Minor Queries with Answers.

"George B——[1]has turn'd a saint, they say:But who believes the tale?George D——[2]might as soon turn gay!George C——'s[3]flirting fail!"George D——[4]set the Thames on fire!George R—— his reign renew!George R—— imitate his sire,And to his friends be true!"

"George B——[1]has turn'd a saint, they say:But who believes the tale?George D——[2]might as soon turn gay!George C——'s[3]flirting fail!

"George B——[1]has turn'd a saint, they say:

But who believes the tale?

George D——[2]might as soon turn gay!

George C——'s[3]flirting fail!

"George D——[4]set the Thames on fire!George R—— his reign renew!George R—— imitate his sire,And to his friends be true!"

"George D——[4]set the Thames on fire!

George R—— his reign renew!

George R—— imitate his sire,

And to his friends be true!"

Aitch.

Footnote 1:(return)"G. A. B.," Fellow of Trinity, a lively companion.Footnote 2:(return)Editor of the Bible.Footnote 3:(return)Lay Fellow and Tutor of Jes. Coll.; used to read TheocritusGræcèin the stage-coach.Footnote 4:(return)Author ofHistory of London, or some topographical quarto. The next may be guessed.

"G. A. B.," Fellow of Trinity, a lively companion.

Editor of the Bible.

Lay Fellow and Tutor of Jes. Coll.; used to read TheocritusGræcèin the stage-coach.

Author ofHistory of London, or some topographical quarto. The next may be guessed.

R. S. Townshend of Manchester.—I know that you have several intelligent correspondents in the neighbourhood of Manchester, and it is probable that they may be able to give me some information respecting a Mr. R. S. Townshend, a person of literary taste and pursuits, who resided in that town about the year 1730. His Common-place Book, or Diary, which has fallen into my hands, contains numerous allusions to the leading gentry and clergy of the neighbourhood; and more than once it mentions the well-known Dr. Byrom, under the title of "Il Gran Maestro de Tachigraphia." Dr. Deacon, a distinguished person among the Nonjurors, is also mentioned. The acting of Cato by the scholars of the grammar-school on Dec. 20, 1732, is also mentioned, with some critiques upon the performers. The elections at the collegiate church are constantly referred to as subjects of all-absorbing interest; there being a strong party,as well in the town as in the church, of Jacobites, and these elections being regarded as a trial of party strength.

O. G.

"Mala malæ malo."—Will any of your correspondents be good enough to complete the distich of which the following is the first line?—

"Mala malæ malo mala pertulit omnia in orbem,"

or something like it. And, as a further favour, finish the hexameter in this epigram?

"Roma amor è retro perlecto nomine....Tendit enim retro Roma in amore Dei."

"Roma amor è retro perlecto nomine....

Tendit enim retro Roma in amore Dei."

This is in the style of Audoenus. The former I have heard attributed to Porson.

Balliolensis.

"Dimidium Scientiæ."—I should be glad if some one of your Baconian annotators would direct me to that famous maxim which Coleridge ascribes to the great philosopher, "Dimidium scientiæ, prudens quæstio," in the original.

B. B. Woodward.

Portrait Painters.—I am in possession of some good paintings, portraits, &c., which were taken at the end of the last, and early in the present century. Some were painted at Bath, and others at Derby: and I should feel obliged if, in your Notes, I could obtain information as to what artists of celebrity were known in those places from fifty to seventy years ago. I have heard that White of Derby was an artist of high repute.

J. Knight.

Aylestone.

"An Impartial Inquiry," &c.—Who was author of—

"An Impartial Inquiry into the true Nature of the Faith which is required in the Gospel as necessary to Salvation. In which is briefly shown upon how righteous Terms Unbelievers may become true Christians: and the case of the Deists is reduced to a short Issue, by Philalethes Cestriensis. 8vo., Lond. 1746."

Y. B. N. J.

"As poor as Job's Turkey."—This proverbial expression is used in the United States, sometimes with an addition showing how poor he was, thus: "As poor as Job's turkey, that had but one feather in his tail;" "As poor as Job's turkey, that had to lean against a fence to gobble."

Uneda.

Fuss.—Perhaps some of your correspondents can favour the public with the etymology and date of the wordfuss.

W. W.

Suicide encouraged in Marseilles.—In theLancetof Nov. 30, 1839, it is stated by De Stone that anciently, in Marseilles, persons having satisfactory reasons for committing suicide were supplied with poison at the public expense. What authority is there for this? I should also like to be informed what was the occasion on which a suicidal propensity in the Milesian ladies was corrected by an appeal to their posthumous modesty?

Elsno.

Fabulous Bird.—Among the many quaint and beautiful conceits in Fuller, there is one preeminently fine: in which he likens the life-long remorse of a man who has slain another in a duel to the condition of "a bird I have read of, which hath a face like, and yet will prey upon, a man; who, coming to the water to drink, and finding there, by reflection, that he had killed one like himself, pineth away by degrees, and never afterwards enjoyeth itself."

Where did Fuller read this story? I do not recollect it in Pliny.

V. T. Sternberg.

Segantiorum Portus.—Has there been any locality yet found for this port, mentioned by Ptolemy in hisHistory of Britain?

Prestoniensis.

Stamping on Current Coinage.—Can any of your readers inform me whether the current English coinage may legally be used for stamping advertisements on?

Gregory.

Rhymes: Dryden.—

"Thou breakst through forms, with as much easeAs the French king through articles.""To Sir G. Etherege."

"Thou breakst through forms, with as much ease

As the French king through articles."

"To Sir G. Etherege."

"Some lazy ages, lost in sleep and ease,No action leave to busy chronicles."Astræa Redux, 105, 106.

"Some lazy ages, lost in sleep and ease,

No action leave to busy chronicles."

