Replies.

"These famous antiquarians, that had beenBoth gardeners to the Rose and Lily queen."

"These famous antiquarians, that had been

Both gardeners to the Rose and Lily queen."

Can any of your readers inform mewhenthe elder Tradescant came over to England, and when he was appointed royal gardener? Was it not in the reign of Elizabeth?

J. C. B.

Lambeth.

Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Craigs.—L. M. M. R. is very anxious to be informed as to the origin of the name of Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Craigs, the well-known hill and rocks close to Edinburgh.

Lincoln Missal.—Is a manuscript of the missal, according to the use of the church of Lincoln, known to exist? and, if so, where may it be seen?

Edward Peacock, Jun.

(Vol. iii., p. 66.)

I must beg a very small portion of your space to reply to your correspondent H. K. S. C., who criticises so pleasantly my remarks on the meaning of "eisell." The question is: Does the meaningMr. Singerattaches to this word require in the passage cited the expression of quantity to make it definite? I am disposed to think that a definite quantity may be sometimes understood, in a well-defined act, although it benotexpressed. On the other hand, your correspondent should know that English idiom requires that the name of a river should be preceded by the definite article, unless it be personified; and that whenever it is used without the article, it is represented by the personal pronounhe. Though a man were able "to drinkthe Thamesdry," he could no more "drink upThames" than he could drink upNeptune, or the sea-serpent, or do any other impossible feat.

I observed before, that "the notion of drinking up a river would be both unmeaning and out of place." I said this, with the conviction that there was a purpose in everything that Shakspeare wrote; and being still of this persuasion, allow me to protest against the terms "mere verbiage" and "extravagant rant," which your correspondent applies to the passage in question. The poet does not present common things as they appear to all men. Shakspeare's art was equally great,whether he spoke with the tongues of madmen or philosophers. H. K. S. C. cannot conceive why each feat of daring should be a tame possibility, save only the last; but I say that they areallpossible; that it was a daring to do not impossible but extravagant feats. As far as quantity is concerned, to eat a crocodile would be more than to eat an ox. Crocodile may be a very delicate meat, for anything I know to the contrary; but I must confess it appears to me to be introduced as something loathsome or repulsive, and (on the poet's part) to cap the absurdity of the preceding feat. The use made by other writers of a passage is one of the most valuable kinds of comment. In a burlesque some years ago, I recollect a passage was brought to a climax with the very words, "Wilt eat a crocodile?" The immediate and natural response was—not"the thing's impossible!" but—"you nasty beast!" What a descent then from the drinking up of a river to a merely disagreeable repast. In the one case the object is clear and intelligible, and the last feat is suggested by the not so difficult but little less extravagant preceding one; in the other, each is unmeaning (in reference to the speaker), unsuggested, and, unconnected with the other; and, regarding the order an artist would observe, out of place.

Samuel Hickson.

St. John's Wood, Jan. 27. 1851.

P.S. In replying to Mr. G.Stephens, in reference to the meaning of a passage in theTempest, I expressed a wish that he would give the meaning of what he called a "common ellipsis" "statedat full." This stands in your columns (Vol. ii., p. 499.) "at first," in which expression I am afraid he would be puzzled to find any meaning.

I might safely leave H. K. S. C. to the same gentle correction bestowed upon a neighbour of his at Brixton some time since, byMr. Hickson, but I must not allow him to support his dogmatic and flippant hypercriticism by falsehood and unfounded insinuation, and I therefore beg leave to assure him that I have no claim to the enviable distinction of being designated as the friend ofMr. Hickson, to whom I am an utter stranger, having never seen him, and knowing nothing of that gentleman but what his very valuable communications to your publication conveys.

I have further to complain of the want of truth in the very first paragraph of your correspondent's note: the question respecting the meaning of "Eisell" doesnot"remain substantially where Steevens and Malone left it;" for I have at least shown thatEisellmeantWormwood, and that Shakspeare has elsewhere undoubtedly used it in that sense.

Again: the remark about the fashion of extravagant feats, such as swallowing nauseous draughts in honour of a mistress, was quite uncalled for. Your correspondent would insinuate that I attribute to Shakspeare's time "what in reality belongs to the age of Du Guesclin and the Troubadours." Does he mean to infer that it did not in reality equally belong to Shakspeare's age? or that I was ignorant of its earlier prevalence?

The purport of such remarks is but too obvious; but he may rest assured that they will not tend to strengthen his argument, if argument it can be called, for I must confess I do not understand what he means by his "definite quantity." But the phrasedrink upis his stalking-horse; and as he is no doubt familiar with theNursery Rhymes[1], a passage in them—

"Eat up your cake, Jenny,Drink upyour wine."

"Eat up your cake, Jenny,

Drink upyour wine."

may perhaps afford him further apt illustration.

The proverb tells us "It is dangerous playing with edge tools," and so it is with bad puns: he has shown himself an unskilful engineer in the use ofMr. Hickson's canon, with which he was to have "blown up"Mr. Hickson's argument and my proposition; with what success may be fairly left to the judgment of your readers. I will, however, give him another canon, which may be of use to him on some future occasion: "When a probable solution of a difficulty is to be found by a parallelism in the poet's pages, it is better to adopt it than to charge him with a blunder of our own creating."

