Minor Queries.

"Harry Parry, when will you marry?When apples and pears are ripe.I'll come to your wedding, without any bidding,And," &c. &c. &c.

"Harry Parry, when will you marry?

When apples and pears are ripe.

I'll come to your wedding, without any bidding,

And," &c. &c. &c.

Does this mean that I will come without an invitation, or without a marriage-present? It will be observed that Parry is a Welsh name, and that bidding is a Welsh custom, as is shown byMr. Spurrell(Vol. iii., p. 114.). He has anticipated my intention of sending you a bidding-form, which has been lying upon my table for some weeks, but which I have not had time to transcribe; I now send it you, because it somewhat varies fromMr. Spurrell's, and yet so much resembles it as to show that the same formula is preserved. Both show that the presents are considered as debts, transferable or assignable to other parties. Is this the case in all districts of Wales where the custom of bidding prevails? I think I have heard that in some places the gift is to be returned only when the actual donor "enters into the matrimonial state." It will be observed, too, in these forms, relations only transfer to relations. Is it considered that they may assign to persons not relations? Some of your Welsh correspondents may reply to these questions, which may elucidate all the varieties of practice in a custom which contributes much to the comfort of a young couple, and, in many instances, is an incentive to prudence, because they are aware that the debt is a debt of honour, not to be evaded without some loss of character.

"December 26. 1806."As we intend to enter the Matrimonial State onTuesdaythe 20th ofJanuary, 1807, we purpose to make a Bidding on the occasion the same day for the young man at his father's house, in the village ofLlansaint, in the parish ofSt. Ishmael; and for the youngwoman, at her own house, in the said village ofLlansaint; at either of which places the favour of your good company on that day will be deemed a peculiar obligation; and whatever donation you may be pleased to confer on either of us then, will be gratefully received, and cheerfully repaid whenever required on a similar occasion, by

"December 26. 1806.

"As we intend to enter the Matrimonial State onTuesdaythe 20th ofJanuary, 1807, we purpose to make a Bidding on the occasion the same day for the young man at his father's house, in the village ofLlansaint, in the parish ofSt. Ishmael; and for the youngwoman, at her own house, in the said village ofLlansaint; at either of which places the favour of your good company on that day will be deemed a peculiar obligation; and whatever donation you may be pleased to confer on either of us then, will be gratefully received, and cheerfully repaid whenever required on a similar occasion, by

Your humble servants,Seth Rees,Ann Jenkins.

Your humble servants,

Seth Rees,

Ann Jenkins.

"The young man's father and mother, and also the young woman's father and mother, and sister Amy, desire that all gifts of the above nature due to them, may be returned on the same day; and will be thankful for all favour shown the young couple."

E. H.

Lord of Relton(Vol. iii., p. 56.)—Will your correspondentMonkbarnsfavour me with the date of the paper from which he copied the paragraph quoted, and whether it was given as being then in use, or as of ancient date?

Can any of your readers inform me from what place the Lord of Relton derived his name? What was his proper name, and who is the present representative of the family?

Is there any family of the name of Relton now existing in the neighbourhood of Langholme, or in Cumberland or Westmoreland?

F. B. Relton.

Beatrix de Bradney.—In your "Notes And Queries" for January 25th, 1851, p. 61., you have given Sir Henry Chauncy's Observations on Wilfred Entwysel.

Sir Bertin left a daughter named Lucy, of whom Master Bradene of Northamptonshire is descended. Can F. R. R., or any genealogist, inform me whether this Master Bradene is descended from Simon de Bradney, one of the Knights of the Shire for Somersetshire in the year 1346? In Collins'sSomersetshire, vol. iii. p. 92., he mentions:

"In St. Michael's Church, Bawdrip, under a large Gothic arch lies the effigy in armour of Sir Simon de Bradney or Bredenie."The Manor of Bradney, in Somersetshire, supposed to have ended in Beatrix de Bradney, an heiress, and passed with her into other families; this Beatrix was living in the forty-sixth year of Edward III."

"In St. Michael's Church, Bawdrip, under a large Gothic arch lies the effigy in armour of Sir Simon de Bradney or Bredenie.

"The Manor of Bradney, in Somersetshire, supposed to have ended in Beatrix de Bradney, an heiress, and passed with her into other families; this Beatrix was living in the forty-sixth year of Edward III."

