Minor Queries with Answers.

"I hear a lion in the lobby roar!Say, Mr. Speaker, shall we shut the doorAnd keep himout?Or shall we let himin,And see if we can get himoutagain?"

"I hear a lion in the lobby roar!

Say, Mr. Speaker, shall we shut the door

And keep himout?

Or shall we let himin,

And see if we can get himoutagain?"

To ascertain by whom, and upon what occasion, the above lines were uttered, would considerably gratify

Sagitta.

"The Exercist Day" at Leicester.—In the Chamberlain's accounts for this borough for the year 1604-5, I find the following entry:

There are also charges "for wyne drunk at theexercist dinners, on the viijthof Jany, the fyfthe of Marche, and the ixthof April," 1605. Were these meetings held for the purpose ofexorcisingthe evil spirits and witches, the belief in which had at that time greatly increased in England, through the recent accession of "the modern Solomon" to the throne? and, if so, was the practice a general one, or were they merely for religiousexercises?

A few years afterwards nine unfortunate women were tried at our assizes for witchcraft, and were convicted and executed!

Leicestriensis.

Ecclus.xlvi. 20.—Why does the Church order this verse to be omitted in the reading of the lessons? Is it because the passage assumes the fact that Samuel himself appeared to Saul—a statement open to discussion?

Bœoticus.

Edgmond, Salop.

Etymology of Burrow.—In the north of Gloucestershire I have met with the wordburrow(I do not answer for the orthography), meaning sheltered, secure from wind, &c. The side of a thick coppice was spoken of as "a veryburrowplace for cattle." Can any of your correspondents give the etymology of the word, or other instances of its use?

Balliolensis.

Alexander Adamson.—I should be glad to know who Alexander Adamson was (the tutor who accompanied Wm. and Patrick Ruthven, the son ofthe Earl of Gowrie, in their flight into England in August 1600), and what became of him? There was a Wm. Ruthven, of Scotland, married at Chitterton, Northumberland, to Esther, daughter of Robert Adamson, vicar of that parish in 1681. Was he any relation to the Gowrie family?

E. H. A.

Psalmanazar.—The great literary abilities of Psalmanazar, and indeed all the known circumstances of his life and history, excite some curiosity as to his real name. Can any of your readers inform me of this?

St. Johns.

Coleridge's Christabel.—In the original edition of this poem, the following lines are to be found at the beginning of Part II.:

"Let it rain, however fast,Rest from rain will come at last;And the blaze that strongest flashes,Links at last, and ends in ashes!But sorrow from the human heart,And mists of care, will they depart?"

"Let it rain, however fast,

Rest from rain will come at last;

And the blaze that strongest flashes,

Links at last, and ends in ashes!

But sorrow from the human heart,

And mists of care, will they depart?"

Now these lines, and a great many more which I cannot remember, as I have not the original edition, are to be found in an old volume ofBlackwood's Magazine, in a review upon the poem. The poem, as published in the edition of Coleridge'sPoemsedited by D. and S. Coleridge (Moxon, 1852), does not contain these lines, and no notice is taken of the fact by the editors. Either Coleridge did or did not cancel the lines mentioned; if he did, can any of your readers inform me in which of his works this fact is mentioned? If he did not, then one of the most beautiful poems in the English language has been edited in a manner that no one, I trust, will imitate.

S. Y.

Beaten to a Mummy.—Whence comes this expression? It is used to signify, beaten so that form and feature are no longer distinguishable; whereas the immediate object of a mummy seems to be the preservation of the form and features of the deceased. Is not the phrase a corruption of beaten to a mammock, to a piece, to a scrap, to a fragment? And yet, in Marryatt'sPottery(Murray, 1850, p. 250.) is the following passage:

"Diodorus Siculus (Book V. ch. i.), in speaking of the usages of the inhabitants of the Balearic Isles, states that these people were in the habit of beating with clubs the bodies of the dead, which, thus rendered flexible, were deposited in vessels of earthenware."

The Gloucestershire peasants frequently use the word mammock, which they pronounce "mommock."

Robert Snow.

6. Chesterfield Street, May Fair.

Hanover Rats.—It is said that the native rat was extirpated from this country by the invading colonists from Hanover. What are the facts of this case, and where may the best account of this extermination of the natives be found? It is worth inquiring also, whether the aboriginal rat is now to be met with in any part of Great Britain. I should think that rat-catchers and farming folks could throw light on this interesting point of the British fauna.

Shirley Hibberd.

Pallant.—In the town of Chichester there are four streets, north, south, east, and west, to which the name of "Pallant" is attached.

This particular spot, which is close to the High Street, is always called The Pallant.

Can any of your readers inform me of the origin and meaning of this word?

I have never met with any inhabitant of Chichester who could solve this difficulty.

A Cantab.

Curious Fact in Natural Philosophy.—TheExeter Alfredof 1828 has in one of its numbers the following:

"Cut a couple of cards each into a circle of about two inches in diameter; perforate one of these at the centre, and fix it on the top of a tube, say a common quill. Make the other card ever so little concave, and place it over the first, the orifice of the tube being that directly under, and almost in contact with the concave card. Try to blow off the upper card, you will find it impossible. We understand that the cause that counteracts the effect at first expected of this singular phenomenon, has lately puzzled all the members of the Royal Society. A medal and a hundred guineas are said to be the reward of the successful discoverer.

Could any of the correspondents of "N. & Q." give any additional information on this rather curious point?

Elginensis.

