REPLIES.

Belvoir Castle.—In theHarleian Miscellany, vol. iv. p. 527., is a Pindaric Ode upon Belvoir Castle, which Mr. Nichols reprinted in hisHistory of the Hundred of Framland.Can any of your readers inform me who was the author of this very singular production?

T.R. Potter.

St. Winifreda.—Can any of your readers refer me to any history or recent discoveries relative to St. Winifreda?

Savile, Marquis of Halifax.—It is stated in Tyers'sPolitical Conferences(1781), that a Diary of his was supposed to be among the Duke of Shrewsbury's MSS.; and when Mr. Tyers wrote, in the hands of Dr. Robertson. Can any of your readers give information about this Diary?

Salt at Montem.—Will you allow me, as an old Etonian, to ask the derivation of "salt," as it used to be applied to the money collected at Eton Montem for the Captain of the Colleges? Towards investigating the subject, I can only get as far asSaltHill, near Slough, where there was a mount, on which, if I remember rightly, the Captain waved a flag on Montem day. A brief account of the origin of Montem would be interesting; and it is especially worth noting now that the pageant is suppressed.

A.G.

Ecclesfield, March 14, 1850.

Ludlow's Memoirs.—"C." is anxious to learn if the manuscript of Ludlow's Memoirs is known to exist, or to receive any information as to where it might probably be found.

Ludlow died at Vevay, in Switzerland, in 1693, and the Memoirs were published at Vevay shortly after.

There is no will of Ludlow's in Doctor's Commons.

Finkle or Finkel.—I should be glad if any of your numerous correspondents could give me the derivation and meaning of the wordFinkle, orFinkel, as applied to the name of a street. There is a street so designated in Carlisle, York, Richmond in Yorkshire, Kendal, Sedberg, Norwich (in 1508 spelt Fenkyl, and in 1702 Fenkel), and, I believe, in many other of our more ancient cities and towns. In the township of Gildersome, a village some few miles from Leeds, there is an ancient way, till lately wholly unbuilt upon, called Finkle Lane; and in London we have the parish of St. Benedict Finck, though I do not imagine that the latter is any way synonymous with the word in question. The appellation of Finkle is, without doubt, a descriptive one; but the character of the lane so styled in Gildersome seems to negative the idea that it has any reference to the peculiarity of trade or class of persons carried on or inhabiting the locality distinguished by this title.

W.M.

Cowgill, March 13. 1850.

Coxcombs vanquish Berkeley, &c.—In Lewis'sBiography of Philosophy(vol. iv. p. 7.) occurs the following quotation:—

"And coxcombs vanquish Berkeley with a grin."

Who is the author of this line? for I cannot find it in Pope, to whom a note refers it.

R.F. Johnson.

Derivation of Sterling.—What is the derivation ofSterling? Some authors say from "Easterling," a race of German or Dutch traders; but is it not more likely from "steer," a bull, or ox, viz. a coin originally stamped with a figure of that animal? Of this, and parallel cases, we have many instances among the ancients. I find also, that, in a decree issued in the time of Richard I., the word is used, and explained by "peny" as a synonym. Now peny or penny is clearly frompecunia, and that frompecus, so that we have the two words brought side by side, one through the Latin, and the other through the Saxon language.

R.F. Johnson.

Hanging out the Broom.—In some parts of England a singular custom prevails. When a married woman leaves home for a few days, the husband hangs a broom or besom from the window. When, how, and where did this originate, and what does it signify?

R.F. Johnson.

Trunck Breeches.—Barba Longa.—Mercenary Preacher.—In reading Smith'sObituary, edited by Sir H. Ellis for the Camden Society, I find the following entries:—

"1640. May 29th, old MrGrice, in Aldersgate St, who woretrunckbreeches, died.""1646. Ocr1. William Young, Chandler, within Aldersgate, a discreet Juryman, andBarba Longa, died.""Fer21., old MrLewis, theMercenary Preacher, buried."

"1640. May 29th, old MrGrice, in Aldersgate St, who woretrunckbreeches, died."

"1646. Ocr1. William Young, Chandler, within Aldersgate, a discreet Juryman, andBarba Longa, died."

"Fer21., old MrLewis, theMercenary Preacher, buried."

Can any of your correspondents explain the meaning of "TrunckBreeches," "Barba Longa," and "Mercenary Preacher?"

X.Y.Z.

Suffolk, March 4.

Apposition.—Can any one give me a little information upon the following passage?—

"Quin age, te incolumi potius (potes omnia quando,Nec tibi nequiequam pater est qui sidera torquet)Perficias quodcunque tibi nunc instat agendum."Hieronym. Vid. Christ.lib. i. 67.