Can you inform me whom she married? About sixty-five years ago it was purchased by the late Joseph Bradney, Esq., of Ham, near Richmond; and his second son, the Reverend Joseph Bradney, of Greet, near Tenbury, Shropshire, is the present possessor.

Julia R. Bockett.

Southcote Lodge, near Reading.

"Letters on the British Museum."—In the year 1767 was published by Dodsley a work in 12mo. pp. 92., with the above title; and at p. 85. is printed "A Pastoral Dialogue," betweenCeliaandEbron, beginning, "As Celia rested in the shade," which the author states he "found among the manuscripts." I wish to know, first, who was the anonymous author of these letters; and, secondly, in what collection of manuscripts this "Dialogue" is to be found.

μ.

Ballad Editing.—The "Outlandish Knight" (Vol. iii.,p. 49.).—I was exceedingly glad to see Mr. F. Sheldon's "valuable contribution to our stock of ballad literature" in the hands of Mr. Rimbault, and thought the treatment it received no better than it deserved.Blackwood, May, 1847, reviewed Mr. Sheldon's book, and pointed out several instances of his "godfathership;" among others, his ballad of the "Outlandish Knight," which he obtained from "a copy in the possession of a gentleman at Newcastle," was condemned by the reviewer as "a vamped version of the Scotch ballad of 'May Collean.'" It may be as the reviewer states, but the question I would wish answered is one affecting the reviewer himself; for, if I mistake not, the Southron "Outlandish Knight" is the original of "May Collean" itself. I have by me a copy, in black letter, of the "Outlandish Knight," English in every respect, and as such differing considerably from Mr. Sheldon's border edition, and from "May Collean;" and, with some slight alterations, the ballad I have is yet popularly known through the midland counties. If any of your correspondents can oblige me with a reference to the first appearance of "May Collean," sheet or book, I shall esteem it a favour.

Emun.

Birmingham.

Latin Epigram on the Duchess of Eboli.—In his controversy with Bowles touching the poetry of Pope, Byron states that it was upon the Princess of Eboli, mistress of Philip II. of Spain, and Mangirow, the minion of Henry III. of France, that the famous Latin epigram, so well known to classic readers, was composed, concluding with the couplet:

"Blande puer lumen quod habes concede parenti,Sic tu cæcus Amor, sic erit illa Venus."

"Blande puer lumen quod habes concede parenti,

Sic tu cæcus Amor, sic erit illa Venus."

Can any contributor to the "Notes and Queries" suggest what authority his lordship has for his statement? Many years since, a curious paragraph appeared in one of the public journals, extracted apparently from an historical work, specifying the extraordinary political embroglios which the one-eyed duchess occasioned, eliciting from one of the statesmen of her times the complimentary declaration, that if she had had two eyes instead of only one, she would have set the universe on fire. A reference to this work—I fancy one of Roscoe's—would be of material service to an historical inquirer.

C. R. H.

Engraved Portrait.—

"All that thou see'st and readest is divine,Learning thus us'd is water turn'd to wine;Well may wee then despaire to draw his minde,View here the case; i'th Booke the Jewell finde."

"All that thou see'st and readest is divine,

Learning thus us'd is water turn'd to wine;

Well may wee then despaire to draw his minde,

View here the case; i'th Booke the Jewell finde."

The above quatrain is placed beneath a portrait characteristically engraved by Cross. Above the head is the following inscription:—

"Ætatis Suæ 50º. Octob. 10. 1649."

Of whom is this a portrait? It is no doubt well known to collectors, and is of course a frontispiece; but having never yet seen itvis-à-viswith a title-page, I am at a loss as to the author of whom it is thevera effigies. Possibly some of your readers will be kind enough to enlighten me upon the matter, and favour me with the name of the British worthy thus handed down to posterity by Cross's admirable burin.

Henry Campkin.

Blackstone's Commentaries and Table of Precedence.—The first edition of Blackstone was published at Oxford in 4to., in the year 1765; and the Table of Precedence, in the 12th chapter of the First Book, found in subsequent editions edited by Mr. Christian, does not occur in Blackstone's first edition. Can any of your readers, having access to good legal theories, inform me in which of Blackstone'sowneditions the Table of Precedence was first inserted?

