REPLIES.

"Fate's dark recesses we can never find,But Fortune, at some hours, to all is kind:The lucky have whole days, which still they choose;The unlucky have but hours, and those they lose."

"Fate's dark recesses we can never find,

But Fortune, at some hours, to all is kind:

The lucky have whole days, which still they choose;

The unlucky have but hours, and those they lose."

H.H.

Line quoted by De Quincey.—"S.P.S." inquires who is the author of the following line, quoted by De Quincey in theConfessions of an English Opium Eater:—

"Battlements that on their restless fronts bore stars."

Bishop Jewel's Papers.—It is generally understood that the papers left by Bishop Jewel were bequeathed to his friend Dr. Garbrand, who published some of them. The rest, it has been stated, passed from Dr. G. into the possession of New College, Oxford. Are any of these still preserved in the library of that college? or, if not, can any trace be found of the persons into whose hands they subsequently came, or of the circumstances under which they were lost to New College?

A.H.

Allusion in Friar Brackley's Sermon.—In Fenn'sPaston Letters, XCVIII. (vol. iii., p. 393., or vol. i., p. 113. Bohn), entitled "An ancient Whitsunday Sermon, preached by Friar Brackley (whose hand it is). At the Friers Minors Church in Norwich" occurs the following:—

"Semiplenum gaudium est quando quis in præsenti gaudet et tunc cogitans de futuris dolet; ut in quodam libro Græco, &c.""Quidam Rex Græciæ, &c.; here ye may see but half a joy; who should joy in this world if he remembered him of the pains of the other world?"

"Semiplenum gaudium est quando quis in præsenti gaudet et tunc cogitans de futuris dolet; ut in quodam libro Græco, &c."

"Quidam Rex Græciæ, &c.; here ye may see but half a joy; who should joy in this world if he remembered him of the pains of the other world?"

What is the Greek Book, and who is the king of Greece alluded to?

N.E.R.

Selden's Titles of Honour.—Does any gentleman possess a MS. Index to Selden'sTitles of Honour? Such, if printed, would be a boon; for it is a dreadful book to wade through for what one wants to find.

Colonel Hyde Seymour.—In a book dated 1720, is written "Borrow the Book of Col. Hyde Seymour." I am anxious to know who the said Colonel was, his birth, &c.?

Quem Deus vult perdere, &c.—Prescot, in hisHistory of the Conquest of Peru(vol. ii., p. 404., 8vo. ed.), says, while remarking on the conduct of Gonzalo Pisaro, that it may be accounted for by "the insanity," as the Roman, or rather Grecian proverb calls it, "with which the gods afflict men when they design to ruin them." He quotes the Greek proverb from a fragment of Euripides, in his note:—

"Οταν δε Δαιμων ανδρι παρσυνη κακαΤον νουν εβλαψε πρωτον."

"Οταν δε Δαιμων ανδρι παρσυνη κακα

Τον νουν εβλαψε πρωτον."

I wish to know whether the Roman proverb,Quem vult perdere Deus prius dementat, is merely a translation of this, or whether it is to be found in a Latin author? If the latter, in what author? Is it in Seneca?

EDWARD S. JACKSON.

Southwell's Supplication.—Can any one inform me where I can see a copy ofRobert Southwell's Supplication to Queen Elizabeth, which was printed, according to Watts, in 1593? or can any one, who has seen it, inform me what is the style and character of it?

J.S.

Gesta Grayorum.—In Nichol'sProgresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. iii., p. 262., a tract is inserted, entitled "Gesta Grayorum; or, History of the High and Mighty Prince Henry, Prince of Purpoole, &c., who lived and died in A.D. 1594." The original is said to have been printed in 1688, by Mr. Henry Keepe. Is any copy of it to be had or seen?

J.S.

Snow of Chicksand Priory.—"A.J.S.P." desires information respecting the immediate descendants of R. Snow, Esq., to whom the site ofChicksand Priory, Bedfordshire, was granted, 1539: it was alienated by his family, about 1600, to Sir John Osborn, Knt., whose descendants now possess it. In Berry'sPedigrees of Surrey Families, p. 83., I find an Edward Snowe of Chicksand mentioned as having married Emma, second daughter of William Byne, Esq., of Wakehurst, Sussex. What was his relationship to R. Snow, mentioned above? The arms of this family are, Per fesse nebulée azure, and argent three antelopes' heads, erased counterchanged, armed or.

The Bristol Riots.—"J.B.M." asks our Bristol readers what compilation may be relied on as an accurate description of the Bristol riots of 1831? and whetherThe Bristol Riots, their Causes, Progress, and Consequences, by a Citizen, is generally received as an accurate account?

1, Union Place, Lisson Grove.