The allusion to "breaking Priscian's head" reminds one of the remark of a witty friend on a similar occasion, that "there are some heads not easily broken, but the owners of them have often the fatuity to run them against stumbling-blocks of their own making."

S. W. Singer.

Footnote 1:(return)Nursery Rhymes, edited by James Orchard Halliwell, Esq., F. R. S., &c.

Nursery Rhymes, edited by James Orchard Halliwell, Esq., F. R. S., &c.

(Vol. ii., p. 375.)

Under the head of "Descent of Edward IV.," S. A. Y. asks for information concerning "a popular, though probably groundless tradition," by which that prince sought to prove his title to the throne of England. S. A. Y., or his authority, Professor Millar, is mistaken in ascribing it to Edward IV.—it was Henry IV. who so sought to establish his claim.

"Upon Richard II.'s resignation ... Henry, Duke of Lancaster, having then a large army in the kingdom ... it was impossible for any other title to be asserted with safety, and he became king under the title of Henry IV. He was, nevertheless, not admitted to the crown until he had declared that heclaimed, not as a conqueror (which he was much inclined to do), but as a successor descended by right line of the blood royal.... And in order to this he set up a show of two titles: the one upon the pretence of being the first of the blood royal of the entire male line; whereas the Duke of Clarence (Lionel, elder brother of John of Gaunt) left only one daughter, Philippa: the other, by reviving an exploded rumour, first propagated by John of Gaunt, that Edmond Earl of Lancaster (to whom Henry's mother was heiress) was in reality the elder brother of King Edward I., though his parents, on account of his personal deformity, had imposed him on the world for the younger."—Blackstone'sCommentaries, book i. ch. iii. p. 203. of edit. 1787.

This Edmond, Earl of Lancaster, was succeeded by his son Thomas, who in the fifteenth year of the reign of Edward II. was attainted of high treason. In the first of Edward III. his attainder was reversed, and his son Henry inherited his titles, and subsequently was created Duke of Lancaster. Blanche, daughter of Henry, first Duke of Lancaster, subsequently became his heir, and was second wife to John of Gaunt, and mother to Henry IV.

Edward IV.'s claim to the throne was by descent from Lionel, Duke of Clarence, third son of Edward III., his mother being Cicely, youngest daughter of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland. Lionel married Elizabeth de Burgh, an Irish heiress, who died shortly after, leaving one daughter, Philippa. As William of Hatfield, second son of Edward III., died at an early age, without issue, according to all our ideas of hereditary succession Philippa, only child of Edward III.'s third son, ought to have inherited before the son of his fourth son; and Sir Edward Coke expressly declares, that the right of the crown was in the descent from Philippa, daughter and heir of Lionel, Duke of Clarence. Henry IV.'s right, however, was incontestable, being based on overwhelming might. Philippa married Edward Mortimer, Earl of March. Roger, their son, succeeded his father in his titles, and left one daughter, Anne, who married Richard, Earl of Cambridge, son of Edmund Langley, Duke of York, which Edmund, Duke of York, was the fifth son of Edward III.; and thus the line of York, though a younger branch of the royal family, took precedence,de jure, of the Lancaster line. From this union sprang Richard, Duke of York, who was killed under the walls of Sandal Castle, and who left his titles and pretensions to Edward, afterwards the fourth king of that name.

The above is taken from several authorities, among which are Blackstone'sComm., book i. ch. iii.; and Miss Strickland'sLives of the Queens of England, vols. ii. iii. iv.

Tee Bee.

(Vol. ii., p. 494.; Vol. iii., p. 26.)

W. R. C. states that he is anxious to collect all possible information as to this once noble animal. I would have offered the following notes and references sooner, but that I was confident that some abler contributor to the pages of "Notes and Queries" would have brought out of his stores much to interest your natural history readers (whose Queries I regret are so few and far between), and at the same time elucidate some points touched upon by W. R. C., as to the period of its becoming extinct. Perhaps he would favour me with the particulars of "its being shot in 1553," and a particular reference to the plate alluded to in theNuremberg Chronicle, as I have not been able to recognise inanyof its plates the Cervus Megaceros, and I am disposed to question the correctness of the statement, that the animal existed so lately as the period referred to.

There is in the splendid collections of the Royal Dublin Society (which, unfortunately, is not arranged as it should be, from want of proper space), a fineskeletonof this animal, thefirstperfect one possessed by any public body in Europe:

"It is perfect" [I quote the admirable memoir drawn up for the Royal Dublin Society by that able comparative anatomist Dr. John Hart, which will amply repay a perusal by W. R. C., or any other naturalist who may feel an interest in the subject] "in every single bone of the framework which contributes to form a part of the general outline, the spine, the chest, the pelvis, and the extremities are all complete in this respect; and when surmounted by the head andbeautifully expanded antlers, which extend out to a distance of nearly six feet on either side, form a splendid display of the reliques of the former grandeur of the animal kingdom, and carries back the imagination to the period when whole herds of this noble animal wandered at large over the face of the country."