Astræa Redux, 105, 106.

And again, inThrenodia Augustalis, "these," ending line 410, and "miracles," ending line 414, are made to rhyme.

Was it ever the fashion to pronounce these different terminations alike; or does any other author of repute of that date use such rhymes?

Again, "hour" and "traveller" are made to rhyme inAstræa Redux, 147, 148; "stars" and "travellers," inReligio Laici, 1; "are" and "Lucifer," inThe Medal; "men" and "sin," inReligio Laici, 89, 90; "convince" and "sense," inIbid.148;cum multis aliis.

Harry Leroy Temple.

The Cadenham Oak.—Can any of the correspondents of "N. & Q." inform me if this famous old tree is still alive? It flourished for nearly three centuries in Hampshire Forest; and during this long period was visited by crowds of people, who, it must be confessed, entertained towards it a religious veneration—from its peculiarity of annually shooting forth its buds on old Christmas-day. If dead, as I suppose—for the account which I read some years ago stated that it was fast decaying—then I would like to know if the young tree, one of its progeny, is still flourishing in the forest, and enjoying, from its peculiarity, the same venerationwhich was paid to the parent stock. Those of your readers who wish to know more of this venerable oak, and of the trees which sprung from it, are referred to Mr. Gilpin's able and interesting work on forest scenery, published, as I believe, in London between sixty and seventy years ago.

W. W.

Malta.

St. Mary's Church, Beverley.—In the memorials of Ray (Ray Society), at p. 138., is a curious account of the church of St. Mary at Beverley. Would some kind antiquary resident at Beverley, or its vicinity, compare the present state of the church with what Ray describes it to have been in his day; and at the same time state whether "the inhabitants of Beverley" now "pay no toll or custom in any city, town, or port in England?"

Enivri.

Tredagh.

The Rev. Joshua Marsden.—I should be glad if any of the correspondents of "N. & Q." could furnish any particulars relative to the above gentleman. He was the author of a most exquisitemorceauof about forty lines, entitled "What is Time;" in reference to which, a literary periodical of some thirty years ago says:

"If our readers are half as much struck with the following solemn appeal, as we ourselves have been, they will not wonder at its insertion where poetry so rarely finds room."

Braemar.

Bentley's Examination.—I have found this anecdote of Bentley in Bishop Sandford'sMemoirs. Is it authentic?

"When the great Bentley, afterwards so distinguished, was examined for Deacon's Orders, he expected that the Bishop would himself examine him; and his displeasure at what he considered neglect, he vented in such answers as the following:Chaplain.Quid est Fides?Bentley.Quod non vides.Chaplain.Quid est Spes?Bentley.Quod non habes.Chaplain.Quid est Charitas?Bentley.Maxima raritas."

Chaplain.Quid est Fides?Bentley.Quod non vides.Chaplain.Quid est Spes?Bentley.Quod non habes.Chaplain.Quid est Charitas?Bentley.Maxima raritas."

Chaplain.Quid est Fides?

Bentley.Quod non vides.

Chaplain.Quid est Spes?

Bentley.Quod non habes.

Chaplain.Quid est Charitas?

Bentley.Maxima raritas."

Are not these rhymes older than Bentley?

W. Fraser.

Derivation of "Lowbell."—I seeMr. Sternberg, in his "Dialect and Folk-lore of Northamptonshire," gives a new explanation of the puzzling wordlowbell, in Beaumont and Fletcher'sWoman's Prize, Act I. Sc. 3. It appears that Northamptonshire peasants have a way of their own for punishing offenders against good morals:

"On the first appearance of the culprit in 'strit,' or on 'grin,' the villagers riseen masse, and greet him with a terrible din of tin pots and kettles, &c.; and, amidst the hooting and vociferation of the multitude, he is generally compelled to seek shelter by flight. This is called 'lowbelling,' and the actors are termed 'lowbells,' or 'lowbellers,' forming a tolerable explanation of thelowbellin Beaumont and Fletcher'sWoman's Prize, Act I. Sc. 3., which has so long mystified the commentators:'Petru.If you can carry't so, 'tis very well.Bian.No, you shall carry it, Sir.Petru.Peace, gentleLowbell.'"

'Petru.If you can carry't so, 'tis very well.Bian.No, you shall carry it, Sir.Petru.Peace, gentleLowbell.'"

'Petru.If you can carry't so, 'tis very well.

Bian.No, you shall carry it, Sir.

Petru.Peace, gentleLowbell.'"

Mr. Sternbergderives it from the Anglo-Saxonlowian, past participle of the Anglo-Saxonlowian, and the verbbellan. This would seem satisfactory; but I should like to know whether the word is current anywhere else besides Northamptonshire.

H. T. W.

Meaning of Assassin.—Can any reader of the "N. & Q." inform me of the correct meaning of the word "assassin?" The old story of the nation of the assassins, under their prince the "Old Man of the Mountain," I reject as absurd, although Gibbon adopts it. I have my own idea, which agrees with Mr. Lane in his account of the modern Egyptians, who derives it from the Arabic word "Hushhusheen, one drunk with hemp." M. Volney says it comes from the Arabic "Hass, to kill, or lie in ambush to kill." Which of all these derivations is correct?

Muhammed.

A. and N. Club, St. James's Square.

Punishment for exercising the Roman Catholic Religion.—In Burton'sNarratives from Criminal Trials in Scotland, vol. ii. p. 168., I find the following statement:

"The latest case of punishment under the act is supposed to have occurred in 1759, when Neil M‘Fie was banished by the circuit court of Inverness, for being 'held and reputed a Popish priest.' Later instances might be adduced of punishment for exercising the Roman Catholic religion in England."