A Living Dog better that a Dead Lion.—Can any of your readers inform me with whom the proverb originated: "A living dog is better than a dead lion?" F. Domin. Bannez (or Bannes), in his defence of Cardinal Cajetan, after his death, against the attacks of Cardinal Catharinus and Melchior Canus (Comment. in prim. par. S. Thom.p. 450. ed. Duaci, 1614), says—

"Certe potest dici de istis, quod de Græcis insultantibus Hectori jam mortuo dixit Homerus, quòdleoni mortuo etiam lepores insultant."

Query? Is this, or any like expression, to be found in Homer? If so, I should feel much obliged to any of your correspondents who would favour me with the reference.

JOHN SANSOM.

Author of "Literary Leisure."—Can any of your readers inform me of the name of the author ofLiterary Leisure, published by Miller, Old Bond Street, 1802, in 2 volumes? It purports to have come out in weekly parts, of which the first is dated Sept. 26. 1799. It contains many interesting papers in prose and verse: it is dedicated to the Editors of theMonthly Review. The motto in the title-page is—

"Saiva res est: philosophatur quoque jam;Quod erat ei nomen? Thesaurochrysonicochrysides."—Plautus.

"Saiva res est: philosophatur quoque jam;

Quod erat ei nomen? Thesaurochrysonicochrysides."—Plautus.

Is the work noticed in theMonthly Review, about that time?

NEMO.

The Meaning of "Complexion."—Is the word "complexion," used in describing an individual, to be considered as applied to thetintof the skin only, or to the colour of the hair and eyes? Can a person, having dark eyes and hair, but with a clear white skin, be said to be fair?

NEMO.

American Bittern—Derivation of "Calamity."—It has been stated of an American Bittern, that it has the power of admitting rays of light from its breast, by which fish are attracted within its reach. Can any one inform me as to the fact, or refer me to any ornithological work in which I can find it?

In answer to "F.S. Martin"—Calamity (calamitas), not fromcalamus, as it is usually derived, but perhaps from obs.calamis, i.e.columis, from κολω κολαω κολαζω to maim, mutilate, and so forcolumitas. (See Riddle'sLat.-Eng. Dictionary.)

AUGUSTINE.

Inquisition in Mexico.—"D." wishes to be furnished with references to any works in which the actual establishment of the Inquisition in Mexico is mentioned or described, or in which any other information respecting it is conveyed.

Masters of St. Cross.—"H. EDWARDS" will be obliged by information of any work exceptDugdale's Monasticon, containing a list of the names of the Master of the Hospital of St. Cross, Winchester; or of the Masters or Priors of the same place before Humphry de Milers; and of the Masters between Bishop Sherborne, about 1491, and Bishop Compton, about 1674.

Etymology of "Dalston."—The hamlet of Hackney, now universally known only asDalston, is spelt by most topographistsDorlestonorDalston. I have seen it in one old GazetteDarlston, and I observed it lately, on a stone let in to an old row of houses,Dolston; this was dated 1792. I have searched a great many books in vain to discover the etymology, and from it, of course, the correct spelling of the word, the oldest form of which that I can find isDorleston.

The only probable derivations of it that I can find are the old wordsDolesandton(from Saxondun), a village built upon a slip of land between furrows of ploughed earth; orDale(DutchDal), andstone, a bank in a valley. The word may, however, be derived from some man's name, though I can find none at all like it in a long list of tenants upon Hackney Manor that I have searched. If any of your readers can furnish this information they will much oblige.

H.C. DE ST. CROIX.

"Brown Study"—a term generally applied to intense reverie. Why "brown," rather than blue or yellow?Brownmust be a corruption of some word. Query of "barren," in the sense of fruitless or useless?

D.V.S.

Coal Brandy.—People now old can recollect that, when young, they heard people then old talk of "coal-brandy." What was this?Cold? or, in modern phase,raw,neat, orgenuine?

CANTAB.

Swot.—I have often heard military men talk ofswot, meaning thereby mathematics; and persons eminent in that science are termed "good swots." As I never heard the word except amongst the military, but there almost universally in "free andeasy," conversation, I am led to think it a cant term. At any rate, I shall be glad to be informed of its origin,—if it be not lost in the mists of soldierly antiquity.

CANTAB.

Mr. Strickland has justly observed that this subject "belongs rather to human history than to pure zoology." Though I have not seen Mr. Strickland's book, I venture to offer him a few suggestions, not asanswersto his questions, but as slight aids towards the resolution of some of them.

Qu. 1. There can be no doubt about the discovery of Mauritius and Bourbon by the Portuguese; and if not by a Mascarhenas, that the islands were first so named in honour of some member of that illustrious family, many of whom make a conspicuous figure in the Decads of the Portuguese Livy. I expected to have found some notice of the discovery in the very curious little volume of Antonio Galvaõ, printed in 1563, under the following title:—Tratado dos Descobrimentos Antigos, e Modernos feitos até a Era de 1550; but I merely find a vague notice of several nameless islands—"alguma Ilheta sem gente: onde diz que tomaraõ agoa e lenha"—and that, in 1517, Jorge Mascarenhas was despatched by sea to the coast of China. This is the more provoking, as, in general, Galvaõ is very circumstantial about the discoveries of his countrymen.