"Quin age, te incolumi potius (potes omnia quando,Nec tibi nequiequam pater est qui sidera torquet)Perficias quodcunque tibi nunc instat agendum."

"Quin age, te incolumi potius (potes omnia quando,

Nec tibi nequiequam pater est qui sidera torquet)

Perficias quodcunque tibi nunc instat agendum."

Hieronym. Vid. Christ.lib. i. 67.

I want to know in what casete incolumiis; and, if in the ablative absolute, can any one bring a parallel construction from the writers of the Augustan age, where the law ofappositionappears to be so far violated?

A.W.

Pamphlets respecting Ireland.—"J." wishes to be informed where copies may be found of thefollowing pamphlets, described in Ware'sIrish Writers, under the head "Colonel Richard Laurence," and "Vincent Gookin, Esq.," son of Sir Vincent Gookin, who, in the year 1634, published "a bitter invective, by way of letter, against the nation." Vincent Gookin's pamphlet is dated London, 1655, 4to. Any particulars relative tohisfamily and descendants will oblige.

The title of Col. R. Laurence's book is,—

"The interest of Ireland in the first Transplantation stated; wherein it set forth the benefit of the Irish Transplantation: intended as an Answer to the scandalous seditious Pamphlet, entitled 'The Great Case of Transplantation Discussed.' London, 1655."

The author of the pamphlet was Vincent Gookin, Esq., Surveyor-General of Ireland. He didnot, at first, put his name to it; but when Laurence's answer appeared, he then owned himself as the author of it, and published a pamphlet under this title:—

"The Author and Case of Transplanting the Irish into Connaught Vindicated from the unjust Aspersion of Colonel Richard Laurence and Vincent Gookin, Esq. London, 1655."

Portrait of Sir John Poley.—Perhaps some of your numerous correspondents can answer whether the portrait of Sir John Poley in Bexstead Hall, alluded to No. 14. p. 214., has been engraved.

February 5.

"Tace is Latin for a candle."—Whence is this expression derived, and what is its meaning? I met with it, many years ago, in a story-book, and, more lately, in one of the Waverley Novels, in which particular one I do not just now recollect. It seems to be used as an adage, coupled with an admonition to observe silence or secrecy.

W.A.F.

Poins and Bardolph.—Can any of your correspondents skilled in Shakspearian lore inform me whence Shakspeare took the namesPoinsandBardolphfor the followers of Prince Hal and Falstaff?

C.W.S.

Flemish Work on the Order of St. Francis.—Can any of your correspondents tell me any thing about, or enable me to procure a copy of, a book on the order of St. Francis, named,Den Wijngaert van Sinte Franciscus vâ Schoonte Historien Legenden, &c.A folio of 424 leaves, beautifully printed. The last page has,—

"Gheprent Thantwerpen binnen die Camer poorte Int huys vâ delft bi mi, Hendrich Eckert van Homberch. Int iaer ons heeren M.CCCCC. efi XVIII. op den XII. dach vâ December."

The only copy I ever saw of it, which belonged to a friend of mine, had the following note on a fly-leaf in an old and scarcely legible hand:—

"Raer boeck ende sêer curieus als gebouwt synde op de Wijsen voor meesten deel op de fondamenten van den fameus ende extra raer boeck genoemptConformitatis Vita S. Francisci cum Vitá Jesu Christi, de welch in dese diehwils grateert wordt gelijck gij in lesen sult andesvinden maer onthout wer dese latijn spreckwoordt,Risum teneatis amici."

Jarlzberg.

Le Petit Albert.—Can any of your correspondents give me any information respecting a book entitledSecrets Merveilleux de la Magie Naturelle et Cabalistique du Petit Albert, et enrichi du fig. mystérieuses, et de la Manière de les faire. Nouvelle Edition, cor. et aug. A Lion, 1743. 32mo.? Theavertissementsays,—

"Voici une nouvelle édition duLivres des merveilleux Secretsdu Petit Albert, connu en Latin sous le titre d'Alberte Parvi Lucii,Libellus de Mirabilibus Naturæ Arcanis. L'auteur à qui on l'attribue, a été un de ces grands-hommmes qui par le peuple ignorant ont été accusez de magie. C'étoit autrefois le sort de tous les grands esprits qui possédoient quelque chose d'extraordinaire dans les sciences, de les traiter de magiciens. C'est peut-être par cette raison, que le petit trésor est devenu très rare, parceque les superstitieux ont fait scrupule de s'en servir; il s'est presque comme perdu, car une personne distinguée dans le monde a eu la curiosité (à ce qu'on assure) d'en offrir plus de mille florins pour un seul exemplaire, encore ne l'a-t-on pu découvrir que depuis peu dans la bibliothêque d'un très-grand homme, qui l'a bien voulu donner pour ne plus priver le public d'un si riche trésor," &c.