Until Baron Cuvier published his account of these remains, they were generally supposed to be the same as those of the Moose deer or elk of N. America. (VideAnn. du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, tom. xii., andOssemens Fossiles, tom. iv.) This error seems to have originated with Dr. Molyneux in 1697. (VidePhil. Trans., vol. xix.)

The perforated rib referred to was presented to the society by Archdeacon Maunsell, and

"contains an oval opening towards its lower edge, the long diameter of which is parallel to the length of the rib, its margin is depressed on the outer and raised on the inner surface; round which there is an irregular effusion of callus.... In fact, such a wound as would be produced by the head of an arrow remaining in the wound after the shaft had broken off."—Hart'sMemoir, p. 29.

There are in the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin, a very complete and interesting series ofantlered skulls of this animal. Should W. R. C. or any other reader of "Notes and Queries," desire further information on this subject, I will gladly, if in my power, afford it.

S. P. H. T. (a M. R. D. S.)

Coverdale Bible(Vol. iii., p. 54.).—Your correspondentEchois quite right in declaring Mr. Granville Penn's statement, that Coverdale used Tyndale'sNew Test. in his Bible of 1535, to be quite wrong. Mr. Penn very probably took his statement from the Preface to D'Oyley and Mant's Bible, as published by the Christian Knowledge Society, which contains a very erroneous account of the earliest English versions.

Tyndale's version of the New Testament was not incorporated in any version of the whole Bible till the publication of what is called Matthewe's Bible in 1537.

For more particular statements confirmed by proofs, your correspondent may consult Anderson'sAnnals of the English Bible, under the dates of the respective editions, or his appendix to vol. ii., pp. viii., ix.; or Mr. Pearson's biographical notice of Coverdale, prefixed to the Parker Soc. edit. of hisRemains; or the biographical notice of Tyndale, prefixed to the Parker Soc. edit. of his Works, pp. lxxiv., lxxv.; orTwo Letters to Bishop Marsh on the Independence of the Authorised Version, published for me by Hatchard in 1827 and 1828.

Henry Walter.

Epitaph(Vol. iii., p. 57.).—The name of the "worthie knyght" isSir Thomas Gravener, as A. B. R. might have seen in the printed Catalogue of the Harleian MSS. Who he was, is a more difficult question to answer; but there was a family of that name settled in Staffordshire, as appears from MS. Harl. 1476. fol. 250. The epitaph in question (at fol. 28 b of the old numbering, or 24 b of the new,notfol. 25 b.) is inserted among several short poems written by Sir Thomas Wyatt; and the epitaph itself has a capital W affixed to it, as if it were also of his composition: but I do not find it inserted in Dr. Nott's edition of his poetical works, in 1816; nor does this MS. appear to have been consulted by Dr. Nott. And here I may take the liberty of remarking, how desirable it is that your correspondents, in sending any extracts from old English MSS. to the "Notes and Queries," should adhere strictly to the original orthography, or else modernise it altogether. A. B. R. evidently intends to retain the ancient spelling; yet, from haste or inadvertence, he has committed no less than forty-fourliteralerrors in transcribing this short epitaph, and threeverbalones, namely,ittforthat(l. 11.),HysforThe(l. 14.), andorforand(l. 17.). Another curious source of error may here be pointed out. Nearly all the MSS. contained in the British Museum collections are not only distinguished by a number, but have apress-markstamped on the back, which is denoted byPlut.(an abbreviation ofPluteus, press), with the number and shelf. Thus the Harleian MS. 78., referred to by A. B. R., stands inpress(Plut.) LXIII.shelfE. In consequence of the Cottonian collection having been originally designated after the names of the twelve Cæsars (whose busts, together with those of Cleopatra and Faustina, stood above the presses), it appears to have been supposed that other classical names served as references to the remaining portions of the manuscript department. In A. B. R.'s communication,Plut.is expressed by the name ofPluto; in a volume of Miss Strickland'sLives of the Queens of Scotland, lately published, it is metamorphosed intoPlutus; and the late Dr. Adam Clarke refers to some of Dr. Dee's MSS. in theSloane(more correctly,Cottonian) library, underPlutarchxvi. G! (SeeCatalogueof his MSS., 8vo., 1835, p. 62.) The same amusing error is more formally repeated by Dr. J. F. Payen, in a recent pamphlet, entitledNouveaux Documents inédits ou peu connus sur Montaigne, 8vo., 1850, at p. 24. of which he refers to "Bibl. Egerton, vol. 23.,Plutarch, f. 167.," [Plut.CLXVII. F.], and adds in a note:

"On sait que dans nos bibliothèques les grandes divisions sont marquées par les lettres de l'alphabet;au Musée Britannique c'est par des noms de personnages célèbres qu'on les designe."

μ.

Probabilism(Vol. iii., p. 61.).—Probabilism, so far as it means the principle of reasoning or acting upon the opinion of eminent teachers or writers, was the principle of the Pythagoreans, whoseipse dixit, speaking of their master, is proverbial; and of Aristotle, in his Topics.

