not even his own work is entirely original, but was suggested by an elder "Parable of the Pilgrim" in Baker'sSancta Sophia.

George Wm. Bell.

Dr. Parr's Dedications.—Dr. Parr has dedicated the three parts ofBellendences de Staturespectively to Burke, Lord North, and Fox, subscribing each dedication with the letters A. E. A. O. Can any of your correspondents explain them?

Balliolensis.

"Königl. Schwedischer in Teutschland geführter Krieg, 1632-1648, von B. Ph. v. Chemnitz."—As is known, the first two parts of this important work were printed in 1648 and 1653. The continuation of the original manuscript exists now in the Swedish Record Office, with the exception, unfortunately, of the third part. The Curator of the Royal Library in Hanover, however, J. Dan,Grueber, testifies, in hisCommercium Epistolare Leibnitianinum, Pars 1ma, p. 119., Hanoviæ, 1745, in 8vo., that the missing part was then in that library:

"Tertius tomus excusus non est, quippe imperfectus; Manuscriptum tamen quoad absolutus est, inter alia septentrionis cimelia nuper repertum, Bibliothecæ Regiæ vindicavimus."

But this manuscript is no longer to be found there. Is it possible it may have been removed to England, and still to be found in one of the public collections? An answer to any of the above questions would deeply oblige

G. E. Klemming,Librarian in the Royal Library at Stockholm.

"Officium Birgittinum Anglice."—

"Integrum Beatæ Virginis Officium quod à S. Birgitta concinnatum, monialibus sui ordinis in usu publico fecit, Anglice ab anonymo quodam conversum, Londini prodiit ante annum 1500 in folio, ex Caxtoni, uti videtur, prælo editum."

is the notice of the above translation occurring in an old Swedish author. Information is requested as to whether any more detailed account can be obtained of the book referred to.[2]For any such the Querist will be especially thankful: if it should be possible to procure a copy of the same, his boldest hopes would be exceeded. If no English translation of S. Birgitta's revelations, or of the prayers and prophecies extracted therefrom—the latter known under the name ofOnus Mundi, should exist, either in print or in old manuscript, this, in consideration of the very general circulation which these writings obtained in the Middle Ages, would be a very peculiar exception. The book named at the head of this Query would appear to be a translation of theBreviarium S. Birgittæ.

G. E. Klemming,Librarian in the Royal Library at Stockholm.

Footnote 2:(return)[See Wharton, in his Supplement to Usher,De Scripturis et Sacris Vernaculis, p. 447., edit. 1690.—Ed.]

[See Wharton, in his Supplement to Usher,De Scripturis et Sacris Vernaculis, p. 447., edit. 1690.—Ed.]

Campbell's Hymn on the Nativity.—The hymn, of which the following are the first two verses, is said to have been written by Campbell. Can any correspondent of "N. & Q." say which Campbell is the author, and when and where the hymn was first printed?

"When Jordan hush'd his waters still,And silence slept on Zion's hill,When Bethlehem's shepherds thro' the nightWatch'd o'er their flocks by starry light,"Hark! from the midnight hills around,A voice of more than mortal soundIn distant hallelujahs stole,Wild murmuring o'er the raptur'd soul."

"When Jordan hush'd his waters still,And silence slept on Zion's hill,When Bethlehem's shepherds thro' the nightWatch'd o'er their flocks by starry light,

"When Jordan hush'd his waters still,

And silence slept on Zion's hill,

When Bethlehem's shepherds thro' the night

Watch'd o'er their flocks by starry light,

"Hark! from the midnight hills around,A voice of more than mortal soundIn distant hallelujahs stole,Wild murmuring o'er the raptur'd soul."

"Hark! from the midnight hills around,

A voice of more than mortal sound

In distant hallelujahs stole,

Wild murmuring o'er the raptur'd soul."

H. S. S.

When Our Lord falls in Our Lady's Lap.—Seeing that Good Friday in this year falls on Lady Day, may I beg to ask if any of your contributors could inform me where the following old saying is to be met with, viz.:

"When Good Friday falls in a Lady's lap,To England will happen some mishap,"

"When Good Friday falls in a Lady's lap,

To England will happen some mishap,"

or to whom the prophecy (I hope a false one) may be attributed? I have seen it some years since, and have lately been asked the origin of the saying.

J. N. C.

Hull.