Can any of your readers inform me of the date of the last instance in England, and where it is stated?

S. Y.

Hogarth's Pictures.—I have a catalogue of the pictures and prints, the property of the late Mrs. Hogarth deceased, which were sold by Mr. Greenwood on April 24th, 1790. Under the head "Pictures by Mr. Hogarth," I see in Lot 44.: "The heads of six servants of Mr. Hogarth's family." Can any of your numerous readers inform me where this picture is placed, or say in what manner the heads are grouped?

W. D. Haggard.

Lines in a Snuff-box.—The following lines were recently found in a metal (probably silver) snuff-box, which had lain for many years undiscovered in a plate chest. They are engravedinside, on the bottom of the box, and are supposed to be a saying of Cardinal Mazarin. Can any of your correspondents give any account of them, and where they are to be found? They are as follow,verbatim et literatim, punctuation included:

"Time and I, to any TwoChance & I to time and you1750"

"Time and I, to any Two

Chance & I to time and you

1750"

R. Blakiston.

Ashington Rectory, Sussex.

Rosa Mystica.—Where is information to be found on the subject of theRosa Mystica; and what is the date of its institution?

D. S. A.

Old-Shoe throwing at Weddings.—Can any of your readers inform me what is the origin of the custom of throwing an old shoe over the bride and bridegroom upon their leaving the church, or the "maison paternelle" after their wedding?

This ceremony, though peculiar as I believe to Scotland and our northern counties, has lately been adopted at our aristocratic marriages in London, and more should be known of its history.

Braybrooke.

Herbé's "Costumes Français."—The valuable work by M. Herbé,Costumes Français; Civiles, Militaires et Religieux, 4to. Paris, is doubtless well known to your readers.

I have heard that after its publication sundry persons, judging perhaps from the eccentricity of many of the costumes, doubted their accuracy, and even considered them the result of M. Herbé's fancy; and that that gentleman, annoyed at the imputation, subsequently published another work citing his authorities.

Query, Can any one verify this statement? and if true, inform me of the title of this latter work; and whether it is to be found in any library in this country, and where?

Pictor.

Humphry Smith(Vol. vii., p. 80.).—Having heard of a work of his, giving an account of the persecution in his time, will you or one of your contributors be so good as furnish a list of the titles of his works; with a note naming where they may be met with for inspection?

Glywysig.

[The first two in the following list of the works of Humphry Smith, the Quaker, are in the British Museum; the remainder are in the Bodleian: 1. A Sad and Mournful Lamentation for the People of these Nations, but especially for the Priests and Leaders of them, 4to. 1660. 2. Meditations of an Humble Heart, 4to. 3. Something further laid open of the Cruel Persecution of the People called Quakers, by the Magistrates and People of Evesham, 4to. 1656. 4. For the Honour of the King, and the great advancing thereof (amongst men) over all nations in the world, in some proposals tending thereunto; stated in six particulars, 4to. 1661. 5. Sound Things Asserted in the King's own words, from late experience, from Scripture truth, and according to reason and equity, offered in meekness and goodwill unto the consideration of all Kings, Lords, Counsellors, &c., 4to. 1662. 6. Something in Reply to Edmund Skipp's book, which he calles "The World's Wonder, or the Quaker's Blazing Starre," at the end of an Answer to Edmund Skipp's book by R. F. Watt, in hisBibliotheca, has confounded Smith the Quaker with Humphry Smith, Vicar of Tounstal and St. Saviour's, Dartmouth.]

Meaning and Etymology of "Conyngers" or "Connigries."—In the preamble to the statute 13 Rich. II. c. 13., entitled "None shall hunt but they which have a sufficient living," this word occurs; and I am totally at a loss as to its meaning. The passage is—

"Vont chaceants es parkes, garennes et conyngers des seignurs et autres;"

which, in Pickering's edition of theStatutes at Large, is translated:

"They go hunting in parks, warrens, and connigries of lords and others."

Would any reader of "N. & Q." kindly enlighten me on the subject?

A. W.

Kilburn.

[Blount explainsConingeriaas a coney-borough, or warren of conies. "Item dicunt, quod idem Dominus potest capere in duabusconingeriis, quas habet infra Insulam de Vecta, 100 cuniculos per annum, et valet quilibet cuniculos 2d." Inq. de anno 47 Hen. III., n. 32.]

Letters U, V, W, and St. Ives(Vol. vii., p. 39.).—Is St. Ives by any possibility connected with St. Jue's, St. Jew's, or St. Jude's? Jve's and Iue's must have been undistinguishable in the ancient confusion of J and I, V and U. If I am here displaying ignorance, I ask, What is the legend of St. Ives?

W. Fraser.

Tor-Mohun.

[St. Ives is named from Iä, who was one of the missionary band that accompanied St. Kiaran, alias Piran, from Ireland in the fifth century. The Cornish have consecrated almost all their towns to the memory of these Irish saints: "witness," says Camden, "St. Burian, St. Ives, St. Columb, St. Mewan, St. Erben, St. Eval, St. Wenn, and St. Enedor." It appears that these missionaries landed in Cornwall at Pendinas, hill-head, now called St. Ives; for in the Legend of St. Ives, contained inNova Legenda Angliæ, we read that "Tewdor was king at that time, and had a palace at Pendinas; and that Dinan, a greate lord of Cornwall, at the request of St. Iä, built a church at the same place." See Butler'sLives, March 5th; and Haslam'sPerranzabuloe, p. 55.]

(Vol. vii., p. 105.)

It gives me much pleasure to be enabled to inform your correspondentkirkwallensisthat there is no fear of our losing these islands in the manner suggested by him, they having been renounced by Denmark nearly four hundred years ago, as will be seen from the following sketch.