But probabilism, in its strict sense, I presume, means the doctrine so common among the Jesuits, 200 years ago, and so well stated by Pascal, that it is lawful to act upon an opinion expressed by a single writer of weight, though contrary to one's own opinion, and entirely overbalanced, either in weight or numbers, by the opinion of other writers.

Jeremy Taylor, in hisDuctor Dubitantium, tells us that this doctrine, though very prevalent, was quite modern; and that the old Casuists, according to the plain suggestions of common sense, held directly the contrary, namely, that the less probable opinion must give way to the more probable.

All this may be no answer to the deeper research, perhaps, of your enquirer,—but it may possibly be interesting to general readers, as well as the following refined and ingenious sophism which was used in its support:—They said that all agreed that you could not be wrong in using the more probable, best supported,opinion of the two. Now, let that in the particular case in question be A, and the less probable B. But the doctrine that you may lawfully take the less probable in general is the more probable doctrine; meaning at that time the doctrine of the greater number of authorities: therefore they said, even upon your principles it is lawful to take B.

C. B.

Old Hewson the Cobbler(Vol. iii., pp. 11. 73.).—The most satisfactory account of "old Hewson" is the following, extracted fromThe Loyal Martyrology, by William Winstanley, small 8vo. 1665, (p. 123.):—

"John Hewson, who, from a cobbler, rose by degrees to be a colonel, and though a person of no parts either in body or mind, yet made by Cromwell one of his pageant lords. He was a fellow fit for any mischief, and capable of nothing else; a sordid lump of ignorance and impiety, and therefore the more fit to share in Cromwell's designs, and to act in that horrid murther of his Majesty. Upon the turn of the times, he ran away for fear of Squire Dun [the common hangman], and (by report) is since dead, and buried at Amsterdam."

In the collection of songs entitledThe Rump, 1666, may be found two ballads relative to Hewson, viz., "A Hymne to the Gentle Craft; or Hewson's Lamentation. To the tune of the Blind Beggar:"

"Listen a while to what I shall sayOf a blind cobbler that's gone astrayOut of the parliament's high way,Good people pity the blind."

"Listen a while to what I shall say

Of a blind cobbler that's gone astray

Out of the parliament's high way,

Good people pity the blind."

"The Cobbler's Last Will and Testament; or the Lord Hewson's translation:"

"To Christians all, I greeting send,That they may learn their souls to amendBy viewing, of mycobbler's end."

"To Christians all, I greeting send,

That they may learn their souls to amend

By viewing, of mycobbler's end."

Lord Hewson's "one eye" is a frequent subject of ridicule in the political songs of the period. Thus in "The Bloody Bed-roll, or Treason displayed in its Colours:"

"Make room for one-ey'dHewson,A Lord of such account,'Twas a pretty jestThat such a beastShould to such honour mount."

"Make room for one-ey'dHewson,

A Lord of such account,

'Twas a pretty jest

That such a beast

Should to such honour mount."

The song inquired for by my friendMr. Chapell, beginning, "My name is old Hewson," is not contained in any of the well-known printed collections of political songs and ballads, nor is it to be found among the broadsides preserved in the King's Pamphlets. A full index to the latter is now before me, so I make this statementpositively, and to save others the trouble of a search.

Edward F. Rimbault.

Old Hewson and Smollett's "Strap."—Perhaps the enclosed extract from an old newspaper of April, 1809, will throw some light upon this subject:

"SMOLLETT'S CELEBRATED HUGH STRAP."On Sunday was interred, in the burial-ground of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, the remains of Hugh Hewson, who died at the age of 85. The deceased was a man of no mean celebrity. He had passed more than forty years in the parish of St. Martin's, and kept a hair-dresser's shop, being no less a personage than the identicalHugh Strap, whom Dr. Smollett rendered so conspicuously interesting in his life and adventures of Roderick Random. The deceased was a very intelligent man, and took delight in recounting the scenes of his early life. He spoke with pleasure of the time he passed in the service of the Doctor; and it was his pride, as well as boast, to say, that he had been educated at the same seminary with so learned and distinguished a character. His shop was hung round with Latin quotations, and he would frequently point out to his acquaintance the several scenes in Roderick Random, pertaining to himself, which had their foundation, not in the Doctor's inventive fancy, but in truth and reality. The Doctor's meeting with him at a barber's shop at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the subsequent mistake at the Inn, their arrival together in London, and the assistance they experienced fromStrap'sfriend were all of that description. The deceased, to the last, obtained a comfortable subsistence by his industry, and of late years had been paid a weekly salary by the inhabitants of the Adelphi, for keeping the entrances to Villiers-walk, and securing the promenade from the intrusion of strangers."

"SMOLLETT'S CELEBRATED HUGH STRAP.