Qu. 5. The article in Ree'sCyclopædiais a pretty specimen of the manner in which such things are sometimes concocted, as the following extracts will show:—

"OfBatsthey have as big as Hennes about Java and the neighbor islands. Clusius bought one of the Hollanders, which they brought from the Island of Swannes (Ilha do Cisne), newly styled by them Maurice Island. It was about a foot from head to taile, above a foot about; the wings one and twenty inches long, nine broad; the claw, whereby it hung on the trees, was two inches," &c. "Here also they found a Fowle, which they called Walgh-vogel, of the bigness of a Swanne, and most deformed shape." (Purchas his Pilgrimage, 1616, p. 642.)

And afterward, speaking of the island of Madura, he says,—

"In these partes are Battes as big as Hennes, which the people roast and eat."

In theLettres édifiantes(edit. 1781, t. xiii. p. 302.) is a letter from Père Brown to Madame de Benamont concerning the Isle of Bourbon, which he calls "l'Isle de Mascarin" erroneously saying it was discovered by the Dutch about sixty years since. (The letter is supposed to have been written about the commencement of the eighteenth century.) He then relates how it was peopled by French fugitives from Madagascar, when the massacre there took place on account of the conduct of theFrenchking and his court. In describing its production, he says,—

"Vers l'est de cette Isle il y a une petite plaine au haut d'une montagne, qu'on appelle la Plaine desCaffres, où l'on trouve un grosoiseau bleu, dont la couleur est fort éclatante. Il ressemble à un pigeon ramier; il vole rarement, et toujours en rasant la terre, mais il marche avec une vitesse surprenante; les habitans ne lui ont point encore donné d'autre nom que celuid'oiseau bleu; sa chair est assez bonne et se conserve longtemps."

Not a word, however, about theDodo, which had it then existed there, would certainly have been noticed by the observant Jesuit. But now for thebat:—

"Lachauve-sourisest ici de la grosseur d'une poule. Cetoiseaune vit que de fruits et de grains, et c'est un mets fort commun dans le pays. J'avois de la répugnance à suivre l'exemple de ceux qui en mangeoient; mais en ayant goûté par surprise, j'en trouvai la chair fort délicate. On peut dire que cetanimal, qu'on abhorre naturellement, n'a rien de mauvais que la figure."

The Italics are mine; but they serve to show how the confusion has arisen. The writer speaks of the almost entire extinction of the land Turtles, which were formerly abundant; and says, that the island was well stocked with goats and wild hogs, but for some time they had retreated to the mountains, where no one dared venture to wage war upon them.

Again, in theVoyage de l'Arabie Heureuse par l'Océan Oriental et le Détroit de la Mer rouge, dans les Années 1708-10(Paris, 1716, 12mo.), the vessels visit both Mauritius and Bourbon, and some account of the then state of both islands is given. At the Mauritius, one of the captains relates that, foraging for provisions,—

"Toute notre chasse se borna à quelques pigeons rougeâtres, que nous tuâmes, et qui se laissent tellement approcher, qu'on peut les assommer à coup de pierres. Je tuai aussi deuxchauve-sourisd'une espèce particulière,de couleur violette, avec de petites taches jaunes, ayant une espèce de crampon aux ailes, par où cetoiseause pend aux branches des arbres, etun bec de perroquet. Les Hollandois disent qu'elles sont bonnes à manger; et qu'en certaine saison, elles valent bien nos bécasses."

At Bourbon, he says,—

"On y voit grandes nombresd'oiseau bleuqui senichent dans les herbes et dans les fougères."

"On y voit grandes nombresd'oiseau bleuqui se

nichent dans les herbes et dans les fougères."

This was in the year 1710. There were then, he says, not more than forty Dutch settlers on the Island of Mauritius, and they were daily hoping and expecting to be transferred to Batavia. As editor (La Roque) subjoins a relation furnished on the authority of M. de Vilers, who had been governor there for the India Company, in which it is said,—

"The island was uninhabited when the Portuguese, after having doubled the Cape of Good Hope, discovered it. They gave it the name of Mascarhenas,à cause que leur chef se nommoit ainsi; and the vulgar still preserve it, calling the inhabitantsMascarins. It was not decidedly inhabited until 1654, when M. de Flacour, commandant at Madagascar, sent some invalids there to recover their health, that others followed; and since then it has been named the Isle of Bourbon."

Still no notice of theDodo!but

"On y trouve des oiseaux appelezFlamans, qui excedent la hauteur d'un grand homme."

Qu. 6. I know not whether Mr. S. is aware that there is the head of a Dodo in the Royal Museum of Natural History at Copenhagen, which came from the collection of Paludanus? M. Domeny de Rienzi, the compiler ofOcéanie, ou cinquième Partie du Globe(1838, t. iii. p. 384.), tells us, that a Javanese captain gave him part of aDronte, which he unfortunately lost on being shipwrecked; but he forgot where he said he obtained it.