Drying up of the Red Sea.—Will some of your correspondents kindly assist me, by a reference to a passage in one of our modern historians, alluding to the extraordinary drying up of the Red Sea on one occasion? I thought I had read it in Rollin, as a quotation from Baronius, but cannot now find it in either one or the other.

W. Stillman.

Birmingham.

Joan d'Arc.—Did Joan d'Arc (the Maid of Orleans) bear any heraldic insignia; and if so, what?

Is the family from which she sprung now represented; and if they bear arms, what are they?

Is there any family of this name (D'Arc), and if so, where? And what are the arms belonging to it, if there are any?

Bend.

Diary of Thomas Earl.—Strype (Annals, vols. i. & ii.) sometimes refers to a MS. No. 206. in the collection of Moore, Bishop of Ely, which he describes as a Diary (vol. i. pp. 135. 180.) keptby Thomas Earl, who was made parson of St. Mildred's, Bread Street, at the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign, and "seems to have been a diligent noter of matters of remark concerning religion in his time" (vol. ii. p. 539.). In theCatal. Libr. MSS. Angl., part ii. p. 366., it is described—

"Short notes of matters relating to the church by way of annals, written by some that favoured Puritanism, from the year 1548 to 1599."

Bishop Moore left his library to the University of Cambridge. Is this MS. in their possession, and is it a piece of historic value?

Q. Q.

"Jenny's Bawbee."—I would be glad if any of the readers of "N. & Q." would inform me where the old Scottish song, "Jenny's Bawbee," is to be found? It begins,

"Your plack and my plack,And Jenny's bawbee,We'll put it i' the pint stoup,An' birl't a' three."

"Your plack and my plack,

And Jenny's bawbee,

We'll put it i' the pint stoup,

An' birl't a' three."

J. Mn.

Lord North.—In Forster'sLife of Goldsmith, the following remark occurs respecting Lord North, George III.'s premier:

"North was the son of the princess dowager's intimate friend Lord Guildford, and scandal had not hesitated to find a reason for the extraordinary resemblance he presented to the king in his clumsy figure, homely face, thick lips, light complexion and hair, bushy eyebrows, and protruding large grey eyes."

Will some one of your readers favour me with an explanation of the meaning of this insinuation? Is it really intended to say that "scandal" reported Lord North to be the son of an illustrious lady of the royal family? It is clear Lord North strikingly resembled George III.; did the latter "favour" his father or his mother in physiognomy? Did George III. represent the Guelphs or the Saxe-Gotha family?

Observer.

Ephippiarius.—What is the meaning of the word "Ephippiarius," occurring as the description of a person in a Latin diploma of the seventeenth century? Does it signify saddler, or, as has been suggested to me, esquire?

Nixon.—Can any of your readers inform me if there was a painter of this name living at Brighton in or about the year 1806, what pictures he painted, &c., and when he died?

John Garland.

Dorchester.

Tuebeuf.—Where is it? A royal charter to the town of Doncaster, given by the hand of Master Eustacius, Dean of Salisbury, Deputy-Chancellor, and witnessed by an Archbishop of Canterbury and others, is dated at Tuebeuf, 22nd May, 5 Richard I. (1194). In Miller'sHistory of Doncaster(Appendix, Deed No. 1.), the name is printed "Tuke or Toke," but on a reference to the original document it appears as above.

J. E. J.

Tooth of Sir I. Newton.—

"A tooth of Sir Isaac Newton was sold in 1815 for 730l.: a nobleman bought it, and had it set in a ring."

The above has gone the round of the papers without comment, contradiction, or illustration. Lest it should become matter of history, I wish to ask whether it is a new story or an old one; and whether it is a simple lie, or has any foundation in fact?

H. B. C.

U. U. C.

Thomas Ceeley.—Who was Thomas Ceeley, who defended Lyme Regis so gallantly with the famous Blake, the former being governor? His exploits have been recorded in theHistory of Lyme Regis, &c. Probably we must look to Plymouth for his residence.

Mr. Christopher Ceeley was with Sir Francis Drake in his third voyage into the West Indies in 1572-3. The "Elizabeth Drake," of sixty tons and thirty men, under Sir Francis Drake, when acting against the Armada, was commanded byThomas Sealye, another way of spelling Ceeley. There were Ceeleys, Sealeys, &c., in Devonshire and Somersetshire.

G. R. L.

Marigmerii—Melinglerii—Berefellarii.—In Pirri'sSicilia Sacra(Grævius,Antiqu. Sicil., ii. 425.) four officers of the inferior clergy, calledmarigmerii, are enumerated among the members of the cathedral of Montereale: and, in the same work (iii. 921.), two officers in the cathedral of Cifalu calledmelinglerii. Can either or both of these words be misprints, or corruptions of some word answering to the Frenchmarguillier, which in parish churches means a churchwarden, in collegiate churches a keeper of the relics? And what is the derivation ofmarguillier?

In Dugd.Monast., edit. 1830, vi. 1308., seven of the inferior clergy of the collegiate church of Beverley are called by what is said to be an ancient name,Berefellarii. What does this word mean? Can it be a blunder, in the original document, forbeneficiatii?

John Jebb.

Peterstow Rectory, Ross.

"Judæus odor."—

"Abluitur Judæus odor baptismate divo,Et nova progenies reddita surgit aquis."

"Abluitur Judæus odor baptismate divo,

Et nova progenies reddita surgit aquis."