The Orkneys were taken from the Picts aboutA.D.838, by Kenneth II., king of Scotland, to which kingdom they were attached until 1099, when Donald VIII., surnamed Bane, brother to Malcolm Canmore, usurped the crown, to the prejudice of his nephews Edgar, Alexander, and David; and requiring assistance to maintain his position, he applied to Magnus, king of Norway, to whom, says Skene, "for help and supply he gave all the isles of Scotland (Camden says the Orkneys only), where, through and for other causes, many bloody battles were fought, until the battle of Larges, 3rd August, 1260, in the time of Alexander III. of Scotland, and Acho, king of Norway." The Scots proving victorious, Magnus of Norway, son and successor of Acho, made peace with Alexander, and renounced and discharged all right and title which he or his successors had, or might have or pretend, to the isles of Scotland, the king of Scotland paying therefor yearly to the said Magnus and his successors one hundred marks of sterling money. This contract was confirmed in 1312 by Haquin V. of Norway and Robert I. of Scotland. In 1426 Eric X. of Denmark renewed with James I. of Scotland these ancient treaties, particularly with regard to the Western Isles; the pension or annuity having been long omitted to be paid, Eric now freely gave it up to James; and thus, in appearance, the Orkneys were finally confirmed to Scotland; but virtually it was not so until 1468, when, says Skene, "at last the said annual, with all the arrearages and by-runs thereof, was discharged and renouncedsimpliciter, in the contract of marriage between King James III. and Margaret, daughter of Christian I., king of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, on the 8th of September, 1468; which discharge is not only ratified, but renewed thereafter by the said king, on the 12th May, 1469. It appears that James III., on the 24th February, 1483, commanded his ambassador sent to the Pope to desire a confirmation of the said perpetual renunciation and discharge of the contribution of the Isles."

According to Dr. Wallace's account (1700), King Christian agreed that the isles of Orkney and Zetland should remain in the possession of King James and his successors, as the Princess Margaret's dower, until either King Christian or his successors should pay to King James or his successors the sum of fifty thousand florins of the Rhine; but in the year following, hearing of his daughter's delivery of a prince at Edinburgh, he "for joy thereof renounced for ever to the crown of Scotland all right or claim to the said isles."

Broctuna.

Bury, Lancashire.

Kirkwallensisseems to have been led into an error respecting the Orkneys. It is true that Orkney and Shetland belonged to the crown of Norway, to which the Scottish family of St. Clair, or Sinclair, rendered military service for the earldom. It was not, however, to an English king, but to James III. of Scotland that Christian gave the hand of "the Maid of Norway." In the marriage preliminaries the latter thus stipulates respecting the dower:—"Rex cedit sexaginta aureorum Rhenensium [florenorum] millia, ejus summæ priusquam è Danæ regno sponsa digrediatur numeraturus aureorum decem millia, quod verò reliquum esset supplerent insulæ regni Norvegici, jam memoratæ,Orcades, una cum jurisdictione ac cæteris eodem pertinentibus, hac tamen lege, ut insulas eas, eousque teneat Scotiæ Rex sub firmahypothecadonec vel ipse, vel ejus heredes, Daniæ ac Norvegiæ Reges, æqua vicissim portione easdem redimant." This article was afterwards embodied in the marriage contract:—"Et terræ insularum Orchaden Regi nostro Jacoboimpignoratæ, ad Norvegiæ reges revertentur," &c. Both documents are preserved in Torfæus (Orcades, pp. 188—191.). Mr. Auker's discovery of the original is, however, an interesting circumstance, as it would seem that the marriage in question was but the result of an attempt to settle amicably an ancient dispute respecting the sovereignty of the Hebrides—"vetus controversia de Hæbudis et Mannia magnis utriusque populi cladibus agitata"—which the king of France, as umpire, had been unable to pronounce upon, in consequence of the loss or concealment of the original instruments.

W. G. A.

(Vol. vii., pp. 5. 111.)

Having no desire to enter into unnecessary controversy, I do not often reply to objections made to my conjectural emendations of passages in Shakspeare; but on the present occasion I think it incumbent on me to appeal to the common sense of those who take interest in such matters, by merely placing in juxta-position the reading I have proposed, and that of your Leeds correspondent, and thus leave it to their impartial decision without fear of the result. It may be necessary, as your correspondent has adverted towhat precedes, to give the passage as it stands in the folio at some length. Wolsey having said—

"For your great GracesHeap'd upon me (poore Undeserver) ICan nothing offer but my Allegiant thankes,My Prayres to heaven for you; my LoyaltieWhich ever ha's, and ever shall be growingTill death (that Winter) kill it."

"For your great Graces

Heap'd upon me (poore Undeserver) I

Can nothing offer but my Allegiant thankes,

My Prayres to heaven for you; my Loyaltie

Which ever ha's, and ever shall be growing

Till death (that Winter) kill it."

The King replies:

"Fairely answer'd:A Loyal, and obedient Subject isTherein illustrated, the Honor of itDoes pay the Act of it, as i'th' contraryThe fowlenesse is the punishment. I presumeThat as my hand ha's open'd Bounty to you,My heart dropt Love, my powre rain'd Honor, moreOn you, then any: So your Hand, and Heart,Your Braine, and every Function of your power,Should, notwithstanding that your bond of duty,As 'twer in Love's particular, be moreTo me your Friend, then any."

"Fairely answer'd:

A Loyal, and obedient Subject is

Therein illustrated, the Honor of it

Does pay the Act of it, as i'th' contrary

The fowlenesse is the punishment. I presume

That as my hand ha's open'd Bounty to you,

My heart dropt Love, my powre rain'd Honor, more

On you, then any: So your Hand, and Heart,

Your Braine, and every Function of your power,

Should, notwithstanding that your bond of duty,

As 'twer in Love's particular, be more

To me your Friend, then any."