Qu. 7.Dodois most probably the name given at first to the bird by the Portuguese;Doudo, in that language, being a fool orlumpishstupid person. And, besides that name, it bore that ofTölpelin German, which has the same signification. TheDod-aersof the Dutch is most probably a vulgar epithet of the Dutch sailors, expressive of itslumpishconformation and inactivity. Our sailors would possibly have substituted heavy-a——. I find the Dodo was also called theMonk-swanof St. Maurice's Island at the commencement of last century. The wordDronteis apparently neither Portugese nor Spanish, though in Connelly'sDictionaryof the latter language we have—

"Dronte, cierto páxaro de Indias de alas muy cortas—an appellation given by some to the Dodo."

It seems to me to be connected withDrone; but this can only be ascertained from the period and the people by whom it was applied.

That the bird once existed there can be no doubt, from the notice of Sir Hamon L'Estrange, which there is no reason for questioning; and there seems to be as little reason to suppose that Tradescant's stuffed specimen was a fabrication. He used to preserve his own specimens; and there could be no motive at that period for a fabrication. I had hoped to have found some notice of it in theDiaryof that worthy virtuoso Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach, who visited the Ashmolean Museum in 1710; but though he notices other natural curiosities, there is no mention of it. This worthy remarks on the slovenly condition and inadequate superintendence of our museums, and especially of that of Gresham College; but those who recollect the state of our great national museum forty years since will not be surprised at this, or at the calamitous destruction of Tradescant's specimen of the Dodo. That the bird was extinct above 150 years ago I think we may conclude from the notices I have extracted from La Roque, and the letter of the Jesuit Brown. Mr. Strickland has done good service to the cause of natural science by his monograph of this very curious subject; and to him every particle of information must be acceptable: this must be my excuse for the almost nothing I have been able to contribute.

S.W. SINGER.

March 26. 1850.

Inquired about by "T.W." (No. 20. p. 318.), is a liturgical practice, which long was, and still is, observed in Holy Week. On Maundy Thursday, several particles of the Blessed Eucharist, consecrated at the Mass sung that day, were reserved—a larger one for the celebrating priest on the morrow, Good Friday; the smaller ones for the viaticum of the dying, should need be, and carried in solemn procession all round the church, from the high altar to a temporary erection, fitted up like a tomb, with lights, and the figure of an angel watching by, on the north side of the chancel. Therein the Eucharist was kept till Easter Sunday morning, according to the Salisbury Ritual; and there were people kneeling and praying at this so-called sepulchre all the time, both night and day. To take care of the church, left open throughout this period, and to look after the lights, it was necessary for the sacristan to have other men to help him; and what was given to them for this service is put down in the church-wardens' books as money for "watching the sepulchre." By the Roman Ritual, this ceremony lasts only from Maundy Thursday till Good Friday. This rite will be duly followed in my own little church here at Buckland, where some of my flock, two and two, in stated succession, all through the night, as well as day, will be watching from just after Mass on Maundy Thursday till next morning's service. In some of the large Catholic churches in London and the provinces, this ceremony is observed with great splendour.

DANIEL ROCK.

Buckland, Farringdon.

Watching the Sepulchre.—If no one sends a more satisfactory reply to the query about "Watching the Sepulchre," the following extract from Parker'sGlossary of Architecture(3rd edit. p. 197.) will throw some light on the matter:—

"In many churches we find a large flat arch in the north wall of the chancel near the alter, which was called the Holy Sepulchre; and was used at Easter for the performance of solemn rites commemorative of the resurrection of our Lord. On this occasion there was usually a temporary wooden erection over the arch; but, occasionally, the whole was of stone, and very richly ornamented. There are fine specimens at Navenby and Heckington churches, Lincolnshire, andHawton church, Notts. All these in the decorated style of the fourteenth century; and are of great magnificence, especially the last."

To this account of the sepulchre I may add, that one principal part of the solemn rites referred to above consisted in depositing a consecrated wafer or, as at Durham Cathedral, a crucifix within its recess—a symbol of the entombment of our blessed Lord—and removing it with great pomp, accompanied sometimes with a mimetic representation of the visit of the Marys to the tomb, on the morning of Easter Sunday. This is a subject capable of copious illustration, for which, some time since, I collected some materials (which are quite at your service); but, as your space is valuable, I will only remark, that the "Watching the Sepulchre" was probably in imitation of the watch kept by the Roman soldiers round the tomb of Our Lord, and with the view of preserving the host from any casualty.

At Rome, the ceremony is anticipated, the wafer being carried in procession, on the Thursday in Passion Week, from the Sistine to the Paoline Chapel, and brought back again on the Friday; thus missing the whole intention of the rite. Dr. Baggs, in hisCeremonies of Holy Week at Rome, says (p. 65.):—

"When the pope reaches the altar (of the Capella Paolina), the first cardinal deacon receives from his hands the blessed sacrament, and, preceded by torches, carries it to the upper part of themacchina; M. Sagrista places it within the urn commonly called the sepulchre, where it is incensed by the Pope.... M. Sagrista then shuts the sepulchre, and delivers the key to the Card. Penitentiary, who is to officiate on the following day."