"On Sunday was interred, in the burial-ground of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, the remains of Hugh Hewson, who died at the age of 85. The deceased was a man of no mean celebrity. He had passed more than forty years in the parish of St. Martin's, and kept a hair-dresser's shop, being no less a personage than the identicalHugh Strap, whom Dr. Smollett rendered so conspicuously interesting in his life and adventures of Roderick Random. The deceased was a very intelligent man, and took delight in recounting the scenes of his early life. He spoke with pleasure of the time he passed in the service of the Doctor; and it was his pride, as well as boast, to say, that he had been educated at the same seminary with so learned and distinguished a character. His shop was hung round with Latin quotations, and he would frequently point out to his acquaintance the several scenes in Roderick Random, pertaining to himself, which had their foundation, not in the Doctor's inventive fancy, but in truth and reality. The Doctor's meeting with him at a barber's shop at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the subsequent mistake at the Inn, their arrival together in London, and the assistance they experienced fromStrap'sfriend were all of that description. The deceased, to the last, obtained a comfortable subsistence by his industry, and of late years had been paid a weekly salary by the inhabitants of the Adelphi, for keeping the entrances to Villiers-walk, and securing the promenade from the intrusion of strangers."

John Francis.

Rodolph Gualter(Vol. iii., p. 8.).—From letters to and from Rodolph Gualter (inZurich, andOriginal Letters, Parker Society) little can be gathered; thus much have I gleaned, that though mention is oftentimes made of Scotland, yet not sufficient to identify Gualter as being a native of that country; yet it should be observed that he dedicated his Homilies on the Galatians to the King of Scotland,Zurich Letters(second series) cxviii., see also, cxxix., cxxx. These remarks may tend perchance to put J. C. R. on the right track for obtaining true information.

N. E. R. (a Subscriber.)

Burning the Hill(Vol. ii., pp. 441. 498.).—The provision forburning outa delinquent miner, contained in the Mendip mine laws, called Lord C. J. Choke's laws, first appeared in print in 1687; at least I can find no earlier notice of them in anybook; but as the usages sanctioned by them are incidentally mentioned in proceedings in the Exchequer in 21 and 22 Elizabeth, they are no doubt of early date. Article 6. certainly has a very sanguinary aspect; but as the thief, whose hut and tools are to be burnt, is himself to be "banishedfrom his occupation before the miners for ever," it cannot be intended that he should be himself burnt also. If any instance of the exercise of acustom or law so clearly illegal had ever occurred within recent times, we should have assuredly found some record of it in the annals of criminal justice, as the executioner would infallibly have been hanged. The regulations are probably an attempt by some private hand to embody the local customs of the district, so far as regards lead mining; and they contain the substance of the usual customs prevalent in most metallic regions, where mines have been workedab antiquo. The first report of the Dean Forest Commission, 1839, f. 12., adverts to a similar practice among the coal and iron miners in that forest. It seems to be an instance of theDroit des arsins, or right of arson, formerly claimed and exercised to a considerable extent, and with great solemnity, in Picardy, Flanders, and other places; but I know of no instance in which this wild species of metallifodine justice has been claimed to apply to anything but the culprit's local habitation and tools of trade. I need not add that the custom, even with this limitation, would now be treated by the courts as a vulgar error, and handed over to the exclusive jurisdiction of the legal antiquaries and collectors of the Juris amœnitates.

E. Smirke.

"Fronte capillata," &c. (vol. iii., pp. 8. 43.).—The couplet is much older than G. A. S. seems to think. The author is Dionysius Cato,—"Catoun," as Chaucer calls him—in his book,Distichorum de Moribus, lib. ii. D. xxvi.:

"Rem tibi quam nosces aptam, dimittere noli:Fronte capillata, post est Occasio calva."Corp. Poet. Lat., Frankfurt, 1832, p. 1195.

"Rem tibi quam nosces aptam, dimittere noli:

Fronte capillata, post est Occasio calva."

Corp. Poet. Lat., Frankfurt, 1832, p. 1195.

The history of this Dionysius Cato is unknown; and it has been hotly disputed whether he were a Heathen or Christian; but he isat leastas old as the fourth century of the Christian era, being mentioned by Vindicianus, chief physician in ordinary to the emperor, in a letter to Valentinian I.,A.D.365. In the illustrations ofThe Baptistery, Parker, Oxford, 1842, which are re-engraved from the originals in theVia Vitæ Eternæ, designed by Boetius a Bolswert, the figure of "Occasion" is always drawn with the hair hanging loose in front, according to the distich.

E. A. D.

Time when Herodotus wrote(vol. ii., p. 405.; Vol. iii., p. 30.)—The passage in Herodotus (i. 5.) is certainly curious, and had escaped my notice, until pointed out by your correspondent. I am unable at present to refer to Smith'sDictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology; but I doubt whether the reading of the poem or title, in Aristotle'sRhetoric(II.9. § 1.), has received much attention. In my forthcoming translation of the "Pseudo-Herodotean Life of Homer" prefixed to theOdysseia(Bohn'sClassical Library), note 1., I have thus given it:—

"This is the exposition of the historical researches of Herodotus ofThurium," &c.

Now Aristotle makes no remark on the passage as being unusual, and it therefore inclines me to think that, at the time of that philosopher and critic, both editions were in use.