Who was Albertus Parvus? when and where was his work published?

Jarlzberg.

English Translations of Erasmus' Encomium Moriæ.—An English translation ofThe Praise of Folly(with Holbein's plates), I think by Denham, Lond. 1709, alludes totwoprevious translations; one by Sir Thomas Challoner, 1549; the other it does not name. I should like to know whose is the intermediate translation, and also what other translations have been made of that curious work?

Jarlzberg.

Symbols of the Four Evangelists.—St. Matthewan angel; St. Mark,a lion; St. Luke,an ox; St. John,an eagle. It is on account of its being a symbol of the Resurrection that thelionis assigned to St. Mark as an emblem; St. Mark being called the historian of the Resurrection. (This title he probably obtained from his gospel being used on Easter Day.) The reason why the lion is taken as a symbol of the Resurrection is to be found in the fabulous history of the animal; according to which the whelp is born dead, and only receives life at the expiration of three days, on being breathed on by its father.—What are the reasons assigned for the other three Evangelists' emblems?

Jarlzberg.

Portrait by Boonen.—Can any of your correspondents state the precise time when Boonen, said to be a pupil of Schalcken, flourished? And what eminent geographer, Dutch or English, lived during such period? This question is asked with reference to a picture by Boonen,—a portrait of a singular visaged man, with his hand on a globe, now at Mr. Peel's in Golden Square; the subject of which is desired to be ascertained. It may be the portrait of an astrologer, if the globe is celestial.

Beaver Hats.—On the subject of beaver hats, I would ask what was the price or value of a beaver hat in the time of Charles II.? I find that Giles Davis of London, merchant, offered Timothy Wade, Esq., "five pounds to buy a beaver hat," that he might he permitted to surrender a lease of a piece of ground in Aldermanbury. (VideJudicial Decree, Fire of London, dated 13. Dec. 1668. Add. MS. 5085.No. 22.)

F.E.

I regret that no further notice has been taken of the very curious matter suggested by "Mr. Jebb" (No 14. p. 213.), one of the many forgeries of which Shakspeare has been the object, which ought to be cleared up, but which I have neither leisure nor materials to attempt; but I can afford a hint or two for other inquirers.

1. This strange intermixture of someJohnShakspeare's confession of the Romish faith withWilliamShakspeare's will, is, as Mr. Jebb states to be found in theDublinedition of Malone'sShakspeare, 1794, v. i. p. 154. It is generally supposed that this Dublin edition is a copy (I believe a piracy) of the London one of 1790; but by what means thethreeintroductory paragraphs of John Shakspeare's popish confession were foisted into the real will of William is a complete mystery.

2. Malone, in a subsequent part of his prolegomena to both of those editions (Lond. v. i. part II. 162., and Dublin, v. ii. p. 139.), printed a pretended will or confession of the faith ofJohnShakspeare, found in a strange, incredible way, and evidently a forgery. This consisted of fourteen articles, of which the firstthreewere missing. Now thethreeparagraphs foisted intoWilliam'swill would be the kind of paragraphs that would completeJohn'sconfession; but they are not in confession. Who, then, forgedthem? and foistedthem—which Malone had never seen—into so prominent a place in the Dublin reprint of Malone's work?

3. Malone, in his inquiry into theIrelandforgeries, alludes to this confession of faith, admits that he was mistaken about it, and intimates that he had been imposed on, which he evidently was; but he does not seem to know any thing of the second forgery of the three introductory paragraphs, or of their bold introduction into William Shakspeare's will in the Dublin edition of his own work.

It is therefore clear that Mr. Jebb is mistaken in thinking that it was "a blunder ofMalone's." It seems, as far as we can see, to have been, not a blunder, but an audacious fabrication; and how it came into the Irish edition, seems to me incomprehensible. The printer of the Dublin edition, Exshaw, was a respectable man, an alderman and a Protestant, andhecould have no design to make William Shakspeare pass for a papist; nor indeed does the author of the fraud, whoever he was, attemptthat; for the three paragraphs profess to be the confession ofJohn. So that, on the whole, the matter is to me quite inexplicable; it is certain that it must have been a premeditated forgery and fraud, but by whom or for what possible purpose, I cannot conceive.