I have seen the above lines attributed to Vigilantius, but have not been able to verify the quotation. Can any of your readers tell me where they are to be found? I suspect they are not of so great antiquity, as Sir Thomas Browne (Vulgar Errors, book iv. chap. 10.), though he investigatesand denies the "Judæus odor," does not notice the opinion that it is removed by baptism.

Lord Lyon King-at-Arms, Scotland.—Where is there an account of the origin of this office, and of the different possessors of it? Scotland does not, I believe, possess any corresponding work to Noble'sHistory of the College of Arms, and I know of no history which contains the above-desired information collectively. To trace the succession of the Lord Lyon Kings-at-Arms would be interesting, as many celebrated, and even illustrious, individuals held that high office in Scotland. Poets as well as warriors might be mentioned amongst the number.

A. S. A.

Wuzzeerabad.

Louisa Lady Gordon of Gordonstoun, N. B.—This lady, who was the only child of Dr. John Gordon, Dean of Salisbury in England, and Lord of Glenluce in Scotland, married, 1653, Sir Robert Gordon, son of the Earl of Sutherland (better known as the historian of that earldom), who was created a baronet in 1625, and died in 1656. Their lineal male descendants became extinct in 1795, in the person of their great-great-grandson, Sir William, the sixth baronet. What I desire to ascertain is, who was Lady Gordon's father, this dean of Salisbury; his marriage, death, &c., and more especially how he wasLord of Glenluce? Perhaps some of your antiquarian subscribers may be able to assist me in these inquiries.

A. S. A.

Wuzzeerabad.

Contested Elections.—What book gives an accurate account of all the contested elections since the Restoration, and prior to the Reform Bill? I have one or two wretched compilations; but it seems no Dod existed before theflood.

X. Y. Z.

Game of the Whetstone.—In Lambarde'sPerambulation of Kent(page 110., ed. 1596), the author, remarking on Ealred's assertion that King Edward the Confessor saw at mass the seven sleepers at Ephesus turn on one side after having slept seventy years together on the other, says:

"Which seeing it was within five years of so many as Epimenides slept, Ealred (in my phansie) is worthie to have the second game at the whetstone."

In the margin the note to this is—

"i Loue Lye or game for the whetstone."

Halliwell, in hisDictionary, says that in old authors frequent allusions occur to the custom of decorating notorious liars with whetstones; but I would thank any of your readers for a fuller account of "yegame for yewhetstone." What is known of Lambarde, or Lambert, as Gervase Markham calls him? Was hisTopographicall Dictionarie(mentioned, as prepared for the press, in thePerambulation) ever published, and what other works by him exist?

E. G. R.

[The extracts from our early writers given by Brand and Nares furnish some clue to the origin and character of the game of the whetstone; when the social and convivial combatants sharpened their wits to see who could gain the satirical prize of the silver whetstone by telling the greatest lie. In Lupton'sToo Good to be True, p. 80., is the following passage, somewhat illustrative of the game:"Siuqila.Merry and pleasant lyes we take rather for a sport than a sin. Lying with us is so loved and allowed, that there are many tymesgamingsandprisestherefore purposely, to encourage one to outlye another."Omen.And what shall he gaine that gets the victorie in lying?"Siuqila.He shall havea silver whetstonefor his labour."William Lambardewas born October 18, 1536. He was the eldest son of John Lambarde, alderman of London. In 1570 he resided at West Combe, near Blackheath, a manor he then possessed. He purposed publishing a general account of Great Britain, of which hisPerambulation of Kentwas but the specimen; and he was only deterred by learning that Camden was engaged on a similar task. His materials were published from the original manuscript in 1730, under the title ofDictionarium Angliæ Topographicum et Historicum, to which is prefixed a portrait of the author, engraved by Vertue. His first work wasArchaionomia, sive de priscis Anglorum legibus libri, 1568, 4to. He also wroteEirenarcha; or, the Office of the Justices of the Peace, and Duties of Constables:Archeion, a Discourse upon the High Courts of Justice. In 1600 he was appointed by Queen Elizabeth Keeper of the Records in the Tower; and in the following year he presented her Majesty with an account of them, under the titlePandecta Rotulorum. He died at his residence at West Combe, August 19, 1601, and was buried in the Church of St. Alphege, Greenwich, where a monument was erected to his memory. In after days this mortuary memorial was removed to the Church of Sevenoaks, in which parish the family now possesses a seat. Lambarde was the first Churchman after the Reformation who founded a hospital. It was called "The College of the Poor of Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich, Kent," and was opened in 1576.]

"Siuqila.Merry and pleasant lyes we take rather for a sport than a sin. Lying with us is so loved and allowed, that there are many tymesgamingsandprisestherefore purposely, to encourage one to outlye another.

"Omen.And what shall he gaine that gets the victorie in lying?

"Siuqila.He shall havea silver whetstonefor his labour."

William Lambardewas born October 18, 1536. He was the eldest son of John Lambarde, alderman of London. In 1570 he resided at West Combe, near Blackheath, a manor he then possessed. He purposed publishing a general account of Great Britain, of which hisPerambulation of Kentwas but the specimen; and he was only deterred by learning that Camden was engaged on a similar task. His materials were published from the original manuscript in 1730, under the title ofDictionarium Angliæ Topographicum et Historicum, to which is prefixed a portrait of the author, engraved by Vertue. His first work wasArchaionomia, sive de priscis Anglorum legibus libri, 1568, 4to. He also wroteEirenarcha; or, the Office of the Justices of the Peace, and Duties of Constables:Archeion, a Discourse upon the High Courts of Justice. In 1600 he was appointed by Queen Elizabeth Keeper of the Records in the Tower; and in the following year he presented her Majesty with an account of them, under the titlePandecta Rotulorum. He died at his residence at West Combe, August 19, 1601, and was buried in the Church of St. Alphege, Greenwich, where a monument was erected to his memory. In after days this mortuary memorial was removed to the Church of Sevenoaks, in which parish the family now possesses a seat. Lambarde was the first Churchman after the Reformation who founded a hospital. It was called "The College of the Poor of Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich, Kent," and was opened in 1576.]