The date of the building of Thurium isB.C.444, and Herodotus was there at its foundation, being then about forty years of age. Most likely he had published a smaller edition of this book before that time, bearing the original date from Halicarnassus, which he revised,enlarged, corrected, andpartly re-wroteat Thurium. I think this would not be difficult to prove; and I would add that this retouching would be found more apparent at the beginning of the volume than elsewhere. This may be easily accounted for by the feeling that modern as well as ancient authors have, viz., that of laziness and inertness; revising the first 100 pages carefully, but decreasing from that point. But to return: Later editors, I conceive, erased the word Thurium used by Herodotus, who was piqued and vexed at his native city, and substituted, or restored, Halicarnassus; not, however, changing the text.

A learned friend of mine wished for the bibliographical history of the classics. I told him then, as I tell the readers of the "Notes and Queries" now, "Search for that history in the pages of the classics themselves; extend to them the critical spirit that is applied to our own Chaucer, Shakspeare, and Milton, and your trouble will not be in vain. The history of any book (that is the general history of the gradual development of its ideas) is written in its own pages." In truth, the prose classics deserve as much attention as the poems of Homer.

Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie.

January 20. 1851.

Herstmonceux Castle(Vol. ii., p. 477.).—E. V. asks for an explanation of certain entries in the Fine Rolls,A.D.1199 and 1205, which I can, in part, supply. The first is a fine for having seisin of the lands of the deceased mother of the two suitors, William de Warburton and Ingelram de Monceaux. As they claim as joint-heirs or parceners, the land must have been subject to partibility, and therefore of socage tenure. If the land was not in Kent, the entry is a proof that the exclusive right of primogeniture was not then universally established, as we know it was not in the reign of Henry II. SeeGlanville, lib. vii. cap. 3.

The next entry records the fine paid for suing out a writde rationabili parteagainst (versus) one of the above coheirs. The demandant is either the same coheir named above, viz. Ingelram, altered by a clerical error into Waleram,—such errors being of common occurrence, sometimes from oscitancy, and sometimes because the clerk had to guess at the extended form of a contracted name,—or he is a descendant and heir of Ingelram,claiming the share of his ancestor. I incline to adopt the former explanation of the two here suggested. The form of writ is in the Register of Writs, and corresponds exactly with the abridged note of it in the Fine Roll. The "esnecia," mentioned in the last entry (not extracted by E. V.), is the majorat or senior heir's perquisite of the capital mansion. E. V. will pardon me for saying, that his translation of the passages is a little deficient in exactness. As to E. V.'s query 4., does he think it worth while to go further in search of a reason for calling the bedroom floor of Herstmonceux Castle by the name ofBethlem, when the early spelling and common and constant pronunciation of the word supply so plausible an explanation? I myself knew, in my earliest days, a house where that department was constantly so nicknamed. But there certainlymaybe a more recondite origin of the name; and something may depend on the date at which he finds it first applied.

E. Smirke.

Camden and Curwen Families(Vol. iii., p. 89.).—Camden's mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Gyles Curwen, of Poulton Hall, in the county of Lancaster. In the "visitation" of Lancashire made in 1613, it is stated that this Gyles Curwen was "descended from Curwen of Workenton in co. Cumberland;" but the descent is not given, and I presume it rests merely on tradition.

Llewellyn.

Joan Sanderson, or the Cushion Dance(Vol. ii., p. 517.).—Your correspondentMacasks for the "correct date" of theCushion Dance. Searching out the history and origin of an old custom or ballad is like endeavouring to ascertain the source and flight of December's snow. I am afraidMacwill not obtain what he now wishes for.

Theearliestmention, that I have noticed, of this popular old dance occurs in Heywood's play,A Woman kill'd with Kindness, 1600. Nicholas, one of the characters, says:

"I have, ere now, deserved a cushion: call for theCushion Dance."

The musical notes are preserved inThe English Dancing Master, 1686; inThe Harmonicon, a musical journal; in Davies Gilbert'sChristmas Carols(2nd edition); and in Chappell'sNational English Melodies. In the first-named work it is called "Joan Sanderson, or the Cushion Dance, an old Round Dance."

In a curious collection of old songs and tunes,Neder-Landtsche Gedenck-clank door Adrianum Valerium, printed at Haerlem in 1626, is preserved a tune called "Sweet Margaret," which, upon examination, proves to be the same as theCushion Dance. This favourite dance was well known in Holland in the early part of the seventeenth century, and an interesting engraving of it may be seen in theEmblemsof John de Brunnes, printed at Amsterdam in 1624.

The last-named work (a copy of the edition of 1661 of which is now before me) is exceedingly curious to the lovers of our popular sports and pastimes. The engravings are by William Pass, C. Blon, &c., and among them are representations of Kiss in the Ring, the game of Forfeits, rolling Snow-balls, the Interior of a Barber's Shop, with citherns and lutes hanging against the wall, for the use of the customers, &c.

Edward F. Rimbault.

North Sides of Churchyards(Vol. ii., p. 93.).—In an appendix to our registers I find the following entry, where I conceive thebacksidemeans the northside. Though now the whole of our churchyard is so full that we have much difficulty in finding any new ground, what we do find, however, is on the north side.