[Our correspondent has not quoted this old proverb correctly. It is thus given by Fuller (Worthies of England, vol. i. p. 115. ed. 1840):"When Our Lady falls in Our Lord's lapThen let England beware a sadbraceclapmishap,aliasThen let the clergyman look to his cap."But Fuller shows that it refers to Easter Day, not Good Friday, falling on the 25th March, when he remarks:—"I behold this proverbial prophecy, or this prophetical menace, to be not above six score years old, and of Popish extraction since the Reformation. It whispereth more than it dares speak out, and points at more than it dares whisper; and fain would intimate to credulous persons as if the Blessed Virgin, offended with the English for abolishing her adoration, watcheth an opportunity of revenge on this nation. And when her day (being the five-and-twentieth of March, and first of the Gregorian year) chanceth to fall on the day of Christ's resurrection, then being, as it were, fortified by her Son's assistance, some signal judgment is intended to our state, and churchmen especially."He then gives a list of the years on which the coincidences had happened since the Conquest, to which, if our correspondent is curious on the subject, we must refer him. Can he, or any other of our readers, furnish any proof of the existence of this proverb before the Reformation, or the existence of a similar proverb on the Continent?]

[Our correspondent has not quoted this old proverb correctly. It is thus given by Fuller (Worthies of England, vol. i. p. 115. ed. 1840):

"When Our Lady falls in Our Lord's lapThen let England beware a sadbraceclapmishap,aliasThen let the clergyman look to his cap."

"When Our Lady falls in Our Lord's lapThen let England beware a sadbraceclapmishap,

"When Our Lady falls in Our Lord's lap

alias

Then let the clergyman look to his cap."

But Fuller shows that it refers to Easter Day, not Good Friday, falling on the 25th March, when he remarks:—"I behold this proverbial prophecy, or this prophetical menace, to be not above six score years old, and of Popish extraction since the Reformation. It whispereth more than it dares speak out, and points at more than it dares whisper; and fain would intimate to credulous persons as if the Blessed Virgin, offended with the English for abolishing her adoration, watcheth an opportunity of revenge on this nation. And when her day (being the five-and-twentieth of March, and first of the Gregorian year) chanceth to fall on the day of Christ's resurrection, then being, as it were, fortified by her Son's assistance, some signal judgment is intended to our state, and churchmen especially."

He then gives a list of the years on which the coincidences had happened since the Conquest, to which, if our correspondent is curious on the subject, we must refer him. Can he, or any other of our readers, furnish any proof of the existence of this proverb before the Reformation, or the existence of a similar proverb on the Continent?]

Hobnail-counting in the Court of Exchequer.—I shall feel obliged by your informing me from what circumstance originates the yearly custom of the lord mayor of London counting six horse-shoes and sixty-one hobnails at the swearing in of the sheriff?

A Constant Reader.

Chertsey.

[The best explanation of this custom will be found in theGentleman's Magazinefor 1804, where we read: "The ceremony on this occasion in the Court of Exchequer, which vulgar error supposed to be an unmeaning farce, is solemn and impressive, nor have the new sheriffs the least connexion either with chopping of sticks, or counting of hobnails. The tenants of a manor in Shropshire are directed to come forth and do their suit and service; on which the senior alderman belowthe chair steps forward and chops a single stick, in token of its having been customary for the tenants of that manor to supply their lord with fuel. The owners of a forge in the parish of St. Clement (which formerly belonged to the city, and stood in the high road from the Temple to Westminster, but now no longer exists) are then called forth to do their suit and service; when an officer of the court, in the presence of the senior alderman, produces six horse-shoes and sixty-one hobnails, which he counts over in form before the cursitor baron, who on this particular occasion is the immediate representative of the sovereign."]

A Race for Canterbury.—I have just met with a little volume of sixteen pages entitledA Race for Canterbury or Lambeth, Ho!It is dated 1747, and was evidently written on the death of Archbishop Potter; and describes four aspirants to the see of Canterbury as four rowers on the Thames:

"No sooner Death had seized the seer,Just in the middle of his prayer,But instantly on Thames appear'dFour wherries rowing very hard."&c.&c.&c.

"No sooner Death had seized the seer,

Just in the middle of his prayer,

But instantly on Thames appear'd

Four wherries rowing very hard."

&c.&c.&c.

The first is thus introduced:

"Sh——, though old, has got the start,And vigorously plays his part."

"Sh——, though old, has got the start,

And vigorously plays his part."

The second:

"H—— in order next advances,And full of hopes he strangely fancies,That he by dint of merit shallGet first to land by Lambeth wall."

"H—— in order next advances,

And full of hopes he strangely fancies,

That he by dint of merit shall

Get first to land by Lambeth wall."

The third:

"M—s—n moves on a sober pace,And sits and rows with easy grace.No ruffling passion's in him seen,Indifferent if he lose or win."

"M—s—n moves on a sober pace,

And sits and rows with easy grace.

No ruffling passion's in him seen,

Indifferent if he lose or win."

The fourth:

"Next Codex comes with lab'ring oar,And, envious, sees the three before;Yet luggs and tuggs with every joint,In hopes at length to gain the point."

"Next Codex comes with lab'ring oar,

And, envious, sees the three before;

Yet luggs and tuggs with every joint,

In hopes at length to gain the point."