Meals.—On the N.W. coast of Norfolk are certain sandbanks so called. Brancaster Meals, Blakeney Meals, and Wells Meals are among those most dreaded by the mariner.

In Bailey'sDictionaryoccurs,

"Meales, Malls.The shelves or banks of sand on the sea-coasts of Norway."

Can Norway be a misprint for Norfolk? It occurs Norway in ten or twelve editions of Bailey which I have examined. I can find no mention of "meals" or "malls" in any map of Norway,except the whirlpool, the Maelström, be connected with it. In Norfolkea,eeare frequently changed foroa,oo. Thus "sheaf" and "reek" are in Norfolk "shoaf" and "roke;" and "smeath," a table land, is evidently from "smooth."

Can this change of vowels have taken place in this word, and "meals" signify "moles," from the shelf of sand projecting like a mole? or can any correspondent suggest a better etymology?

E. G. R.

[The quotation given above is omitted in the folio edition of Bailey, 1736; but is correctly given in Phillips'sNew World of Words:—"Meales, orMales, the shelves or banks of sand on the sea-coasts ofNorfolk: whence Ingom-meals, the name of a sandy shore in Lincolnshire." The wordMeales, orMalls, is however obviously connected with the IcelandicMöl, which Helmboe, in his recently-published work,Det Norske Sprogs, &c., defines "coarse sand; a sandy or stony place."]

Haughmond Abbey, Salop.—I should feel obliged for any particulars of the history, or a reference to any work that contains a full account, of these fine ruins. Hulbert does not give by any means a detailed notice in hisHistory of Salop.

Salopian.

[Some account of this abbey, with two engraved views of it, will be found in theBeauties of England and Wales, vol. xiii. part i. pp. 179-82. Consult also Dugdale'sMonasticon, vol. vi. p. 107.]

"As flies to wanton boys."—Can you inform me from what writer is the following quotation (in Mary Wolstoncraft'sTravels in Sweden)?—

"As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;They kill us for their sport."

"As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;

They kill us for their sport."

J. P.

[Shakspeare'sKing Lear, Act IV. Sc. 1.]

Quotation wanted.—Who is the author of the following lines?—

"Three poets in three distant ages born,Greece, Italy, and England did adorn:The first in loftiness of thought surpassed,The next in majesty; in both the last.The force of Nature could no further go;To make a third, she joined the former two."

"Three poets in three distant ages born,

Greece, Italy, and England did adorn:

The first in loftiness of thought surpassed,

The next in majesty; in both the last.

The force of Nature could no further go;

To make a third, she joined the former two."

Of course it is obvious who were the three poets, the greatest the world has produced.

A. S. A.

Wuzzeerabad.

[These lines are by Dryden, and are frequently prefixed toParadise Lost. They are little more than a translation of a distich by Salvaggi:—"Græcia Mæonidem, jactet sibi Roma Maronem:Anglia Miltonum jactat utrique parem."]

[These lines are by Dryden, and are frequently prefixed toParadise Lost. They are little more than a translation of a distich by Salvaggi:—

"Græcia Mæonidem, jactet sibi Roma Maronem:Anglia Miltonum jactat utrique parem."]

"Græcia Mæonidem, jactet sibi Roma Maronem:

Anglia Miltonum jactat utrique parem."]

Thomas Stanley, Bishop of Man.—I feel much obliged by your prompt answer to the Query about this prelate (Vol. vi., p. 130.); but some additional information appears necessary. If Bishop Stanley was appointed to this see in 1542, who was the possessor of it subsequently to the death ofBishop Huan Hesketh, orBlackleach, in 1510, a period of thirty-two years? Bishop Stanley's consecration does not appear in Cranmer'sRegister, which throws some doubt on the year 1542 as having been that of his appointment to the episcopate.

A. S. A.

[Huan Hesketh, or Blackleach, was consecrated in 1487, and died in 1510. The see was vacant twenty years. The next bishop was William Stanley, who was consecrated March 4, 1530.]

(Vol. vi., pp. 10. 160.)

Your correspondentSigmahaving called attention in your pages to that respectable character Old Satchels, I should be sorry to see him dismissed with the dry bibliographical Note of T. G. S. If any proof were wanting of Captain Walter Scot's claim to more respectable notice, we have it in the fact of his book having reached a third edition: and, with your permission, I will take the liberty of supplying a few "jottings," furnished and suggested on turning over the reprint of 1776.

The whole title, or titles, of this curious production runs thus:

"A true History of several Honorable Families of the right honorable Name of Scot in the Shires of Roxburgh and Selkirk, and others adjacent. Gathered out of ancient Chronicles, Histories, and Traditions of our Fathers, by Captain Walter Scot,An old Soldier and no scholler,And one that can write nane,But just the letters of his name.4to., pp. 60. End of First Part. Edinburgh: Printed by the Heirs of And. Anderson, printer to his most sacred Majesty's City and College, 1688, and reprinted by Balfour and Smellie, 1776.""Satchel's Post'ral, humbly presented to his noble and worthy Friends of the Names of Scot and Elliot, and others. Part II., 4to., pp. 97. Edinburgh as above, 1688 and 1776."