Beaumont and Fletcher; Gray; Seward; Milton.—By way of carrying out the suggestion which you thought fit to print at page 316, as to the advantages likely to arise from intimations in your pages of the existence of the MS. annotations, and other materials suitable to the purposes of intending editors of standard works, I beg to mention the following books in my possession, which are much at the service of any editor who may apply to you for my address, viz.:—

1. A copy of Tonson's 10 vol. edit. of Beaumont and Fletcher (8vo. 1750), interleaved and copiously annotated, to the extent of about half the plays, by Dr. Hoadly.

2. Mr. Haslewood's collection of materials for an edit. of Gray, consisting of several works and parts of works, MS. notes, newspaper cuttings, &c., bound in 6 vols.

3. A collection of works of Miss Anne Seward, Mr. Park's copy, with his MS. notes, newspaper cuttings, &c.

As a first instalment of my promised notes on Milton'sMinor Poems, I have transcribed the following from my two copies, premising that "G." stands for the name of Mr. Gilchrist, and "D." for that of Mr. Dunster, whose name is misprinted in your 316th page, as "Dunston."

Notes on Lycidas.

On l. 2. (G.):—

"O'er head sat a raven, on aserebough."

Jonson's Sad Shepherd, Act. I. Sc. 6.

On l. 26. (D.):—

"Whose so early layPreventsthe eyelids of the blushing day."

"Whose so early lay

Preventsthe eyelids of the blushing day."

Crashaw's Music's Duel.

On l. 27. (D.):—

"Each sheapherd's daughter, with her cleanly peale,was comeafieldto milke the morning's meale."

"Each sheapherd's daughter, with her cleanly peale,

was comeafieldto milke the morning's meale."

Brown's Britannia's Pastorals, B. iv. Sc. 4. p. 75. ed. 1616.

On l. 29. (G.):—

"And in thedeep fog battenall the day."

Drayton, vol. ii. p. 512. ed. 1753.

On l. 40. (G.):—

"Thegaddingwinde."

Phineas Fletcher's1stPiscatorie Eclogue, st. 21.

On l. 40. (D.):—

"This black den, which rocks emboss,Overgrownwith eldest moss."

"This black den, which rocks emboss,

Overgrownwith eldest moss."

Wither's Shepherd's Hunting, Eclogue 4.

On l. 68. (D.) the names of Amaryllis and Neæra are combined together with other classical names of beautiful nymphs by Ariosto (Orl. Fur.xi. st. 12.)

On l. 78. (D.) The reference intended by Warton is toPindar, Nem.Ode vii. l. 46.

On l. 122. (G.):—

"Of night or lonelinessit recks menot."

Comus, l. 404.

On l. 142. (G.):—

"Sorathea song."

Wither's Shepherd's Hunting, p. 430. ed. 1633.

On l. 165. (G.):—

"Sigh no more, ladies; ladies, sigh no more."

Shakspeare's Much Ado, ii. 3.

On l. 171. (G.):—

"Whatever makesHeaven's foreheadfine."

Crashaw's Weeper, st. 2.

J.F.M.

Depinges(No. 18. p. 277., and No. 20. p. 326.).—I have received the following information upon this subject from Yarmouth. Herring nets are usually made in four parts or widths,—one width, when they are in actual use, being fastened above another. The whole is shot overboard in very great lengths, and forms, as it were, a wall in the sea, by which the boat rides as by an anchor. These widths are technically called "lints" (Sax. lind?); the uppermost of them (connected by short ropes with a row of corks) being also called the "hoddy" (Sax. hod?), and the lowest, for an obvious reason, the "deepying" or "depynges," and sometimes "angles."

At other parts of the coast than Yarmouth, it seems that the uppermost width of net bears exclusively the name ofhoddy, the second width being called the firstlint, the third width the second lint, and the fourth the third lint, or, as before, "depynges."

W.R.F.

Lærig.—Without contraverting Mr. Singer's learned and interesting paper on this word (No. 19. p. 292.), I hope I shall not be thought presumptuous in remarking that there must have been some other root in the Teutonic language for the two following nouns, leer (Dutch) and lear (Flemish), which both signify leather (lorum, Lat.), and their diminutives or derivatives leer-ig and lear-ig, both used in the sense oftough.

Supposing the Ang.-Sax. "lærig" to be derived from the same root, it would denote in "ofer linde lærig," the leather covering of the shields, or their capability to resist a blow.

I will thank you to correct two misprints in my last communication, p. 299.; pisan for pison, and 'Ιοαννης for 'Ιωαννης.

By the by, the word "pison" is oddly suggestive of a covering for the breast (pys, Nor. Fr.). SeeFoulques Fitzwarin, &c.

B.W.

March 16th.