E.V.

Dr. Rimbault's 4th Qu.(No. 19. p. 302.).—"My mind to me a kingdom is" will be found to be of much earlier date than Nicholas Breton. Percy partly printed it from William Byrds'sPsalmes, Sonets, and Songs of Sadnes(no date, but 1588 according to Ames), with some additions andimprovements (?)from a B.L. copy in the Pepysian collection. I have met with it in some early poetical miscellany—perhaps Tottel, orEngland's Helicon—but cannot just now refer to either.

The following copy is from a cotemporary MS. containing many of the poems of Sir Edward Dyer, Edward Earl of Oxford, and their cotemporaries, several of which have never been published. The collection appears to have been made by Robert Mills, of Cambridge. Dr. Rimbault will, no doubt, be glad to compare this text with Breton's. It is, at least, much more genuine than thecompositeone given by Bishop Percy.

"My mynde to me a kyngdome is,Suche preasente joyes therin I fynde,That it excells all other blisse,That earth affordes or growes by kynde;Thoughe muche I wante which moste would have,Yet still my mynde forbiddes to crave."No princely pompe, no wealthy store,No force to winne the victorye,No wilye witt to salve a sore,No shape to feade a loving eye;To none of these I yielde as thrall,For why? my mynde dothe serve for all."I see howe plenty suffers ofte,And hasty clymers sone do fall,I see that those which are alofteMishapp dothe threaten moste of all;They get with toyle, they keepe with feare,Suche cares my mynde coulde never beare."Content to live, this is my staye,I seeke no more than maye suffyse,I presse to beare no haughty swaye;Look what I lack, my mynde supplies;Lo, thus I triumph like a kynge,Content with that my mynde doth bringe."Some have too muche, yet still do crave,I little have and seek no more,They are but poore, though muche they have,And I am ryche with lyttle store;They poore, I ryche, they begge, I gyve,They lacke, I leave, they pyne, I lyve."I laughe not at another's losse,I grudge not at another's payne;No worldly wants my mynde can toss,My state at one dothe still remayne:I feare no foe, I fawn no friende,I lothe not lyfe nor dreade my ende."Some weighe their pleasure by theyre luste,Theyre wisdom by theyre rage of wyll,Theyre treasure is theyre onlye truste,A cloked crafte theyre store of skylle:But all the pleasure that I fyndeIs to mayntayne a quiet mynde."My wealthe is healthe and perfect ease,My conscience cleere my chiefe defence,I neither seek by brybes to please,Nor by deceyte to breede offence;Thus do I lyve, thus will I dye,Would all did so as well as I."FINIS. [Symbol: CROWN] E. DIER."

"My mynde to me a kyngdome is,

Suche preasente joyes therin I fynde,

That it excells all other blisse,

That earth affordes or growes by kynde;

Thoughe muche I wante which moste would have,

Yet still my mynde forbiddes to crave.

"No princely pompe, no wealthy store,No force to winne the victorye,No wilye witt to salve a sore,No shape to feade a loving eye;To none of these I yielde as thrall,For why? my mynde dothe serve for all.

"No princely pompe, no wealthy store,

No force to winne the victorye,

No wilye witt to salve a sore,

No shape to feade a loving eye;

To none of these I yielde as thrall,

For why? my mynde dothe serve for all.

"I see howe plenty suffers ofte,And hasty clymers sone do fall,I see that those which are alofteMishapp dothe threaten moste of all;They get with toyle, they keepe with feare,Suche cares my mynde coulde never beare.

"I see howe plenty suffers ofte,

And hasty clymers sone do fall,

I see that those which are alofte

Mishapp dothe threaten moste of all;

They get with toyle, they keepe with feare,

Suche cares my mynde coulde never beare.

"Content to live, this is my staye,I seeke no more than maye suffyse,I presse to beare no haughty swaye;Look what I lack, my mynde supplies;Lo, thus I triumph like a kynge,Content with that my mynde doth bringe.

"Content to live, this is my staye,

I seeke no more than maye suffyse,

I presse to beare no haughty swaye;

Look what I lack, my mynde supplies;

Lo, thus I triumph like a kynge,

Content with that my mynde doth bringe.

"Some have too muche, yet still do crave,I little have and seek no more,They are but poore, though muche they have,And I am ryche with lyttle store;They poore, I ryche, they begge, I gyve,They lacke, I leave, they pyne, I lyve.

"Some have too muche, yet still do crave,

I little have and seek no more,

They are but poore, though muche they have,

And I am ryche with lyttle store;

They poore, I ryche, they begge, I gyve,

They lacke, I leave, they pyne, I lyve.