An old Soldier and no scholler,And one that can write nane,But just the letters of his name.

An old Soldier and no scholler,

And one that can write nane,

But just the letters of his name.

4to., pp. 60. End of First Part. Edinburgh: Printed by the Heirs of And. Anderson, printer to his most sacred Majesty's City and College, 1688, and reprinted by Balfour and Smellie, 1776."

"Satchel's Post'ral, humbly presented to his noble and worthy Friends of the Names of Scot and Elliot, and others. Part II., 4to., pp. 97. Edinburgh as above, 1688 and 1776."

Lockhart, in hisLife of Scott, has told us with what enthusiasm Sir Walter welcomed a copy of the first edition of this "True History," procured for him by Constable; and its rarity is accounted for by the author himself, when he says,—

"Therefore begone, my book, stretch forth thy wings and flyAmongst the nobles and gentility:Thou'rt not to sell to scavingers and clowns,But giv'n to worthy persons of renown.The number's few I've printedin regardMy charges have been great, and I hope reward;I caus'd not print many above twelve score,And the printers are engag'd that they shall print no more."—Post'ral, p. 97.

"Therefore begone, my book, stretch forth thy wings and fly

Amongst the nobles and gentility:

Thou'rt not to sell to scavingers and clowns,

But giv'n to worthy persons of renown.

The number's few I've printedin regard

My charges have been great, and I hope reward;

I caus'd not print many above twelve score,

And the printers are engag'd that they shall print no more."—Post'ral, p. 97.

Sigmainquires why "this ancestor of Sir Walter's was called Old Satchels?" Hear the poet himself upon this point:

"Since the water of Ail Scots they are all chang'd and gone,Except brave Whitslade and Hardin;And Satchels his estate is gone,Except his poor designation;Which never no man shall possess,Except a Scot designed Satchels."—Post'ral, p. 97.

"Since the water of Ail Scots they are all chang'd and gone,

Except brave Whitslade and Hardin;

And Satchels his estate is gone,

Except his poor designation;

Which never no man shall possess,

Except a Scot designed Satchels."—Post'ral, p. 97.

As a further sample of this old soldier's poetry, take his dedication "To the truely Worthy, Honorable, and Right Worshipful Sir Francis Scot of Thirlston, Knight Baronet, wishes Earth's honor and Heaven's happiness:"

"This book, good Sir, the issue of my brain,Though far unworthy of your worthy view,In hope ye gently will it intertain,Yet I in duty offer it to you;Although the method and the phrase be plain,Not art, like writ, as to the style is due,And truth, I know, your favor will obtain:The many favors I have had from youHath forc'd me thus to show my thankful mind;And of all faults I know no vice so badAnd hateful as ungratefully inclined.A thankful heart is all a poor man's wealth,Which, with this book, I give your worthy self.I humbly crave your worthiness excuseThis boldness of my poor unlearned muse,That hath presumed so high a pitch to flyIn praise of virtue and gentility.I know this task's most fit for learned men,For Homer, Ovid, or for Virgil's pen;These lines I have presum'd to dite;It's known to your Honor I could never write."Your Honor's most obed. servant,"Walter Scotof Satchels."

"This book, good Sir, the issue of my brain,

Though far unworthy of your worthy view,

In hope ye gently will it intertain,

Yet I in duty offer it to you;

Although the method and the phrase be plain,

Not art, like writ, as to the style is due,

And truth, I know, your favor will obtain:

The many favors I have had from you

Hath forc'd me thus to show my thankful mind;

And of all faults I know no vice so bad

And hateful as ungratefully inclined.

A thankful heart is all a poor man's wealth,

Which, with this book, I give your worthy self.

I humbly crave your worthiness excuse

This boldness of my poor unlearned muse,

That hath presumed so high a pitch to fly

In praise of virtue and gentility.

I know this task's most fit for learned men,

For Homer, Ovid, or for Virgil's pen;

These lines I have presum'd to dite;

It's known to your Honor I could never write.

"Your Honor's most obed. servant,"Walter Scotof Satchels."

"Your Honor's most obed. servant,

"Walter Scotof Satchels."

Satchels' chronicle deals largely in warlike matters. The Captain, indeed, seems to have a contempt for all not of his own honorable profession; consequently the book is full of the deeds, both foreign and domestic, of the "Bold Buccleugh," and the clans Scott and Elliott. Instigated, no doubt, by the example of John Barbour and Henry the Minstrel, the author aimed at doing for the Scotts what his prototypes so worthily achieved, respectively, for Robert Bruce and William Wallace.

As mentioned by T. G. S., there was another reprint of this curious book, that of Hawick, by Caw, 1784. I know not to whom we owe either. Looking, however, to the names of the printers and period of publication, I should say that the earliest of thesemayhave been one of the publications of that friend to the literature of his country, Sir David Dalrymple; and as we know that Sir Walter Scott made his first appearance as a poet in thePoetical Museum, printed at Hawick, by Caw, in 1786, may he not, with his strong and early predilection for the honour of the clan Scott, and his special affection for this "True History" of his namesake, have prompted the worthy Mr. Caw to the enterprise? Any edition of the book is of rare occurrence; and it has often surprised me that Captain Walter Scot should have been overlooked, when the Bannatyne, Maitland, and Abbotsford Clubs were so nobly employed in resuscitating the old literature of Scotland.