The Two Drs. Abercromby.—In the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were two physicians of the name of Abercromby, who both graduated at the university of Leyden, and were afterwards the authors of various published works. The first work of David Abercromby mentioned in Watt'sBibliothecais dated in 1684, and the first written by Patrick Abercromby in 1707. As it was usual to compose an inaugural dissertation at obtaining the doctorate, and such productions were ordinarily printed (in small quarto), J. K. would feel obliged by the titles and dates of the inaugural dissertations of either or both of the physicians above mentioned.

Witte van Haemstede.—Can any of your readers inform me whether there still exist any descendants ofWitte van Haemstede, an illegitimate scion of the ancient house ofHolland?Willem de Water, in hisAdelijke Zeeland, written in the seventeenth century, says that in his youth he knew aWitte van Haemstedeof this family, one of whose sons became pastor of the Dutch congregation inLondon.—Navorscher, Jan. 1851, p. 17.

J. Bruckner—Dutch Church in Norwich.—In theGentleman's Magazinefor 1804 is a short memoir of the Rev. J. Bruckner. He was born in the island of Cadsand, completed his studies at Leyden, where he enjoyed the society of Hemsterhuis, Valckenaer, and the elder Schultens. In 1753 he became pastor of the Walloon, and afterwards of the Dutch congregation in Norwich, where he remained till his death in May, 1804. In 1767 he published at Leyden hisThéorie du Système Animal; in 1790 appeared hisCriticisms on the Diversions of Purley.

Could your correspondents furnish me with a complete list of Bruckner's works, and direct me to a history of the Dutch church in Norwich, from its origin to the present time?—Navorscher, Feb. 1851, p. 28.

[Under this heading we propose to give such Minor Queries as we are able to reply to at once, but which are not of a nature to be answered with advantage in our Notices to Correspondents. We hope by this means to economise our space.]

The Hereditary Earl Marshal.—Miss Martineau, in herHistory of England, book iii. ch. 8., speaks (in 1829) of

"three Catholic peers, theDuke of Norfolk, Lord Clifford, and Lord Dormer, having obtained entranceat lastto the legislative assembly, where their fathers sat and ruled when their faith was the law of the land."

In Lord Campbell'sLives of the Chancellors, there is an anecdote, vol. vii. p. 695., of the Duke of Norfolk falling asleep andsnoringin the House of Lords, while Lord Eldon was on the woolsack. Did not the Duke of Norfolk (though Roman Catholic) sit and vote in the House of Lords, either by prescription or special act of parliament, before 1829?

J. H. S.

[The anecdote told by Lord Campbell (but much better by Lord Eldon himself in Twiss's Life of the great Chancellor), does not refer to thelateDuke of Norfolk, but to his predecessor Charles (the eleventh duke), who was a Protestant. The late duke never sat in parliament till after the Relief Bill passed. In 1824 a Bill was passed to enable him to exercise the office of Earl Marshal without taking certain oaths, but gave him no seat in the House. We may as well add, that Lord Eldon's joke must have been perpetrated—not on the bringing up of the Bill, when the duke was not in the House—but on the occasion of theGreat Snoring Bill being reported(April 2, 1811), when the duke appears to have been present.]

The Beggar's Petition.—I shall feel obliged by your informing me who the author is of the lines—

"Pity the sorrows of a poor old man,Whose trembling limbs have borne him to your door."

"Pity the sorrows of a poor old man,

Whose trembling limbs have borne him to your door."

[The authorship of this little poem has at times excited a good deal of attention. It has been attributed, on no very sufficient grounds, to Dr. Joshua Webster, M.D.; but from theGentleman's Magazine, vol. lxx., p. 41., it appears that it is the entire production of theRev. Thomas Moss, minister of Brierly Hill and Trentham, in Staffordshire, who wrote it at about the age of twenty-three. He sold the manuscript of that, and of several others, to Mr. Smart, printer, in Wolverhampton, who, from the dread which Mr. Moss had of criticism, was to publish them on this condition, that only twenty copies should have his name annexed to them, for the purpose of being presented to his relations and friends.]

"Tiring-irons never to be untied."—To what does Lightfoot (vol. vii. p. 214.) refer when, in speaking of the Scriptures, he says—

"They are not unriddleable riddles, and tiring-irons never to be untied"?

J. Eastwood.

Ecclesfield.

[The allusion is to a puzzle for children—often used by grown children—which consists of a series of iron rings, on to or off which a loop of iron wire may be got with some labour by those who know the way, and which is very correctly designateda tiring-iron.]