"I laughe not at another's losse,I grudge not at another's payne;No worldly wants my mynde can toss,My state at one dothe still remayne:I feare no foe, I fawn no friende,I lothe not lyfe nor dreade my ende.

"I laughe not at another's losse,

I grudge not at another's payne;

No worldly wants my mynde can toss,

My state at one dothe still remayne:

I feare no foe, I fawn no friende,

I lothe not lyfe nor dreade my ende.

"Some weighe their pleasure by theyre luste,Theyre wisdom by theyre rage of wyll,Theyre treasure is theyre onlye truste,A cloked crafte theyre store of skylle:But all the pleasure that I fyndeIs to mayntayne a quiet mynde.

"Some weighe their pleasure by theyre luste,

Theyre wisdom by theyre rage of wyll,

Theyre treasure is theyre onlye truste,

A cloked crafte theyre store of skylle:

But all the pleasure that I fynde

Is to mayntayne a quiet mynde.

"My wealthe is healthe and perfect ease,My conscience cleere my chiefe defence,I neither seek by brybes to please,Nor by deceyte to breede offence;Thus do I lyve, thus will I dye,Would all did so as well as I.

"My wealthe is healthe and perfect ease,

My conscience cleere my chiefe defence,

I neither seek by brybes to please,

Nor by deceyte to breede offence;

Thus do I lyve, thus will I dye,

Would all did so as well as I.

"FINIS. [Symbol: CROWN] E. DIER."

S.W.S.

"Be pleased to observe," says Herbert, "that, though 'The Supper of the Lorde' and 'The Vision of Piers Plowman' are inserted among the rest of his writings, he wrote only the prefixes to them" (vol. ii. p. 278.). Farther on he gives the title of the book, and adds, "Though this treatise is anonymous, Will. Tindall is allowed to have been the author; Crowley wrote only the preface." It was originally printed at Nornberg, and dated as above [the same date as that given by "C.H.," No. 21. p. 332.]. "Bearing no printer's name, nor date of printing, I have placed it to Crowley, being a printer, as having the justest claim to it" (p. 762.).There is a copy in the Lambeth Library, No. 553. p. 249. in my "List," of which I have said (on what grounds I do not now know), "This must be a different edition from that noticed by Herbert (ii. 762.) and Dibdin (iv. 334. No. 2427.)." I have not Dibdin's work at hand to refer to, but as I see nothing in Herbert on which I could ground such a statement, I suppose that something may be found in Dibdin's account; though probably it may be only my mistake or his. As to foreign editions, I always feel very suspicious of their existence; and though I do not remember this book in particular, or know why I supposed it to differ from the edition ascribed to Crowley, yet I feel pretty confident that it bore no mark of "Nornberg." According to my description it had four pairs of [Symbol: pointing hands] on the title, and contained E iv., in eights, which should be thirtysixleaves.

S.R. MAITLAND.

John Ross Mackay(No. 8. p. 125.).—In reply to the Query of your correspondent "D.," I beg to forward the following quotation from Sir N.W. Wraxall'sHistorical Memoirs of his Own Time, 3rd edition. Speaking of the peace of Fontainbleau, he says,—

"John Ross Mackay, who had been private secretary to the Earl of Bute, and afterwards during seventeen years was treasurer of the ordnance, a man with whom I was personally acquainted, frequently avowed the fact. He lived to a very advanced age, sat in several parliaments, and only died, I believe in 1796. A gentleman of high professional rank, and of unimpeached veracity, who is still alive, told me, that dining at the late Earl of Besborough's, in Cavendish Square, in the year 1790, where only four persons were present, including himself, Ross Mackay, who was one of the number, gave them the most ample information upon the subject. Lord Besborough having called after dinner for a bottle of champagne, a wine to which Mackay was partial, and the conversation turning on the means of governing the House of Commons, Mackay said, that, 'money formed, after all, the only effectual and certain method.' 'The peace of 1763,' continued he, 'was carried through and approved by a pecuniary distribution. Nothing else could have surmounted the difficulty. I was myself the channel through which the money passed. With my own hand I secured above one hundred and twenty votes on that most important question to ministers. Eighty thousand pounds were set apart for the purpose. Forty members of the House of Commons received from me a thousand pounds each. To eighty others, I paid five hundred pounds apiece.'"

DAVID STEWARD.

Godalming, March 19. 1850.