J. O.

(Vol. vi., p. 604.; Vol. vii., pp. 96. 143.)

B. H. C. asks for the authority on which is based the statement, that this statue was undoubtedly cast for a St. Peter, and cast in the time of St. Leo the Great (440-461). As the subject involves three questions, I will answer each separately.

1. Was this statue cast for a St. Peter, or is it an ancient statue that had been found in the Tiber; or the ancient statue of Jupiter Capitolinus? That it must have been cast for a St. Peter will be readily allowed, after a careful examination, by any one at all accustomed to compare Pagan and Christian statues. The left hand holding the keys and the right hand raised in benediction, are unmistakeable evidences of the personage represented.

2. What authority is there for believing it to have been cast in the pontificate of St. Leo? The authority is, first, a constant and very ancient tradition to that effect; secondly, a tradition that this same statue belonged to the ancient church of St. Peter's; and, thirdly, the almost unanimous belief in this tradition amongst the antiquaries and archæologists—local and at a distance, deceased and living.

This tradition is mentioned by most writers on the Basilica of St. Peter's:

"A destra evoi, in somma venerazione tenata, una statua in bronzo dell' apostolo S. Pietro,simulacro formato, secondo la pia tradizione, a tempi di S. Leone I.detto il grande," &c.—Melchiorri, p. 181., ed. 1840."On the right hand is a statue, held in very great veneration, of bronze, of the Apostle St. Peter: a figure cast, according to the pious tradition, in the time of St. Leo I., named the Great."

"On the right hand is a statue, held in very great veneration, of bronze, of the Apostle St. Peter: a figure cast, according to the pious tradition, in the time of St. Leo I., named the Great."

Tradition also asserts, that the statue belonged to the old church of St. Peter's:

"The seated bronze statue of St. Peter,which belonged to the ancient church, is said to have been cast in the time of Leo the Great."—Rome, Ancient and Modern, by J. Donovan, D.D., vol. i. p. 314.

There may now be seen, in what was part of old St. Peter's, and is now called the "Grotte Vecchie," where the old flooring still remains—the old base of the bronze figure of St. Peter. It iskept in the aisle to the left, as you enter the Grotte Vecchie; and was the pedestal of the statue till it was removed from the crypt by Paul V., as Melchiorri informs us. The old base was leftin situ, and a new one made, which is the chair of white marble, with the whole surface wrought in arabesque bas-relief, upon a pedestal of light coloured alabaster, with a central tablet of granite, called "granito verde."

3. Was this statue cast from the metal of the Capitoline Jove? Melchiorri almost favours the opinion that it was; but the evidence of Martial, already quoted, seems fatal to this supposition. It occurs to me that the idea of this statue being a Jupiter converted, either by melting down or partial alteration, may have arisen from confounding this statue with another statue of St. Peter, now kept in the crypt of the church under the dome, and in the chapel of the Madonna della Bocciata or del Portico. This is also a seated statue of St. Peter, and stood in the atrium of the ancient basilica.It seems to have been a Pagan figure converted:—

"There is reason to believe that this statue of St. Peter had been originally erected to some Gentile; and that the head, arms, and hands were changed in order to metamorphose it into a St. Peter. In the old church it was usual to vest it pontifically on the feast of St. Peter, as is now the case with the bronze statue above. The Isaurian iconoclast threatened St. Gregory II. with the demolition of this statue: but the impotent menace cost him the duchy of Rome, and placed the temporal power in the hands of the Popes."—Rome, Ancient and Modern, vol. i. p. 574.

Possibly enough, the fact of this figure of St. Peter having been converted, may have led to the idea that it was the other and better known statue. It may be well to add, that in St. Peter's there areforty metal statues, in addition to one hundred and five in marble, one hundred and sixty-one in travertine, and ninety in stucco.

Ceyrep.

(Vol. vii., p. 133.)

The newspaper paragraph in question is quoted, in a MS. note in my possession, from theSalisbury Journalof August 29, 1828. From what source it was derived does not appear: the whole story is, however, fabulous. Edward Hyde, first Earl of Clarendon, was twice married. His first wife was the daughter of Sir George Ayliffe, of Foxley, in the county of Wilts. He married her in 1628, when he was only twenty years old, and she died of the small-pox six months afterwards, before any child was born. In 1632 he married Frances, daughter of Sir Thomas and Lady Ailesbury, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. Anne, the eldest daughter, became, as is well known, the wife of the Duke of York, and the mother of Queen Mary and Queen Anne. Sir Thomas Ailesbury, the father of Lord Clarendon's second wife, was a person of some distinction, both social and intellectual; of his wife, Lady Ailesbury, Pepys mentions in hisDiary, November 13, 1661, that the Duke of York is in mourning for his wife's grandmother, "which (he however adds) is thought a piece of fondness." In the collection of pictures at the Grove, the seat of the present Earl of Clarendon, there are portraits by Vandyke of Sir Thomas and Lady Ailesbury, and also a portrait, by an unknown artist, of Frances, the second wife of the Lord Chancellor Clarendon. (See Lady Theresa Lewis'sLives of the Friends of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, vol. iii. pp. 355, 356. 361.)

Mr. Hyde's two marriages are fully described by himself in hisLife, vol. i. pp. 12. 15, ed. 8vo. 1761.

The story of the tubwoman, the grandmother of queens, seems to have been a legend invented for the purpose of exhibiting a contrast between the exalted rank of the descendants and the plebeian origin of the ancestor. Historical fiction and popular fancy delight in such contrasts. The story ofdate obolum Belisario, and Pope's account of the death of the second Duke of Buckingham, are more celebrated, but not more veracious, than the story of the marriage of Lord Chancellor Clarendon with the tubwoman.