Lærig(No. 19. p. 292.).—The able elucidation given by Mr. Singer of the meaning of this word, renders, perhaps, any futher communication on the point unnecessary. Still I send the following notes in case they should be deemed worthy of notice.

"Ler, leer—vacuus. Berini Fabulæ, v. 1219. A.-S. ge-lær."

Junii Etymol. Anglicanum.

"Lar, lær—vacuus."

Schilteri Glossarium Teutonicum.

Respecting "Lind," I find in the version by Thorkelin ofDe Danorum Rebus Gestis Poema Danicum Dialecto Anglo-Saxonica(Havniæ, 1815), that "Lind hæbbendra" is rendered "Vesilla habens;" but then, on the other hand, in Biorn Haldorsen'sIslandske Lexicon(Havniæ, 1814), "Lind" (v. ii. p. 33) is translated "Scutum tiligneum."

C.I.R.

Vox et præterea nihil(No. 16. p. 247.).—The allusion to this proverb, quoted as if from theAnatomy of Melancholy, by "C.W.G." (No. 16. p. 247.), may be found in Addison'sSpectator, No. 61, where it is as follows:—

"In short, one may say of the pun as the countryman described his nightingale—that it is 'vox et præterea nihil.'"

The origin of the proverb is still a desideratum.

Nathan.

Vox et præterea nihil(No. 16. p 247.).—In a work entitledProverbiorum et Sententiarum Persicarum Centuria, a Levino Warnero, published at Amsterdam, 1644, the XCVII. proverb, which is given in the Persian character, is thus rendered in Latin,—

"Tympanum magnum edit clangorem, sed intus vacuum est."

And the note upon it is as follows:—

"Dicitur de iis, qui pleno ore vanas suas laudes ebuccinant. Eleganter Lacon quidam de luscinia dixit,—

Φωνα τυ τις εσσι και ουδεν αλλο,Vox tu quidem es et aliud nihil."

Φωνα τυ τις εσσι και ουδεν αλλο,

Vox tu quidem es et aliud nihil."

This must be the phrase quoted by Burton.

HERMES.

Supposed Etymology of Havior(No. 15. p. 230., and No. 17. p. 269.).—The following etymology of "heaviers" will probably be considered as not satisfactory, but this extract will show that the term itself is in use amongst the Scotch deerstalkers in the neighbourhood of Loch Lomond.

"Ox-deer, or 'heaviers,' as the foresters call them (most likely a corruption from the French 'hiver'), are wilder than either hart or hind. They often take post upon a height, that gives a look-out all round, which makes them very difficult to stalk. Although not so good when December is past, still they are in season all the winter; hence their French designation."—Colquhoun's Rocks and Rivers, p. 137. (London, 8vo. 1849.)

C.I.R.

Havior.—Without offering an opinion as to the relative probability of the etymology of this word, offered by your various correspondents (No. 17. p. 269.), I think it right that the use of the word in Scotland should not be overlooked.

In Jamieson's admirableDictionary, the following varieties of spelling and meaning (all evidently of the same word) occur:—

"AverorAiver, a horse used for labour; commonly an old horse; as in Burns—"'Yet aft a ragged cowte's been kenn'd To mak a nobleaiver.'"'This man wyl not obey.... Nochtheles I sall gar hym draw lik anavirin ane cart'—Bellend. Chron."'Aiver, a he-goat after he has been gelded: till then he is denominated abuck."Haiver,haivrel,haverel, a gelded goat (East Lothian, Lanarkshire, Sotherland)."Hebrun,heburn, are also synonymes."Averie, live-stock, as including horses, cattle, &c."'Calculation of what money, &c. will sustain their Majesties' house andaverie'—Keith's Hist."'Averia,averii, 'equi, boves, jumenta, oves, ceteraque animalia quæ agriculturæ inserviunt.'"—Ducange.

"AverorAiver, a horse used for labour; commonly an old horse; as in Burns—

"'Yet aft a ragged cowte's been kenn'd To mak a nobleaiver.'

"'This man wyl not obey.... Nochtheles I sall gar hym draw lik anavirin ane cart'—Bellend. Chron.

"'Aiver, a he-goat after he has been gelded: till then he is denominated abuck.

"Haiver,haivrel,haverel, a gelded goat (East Lothian, Lanarkshire, Sotherland).

"Hebrun,heburn, are also synonymes.

"Averie, live-stock, as including horses, cattle, &c.

"'Calculation of what money, &c. will sustain their Majesties' house andaverie'—Keith's Hist.

"'Averia,averii, 'equi, boves, jumenta, oves, ceteraque animalia quæ agriculturæ inserviunt.'"—Ducange.