Having no list of the bishops by me, of the above-mentioned date, to which I can refer, I should be glad if any of your correspondents can tell me who these four bishops are. May I ask likewise, if it is known who was the author of this not very refined or elegant composition?

John Branfill Harrison.

Maidstone.

[The four aspirants probably were, 1. Sherlock of Salisbury; 2. Herring of York, the next primate; 3. Mawson of Chichester; 4. Gibson of London.]

Nose of Wax.—In so famous a public document as theNottingham Declaration of the Nobles, Gentry, and Commons, in November, 1688, against the Papistical inroads of the infatuated King James, I find in the Ninth Resolution that he is accused of "rendering the laws anose of wax," in order to further arbitrary ends. I have often heard the phrase familiarly in my youthful days; may I ask of you to inform me of its origin? Its import is plain enough,—a silly bugbear, of none effect but to be laughed at.

W. J.

[Nares explains it more correctly as a proverbial phrase for anything very mutable and accommodating; chiefly applied to flexibility of faith. He adds, "It should be noticed, however, that the similitude was originally borrowed from the Roman Catholic writers, who applied it to the Holy Scriptures, on account of their being liable to various interpretations."]

"Praise from Sir Hubert Stanley!"—I have somewhere heard or read this, or a very similar phrase, ironically expressive of surprise at approbation from an unexpected quarter. I would much like a clue to its source and correct shape.

W. T. M.

Hong Kong.

[This is from Morton'sCure for the Heart Ache, Act V. Sc. 2.:—"Approbation from Sir Hubert Stanley is praise indeed."]

Rosary.—What is the origin of the termrosary? Is it derived from the Latinrogare?

G. C. C.

[Richardson derives it from Fr.Rosaire; Ital. and Sp.Rosario; Low Lat.Rosarium, corona rosacea, a garland or chaplet of roses. The definition of it by the Abbé Prevost is this:—"It consists," he says, "of fifteen tens, said to be in honour of the fifteen mysteries in which the Blessed Virgin bore a part.FiveJoyous, viz. the annunciation, the visit to St. Elizabeth, the birth of our Saviour, the purification, and the disputation of Christ in the temple.FiveSorrowful: our Saviour's agony in the garden, his flagellation, crowning with thorns, bearing his cross, and crucifixion.FiveGlorious: his resurrection, ascension, the descent of the Holy Ghost, his glorification in heaven, and the assumption of the Virgin herself."—Manuel Lexique.Nares, quoting this passage, adds, "This is good authority; but why each of the fives is multiplied by ten the Abbé does not explain; probably to make the chaplet of a sufficient length."]

(Vol. vi., p. 493.)

My copy of this poem bears date 1754, and is not stated to be a second edition. It has "an advertisement" of three pages, deprecatory of the imputation of any personal allusions, or design to encourage school rebellions. It has also a frontispiece ("Jas. Green, sculp., Oxon."), representing two youths, one standing, the other sitting, on a form; and before them the figure of an ass, erect on his hind legs, clothed in a pallium. A birch, doctorial hat, and books, lettered Priscian andLycophron, form the base; and on a ribbon above is the legend, "An ass in the Greek pallium teaching." In other respects my copy agrees withMr. Crossley'sdescription of his, except that the argument (p. 7.) commences, "The great and goodKing Alfred," &c.

Perhaps the following lines (though I doubt their having been written at the age of thirteen) may be received as germane to the subject:

THE BIRCH: A POEM.Written by a Youth of thirteen.Though theOakbe the prince and the pride of the grove,The emblem of power and the fav'rite of Jove;Though Phœbus his temples withLaurelhas bound,And with chaplets ofPoplarAlcides is crown'd;Though Pallas theOlivehas graced with her choice,And old mother Cybel inPinesmay rejoice,Yet the Muses declare, after diligent search,That no tree can be found to compare with theBirch.The Birch, they affirm, is the true tree of knowledge,Revered at each school and remember'd at college.Though Virgil's famed tree might produce, as its fruit,A crop of vain dreams, and strange whims on each shoot,Yet the Birch on each bough, on the top of each switch,Bears the essence of grammar and eight parts of speech.'Mongst the leaves are conceal'd more than mem'ry can mention,All cases, all genders, all forms of declension.Nine branches, when cropp'd by the hands of the Nine,And duly arranged in a parallel line,Tied up in nine folds of a mystical string,And soak'd for nine days in cold Helicon spring,Form a sceptre composed for a pedagogue's hand,Like the Fasces of Rome, a true badge of command.The sceptre thus finish'd, like Moses's rod,From flints could draw tears, and give life to a clod.Should darkness Egyptian, or ignorance, spreadTheir clouds o'er the mind, or envelope the head,The rod, thrice applied, puts the darkness to flight,Disperses the clouds, and restores us to light.Like the Virga Divina, 'twill find out the veinWhere lurks the rich metal, the ore of the brain.Should Genius a captive in sloth be confined,Or the witchcraft of Pleasure prevail o'er the mind,The magical wand but apply—with a strokeThe spell is dissolved, the enchantment is broke.Like Hermes' caduceus, these switches inspireRhetorical thunder, poetical fire:And if Morpheus our temples in Lethe should steep,Their touch will untie all the fetters of sleep.Here dwells strong conviction—of Logic the glory,When applied with precisionà posteriori.I've known a short lecture most strangely prevail,When duly convey'd to the head through the tail;Like an electrical shock, in an instant 'tis spread,And flies with a jerk from the tail to the head;Promotes circulation, and thrills through each vein,The faculties quickens, and purges the brain.By sympathy thus, and consent of the parts,We are taught,fundamentally, classics and arts.The Birch,à priori, applied to the palm,Can settle disputes and a passion becalm.Whatever disorders prevail in the bloodThe birch can correct them, like guaiacum wood:It sweetens the juices, corrects our ill humours,Bad habits removes, and disperses foul tumours.When applied to the hand it can cure with a switch,Like the salve of old Molyneux, used in the itch!As the famed rod of Circe to brutes could turn men,So the twigs of the Birch can unbrute them again.Like the wand of the Sybil, that branch of pure gold,These sprays can the gates of Elysium unfold—The Elysium of learning, where pleasures abound,Those sweets that still flourish on classical ground.Prometheus's rod, which, mythologists say,Fetch'd fire from the sun to give life to his clay,Was a rod well applied his men to inspireWith a taste for the arts, and their genius to fire.This bundle of rods may suggest one reflection,That the arts with each other maintain a connexion.Another good moral this bundle of switchesPoints out to our notice and silently teaches;Of peace and good fellowship these are a token,For the twigs, well united, can scarcely be broken.Then, if such are its virtues, we'll bow to the tree,Andthe Birch, like the Muses, immortal shall be.

THE BIRCH: A POEM.Written by a Youth of thirteen.

THE BIRCH: A POEM.

Written by a Youth of thirteen.

Though theOakbe the prince and the pride of the grove,The emblem of power and the fav'rite of Jove;Though Phœbus his temples withLaurelhas bound,And with chaplets ofPoplarAlcides is crown'd;Though Pallas theOlivehas graced with her choice,And old mother Cybel inPinesmay rejoice,Yet the Muses declare, after diligent search,That no tree can be found to compare with theBirch.The Birch, they affirm, is the true tree of knowledge,Revered at each school and remember'd at college.Though Virgil's famed tree might produce, as its fruit,A crop of vain dreams, and strange whims on each shoot,Yet the Birch on each bough, on the top of each switch,Bears the essence of grammar and eight parts of speech.'Mongst the leaves are conceal'd more than mem'ry can mention,All cases, all genders, all forms of declension.Nine branches, when cropp'd by the hands of the Nine,And duly arranged in a parallel line,Tied up in nine folds of a mystical string,And soak'd for nine days in cold Helicon spring,Form a sceptre composed for a pedagogue's hand,Like the Fasces of Rome, a true badge of command.The sceptre thus finish'd, like Moses's rod,From flints could draw tears, and give life to a clod.Should darkness Egyptian, or ignorance, spreadTheir clouds o'er the mind, or envelope the head,The rod, thrice applied, puts the darkness to flight,Disperses the clouds, and restores us to light.Like the Virga Divina, 'twill find out the veinWhere lurks the rich metal, the ore of the brain.Should Genius a captive in sloth be confined,Or the witchcraft of Pleasure prevail o'er the mind,The magical wand but apply—with a strokeThe spell is dissolved, the enchantment is broke.Like Hermes' caduceus, these switches inspireRhetorical thunder, poetical fire:And if Morpheus our temples in Lethe should steep,Their touch will untie all the fetters of sleep.Here dwells strong conviction—of Logic the glory,When applied with precisionà posteriori.I've known a short lecture most strangely prevail,When duly convey'd to the head through the tail;Like an electrical shock, in an instant 'tis spread,And flies with a jerk from the tail to the head;Promotes circulation, and thrills through each vein,The faculties quickens, and purges the brain.By sympathy thus, and consent of the parts,We are taught,fundamentally, classics and arts.The Birch,à priori, applied to the palm,Can settle disputes and a passion becalm.Whatever disorders prevail in the bloodThe birch can correct them, like guaiacum wood:It sweetens the juices, corrects our ill humours,Bad habits removes, and disperses foul tumours.When applied to the hand it can cure with a switch,Like the salve of old Molyneux, used in the itch!As the famed rod of Circe to brutes could turn men,So the twigs of the Birch can unbrute them again.Like the wand of the Sybil, that branch of pure gold,These sprays can the gates of Elysium unfold—The Elysium of learning, where pleasures abound,Those sweets that still flourish on classical ground.Prometheus's rod, which, mythologists say,Fetch'd fire from the sun to give life to his clay,Was a rod well applied his men to inspireWith a taste for the arts, and their genius to fire.This bundle of rods may suggest one reflection,That the arts with each other maintain a connexion.Another good moral this bundle of switchesPoints out to our notice and silently teaches;Of peace and good fellowship these are a token,For the twigs, well united, can scarcely be broken.Then, if such are its virtues, we'll bow to the tree,Andthe Birch, like the Muses, immortal shall be.