Wolsey rejoins:

"I do professeThat for your Highnesse good, I ever labour'dMore then mine owne: that am, haue, and will be(Though all the world should crack their duty to you,And throw it from their Soule, though perils didAbound, as thicke as thought could make 'em, andAppeare in formes more horrid) yet my Duty,As doth a Rocke against the chiding Flood,Should the approach of this wilde River breake,And stand unshaken yours."

"I do professe

That for your Highnesse good, I ever labour'd

More then mine owne: that am, haue, and will be

(Though all the world should crack their duty to you,

And throw it from their Soule, though perils did

Abound, as thicke as thought could make 'em, and

Appeare in formes more horrid) yet my Duty,

As doth a Rocke against the chiding Flood,

Should the approach of this wilde River breake,

And stand unshaken yours."

I read:

"I do professThat for your highness' good I ever labour'dMore than mine own: thatI'm true, and will be,Though all the world should lack their duty to you,And throw it from their soul: though perils didAbound, as thick as thought could make them, andAppear in forms more horrid; yet my duty(As doth a rock against the chiding flood)Should the approach of this wild river break,And stand unshaken yours."

"I do profess

That for your highness' good I ever labour'd

More than mine own: thatI'm true, and will be,

Though all the world should lack their duty to you,

And throw it from their soul: though perils did

Abound, as thick as thought could make them, and

Appear in forms more horrid; yet my duty

(As doth a rock against the chiding flood)

Should the approach of this wild river break,

And stand unshaken yours."

Your Leeds correspondent would read:

"I do professThat for your highness' good I ever labour'dMore than mine own.—That, amI, have, and will be,Though all the world should crack their duty to youAnd throw it from their soul," &c.

"I do profess

That for your highness' good I ever labour'd

More than mine own.—That, amI, have, and will be,

Though all the world should crack their duty to you

And throw it from their soul," &c.

For his arguments I must refer to his note (p. 111.antè), merely observing that I cannot conceive how any alteration in the punctuation of the King's speech could connect it with this! MakingThatemphatic helps nothing, as there is no antecedent to which it can refer; and if "we can by no means part withhave," we must interpolatebeenafter it to make it any way intelligible, to the marring of the verse.

With regard to the substitution oflackforcrackin my former note, it should be recollected that I then said "I do not insist upon this." We might, however, substituteslack, if change should be deemed necessary, and it would be still nearer in form to the suspected word.

I may safely leave thepalpableerror inAs You Like Itto the decision of common sense.

As I am dealing with corrections in the play ofKing Henry VIII., I may take occasion to observe thatMr. Collier, in his recent supplemental volume ofNotes and Emendations, has, I have no doubt unwittingly, stated that a passage, Act IV. Sc. 2., has been absurdly pointed, "over and over again, from the year 1623 to our own day." Whereas it will be found corrected, exactly as it stands in his second folio, in the edition I gave of Shakspeare in 1826, with a note adverting to the absurdity of the old pointing. I may further add, that the first instanceMr. Colliergives in his preface of the corrections in his folio, is in the same predicament. He has stated that the reading of "Aristotle'scheeks" for "Aristotle'sethics," in the first scene of theTaming of the Shrew, "has been the invariable text from the first publication in 1623 until our own day;" when the fact is, that it stands properly corrected in my edition in 1826, with the following note:

"Blackstone suggests that we should readethics, and the sense seems to require it; I have therefore admitted it into the text."

It is possible thatMr. Colliermay have never looked into my edition of the poet, and I may honestly say that I regret it, not on my own account but on his, for I think, had he consulted it, his own would not have been the worse for it.

S. W. Singer.

Manor Place, South Lambeth.

(Vol. vi., p. 578.)

By the courtesy of W. K. Rogers, Esq. (in whose possession it is), I am enabled to account for another of these interesting and invaluable relics; one of the four said to have been presented by the Martyr prior to his execution.

"Rogers of Lota.This family was early remarkable for its loyalty and attachment to the Crown; a ring is still preserved as an heir-loom, which was presented to its ancestor by King Charles I. during his misfortunes."—Burke'sCommoners of Great Britain and Ireland.

"Rogers of Lota.

This family was early remarkable for its loyalty and attachment to the Crown; a ring is still preserved as an heir-loom, which was presented to its ancestor by King Charles I. during his misfortunes."—Burke'sCommoners of Great Britain and Ireland.

Robert Rogers of Lota received extensive grants of land from Charles II., which upon the accession of James II. were confirmed to him by letters patent. He was Mayor of Cork, 1680, M. P. for that city 1692, and again 1695. In the body of his will, bearing date 1690, and registered in the Record Court, Dublin, occurs the followingparagraph, embraced by brackets, as if he wished to convey forcibly his appreciation of the value of the relic:

["And I also bequeath to Noblett Rogers the miniature portrait-ring of the martyr Charles I., given by that monarch to my ancestor previous to his execution; and I particularly desire that it may be preserved in the name and family."]

The miniature, which is beautifully painted in enamel, and said to be by Vandyke, has been reset in a tasteful and appropriate style; and it is in this state that I have seen it. But Mr. Rogers informs me that its original setting and inscriptions exactly corresponded with those of the ring in the possession of the Misses Pigott, described in Hulbert'sHistory of Salop; and the same tradition exists in the family as to its having beenone of fourpresented by Charles to certain of his friends or followers. There can be little question, therefore, as to the genuineness of both these rings. With regard to the portrait being the work of Vandyke, Mr. R. writes to me—

"I know not on what authority it is stated, but I believe there is not a family of old standing in the county Cork in which tradition has not assigned its execution to that master; and certainly in Rome, where it was much admired, the artists, when questioned 'Whose style?' frequently answered, 'Vandyke.'"