[This controversy is becoming a little too warm for our pages. ButMr. Caustonis entitled to have some portion of the letter he has sent to us inserted. He writes with reference to the communications fromMr. HicksonandMr. Singerin our 68th number, p. 119., in reply toMr. C.'sArticle, which, although it had been in our hands a considerable time, was not inserted until out 65th Number, p. 66.; a delay which gave to that article the appearance of an attempt to revive a discussion, whereas it really was written only in continuance of one.]

ToMr. HicksonI suggest, that whether the notion of "drinking up a river," or "eating a crocodile," be the more "unmeaning" or "out of place," must after all be a mere matter of opinion, as the latter must remain a question of taste; since it seems to be his settled conviction that it is not "impossible," but only "extravagant." Archdeacon Nares thought it quite the reverse; and I beg to remind your readers that Shakspearian crocodiles are never servedà la Soyer, but swallowedau natureland entire.

Mr. Hicksonis dissatisfied with my terms "mere verbiage" and "extravagant rant." I recommend a careful consideration of the scene over the grave of Ophelia; and then let any one say whether or not the "wag" of tongue between Laertes and Hamlet be not fairly described by the expressions I have used,—a paraphrase indeed, of Hamlet's concluding lines:

"Nay, an thou'ltmouth,I'llrantas well as thou."

"Nay, an thou'ltmouth,

I'llrantas well as thou."

Doubtless Shakspeare had a purpose in everything he wrote, and his purpose at this time was to work up the scene to the most effective conclusion, and to display the excitement of Hamlet in a series of beautiful images, which, nevertheless, the queen his mother immediately pronounced to be "mere madness," and which one must be as mad as Hamlet himself to adopt as feats literally to be performed.

The offence is rank in the eyes ofMr. Singerthat I should have styledMr. Hicksonhis friend. The amenities of literature, I now perceive, do not extend to the case, and a new canon is required, to the effect that "when one gentleman is found bolstering up the argument of another, he is not, ever for the nonce, to be taken for his friend." I think the denial to be expressed in rather strong language; but I hasten to make theamendesuitable to the occasion, by withdrawing the "falsehood and unfounded insinuation."

Mr. Singerhas further charged me with "want of truth," in stating that the question remains "substantially where Steevens and Malone had left it." Wherein, I ask, substantially consists the difference?

Mr. Singerhas merely substituted his "wormwood wine" for Malone's vinegar; and before he can make it as palatable to common sense, and Shakspeare's "logical correctness and nicety of expression," as it was to Creed and Shepley, he must get over the "stalking-horse," thedrinkUP, which stands in his way precisely as it did in that of Malone's more legitimate proposition.Mr. Singeroverleaps the difficulty by a bare assertion that "todrinkUPwas commonly used for simply to drink." He has not produced any parallel case of proof, with the exception of one from Mr. Halliwell'sNursery Rhymes. I adopt his citation, and shall employ it against him.

DrinkUPcan only be grammatically applied to a determinate total, whether it be the river Yssell orMr. Hickson'sdose of physic. Shakespeare seems to have been well acquainted with, and to have observed, the grammatical rule whichMr. Singerprofesses not to comprehend. Thus:

"I will drink,Potions ofeysell."Shaksp.Sonnetcxi.

"I will drink,

Potions ofeysell."

Shaksp.Sonnetcxi.

and

"Give me to drink mandragora,"Ant. and Cleop., Act I. Sc. 5.

"Give me to drink mandragora,"

Ant. and Cleop., Act I. Sc. 5.

are parallel passages, and imply quantity indeterminate, inasmuch as they admit of more or less.

NowMr. Singer'sobliging quotation from theNursery Rhymes,—

"EatUPyour cake, Jenny,DrinkUP YOURwine"—

"EatUPyour cake, Jenny,

DrinkUP YOURwine"—

certainly implies quite the reverse; for it can be taken to mean neither more nor less than the identical glass of wine that Jenny had standing before her. A parallel passage will be found in Shakspeare's sonnet (CXIV.):

"Drink upthe monarch's plague,thisflattery:"

and in this category, on the rule exponed, since it cannot positively appertain to the other, must, I think, be placed the line of Hamlet,—

"Woo'tdrink upeisell?"

as a noun implying absolute entirety; which might be ariver, but could not be grammatically applied to any unexpressed quantity.

Now what is the amount and value ofMr. Singer'sproposition? He says:

"In Thomas'sItalian Dictionary, 1562, we have 'Assenzio,Eysell'[4]; and Florio renders that word [Assenzio, notEysell?] by 'wormwood.' What is meant, however, iswormwood wine, a nauseously bitter medicament then much in use."