Though theOakbe the prince and the pride of the grove,

The emblem of power and the fav'rite of Jove;

Though Phœbus his temples withLaurelhas bound,

And with chaplets ofPoplarAlcides is crown'd;

Though Pallas theOlivehas graced with her choice,

And old mother Cybel inPinesmay rejoice,

Yet the Muses declare, after diligent search,

That no tree can be found to compare with theBirch.

The Birch, they affirm, is the true tree of knowledge,

Revered at each school and remember'd at college.

Though Virgil's famed tree might produce, as its fruit,

A crop of vain dreams, and strange whims on each shoot,

Yet the Birch on each bough, on the top of each switch,

Bears the essence of grammar and eight parts of speech.

'Mongst the leaves are conceal'd more than mem'ry can mention,

All cases, all genders, all forms of declension.

Nine branches, when cropp'd by the hands of the Nine,

And duly arranged in a parallel line,

Tied up in nine folds of a mystical string,

And soak'd for nine days in cold Helicon spring,

Form a sceptre composed for a pedagogue's hand,

Like the Fasces of Rome, a true badge of command.

The sceptre thus finish'd, like Moses's rod,

From flints could draw tears, and give life to a clod.

Should darkness Egyptian, or ignorance, spread

Their clouds o'er the mind, or envelope the head,

The rod, thrice applied, puts the darkness to flight,

Disperses the clouds, and restores us to light.

Like the Virga Divina, 'twill find out the vein

Where lurks the rich metal, the ore of the brain.

Should Genius a captive in sloth be confined,

Or the witchcraft of Pleasure prevail o'er the mind,

The magical wand but apply—with a stroke

The spell is dissolved, the enchantment is broke.

Like Hermes' caduceus, these switches inspire

Rhetorical thunder, poetical fire:

And if Morpheus our temples in Lethe should steep,

Their touch will untie all the fetters of sleep.

Here dwells strong conviction—of Logic the glory,

When applied with precisionà posteriori.

I've known a short lecture most strangely prevail,

When duly convey'd to the head through the tail;

Like an electrical shock, in an instant 'tis spread,

And flies with a jerk from the tail to the head;

Promotes circulation, and thrills through each vein,

The faculties quickens, and purges the brain.

By sympathy thus, and consent of the parts,

We are taught,fundamentally, classics and arts.

The Birch,à priori, applied to the palm,

Can settle disputes and a passion becalm.

Whatever disorders prevail in the blood

The birch can correct them, like guaiacum wood:

It sweetens the juices, corrects our ill humours,

Bad habits removes, and disperses foul tumours.

When applied to the hand it can cure with a switch,

Like the salve of old Molyneux, used in the itch!

As the famed rod of Circe to brutes could turn men,

So the twigs of the Birch can unbrute them again.

Like the wand of the Sybil, that branch of pure gold,

These sprays can the gates of Elysium unfold—

The Elysium of learning, where pleasures abound,

Those sweets that still flourish on classical ground.

Prometheus's rod, which, mythologists say,

Fetch'd fire from the sun to give life to his clay,

Was a rod well applied his men to inspire

With a taste for the arts, and their genius to fire.

This bundle of rods may suggest one reflection,

That the arts with each other maintain a connexion.

Another good moral this bundle of switches

Points out to our notice and silently teaches;

Of peace and good fellowship these are a token,

For the twigs, well united, can scarcely be broken.

Then, if such are its virtues, we'll bow to the tree,

Andthe Birch, like the Muses, immortal shall be.

I copy from a MS. extract-book, and shall be glad of a reference to any place in which these lines have appeared in print.

Balliolensis.

(Vol. vi., p. 316.)