"1750, Oct. 23. One Mary Davies, of Pentrobin, single woman, though excommunicated with theGreater Excommunication, was on this day,within night, on account of some particular circumstances alleged by neighbours of credit in her favour (as to her resolving to come and reconcile herself, and do penance if she recovered), indulged by being interred on thebacksidethe church, but no service or tolling allowed."

From this I conclude thathereat least there was no part of the churchyard left unconsecrated for the burial of persons excommunicate, as one of your correspondents suggests; or burial in such place would have been no indulgence, as evidently it was regarded in this case. It would be interesting to ascertain from accredited instanceshow latethis power of excommunication has beenexercised, and thereby how long it has really been in abeyance. I expect the period would not be found so great as is generally imagined.

Waldegrave Brewster.

Antiquitas Sæculi Juventus Mundi(Vol. ii., p. 466.).—Dugald Stewart, in his Dissertation prefixed to theEncyclopædia Britannica, ed. 7., p. 30., points out two passages of writers anterior to Lord Bacon, in which this thought occurs. The first is in his namesake, Roger Bacon, who died in 1292:

"Quanto juniores tanto perspicaciores, quia juniores posteriores successione temporum ingrediuntor labores priorum."—Opus Majus, p. 9. ed. Jebb.

TheOpus Majusof Roger Bacon was not, however, printed until the last century, and could not have been known to Lord Bacon unless he had read it in manuscript.

The second is from Ludovicus Vives,De Caus. Corrupt. Art., lib. i., of which Mr. Stewart gives the following version:—

"The similitude which many have fancied between the superiority of the moderns to the ancients, and the elevation of a dwarf on the back of a giant, isaltogether false and puerile. Neither were they giants, nor are we dwarfs, but all of us men of the same standard; andwe, the taller of the two, by adding their height to our own. Provided always that we do not yield to them in study, attention, vigilance, and love of truth; for if these qualities be wanting, so far from mounting on the giant's shoulders, we throw away the advantages of our own just stature, by remaining prostrate on the ground."

Ludovicus Vives, the eminent Spanish writer, died in 1540, and therefore preceded the active period of Lord Bacon's mind by about half a century.

Mr. Stewart likewise cites the following sentences of Seneca, which, however, can hardly be said to contain the germ of this thought:—

"Veniet tempus quo ista quæ nunc latent, in lucem dies extrahet, et longioris ævi diligentia.... Veniet tempus, quo posteri nostri tam aperta nos nescisse mirabuntur."—Quæst. Nat.viii. 25.

Umbrella(Vol. i., p. 414.; Vol. ii., pp. 25. 93. 126. 346. 491. 523.; Vol. iii., p. 37.).—Although I conceive that ample proof has been given in your columns that umbrellas were generally known at an earlier period than had been commonly supposed, yet the following additional facts may not perhaps be unacceptable to your readers.

In Bailey'sDictionary, vol. i. (8th edit. 1737), are these articles:—

"Parasol, a sort of small canopy or umbrella, to keep off the rain.""Umbella,a little shadow; an umbrella, bon-grace, skreen-fan, &c., which women bear in their hands to shade them.""UmbelliforusPlants[amongbotanists]. Plants which have round tufts, or small stalks standing upon greater; or have their tops branched and spread like a lady'sumbrella.""Umbrello[Ombrelle, F.;Ombrella, Ital. ofUmbrella, orUmbrecula, L.], a sort of skreen that is held over the head for preserving from the sun or rain; also a wooden frame covered with cloth or stuff, to keep off the sun from a window."

"Parasol, a sort of small canopy or umbrella, to keep off the rain."

"Umbella,a little shadow; an umbrella, bon-grace, skreen-fan, &c., which women bear in their hands to shade them."

"UmbelliforusPlants[amongbotanists]. Plants which have round tufts, or small stalks standing upon greater; or have their tops branched and spread like a lady'sumbrella."

"Umbrello[Ombrelle, F.;Ombrella, Ital. ofUmbrella, orUmbrecula, L.], a sort of skreen that is held over the head for preserving from the sun or rain; also a wooden frame covered with cloth or stuff, to keep off the sun from a window."

In Bailey'sDictionary, vol. ii. (3rd edit. 1737), is the following:—

"Umbellated[Umbellatus, L.]; bossed. Inbotan. writ.is said of flowers when many of them grow together, disposed somewhat like anumbrella. The make is a sort of broad, roundish surface of the whole, &c. &c."

Horace Walpole (Memoirs of the Reign of George II., vol. iii. p. 153.), narrating the punishment of Dr. Shebbeare for a libel, 5th December, 1758, says,—

"The man stood in the pillory, having a footman holding an umbrella to keep off the rain."

In Burrow'sReports(vol. ii. p. 792.), is an account of the proceedings in the Court of King's Bench against Arthur Beardmore, under-sheriff of Middlesex, for contempt of court in remitting part of the sentence on Dr. Shebbeare. The affidavits produced by the Attorney-General stated—

"That the defendant only stoodupon theplatform of the pillory, unconfined, and at his ease, attended by aservantinlivery(which servant and livery were hired for this occasion only) holding an umbrella over his head, all the time:"

and Mr. Justice Dennison, in pronouncing sentence on Beardmore, did not omit to allude to the umbrella.