Skene traces this word to the low Latin,averia, "quhilk signifies ane beast." According to Spelman, the Northumbrians call a horseaverorafer.

See much more learned disquisition on the origin of these evidently congenerous words under the termArage, in Jamieson.

EMDEE.

Mowbray Coheirs(No. 14. p. 213.).—Your correspondent "G." may obtain a clue to his researches on reference to theprivateact of parliament of the 19th Henry VII., No. 7., intituled, "An Act for Confirmation of a Partition of Lands made betweenWilliamMarquis Barkley and Thomas Earl of Surrey."—VideStatutes at Large.

W.H. LAMMIN.

Spurious Letter of Sir R. Walpole(No. 19. p. 304.)—"P.C.S.S." (No. 20. p. 321.) and "LORD BRAYBROOKE" (No. 21. p. 336.) will find their opinion of the letter being spurious confirmed by the appendix toLord Hervey's Memoirs, (vol. ii. p. 582.), and the editor's note, which proves the inaccuracy of the circumstances on which the inventor of the letter founded his fabrication. In addition to Lord Braybrooke's proofs that Sir Robert was not disabled by the stone, for some days previous to the 24th, from waiting on the king, let me add also, from Horace Walpole's authority, two conclusive facts; the first is, that it was not tillSunday night, the 31stJanuary(a week afterthe date of the letter) that Sir Robert made up his mind to resign; and, secondly, that he had at least two personal interviews with the king on that subject.

Line quoted by De Quincey.—"S.P.S." (No. 22. p. 351.) is informed that

"With battlements that on their restless frontsBore stars"...

"With battlements that on their restless fronts

Bore stars"...

is a passage taken from a gorgeous description of "Cloudland" by Wordsworth, which occurs near the end of the second book of the Excursion. The opium-eater gives a long extract, as "S.P.S." probably remembers.

A.G.

Ecclesfield, March 31. 1850.

Quem Jupiter vult perdere priùs dementat.—Malone, in a note inBoswell's Johnson(p. 718., Croker's last edition), says, that a gentleman of Cambridge found this apophthegm in an edition of Euripides (not named) as a translation of an iambic.

"Ον Θεος Δελει 'απολεσαι, πρωτ' 'αποφρενοι."

The Latin translation the Cambridge gentleman might have found in Barnes; but where is theGreek, so different from that of Barnes, to be found? It is much nearer to the Latin.

Bernicia.—In answer to the inquiry of "GOMER" (No. 21. p. 335.), "P.C.S.S." begs leave to refer him to Camden'sBritannia(Philemon Holland's translation, Lond. fol. 1637), where he will find, at p. 797., the following passage:—

"But these ancient names were quite worn out of use in the English Saxon War; and all the countries lying north or the other side of the arme of the sea called Humber, began, by a Saxon name, to be called [Old English: Northan-Humbra-ric] that is, the Kingdome of Northumberland; which name, notwithstanding being now cleane gone in the rest of the shires, remayneth still,as it were, surviving in Northumberland onely; which, when that state of kingdome stood, was known to be a part of theKingdome of Bernicia, which hadpeculiar petty kings, and reached from the River Tees to Edenborough Frith."

At p. 817. Camden traces the etymology ofBerwickfromBernicia.

P.C.S.S.

Cæsar's Wife.—If the object of "NASO'S" Query (No. 18. p. 277.) be merely to ascertain the origin of the proverb, "Cæsar's wife must be above suspicion," he will find in Suetonius (Jul. Cæs. 74.) to the following effect:—

"The name of Pompeia, the wife of Julius Cæsar,having been mixed up with an accusation againstP. Clodius, her husband divorced her; not, as he said,because he believed the charge against her, but becausehe would have those belonging to him as free fromsuspicion as from crime."

"The name of Pompeia, the wife of Julius Cæsar,

having been mixed up with an accusation against

P. Clodius, her husband divorced her; not, as he said,

because he believed the charge against her, but because

he would have those belonging to him as free from

suspicion as from crime."

J.E.

[We have received a similar replay, with the addition of a reference to Plutarch (Julius Cæsar, cap. 10.), from several other kind correspondents.]

Nomade(No. 21. p. 342.).—There can be no doubt at all that the word "nomades" is Greek, and means pastoral nations. It is so used in Herodotus more than once, derived from νομος, pasture: νεμω, to graze, is generally supposed to be the derivation of the name of Numidians.

C.B.