These folio volumes appeared in 1646, without name or place of either author or printer, under the title—

"Begin ende Voortgang van de Vereenighde Nederlandsche Geoctroyeerde Oost-Indische Compagnie, vervattende de voornaemste Reysen, by de inwoonderen derselver provincien derwaerts gedaen, alles nevens debeschryvinghen der Rycken, Eylanden, Hovenen, Rivieren, Stroomen, Rheden, winden, diepten, ondiepten, mitsgaders religien, manieren, aerdt, politie, ende regeeringhe der volckeren, oock mede haerder Specerÿen, drooghen, geldt ende andere koopmanschappen; met veele discoursen verryckt, nevens eenighe koopere platen verciert. Nut ende dienstig alle curieuse ende andere zee-varende. Met dry besondere tafels ofte registers; in twee Delen verdeelt, waer het eerste begrypt veerttien voyagien den meerendeelen voor desen noyt in 't licht geweest. Gedrukt in den jaere 1646."(Translation.)Commencement and progress of the United Dutch Chartered East-India Company, containing the principal travels made among the inhabitants of the provinces there, together with a description of the kingdoms, courts, islands, rivers, roadsteads, winds, deeps, shallows, as well as religions, manners, character, police, and governments of the people; also their spices, drugs, money, and other merchandise, enriched with many discourses, and adorned with copperplates. Useful and profitable to all curious and seafaring virtuosi. With three separate tables or registers; divided into two parts, of which the first contains fourteen voyages, the most part never before published. Printed in the year 1646.

(Translation.)

Commencement and progress of the United Dutch Chartered East-India Company, containing the principal travels made among the inhabitants of the provinces there, together with a description of the kingdoms, courts, islands, rivers, roadsteads, winds, deeps, shallows, as well as religions, manners, character, police, and governments of the people; also their spices, drugs, money, and other merchandise, enriched with many discourses, and adorned with copperplates. Useful and profitable to all curious and seafaring virtuosi. With three separate tables or registers; divided into two parts, of which the first contains fourteen voyages, the most part never before published. Printed in the year 1646.

The compiler, however, goes too far in asserting that the greatest part of these voyages had never been printed. The contrary appears when we open the folio catalogue of the Leyden Library, containing a fine collection of these early voyages of our ancestors.

These voyages were printed consecutively in small folio before 1646; as also theOost Indische en West Indische Voyagien, Amsterdam, by Michel Colyn, boekverkooper (East Indian and West Indian Voyages, Amsterdam, by Michel Colyn, bookseller), anno 1619, one volume, in the same form and thickness as those of 1646: some of the plates also in this volume are similar to those of 1646.

This work was dedicated, 28th February, 1619, to the Heeren Gecommitteerde Raden ter Admiraliteit residerende te Amsterdam (Advising Committee to the Admiralty residing at Amsterdam), and begins with theReis naar Nova Sembla(Voyage to Nova Zembla), printed at Enkhuizen in 1617, by Jacob Lenaertsz Meijn, at the Vergulde Schryfboek (Gilt Writing-book), so that it is not improbable that the whole work was printed at Enkhuizen. Michel Colyn also published other Dutch voyages in 1622.

Concerning Cornelis Claesz (i.q.son of Nicholas), printer at Amsterdam, I have to observe that he died before 1610, but that the late Lucas Jansz. Wagenaer had bought all his plates, maps, privileges, &c.

By a notarial act passed 16th August, 1610, at Enkhuizen, Tryn Haickesdr., widow of the above-named Wagenaer, declared that the widow of Cornelis Claesz might make over to Jacob Lenaertsz all the above-mentioned maps, privileges, &c. See a resolution of the States-General of 13th September, 1610, in Dodt'sKerkelÿk en Wereldlÿk Archief, p. 23. (Ecclesiastical and Civil Archives).—From the Navorscher.

Elsevier.

Leyden.

J. A. de Chalmot, in hisBiographical Dictionary of the Netherlands, vol. vii. p. 251., names as author, or rather as compiler of this work, Isaak Commelin, born at Amsterdam 19th October, 1598, died 3rd Jan. 1676, and quotes Kasp. Commelin'sDescription of Amsterdam, which I have not at hand to refer to. The work was printed at Amsterdam without printer's name: eachvoyagieor description is separately paged; some places have a French text. In the second volume is aGenerale beschryvinghe van Indien, &c., naer de copÿe ghedruckt tot Batavia in de druckerÿe van Gansenpen, anno 1638 (General Description of India, &c., according to the copy printed at Batavia at the office of theGoose Quill). Whether any other pieces which Commelin compiled had been earlier printed, I have not been able to discover.—From the Navorscher.

J. C. K.

(Vol. vi., p. 509.)

The following are earlier instances of the employment ofitsby the poets, than any that your correspondent seems to have met with:

"How sometimes nature will betrayitsfolly,Itstenderness, and makes itself a pastimeTo harder bosoms!Winter's Tale, Act I. Sc. 2.

"How sometimes nature will betrayitsfolly,

Itstenderness, and makes itself a pastime

To harder bosoms!

Winter's Tale, Act I. Sc. 2.

"Each following dayBecame the next day's master, till the lastMade former wondersits."Henry VIII., Act I. Sc. 1.