Portraits by Vandyke in enamel, it is said, are known to be in existence. Whether so renowned a master would have submitted to the wearisome and laborious operation of repeating a number of works so minute, even for a crowned head, seems to admit of a doubt; yet there is no difficulty in imagining him to have superintended the progress of the artist employed to copy his own portrait of Charles, and even to have bestowed some finishing touches upon it.

I have lately seen a ring with a portrait of Charles on ivory, in coarse and very inferior style, and in a plain gold setting. It is in the possession of a gentleman in whose family it has continued for several generations. Doubtless many such memorials of their murdered king were worn at the time by his devoted partizans, and may yet be in existence.

C. Ley.

Bere Regis.

(Vol. vi., p. 223.)

At the Derby Congress of the British Archæological Association, the Duke of Rutland exhibited a document of which the following notice by Mr. H. N. Black is made in the Journal of theirTransactions(vol. for 1851, p. 297.):

"A bull of Pope Alexander IV., dated at Viterbo, 2 id. Mar., anno 4, viz., 14 March, 1258. It is addressed to the Bishop of Coventry, setting forth that Richard de Herthull lived in a place remote from the mother church, which at some seasons was inaccessible; that he already had a chapel on his own land, and desired to have a chaplain to serve therein, for whom he was prepared to provide fit support. The matter was therefore referred to his diocesan, to grant license accordingly if he should deem it expedient. The leaden seal is yet attached to this beautiful little document."

Then follow the words of the document in Latin.

Herthull has been corrupted intoHartle: and on the moor of this name a chapel still remains, although of much later date than that mentioned in the above-named document; traces of an earlier erection are however still visible in a portion of the present foundations. It is now used as a barn. Distant from this about two miles, at Meadow Place, near Yolgrave, is another chapel, now used for a similar purpose as the foregoing. In this, the jambs of all the windows still remain; the east window is a very large one.

The above is not intended to answer W. H. K.'s Query, but rather as a note in connexion with it.

T. N. B.

Chester.

In the North Riding of Yorkshire, celebrated for its monasteries, &c., were many chantry chapels, both in the hamlets, and in the rural situations apart from them. Gill'sVallis Eboracensiscontains an account of several; among the rest may be noticed one at Newton Grange. This chapel, which is now used for agricultural purposes, is preserved, by request of its noble owner Lord Feversham, in its primitive form. It stands in a meadow field, at some distance from the ruins of the ancient seat of the Cholmeleys, and was used as a burial chantry, but not exclusively so. In 1820 a vault was discovered beneath the floor; and five coffins were removed to Oswald Kirk churchyard, and re-interred there. In order to preserve the chapel from ruin, Lady Cholmeley bequeathed one pound per annum to the Rector of Ampleforth for preaching a sermon annually therein; but the ruinous state of the building at that time caused the removal of the pulpit, and the sermon is preached in the church at Oswald Kirk.

TheValor Ecclesiasticuscontains the records of dissolved chantries.

J. E. G.

The Collodion Process.—I have been much pleased with the directions given byDr. Diamondin your columns for the production of collodion positives; but they have been hitherto unaccompanied by any reference to the causes of those numerous failures that occur in this delicate process, and which are so disheartening tobeginners. I will just enumerate a few of the appearances with which I have been troubled, and trust that they may elicit from other operators an account of some of their instructive failures. I will premise, as an answer to a former Query respecting the cost and description of lenses, that I obtained mine of Mr. Goddard, now of Jesse Cottage, Witton, Middlesex. They are combination-lenses, two inches and a quarter in diameter (achromatic); the front lens can be used singly for views, producing a picture nearly seven inches square, but when combined covering four inches. For these, with brass mounting, I paid less than 3l.: a single lens, the same diameter, would be about 1l.They work to focus, cover flat, and define well, producing pictures equal to the most expensive.

I have usually preferred Mr. Archer's collodion, as the most certain and cleanest. The silver bath is composed of thirty grains nitrate of silver and two drops of nitric acid to each ounce of distilled water. An even film may be obtained by the following means:—Represent the plate of glass by the following figure:

Hold the plate with the left hand at 1, pour a body of collodion in the centre: tilt towards 1 (being careful not to let it touch the thumb), incline towards 2, run into 3, and pour off at 4: then hold the plate vertically (resting the corner 4 on the neck of the collodion bottle) to drain: incline it first to the right and then to the left, repeating this several times until the ridges are removed. By these means an even film may be produced, without a thick ridge, from 2 to 4. The time it may be left before plunging into the silver bath will depend on the temperature (about half a minute). Dip evenly into the bath, lifting up and down to allow of the evaporation of the ether: the film will also saturate more rapidly. When the greasy appearance is gone, it is ready for the camera. Sometimes the film is nearly transparent and bluish, not having sufficient iodide of silver; or it may contain too much iodide, the greater part flaking off in the bath, leaving the collodion with very little, and that patchy; or from being placed in the bath too quick, the lower corner still present a reticulated appearance, which of course renders it useless.