Gray's Elegy.—In reply to the Query of your correspondent "J.F.M." (No. 7. p. 101.), as well as in allusion to remarks made by others among your readers in the following numbers on the subject of Gray'sElegy, I beg to state that, in addition to the versions in foreign languages of this fine composition therein enumerated, there is one printed among the poem, original and translated, by C.A. Wheelwright, B.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, published by Longman & Co. 1811. (2d. edition, 1812.) If I mistake not, the three beautiful stanzas, given by Mason in his notes to Gray, viz. those beginning,—

"The thoughtless world to majesty may bow,""Hark! how the sacred calm that breathes around,""Him have we seen," &c.

"The thoughtless world to majesty may bow,"

"Hark! how the sacred calm that breathes around,"

"Him have we seen," &c.

(the last of which is so remarkable for its Doric simplicity, as well as being essential to mark the concluding period of the contemplative man's day) have not been admitted into any edition of theElegy.

With the regard to the last stanza of the epitaph, its meaning is certainly involved in some degree of obscurity, though it is, I think, hardly to be charged with irreverence, according to the opinion of your correspondent "S.W." (No. 10. p. 150.). By the wordstrembling hope, there can be no doubt, that Petrarch's similar expression,paventosa speme, quoted in Mason's note, was embodied by the English poet. In the omitted version, mentioned in the beginning of this notice, the epitaph is rendered into Alcaics. The concluding stanza is as follows:—

"Utra sepulti ne meritis fane,Et parce culpas, invide, proloqui,Spe nunc et incerto timoreNuminis in gremio quiescunt."

"Utra sepulti ne meritis fane,

Et parce culpas, invide, proloqui,

Spe nunc et incerto timore

Numinis in gremio quiescunt."

ARCHÆUS.

Wiesbaden, Feb. 16. 1850.

Cromwell's Estates(No. 18. p. 277., and No. 21. p. 339.).—I am much obliged to "SELEUCUS" for his answer to this inquiry, as far as regards the seignory of Gower. It also throws a strong light on the remaining names; by the aid of which, looking in Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire, I have identifiedMargorewith the parish of Magor (St. Mary's), hundred of Caldecott, co. Monmouth: and guess, that for Chepstall we must readChepstow, which is in the same hundred, and the population of which we know was stout in the royal cause, as tenants of the Marquis of Worcester would be.

Then I guess Woolaston may beWoolston(hundred of Dewhurst), co. Gloucester; and Chaulton, one of theCharltonsin the same county, perhapsCharlton Kings, near Cheltenham; where again we read, that many of the residents were slain in the civil war,fighting on the king's side.

This leaves only Sydenham without something like a probable conjecture, at least: unless here, too, we may guess it was miswritten for Siddington, near Cirencester. The names, it is to be observed, are only recorded by Noble; whose inaccuracy as a transcriber has been shown abundantly by Carlyle. The record to which he refers as extant in the House of Commons papers, is not to be found, I am told.

Now, if it could be ascertained, either that the name in question had been Cromwell's, or even that they were a part of the Worcester estates, before the civil war, we should have the whole list cleared,—thanks to the aid so effectually given by "SELEUCUS'S" apposite explanations of one of its items.

Will your correspondents complete the illustrations thus well begun?

Belgravia, March 26.

Franz von Sickingen.—Your correspondent "S.W.S." (No. 21. p. 336.) speaks of his having had some difficulty in finding a portrait of Franz Von Sickingen; it may not therefore, by uninteresting to him to know (if not already aware of it) that upon the north side of the nave of the cathedral of Treves, is a monument of Richard VonGreifenklan, who defended Treves against the said Franz; and upon the entablature are portraits of the said archbishop on the one side, and his enemy Franz on the other. Why placed there it is difficult to conceive, unless to show that death had made the prelate and the robber equals.

W.C.

The sacred writers to express the whole,Name but a part, and call the man asoul.We frame our speech upon a different plan,And say "somebody," when we mean a man.Nobodyheeds what everybodysays,And yet how sad the secret it betrays!

The sacred writers to express the whole,

Name but a part, and call the man asoul.

We frame our speech upon a different plan,

And say "somebody," when we mean a man.

Nobodyheeds what everybodysays,

And yet how sad the secret it betrays!

RUFUS.

"Laissez faire, laissez passer."—I think your correspondent "A MAN IN A GARRET" (No. 19. p. 308.) is not warranted in stating that M. de Gournay was the author of the above axiom of political economy. Last session Lord J. Russell related an anecdote in the House of Commons which referred the phrase to an earlier date. In theTimesof the 2nd of April, 1849, his Lordship is reported to have said, on the preceding day, in a debate on the Rate-in-Aid Bill, that Colbert, with the intention of fostering the manufactures of France, established regulations which limited the webs woven in looms to a particular size. He also prohibited the introduction of foreign manufactures into France. The French vine-growers, finding that under this system they could no longer exchange their wine for foreign goods, began to grumble. "It was then," said his Lordship, "that Colbert, having asked a merchant what he should do, he (the merchant), with great justice and great sagacity, said, 'Laissez faire et laissez passer'—do not interfere as to the size and mode of your manufactures, do not interfere with the entrance of foreign imports, but let them compete with your own manufactures."