"Each following day

Became the next day's master, till the last

Made former wondersits."

Henry VIII., Act I. Sc. 1.

"On the green banks which that fair stream in-bound,Flowers and odours sweetly smiled and smell'd,Which, reaching outitsstretched arms around,All the large desert initsbosom held."Fairefax,Godfrey of Bulloigne, xviii. 20., 1600.

"On the green banks which that fair stream in-bound,

Flowers and odours sweetly smiled and smell'd,

Which, reaching outitsstretched arms around,

All the large desert initsbosom held."

Fairefax,Godfrey of Bulloigne, xviii. 20., 1600.

I doubt if there are any earlier instances among the poets. I have had no opportunity of examining the prose writers of the sixteenth century, but think they must have employeditsearlier than the poets. As we may see in the version of the Bible, and other works of the time, the English, like the Anglo-Saxon, long continued to use the genitivehisfor neuters as well as for masculines; andthereoffor our presentof it,its.

Itsleads me to reflect how ignorant people were of the old languages in the last century. If ever there was a palpable forgery, it is the Poems of Rowley: yet, if my memory does not deceive me,Tyrwhitt regarded them as genuine; and Malone authoritatively affirmed that "no one except the nicest judges of English poetry, from Chaucer to Pope, was competent to test their genuineness." Why, this little worditsmight have tested it. You see we have not been able to trace it in poetry higher up than the end of the sixteenth century; and I am quite sure that it is not to be found in either Chaucer or Spenser: and yet, in the very first page of Rowley, we meet with the following instances of it:

"The whyche inyttesfelle use doe make moke dere."

"The thyngeyttes(ytte is?) moste beeyttesowne defense."

But there is a still surer test. We can hardly read a line of Chaucer, Gower, or any other poet of the time, without meeting with what the French term the femininee, and which must be pronounced as a syllable to make the metre. From one end to the other of the Poems of Rowley, there is not a single instance of it!

Thos. Keightley.

(Vol. vi., p. 563.)

It may be of service to the inquirer as to the commencement of the year, to call his attention to the note appended to the "Table of moveable Feasts" in editions prior to 1752. As given by Keeling, from the editions antecedent and subsequent to the last review, in 1662, they are as follows:

"Note.—That the supputation of the year of our Lord in the Church of England beginneth the xxvth day of March, the same day supposed to be the first day upon which the world was created, and the day when Christ was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary" [1604].

"Note.—That the supputation of the year of our Lord in the Church of England beginneth the xxvth day of March" [1662].

Of course, after the act for alteration of the style (24 Geo. II. c. 23.) was passed, this note was omitted. But up to that date the old supputation was authoritative and legal. Reference to Hampson'sMedii Ævi Kalendariummight further illustrate the point.

To this Note allow me to append a Query. After the collect for St. Stephen's Day follows this rubric:

"Then shall follow the collect of the Nativity, which shall be said continually until New Year's Eve."

Query, Was this collect to be repeated from December 25 to March 24? for, according to the above supputation, that would be New Year's Eve.

The following note, from the preface to Granger'sBiographical History, may not be out of place:

"The following absurdities, among many others, were occasioned by these different computations. In 1667 there were two Easters, the first on the 25th of April, and the second on the 22nd of March following; and there were three different denominations of the Year of our Lord affixed to three state papers which were published in one week, viz. his Majesty's Speech, dated 1732-3; the Address of the House of Lords, 1732; the Address of the House of Commons, 1733."—Page xxiii., edit. 1824.

Balliolensis.

(Vol. vii., p. 84.)

Your correspondent E. D. is fortunate in the possession of a rare book, worth a "jew's eye" in the good old days of the Bibliomania. It formed a part of the Heber Collection, where (see Part iv. p. 111.) it figures under the following quaint title:

"The First Booke of the Famous Historye of Penardo and Laissa, other-ways called the Warres of Love and Ambitione, wherein is described Penardo his most admirable deeds of Arms, his ambition of glore, his contempt of love, with loves mighte assalts and ammorous temptations, Laissa's feareful inchantment, hir relief, hir travells, and lastly, loves admirabel force in hir releiving Penardo from the fire. Doone in Heroik Verse by Patrik Gordon.Printed at Dort by George Waters, 1615."

Printed at Dort by George Waters, 1615."

This copy, which was originally John Pinkerton's, cost Mr. Heber 21l., and was resold at his sale for 12l.5s., for the library of Mr. Miller, of Craigentenny; another is in the possession of Dr. Keith, Edinburgh. Pinkerton, in hisAncient Scottish Poems, London, 1792, thus describesPenardo and Laissa:

"Rare to excess; nor can more than two copies be discovered, one in the editor's possession, another in that of an anonymous correspondent in Scotland. The author was probably so ashamed of it as to quash the edition, for it is the most puerile mixture of all times, manners, and religions that ever was published; for instance, the Christian religion is put as that of Ancient Greece."