(Vol. vii., p. 84.)

Leonorasays, "supposing that the recently-discovered planets obey the same laws as the larger ones, they must be at all times apparently moving within the zodiac;" and she asks for an explanation of the fact of their not having been discovered before.

Ancient astronomers having observed that the moon, and the planets visible to them, were never seen at more than a small angular distance north or south from the plane of the earth's orbit, they drew two circles parallel to the ecliptic, at the distance which experience had shown them to be sufficient for comprehending the apparent places of those heavenly bodies at all times; and to the intervening space they gave the name ofzodiac. But there is no law of matter, or, in other words, it is no necessary consequence of gravitation or planetary action, which confines the planets' orbits within the zodiac. The fact can only be ascribed to the will of Him who first projected them into their intended paths; though that will had doubtless some wise and calculated end in view.

It was further observed, in the last century, that the increasing distance of each successive planetfrom the sun would follow an uniform rule, if there were not one wanting between Mars and Jupiter, to fill up the series. This put astronomers upon the search, and led to the discovery, in 1801, of four small planets, all at nearly the requisite distance, but moving in paths inclined to the ecliptic at such large angles as carry them beyond the zodiac, though they necessarily move across it. From hence it was inferred that they were portions of a planet originally harmonising, in size, position, and orbitual path, with the rest of our system, but burst into fragments by an internal explosion, at some time prior to man's recorded observations of the heavenly bodies. This supposition gains strength from the continued discovery of more and still smaller fragments, each still moving as a planet at nearly the same distance from the sun; and each seeming to proclaim that there was a world, probably larger than our earth, amongst whose inhabitants sin entered, as amongst us; but for whom mercy was not in like manner procured.

As to the discoverer of a previously unknown planet, your inquirer should be told, that more is necessary than its merely coming within the field of an observer's telescope, even if it attracts his notice. Some years before 1781, the year in which Herschel discovered the planet which should perpetuate his name, Lalande had noted down an observation of a star, of a certain magnitude, in a position where afterwards no such star could be found, but where calculations since made, from the known orbit of that planet, prove that it must then have been. By failing to continue his observation of it, till it should have changed its place amongst the fixed stars, Lalande lost the discovery. And though Herschel's much more powerful telescope enabled him to perceive, on a first inspection, that it had a defined disc, more observations were required to enable him to say that it could not be a comet shorn of his beams: whilst, as to the last discovered planets, I think we have been told that their apparent size is but that of a star of the ninth order, in decreasing magnitude; and no part of the heavens has been so accurately mapped as to give an observer reason to conclude, from catching sight of one of these planetary fragments, that he has detected an obscure wanderer not usually seen in that locality. But if its appearance leads his practised eye to suspect that it shines with but borrowed light, and that induces him to continue his nightly watch, he receives his reward, if it be so, and announces the existence of another planet.

Henry Walter.

(Vol. vii., p. 133.)

The story of Genoveva is a popular German legend, and is given in No. 8 of theVolksbücher, published at Leipzig, 1838.

Genoveva was a daughter of the Duke of Brabant, and wife of Count Siegfried, of Treves. When Charles Martel was attacked by the Saracens, Siegfried went to his assistance, leaving his wife to the care of his steward Golo. Golo fell in love with Genoveva, and being rejected, resolved to destroy her. To do so, he got up a charge against her of incontinency with the cook, and put both in confinement. On Siegfried's return, Golo convinced him, by the help of a witch and false witnesses, that his wife was guilty, and that the child to which she had given birth in prison was born eleven months after her husband's departure. Siegfried ordered Golo to bring the criminals to justice. He, fearing exposure, had the cook poisoned in gaol, and commissioned two of his servants to take the countess and her boy into a wood and kill them; but, moved by her tears, they left the intended victims, and deceived their master. Genoveva took shelter in a cavern, and lived upon roots; but her milk failing, the child was about to die. She prayed fervently, and a beautiful doe, tame as a domestic cow, came and suckled the child, and returned daily for that purpose for seven years. The passage illustrated inSilurian'spicture is as follows:

"Als die weinende Mutter dies gefleht hatte, sihe, da kam eine Hirschkuh zu ihr, welche sich als ein zahmes Vieh anstellte, und freundlich um sie herstrich; gleichsam, als wollte sie sagen: Gott habe sie dahin gesendet, dass sie das Kindlein ernähren sollte. Die betrübte Mutter erstaunte, und erkannte alsbald die Vorsehung Gottes, legte das Kind an die Zitzen des Wildes, und liess es so lange saugen, bis es wieder Kraft bekam. Durch diese himmlische Wohlthat wurde die liebe Genoveva so sehr erfreut, dass sie mit vielen süssen Thränen den gütigen Gott Dank sagte, und ihn demüthig um Fortsetzung solcher gnädigen Hilfe anflehte."—P. 24.

The story ends happily. Siegfried discovers that his wife is innocent, takes her back, and punishes Golo: but for these matters I refer those who are curious to the book, which is well worth reading. Genoveva died April 2, 750, and the doe pined to death at her grave.

H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

Silurianwill find a very beautiful illustration of his engraving by Felsing, after Steinbrück, in the little poem entitledGenoveva, published by Moxon.

Genoveva of Brabant, a tale of old times, translated from the German of Christopher Schmid, published by Burns or Masters, price 2s.6d.illustrated, will giveSilurianthe information required; as also willGenoveva, a poem by the Rev. R. C. Trench, London, 1842, Moxon.