Colbert died twenty-nine years before M. de Gournay was born. Lord J. Russell omitted to state whether Colbert followed the merchant's advice.

C. ROSS.

College Salting and Tucking of Freshmen(No. 17. p. 261., No. 19. p. 306.).—A circumstantial account of the tucking of freshmen, as practised in Exeter College, oxford, in 1636, is given in Mr. Martyn'sLife of the First Lord Shaftesbury, vol. i. p. 42.

"On a particular day, the senior under-graduates, in the evening, called the freshmen to the fire, and made them hold out their chins; whilst one of the seniors, with the nail of his thumb (which was left long for that purpose), grated off all the skin from the lip to the chin, and then obliged him to drink a beer-glass of water and salt."

Lord Shaftesbury was a freshman at Exeter in 1636; and the story told by his biographer is, that he organised a resistance among his fellow freshmen to the practice, and that a row took place in the college hall, which led to the interference of the master, Dr. Prideaux, and to the abolition of the practice in Exeter College. The custom is there said to have been of great antiquity in the college.

The authority cited by Mr. Martyn for the story is a Mr. Stringer, who was a confidential friend of Lord Shaftesbury's, and made collections for a Life of him; and it probably comes from Lord Shaftesbury himself.

Byron and Tacitus.—Although Byron is, by our school rules, a forbidden author, I sometimes contrive to indulge myself in reading his works by stealth. Among the passages that have struck my (boyish) fancy is the couplet in "The Bride of Abydos" (line 912),—

"Mark! where his carnage and his conquests cease!He makes a solitude, and calls it—peace!"

"Mark! where his carnage and his conquests cease!

He makes a solitude, and calls it—peace!"

Engaged this morning in a more legitimate study, that of Tacitus, I stumbled upon this passage in the speech of Galgacus (Ag. xxx.),—

"Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem adpellant."

Does not this look very much like what we call "cabbaging?" If you think so, by adding it to the other plagiarisms of the same author, noted in some of your former numbers, you will confer a great honour on

A SCHOOLBOY.

The Pardonere and Frere.—If Mr. J.P. Collier would, at some leisure moment, forward, for your pages, a complete list of the variations from the original, in Smeeton's reprint ofThe Pardonere and Frere, he would confer a favour which would be duly appreciated by the possessors of that rare tract, small as their number must be; since, in my copy (once in the library of Thomas Jolley, Esq.), there is an autograph attestation by Mr. Rodd, that "there were no more than twenty copies printed."

G.A.S.

Mistake in Gibbon(No. 21. p. 341.).—The passage in Gibbon has an error more interesting than the mere mistake of the author. That a senator should make a motion to be repeated and chanted by the rest, would be rather a strange thing; but the tumultuous acclamations chanted by the senators as parodies of those in praise of Commodus, which had been usual at the Theatres (Dio), were one thing; the vote or decree itself, which follows, is another.

There are many errors, no doubt, to be found in Gibbon. I will mention one which may be entertaining, though I dare say Mr. Milman hasfound it out. In chap. 47. (andseenote 26.), Gibbon was too happy to make the most of the murder of the female philosopher Hypatia, by a Christian mob at Alexandria. But the account which he gives is more shocking than the fact. He seems not to have been familiar enough with Greek to recollect that 'ανειλον meanskilled. Her throat was cut with an oyster-shell, because, for a reason which he has very acutely pointed out, oyster-shells were at hand; but she was clearly not "cut in pieces," nor, "her flesh scraped off the bones," till after she was dead. Indeed, there was no scraping from the bones at all. That they used oyster-shells is a proof that the act was not premeditated. Neither did she deserve the title of modest which Gibbon gives her. Her way of rejecting suitors is disgusting enough in Suidas.

C.B.

Public Libraries.—In looking through the Parliamentary Report on Libraries, I missed, though they may have escaped my notice, any mention of a valuable one inNewcastle-on-Tyne, "Dr. Thomlinson's;" for which a handsome building was erected early last century, near St. Nicholas Church, and a Catalogue of its contents has been published. I saw also, some years ago, a library attached toWimborne Minster, which appeared to contained some curious books.

The Garrison Library atGibraltaris, I believe, one of the most valuable English libraries on the continent of Europe.

W.C.T.

Edinburgh, March 30. 1850.

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