Shipster.—Gourders.—As no satisfactory elucidation of the question propounded by Mr. Fox (No. 14. p. 216.) has been suggested, and I think he will scarcely accept the conjecture of "F.C.B.," however ingenious (No. 21. p. 339.), I am tempted to offer a note on the business or calling of a shipster. It had, I believe, no connection with nautical concerns; it did not designate a skipper (in the Dutch use of the word) of the fair sex. That rare volume, Caxton'sBoke for Travellers, a treasury of archaisms, supplies the best definition of her calling:—"Mabyll the shepster cheuissheth her right well; she maketh surplys, shertes, breches, keuerchiffs, and all that may be wrought of lynnen cloth." The French term given, as corresponding to shepster, is "cousturière." Palsgrave also, in hisÈclaircissement de la Langue françoyse, gives "schepstarre,lingière:—sheres for shepsters,forces." If further evidence were requisite, old Elyot might be cited, who renders bothsarcinatrixandsutatis(?sutatrix) as "a shepster, a seamester." The term may probably be derived from her skill in shaping or cutting out the various garments of which Caxton gives so quaint an inventory. Her vocation was the very same as that of thetailleuseof present times—theSchneiderinn, she-cutter, of Germany. Palsgrave likewise gives this use of the verb "to shape," expressed in French by "tailler." He says, "He is a good tayloure, andshapetha garment as well as any man." It is singular that Nares should have overlooked this obsolete term; and Mr. Halliwell, in his usefulGlossarial Collections, seems misled by some similarity of sound, having noticed, perhaps, in Palsgrave, only the second occurrence of the word as before cited, "sheres for shepsters." He gives that author as authority for the explanation "shepster, a sheep-shearer" (Dict. of Archaic Words, in v.). It has been shown, however, I believe, to have no more concern with a sheep than a ship.

The value of your periodical in eliciting the explanation of crabbed archaisms is highly to be commended. Shall I anticipate Mr. Bolton Corney, or some other of your acute glossarial correspondents, if I offer another suggestion, in reply to "C.H." (No. 21. p. 335.), regarding "gourders of raine?" I have never met with the word in this form; but Gouldman gives "a gord of water which cometh by rain,aquilegium." Guort, gorz, or gort, in Domesday, are interpreted by Kelham as "a wear"; and in old French,gortorgorzsignifies "flot, gorgées, quantité" (Roquefort). All these words, as well as the Low Latingordus(Ducange), are doubtless to be deduced, withgurges, a gyrando.

ALBERT WAY.

Rococo(No. 20. p. 321.).—Thehistoryof this word appears to be involved in uncertainty. Some French authorities derive it from "rocaille," rock-work, pebbles for a grotto, &c.; others from "Rocco," an architect (whose existence, however, I cannot trace), the author, it is to be supposed,of the antiquated, unfashionable, and false style which the word "Rococo" is employed to designate. Theuseof the word is said to have first arisen in France towards the end of the reign of Louis XV. or the beginning of that of Louis XVI., and it is now employed in the above senses, not only in architecture, but in literature, fashion, and the arts generally.

J.M.

Oxford, March 18.

Rococo.—This is one of those cant words, of no very definite, and of merely conventional, meaning, for any thing said or done in ignorance of the true propriety of the matter in question. "C'est du rococo," it is mere stuff, or nonsense, or rather twaddle. It was born on the stage, about ten years ago, at one of the minor theatres at Paris, though probably borrowed from a wine-shop, and most likely will have as brief an existence as our own late "flare-up," and such ephemeral colloquialisms, or rather vulgarisms, that tickle the public fancy for a day, till pushed from their stool by another.

March 18. 1850.

God tempers the Wind, &c.—The French proverb, "A brebis tondue Dieu mesure le vent" (God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb), will be found in Quitard'sDictionnaire étymologique, historique et anecdotique, des Proverbes, et des Locutions proverbiales de la Langue française, 8vo. Paris, 1842. Mons. Quitard adds the following explanation of the proverb:—"Dieu proportionne à nos forces les afflictions qu'il nous envoie." I have also found this proverb in Furetière'sDictionnaire universal de tous les Mots français, &c. 4 vols. folio, La Haye, 1727.

J.M.

Oxford. March 18.

The proverb, "A brebis pres tondue, Dieu luy mesure le vent," is to be found in Jan. Gruter.Florileg. Ethico-polit. part. alt. proverb. gallic., p. 353. 8vo. Francof. 1611.

Oxford.

Guildhalls(No. 20. p. 320)—These were anciently the halls, or places of meeting, of Guilds, or communities formed for secular or religious purposes, none of which could be legally set up without the King's licence. Trade companies were founded, and still exist, in various parts of the kingdom, as "Gilda Mercatorum;" and there is little doubt that this was the origin of the municipal or governing corporate bodies in cities and towns whose "Guildhalls" still remain—"gildated" and "incorporated" were synonymous terms.

In many places, at one time of considerable importance, where Guilds were established, though the latter have vanished, the name of their Halls has survived.

Your correspondent "A SUBSCRIBER AB INITIO" is referred to Madox,Firma Burgi, which will afford him much information on the subject.

T.E.D.

Exeter.

Treatise of Equivocation.—In reply to the inquiry of your correspondent "J.M." (No. 17. p. 263.), I beg to state that, as my name was mentioned in connection with the Query, I wrote to the Rev. James Raine, the librarian of the Durham Cathedral Library, inquiring whetherThe Treatise of Equivocationexisted in the Chapter Library. From that gentleman I have received this morning the following reply:—"I cannot find, in this library, the book referred to in the 'NOTES AND QUERIES,' neither can I discover it in that of Bishop Cosin. The Catalogue of the latter is, however, very defective. The said publication ('NOTES AND QUERIES') promises to be very useful." Although this information is of a purely negative character, yet I thought it right to endeavour to satisfy your correspondent's curiosity.