Having exposed the plate the necessary time, the next step is the development. The solution I usually employ is prepared with protosulphate of iron. I do not find distilled water absolutely necessary (during the summer months I fancied the tones were improved by using ordinary water, perhaps from containing a little lime), and the acetate acid is not glacial, but a description termed Beaufoy's, much less expensive. The proportions are—

Mix the water and acetic acid first; then dissolve the iron; and, lastly, add the nitric acid, which, by varying the quantity, produces different effects. On pouring the solution over the plate, there is sometimes a difficulty experienced in causing it to flow evenly. Sometimes a little more acetic acid in the developing solution, or, if the plate has been out of the bath some time, redipping it, will prevent this; but if this does not remove it, and the resulting picture is hard and unpleasant in tone, a new bath is necessary. For positives, the resulting picture is more pleasing and delicate by using the developing agent rather weak. After it has remained on sufficiently long to bring out the image, the undecomposed iodide is to be removed by hyposulphite of soda. I always use the same solution, pouring it on and off until exhausted. Having sufficiently washed, the picture may perhaps appear with many black spots, this may in future be obviated by adding a little alcohol to the collodion:—or it may be covered with white spots; in that case the collodion requires settling, or rapidly filtrating through an old piece of loose silk. Sometimes it will look all black and white (a common fault with collodion positives), without middle tints: by adding a little more acetic acid, or an extra drop of nitric acid, to the developing solution, or the addition of a few drops of ordinary pyrogallic solution, this disagreeable effect may be overcome. In taking portraits, it is often caused by having the sitter placed with too much front light. Then, again, the should-be whites of the picture may be dull and greenish by reflected, and red by transmitted, light. This effect I generally find remedied by putting less nitric acid in the developing solution. During the development, by watching the colour (by holding a piece of white paper underneath), this red tendency may be observed; in that case the drawing may be preserved by leaving the plate for about a minute after pouring the developing agent off, and before removing the iodide. Some change appears to take place by its contact with the air; it gradually gets more opaque, and when finished, though not so white as many, yet presenting an extremely rich brownish-yellow tone.

During the late dull weather, many of my plates have shown a tendency to an uniform leaden-looking deposit, destroying the blacks of the picture. A little more nitric acid in the bath will sometimes overcome this, but I have not yet found a sufficient remedy. During the summer months I was in the habit of using double the quantity ofiron I have stated, diluting the solution more; then was compelled to diminish the quantity to twelve grains, and now I use eight. I have tried the proportions recommended by French photographers, but they seem to contain too large a proportion of iron. I prefer the use of the protosulphate to the protonitrate of iron from its cheapness, and the ease with which it is made up. It will also keep for any length of time, rather improving than otherwise.

I back with liquid jet from Suggitt, opposite the House of Correction, Mount Pleasant, Clerkenwell. It dries rapidly, and brightens the appearance.

G. H. P.

Mr. Weld Taylor's Iodizing Process.—The process I sent to your columns last month, for iodizing paper, is applicableonlyto the paper of Canson Frères; and I may further explain, that if the solution does not answer well, it may be washed over again with a solution of iodide of potassa only of the usual strength, and then set on a dish of slightly-acidulated water, to assist the separation and set free the potash. To make the matter clear toMr. Shadbolt, I may observe, to one who is in the habit of iodizing paper, a considerable amount of the passage relating to cyanide of potassa could not be misunderstood; the nitrate of silver being added to the iodide of potassa, forms at once a precipitate which it is required to take up. The old double iodide says, add iodide of potassa till it does so, and it will do so; but the cyanide of potassa does it much better, and the cyanogen is lost as the paper dries, otherwise it would take no image at all. In the process I gave it merely requires an equivalent, "and cyanide of potassa is always of use in many of these processes." That equivalent is of course best arrived at by a solution, as, if the cyanide of potassa were added in the lump, it would be lost or be in excess.

Further, I may enlightenMr. Shadboltby assuring him that the iodizing paper with the ammonio-nitrate of silver, which I never saw published yet, is the best way; and I may confidently assert that the better ways of iodizing papers are not published at all. It is a tedious process to do, but it is as certain as taking a positive from a negative. At present I have not space to give my way of doing it. I may also add, that it will not answer with all papers. In fact, all samples of paper require some modification of the process, as the chemicals are different in the various modes of bleaching paper by different manufacturers. The ammonio-nitrate is perfect with Whatman's paper; indeed it is a subject of much regret, that this maker has not turned out a paper as thin and hard as the Canson Frères. The latter gentlemen have added some chemical, probably iodine, to their paper, which renders it almost impossible to iodize it at all. I believe it to be iodine, because the paper becomes perfectly black overfreeiodine, which no English paper will do. At all events, this paper is very uncertain, although it has a quality in appearance that is unsurpassed by any other.

Weld Taylor.

7. Conduit Street West, Bayswater.

Sir William Newton's Process: Further Explanations.—In reply to your correspondentF. Maxwell Lyte, who is desirous of knowing my motive for washing the paper over with chloride of barium previous to iodizing—

In the first place, I find that it appears to give strength to the paper.

Secondly, that the action in the camera is better and more certain.

Thirdly, it keeps cleaner in the bringing-out process, thereby allowing a longer time for a more complete development.

Fourthly, I have never found anysolarizingtake place since I have used it (about three years); and, fifthly, I find that it keeps longer and better after it is excited for the camera.

From the observations which I have made since I have made use of chloride of barium, I conclude that it has the effect ofdestroyingany injurious properties which may be in the paper, and more especially with respect to theSIZE; and besides which, when combined with iodide of silver, greater intensity is obtained in the negative.

I have occasionally prepared paper without chloride of barium, but I have always found (except for positives) that I could not rely upon it with the same degree of certainty. I need scarcely add that throughout the whole of this process the greatest care and attention is required, and that the water should be constantly agitated while the paper is in it, and that the water should be once changed.

W. J. Newton.

6. Argyle Street.

Lady Nevell's Music-book(Vol. vii., p. 59.).—To transpose the six-line staves of old music into the five-line staves of modern notation, it is only necessary to treat the lowest line of the treble, and the highest line of the bass, as ledger lines. The five remaining will correspond with the five now in use.

I should feel greatly obliged to your correspondent L. B. L. for a sight of his Virginal Book, as it appears to be an exact transcript of the one inDr. Rimbault'spossession.

Wm. Chappell.