Of the author, Patrick Gordon, little or nothing seems to be known beyond the fact of his styling himself "gentleman," probably the only ground for Pinkerton calling him "a man of property." The fame of Gordon, however, rests upon a better foundation than the above work, he having also "doone in heroik verseThe Famous Historie of the Renouned and Valiant Prince Robert, surnamed the Bruce, King of Scotland," "a tolerable poem," says the same critic, "but not worth reprinting, although it had that compliment twice paid to it."

The "Bruce" of our author is a concoction from Barbour and a certainBook of Virgin Parchment, upon the same subject, by Peter Fenton, known only to Gordon, and, likePenardo, sets propriety at defiance, "Christ and Jupiter being with matchless indecorum grouped together:"[3]it, too, came originally from the press of Dort, 1615; again from that of James Watson, Edinburgh, 1718; and a third time, Glasgow, by Hall, 1753.

J. O.

Footnote 3:(return)Irving'sScottish Poets.

Irving'sScottish Poets.

(Vol. vi., p. 597.)

Ireland, too, is associated with the fame of this renowned wood-ranger. This "pen-ultimaThule," which received and protected the refugees of Roman oppression and the victims of Saxon extermination, was looked to in later times as a sanctuary where crime might evade punishment; and in theAnnals of Robin Hoodthis national commiseration was evinced.

"In the year 1189," writes Holinshed, "there ranged three robbers and outlaws in England, among which 'Robert' Hood and Little John were chieftains, of all thieves doubtless the most courteous. Robert, being betrayed at a nunnery in Scotland, called Bricklies, the remnant of the 'crue' was scattered, and every man forced to shift for himself; whereupon Little John was fainto flee the realmby sailing into Ireland, where he sojourned for a few days at Dublin. The citizens being 'doone' to understand the wandering outcast to be an excellent archer, requested him heartily to try how far he could shoot at random, who, yielding to their behest, stood on the bridge of Dublin and shot to a hillock in Oxmantown (thereafter called Little John's shot), leaving behind him a monument, rather by posterity to be wondered than possibly by any man living to be counterscored."—Description of Ireland, fol., p. 24.

The danger, however, of being taken drove Little John thence to Scotland, where, adds the annalist, "he died at a town or village called Moravie."

John D'Alton.

I may perhaps be allowed to subscribe to the opinion expressed by H. K., that "though men of the name of Robin Hood may have existed in England, that of itself could afford no ground for inferring that some one of them was the Robin Hood of romantic tradition;" and at the same time to express my dissent from the conclusion, that "any pretence for such a supposition is taken away by the strong evidence, both Scotch and French," which H. K. has "adduced in support of the opposite view."

The inferences which I draw from the facts adduced by H. K. are, that the fame of the hero of English ballads probably extended to France and Scotland, and that the people of Scotland probably sympathised with this disturber of the peace of the kingdom of their "aulde ennemies."

I must, however, confess that I have not met with any portion of "the discussion about the nature of Robin Hood," excepting that contained in Ritson's Notes and Hunter's Tract, and that the evidence adduced in the latter publication, in support of the tradition handed down to us in the ballad entitledA Lyttel Geste of Robyn Hode, seems to me to satisfactorily show that "the Robin Hood of romantic tradition really existed in England in the time of Edward II."

J. Lewelyn Curtis.

Originator of Collodion Process(Vol. vii., pp. 47. 92. 116.).—The fairest way of deciding M. Le Gray's claims would be, to quote what he really says.

Willat's pamphlet, published in 1850, entitledA Practical Treatise, &c., by Gustave Le Gray, translated by Thomas Cousins, ends with an appendix, which runs thus:

"I have just discovered a process upon glass by hydrofluoric ether, the fluoride of potassium, and soda dissolved in alcohol 40°, mixed with sulphuric ether, and afterwards saturated with collodion; I afterwards re-act with aceto-nitrate of silver, and thus obtain proofs in the camera in five seconds in the shade. I develope the image by a very weak solution of sulphate of iron, and fix with hyposulphite of soda. I hope by this process to arrive at great rapidity. Ammonia and bromide of potassium give great variations of promptitude. As soon as my experiments are complete I will publish the result in an appendix. This application upon glass is very easy: the same agents employed with albumen and dextrine, give also excellent results and very quick. I have also experimented with a mucilage produced by a fucus, a kind of sea-weed, which promises future success. I hope by some of these means to succeed in taking portraits in three or four seconds."

I know not at what time of the year the pamphlet came out, nor whether the appendix was subsequently added; but any copy containing it was bought about the middle of August, 1850.

Thos. D. Eaton.

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