BERIAH BOTFIELD.

Nortan Hall.

Judas Bell(No. 13. p. 195.; No. 15. p. 235.).—The lines here quoted by "C.W.G.," from "a singular Scotch poem," evidently mean to express or examplify discord; and the words "to jingleJudas bells," refer to "bellsjangled, out of tune, and harsh."

The Maltese at Valletta, a people singularly, and, as we should say, morbidly, addicted to the seeming enjoyment of the most horrid discords, on Good Friday Eve, have the custom ofjanglingthe church bells with the utmost violence, in execration of the memory of Judas; and I have seen there a large wooden machine (of which they have many in use), constructed on a principle similar to that of an old-fashioned watchman's rattle, but of far greater power in creating an uproar, intended to be symbolical of the rattling ofJudas's bones, that will not rest in his grave. The Maltese, as is well known, are a very superstitious people. The employment ofJudas candleswould, no doubt, if properly explained, turn out to mean to imply execration against the memory of Judas, wherever they may be used. But in the expressionJudas bell, the greatest conceivable amount ofdiscordis that which is intended to be expressed.

ROBERT SNOW.

6. Chesterfield street, Mayfair, March 23. 1850.

[To this we may add, that the question at present pending between this country and Greece, so far as regards the claim of M. Pacifico, appears, from the papers laid before Parliament, to have had its origin in what Sir Edward Lyon states "to have been the custom in Athens for some years, to burn an effigy of Judas on Easter day." And from the account of the origin of the riots by the Council of the Criminal Court of Athens, we learn, that "it is proved by theinvestigation, that on March 23, 1847, Easter Day, a report was spread in the parish of the Church des incorporels, that the Jew, D. Pacifico, by paying the churchwarden of the church, succeeded in preventing the effigy of Judas from being burnt, which by annual custom was made and burnt in that parish on Easter Day." From another document in the same collection it seems, that the Greek Government, out of respect to M. Charles de Rothschild, who was at Athens in April, 1847, forbid in all the Greek churches of the capital the burning of Judas.]

Grummett(No. 20. p. 319.).—The following use of the word whose definition is sought by "Σ" occurs in a description of themembersor adjuncts of the Cinque Port of Hastings in 1229:—

"Servicia inde debita domino regi xxi. naves, et in qualibet nave xxi. homines, cum uno garcione qui diciturgromet."

In quoting this passage in a paper "On the Seals of the Cinque Ports," in theSussex Archæological Collections(Vol. i. p. 16.), I applied the following illustration:—

"Grometseems to be a diminutive of 'grome', a serving-man, whence the modern groom. The provincialismgrummet, much used in Sussex to designate a clumsy, awkward youth, has doubtless some relation to this cabin-boy of the Ports' navy."

I ought to add, that the passage above given is to be found in Jeake'sCharters of the Cinque Ports.

MARK ANTONY LOWER.

Lewes, March 18. 1850.

Grummett.—Bailey explains, "GrometsorGromwells, the most servile persons on ship-board," probably, metaphorically, from "GrometorGrummet," "small rings," adds Bailey, "fastened with staples on the upper side of the yard." The latter term is still in use; the metaphorical one is, I believe, quite obsolete.

Meaning of "Grummett," &c.—The word is derived from the Low Latin "gromettus", the original of our "groom" (see Ducange's,GromesandGromus), and answers to the old Frenchgourmète, i.e.garçon. In old books he is sometimes called a "novice" or "page," and may be compared with the "apprentice" of our marine. He was employed in waiting on the sailors, cooking their victuals, working the pumps, scouring the decks, and, in short, was expected to lend a hand wherever he was wanted, except taking the helm (Clairac,Commentaire du premier Article des Rooles d'Oléron); and, consequently, is always distinguished from, and rated below, the mariner or able-bodied seaman.

The information here given is taken from Jal,Archéologie navale, vol. ii. p. 238.

A. RICH, Jun.

The Duke of Monmouth.—I made the following note many years ago, and am now reminded of its existence by your admirable periodical, which must rouse many an idler besides myself to a rummage amongst long-neglected old papers. This small piece of tradition indicates that the adventurous but ill-advised duke was a man of unusual muscular power and activity.

"On the 8th of July, 1685, the Duke of Monmouth was brought a prisoner to Ringwood, and halted at an inn there. My mother, who was a native of Ringwood, used to relate that her grandmother was one of the spectators when the royal prisoner came out to take horse; and that the old lady never failed to recount, how he rejected any assistance in mounting, though his arms were pinioned; but placing his foot in the stirrup, sprang lightly into his saddle, to the admiration of all observers."

ELIJAH WARING.

Dowry Parade, Clifton Hotwells, March 21. 1850.

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