†

Oakhurst.

(Vol. vi., pp. 457. 590.; Vol. vii., pp. 46. 97.)

My Query respecting this picture has been answered in theNavorscherby a learned gentleman who writes under the signature ofConstanter, in that publication. The editor of theNavorscherhas communicated to me the name of this gentleman, and also the following translation of his remarks on my Query, and has also kindly permitted me to make what use of the latter I think fit. I therefore transmit them to you, that you may, if you think the subject of sufficient interest, insert them in your pages.

Jas. H. Todd.

Trinity College, Dublin.

Did not the whole arrangement of the picture give me reason to suppose that it must be a kind of symbolical point (figuurlÿk punt), such as the Rhetoricians were wont to show during their solemn processions—the character also of the additional verses, and especially the description of the paintings against the wall of the room, which is represented on the piece, would corroborate this meaning. These pictures, with the arms mentioned as making part of them, point directly atHaarlemas the town whence the painting must have had its origin; for who is not acquainted, albeit only through the title of theOpregte Haarlemsche Courant[1], with, "the sword proper, on a red field, between four stars, surmounted by a cross, or?"

Now, in the seventeenth century there existed at HaarlemthreeSocieties of Rhetoricians. One, the Oude Kamer[2], erected in 1503, had chosen for its motto,Trou moet blÿcken; and for its symbol, thepelicanorspeelkoornen; whilst her shield was emblazoned as follows,—in the middle our Saviour crucified, and, behind the cross, Æneas bearing his father. To thisKamerthe painting alludes, of which Dr. James H. Todd says, "That nearest the fire-place is oval, representing the crucifixion. There is a white scroll across the picture, containing words which I cannot make out." Had the sentence not been obliterated, the querist would have read,Trou moet blÿcken. The second allegory, with illegible subscription, cannot be anything but the ensign of the so-calledJonge Kamerat Haarlem,de Wÿngaertrancken, with the symbol,Liefde boven al(Love above all). I presume this on account of the framework of the painting, ornamented on each side with bunches of red grapes (vine-branches) dependent from below. These bunches have been figured in the identical way on a scutcheon of the sameKamer, which is still preserved in the council-hall ofBeverwÿk: there also we see, to the right, a female statue representingFaith; and, on the upper part, in the middle, another with a burning heart in her hand, and two (not three) children at her side, representingCharity, who thus has been placedabove allthe rest, conformably to the motto of the Society. But, in lieu of the third child, stands immediately under her on the Beverwÿk blazon another woman,Rhetorica; and to the left, instead of the man with the hawk (?), another female representingHope, and completing, in this manner, the Christian trilogy (1 Cor. xiii. 13.). Besides, in the middle compartment, not John Baptist but our Lord is seen, standing as victor over Hell, in which Satan is conspicuous. However, notwithstanding these deviations, I think the resemblance too striking not to consider the painting on the wall as the ensign of theJonge Kamer. The third or last picture, representing themarriage of Christ with the Church, is the well-known blazon of the thirdRederÿkerkamerat Haarlem, surnamedde Flaamsche(the Flemish), which bore theWitte Angieren(whitestock-flowers, not lilies), with the motto,In liefd getrouw. This shield too is still preserved in the town-hall at Beverwÿk.

Thus, the three Haarlem Societies of Rhetoricians are represented by their shields in the room designed; nay, if I am not mistaken, the painter has given us a delineation of their meeting-place. This appears: 1. By the statue in the niche,Rhetorica. 2. By the two cup-boards, one of which contains the prizes, carried by theKamersat various entries and processions; to wit, silver and gold cups, flagons, and dishes: whilst in the other, its books are deposited. 3. By the table under the window, well to be distinguished from that around which the guests are seated, and used by the Rhetoricians as a movable stage, on which to rehearse their plays (whence Willems and Mone derive the name oftafelspel[table-play]). 5. By the broad roller under the pictures, that occupies the space, where otherwise was commonly hung theKeur(statutes) of theKamer. This last inscription, connected with what is to be read over the fire-place, fully explains the meaning of the whole picture. The lines censure the disputes regarding the dogmata of religion, because every body thinkshisconviction the best one; many controversies being carried on "Wanneer het volck is vol" (whilst people are full), by incompetent and illiberal critics, and these contentions alienating their hearts fromCharity, the chief commandment of Christ. In a word, the painting is the faithful representation of what the Haarlem Rhetorician, Dirk Volkerts Coornhert, professedand advocated in his writings. Still the piece belongs to a later period, perhaps between the years 1618 and 1630, when the disputes with Remonstrants, Socinians, andKooledsjanten(Collegianten, collegians, sectarians of the van der Kodde's) had reached their highest point. It is known that the Rhetoricians frequently meddled with these contending parties, to the great displeasure of the Synods, which more than once contrived to elicit severe measures from the magistrates against them. How far the Haarlem Societies made themselves justly liable to such interferences, I have not been able to discover; but it might be ascertained by means of one or other of their works published about that time, as,Der Wit-Angieren Eerenkrans: ghesproten nyt de Flaemsche Natie, ter eeren der Slaghet van Rederÿcke tot Haerlem, 1630, 4to, or theRefereinen en Liedekens van't Hemelert, 1648.

The verses, excepting the last but one, which is sorely maimed, are easily to be explained. Whether the figures be portraits, I cannot decide without ocular inspection of the painting.

Constanter.

Amsterdam.

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