201. Regent Street.

Tuch(Vol. vii., p. 82.).—Alphagesuggests that the "touchstone" had its name because "a musical sound may be produced by touching itsharply with a stick." I think this is an error, and that it owes its name to its use in the assay of gold and silver. We find this application of it described in a work (now scarce) published in 1677, under the title ofA Touchstone for Gold and Silver Wares. The author, after describing the qualities of a good touchstone, observes (p. 36.):

"The way to make a true touch on the touch-stone is thus: When your touch-stone is very clean ... your silver being filed ... rub it steadily, and very hard, on the stone ... until the place of the stone whereon you rub be like the metal itself ... wet all the toucht places with your tongue, and it will show itself in its own countenance."

And that the touchstone was used in this connexion at a much earlier period is obvious from the language of the ancient statutes. The 28 Edward I., stat. 3. cap. 20., requires all gold and silver wares to be "of good and true allay, that is to say, gold of a certaintouch." And the word occurs in the same sense in other statutes.

A. R.

Birmingham.

The error of Coleridge, alluded to by your correspondentAlphage, is certainly not a little singular, especially as the word, in the sense of stone or marble, occurs in Ben Jonson, Drayton, and Sir John Harrington, and there is a good article on the word in Nares'sGlossary. I must, however, altogether dissent from your correspondent's statement that the reason for the name of Touchstone is, that a musical sound may be produced by touching it sharply with a stick, and agree with Nares that it obtained its name from being used as a test for gold. See a very interesting article on Assay Marks by Mr. Octavius Morgan (Archæological Journal, ix. 127.), from which it appears that, for the trial of gold, touch-needles were applied to the touchstone.

Thompson Cooper.

Cambridge.

Eva, Princess of Leinster(Vol. vi., p. 388.).—O'Haloran, in hisHistory of Ireland, says:

In 1168, Dermot Mac Murchad, King of Leinster, having carried away Dearbhorgie, wife of O'Ruark, prince of Breffin, was driven from his kingdom by the husband, assisted by the lady's father, the King of Meath."He arrived at Bristol, having obtained letters patent of Henry II. for any of the king's subjects to assist him against his enemies: but no one in Bristol was found able or willing to undertake such expedition, when Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, who resided at Chepstow Castle, offered his assistance (Seyer'sMemoirs of Bristol); and, in 1169, entered Ireland with two hundred knights and others, to the number of 1000. The object being effected, Strongbow was united to Eva, the daughter of Dermot; and, at that prince's death, became seised of Leinster."

"He arrived at Bristol, having obtained letters patent of Henry II. for any of the king's subjects to assist him against his enemies: but no one in Bristol was found able or willing to undertake such expedition, when Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, who resided at Chepstow Castle, offered his assistance (Seyer'sMemoirs of Bristol); and, in 1169, entered Ireland with two hundred knights and others, to the number of 1000. The object being effected, Strongbow was united to Eva, the daughter of Dermot; and, at that prince's death, became seised of Leinster."

By this it appears, that Dermot eloped with the lady in 1168; and, as Strongbow was united to Eva the following year, Eva consequently could not have been the offspring of that connexion. Who her mother was, I am unable to find out.

C. H.

Whipping Post(Vol. vi., p. 388.).—These mementos of the salutary mode of punishment practised by our forefathers, are of frequent occurrence. I have met with them in country villages in all parts of England with which I am acquainted. They generally accompany that place of "durance vile," the stocks; and occasionally have accommodation for two persons, I suppose to suit the various sizes of offenders.

T. H. Kersley, B.A.

Audlem, Cheshire.

The Dodo(Vol. vii., p. 32.).—The progress of the interesting inquiry in "N. & Q." regarding the Dodo, induces me to communicate the fact, that amongst the architectural decorations of the palace of the ancient Kings of Kandy, in Ceylon (now inhabited by the governor, Reginald C. Buller, Esq.), there occur frequent and numerous representations of a bird, which in every particular of shape is identical with the extinct fowl of Mauritius. What is more curious is, that the natives were familiar with the figure as that of "the sacred bird," which is common on the Buddhist monuments throughout the island; but Ceylon possesses no existing species at all resembling the Dodo. I have a drawing copied from the figures in the Kandy palace; but as your publication does not admit of engraved illustration, I do not send it.

J. Emerson Tennent.

Some weeks ago, on looking over a box of old Kentish deeds and papers, P. C. S. S. found a lease, signed by his ancestor Sir John Fineux, on the 6th of October, 1522, to which is affixed a seal in perfect preservation, bearing what P. C. S. S. has hitherto erroneously supposed to be the crest of the Fineux family, viz. an eagle displayed. He is now, however, indebted to your correspondent (Vol. vi., p. 83.) for the conviction that it must be a Dodo, and that it can represent nothing else. For it is of "unwieldy form," has "disproportionate wings," and is altogether of a "clumsy figure." P. C. S. S. has till now believed that the uncouth appearance of the bird was owing to the want of skill in the artist. But it is now clear that it must undoubtedly be a Dodo; and P. C. S. S. will henceforward live,sibi carior, in the certainty that the chief justice of England temp. Henry VIII., from whom he has the honour to descend, bore a "veritable Dodo" as his crest.

P. C. S. S. takes this occasion of adverting to some Queries which appeared a few months ago, respecting serjeants' rings. He has in hispossession one of those given by Sir John Fineux on his assumption of the coif. The motto is, "Suæ quisque fortunæ faber."

P. C. S. S.

"Then comes the reckoning," &c.(Vol. v., p. 585.).—These two lines are to be found in Act II. Sc. 9. of the tragi-comi-pastoral,The What D'ye Call It, by John Gay, author of theBeggar's Opera,Fables, &c. The correct quotation is:

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