C. H. Cooper.

Cambridge, January 25. 1851.

Form of Prayer at the Healing(Vol. iii., p. 42.).—A copy of this service of an earlier date than those mentioned is before me. It was printed in folio at the Hague, 1650; and is appended to "a Form of Prayer used in King Charles II.'s Chappel uponTuesdays, in the times of his trouble and distress." Charles I. was executed on that day of the week.

J. H. M.

"Thoughts take up no room," saith Jeremy Collier, in a curious passage which Mr. Elmes has adopted as the motto of a pretty little volume, which he has just put forth under the following characteristic title:Horæ Vacivæ, a Thought-book of the Wise Spirits of all Ages and all Countries, fit for all Men and all Hours. The work appears to have furnished a source of occupation to its editor when partially recovering from a deprivation of sight. It is well described by him as a "Spicilegium of golden thoughts of wise spirits, who, though dead, yet speak;" and being printed in Whittingham's quaintest style, and suitably bound, this Thought-book is as externally tempting as it is intrinsically valuable.

The Calendar of the Anglican Church Illustrated, with Brief Accounts of the Saints who have Churches dedicated in their Names, or whose Images are most frequently met with in England; the Early Christian and Mediæval Symbols; and an Index of Emblems, is sufficiently described in its title-page. The editor very properly explains that the work is of an archæological, not of a theological character—and as such it is certainly one which English archæologists and ecclesiologists have long wanted. The editor, while judiciously availing himself of the labours of Alt, Radowitz, Didron, and other foreign writers, has not spared his own, having, with the view to one portion of it, compiled a list of all the churches in England, with the saints after whom they were named. This is sufficient to show that the work is one of research, and consequently of value; that value being materially increased by the numerous woodcuts admirably engraved by Mr. O. Jewitt, with which it is illustrated.

Books Received.—Helena, The Physician's Orphan. The third number of Mrs. Clarke's interesting series of tales, entitled,The Girlhood of Shakspeare's Heroines.Every-day Wonders, or Facts in Physiology which all should know:a very successful endeavour to present a few of the truths of that science which treats of the structure of the human body, and of the adaptation of the external world to it in such a form as that they be readily apprehended. Great pains have been taken that the information imparted should be accurate; and it is made more intelligible by means of some admirable woodcuts.

Catalogues Received.—John Miller's (43. Chandos Street) No. 18. of Catalogues of Books Old and New; J. Russell Smith's (4. Old Compton Street) Catalogue Part II. of an Extensive Collection of Choice, Useful, and Curious Books.

Recherches Historiques sur les Congrégations Hospitaliers Des Frères Pontifes.A. Grégoire.Paris, 1818, 8vo. 72 pp.

Sepulchral Memorials of a Market Town, byDawson Turner. Yarmouth, 1848.

Stephen's Central America, 2 vols. 8vo. plates.

Whartoni Anglia Sacra.The best edition.

Novum Testamentum Gr.Ex recensione Greisbach, cum var. lect. 4 vols. 4to. Leipsic, 1806 or 1803. Engraved Frontispiece.

Lardner on the Trinity.

Goodridge, John,The Phœnix; or, Reasons for believing that the Comet, &c. London, 1781, 8vo.

*** Letters, stating particulars and lowest price,carriage free, to be sent toMr. Bell, Publisher of "NOTES AND QUERIES," 186. Fleet Street.

We have many articles in type which we are compelled, by want of space, to postpone until next week, when the publication of our double number will enable us to insert many interesting communications which are only waiting for room.

Replies Received.St. Pancras—Daresbury—Plafery—Touching for the Evil—Munchausen—Cold Harbour—Landwade Church—Bacon and Fagan—Soul's Dark Cottage—Fine by Degrees—Simon Bache—Away let nought—Mythology of the Stars—Adur—Burying in Church Walls—Sir Clowdesley Shovel—Lynch Law—Cardinal's Monument—Inns of Court—True Blue—Averia—Dragons—Brandon the Juggler—Words are Men's Daughters—Sonnet by Milton—Dryden's Essay upon Satire—Ring Dials—Sir Hilary—Arthur Massinger—Cranmer's Descendants—Post Conquestum—Prince of Wales' Feathers—Verbum Græcum—Visions of Hell—Musical Plagiarism—Lady Bingham—Cockade—Saint Paul's Clock—By and by—Aristophanes on the Modern Stage.

Liturgicus,who writes on the subject of the lettersM.andN.in the Catechism and Marriage Service, is referred to our First Volume, pp.415.and468.

F. M. B. Hicks' Hallwas so called from its builder, Sir Baptist Hicks, afterwards Viscount Camden; and the name of theOld Bailey,says Stow, "is likely to have arisen of some Count of old time there kept."—See Cunningham'sHandbook of London.

K. R. H. M.received.

E. T. (Liverpool).We propose to issue a volume similar to our first and second, at the termination of every half-year.

E. S. T. T.For origin of

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