When pressed byLord Braybrooke("Notes and Queries," Vol. ii., p. 286.), who proved, by an extract fromPepys's Diary, that wormwood wine, so far from bearing outMr. Singer'sdescription, was, in fact, a fashionable luxury, probably not more nauseous than thepale aleso much in repute at the present day,Mr. Singervery adroitly produced a "corroborative note" from "old Langham" ("Notes and Queries," Vol. ii., p. 315.), which, curiously enough, is castrated of all that Langham wrote pertaining to the question in issue. Treating of the many virtues of the prevailing tonic as an appetiser, and restorer "of a good color" to them that be "leane and evil colored," Langham says:

["Make wormwood wine thus: takeaqua vitæand malmsey, of each like much, put it in a glasse or bottell witha few leaves of dried wormwood, and let it stand certain days,] and strein out a little spoonfull, and drink it with a draught of ale or wine: [it may be long preserved.]"[5]

Thus it will be seen that the reason for "streining out a little spoonfull" as a restorative for a weak stomach was less on account of the infusion being so "atrociously unpalatable," than of the alcohol used in its preparation.

Dr. Venner also recommends as an excellent stomachic,

"To drink mornings fasting, and sometimes also before dinner,a draught of wormwood-wineor beer:"

and we may gather the "atrocious bitterness" of the restorative, by the substitute he proposes: "or, for want of them," he continues:

"white wine or stale beer, wherein a few branches of wormwood have, for certain hours, been infused."[6]

Dr. Parr, quoting Bergius, describesAbsinthiumas "a grateful stomachic;" andAbsinthitesas "a pleasant form of the wormwood."[7]

Is this therefore the article that Hamlet proposed todrinkUPwith his crocodile? So far from thinking so, I have ventured to coincide with Archdeacon Nares in favour of Steevens; for whether it be Malone's vinegar, orMr. Singer'smore comfortable stomachic, the challenge to drink either "in such a rant, is so inconsistent, and even ridiculous, that we must decide for the river, whether its name be exactly found or not."[8]

I am quite unconscious of any purport in my remarks, other than they appear on paper; and I should be sorry indeed to accuseMr. Singerof being "ignorant" of anything; but I venture to suggest that those young gentlemen of surpassing spirit, who ate crocodiles,drankUPeisell, and committed other anomalies against nature in honor of their mistresses, belonged decidedly to a period of time anterior to that of Shakspeare, and went quite out with the age of chivalry, of which Shakspeare saw scarcely even the fag end. Your lover of Shakspeare's time was quite another animal. He had begun to take beer. He had become much more subtle and self-satisfied. He did sometimes pen sonnets to his mistress's eye-brow, and sing soft nothings to the gentle sighing of his "Lewte." He sometimes indeed looked "pale and wan;" but, rather than for love, it was more than probably from his immoderate indulgence in the "newe weede," which hedrank[9], though I never discovered that it wasdrank upby him. He generally wore a doublet and breeches of satin, slashed and lined with coloured taffata; and walked about with a gilliflower in one hand, and his gloves in the other. His veritable portrait is extant, and is engraved in Mr. Knight'sPictorial Shakspeare.[10]

It will be time enough to decide which of us has run his head against "a stumbling-block of his own making," whenMr. Singershall have found a probable solution of his difficulty "by a parallelism in the poet's pages."

H. K. Staple Causton.

Vassall Road, Brixton, Feb. 21. 1851.

Footnote 4:(return)This deduction is not warranted by theVocab. della Crusca, or any other Ital. Dic. to which I have had the opportunity of reference: andSomnerandLyeare quite distinct on the A.-Sax. words,WermodandEisell.Footnote 5:(return)Garden of Health, 4to. London, 1633. The portions within the brackets were omitted byMr. Singer.Footnote 6:(return)Via Recta ad Vitam Longam, by Thomas Venner, M.D. 4to. London, 1660.Footnote 7:(return)Med. Dict.Footnote 8:(return)A description of the rivers Yssel will be found inDict. Géograph. de la Martinière, v. ix. fo. 1739.Footnote 9:(return)As the verb "to drink" was not limited to the act of bibition, but forMr. Hickson'sdecision against drinking up the "sea-serpent," it might yet become a question whether Hamlet'seisellhad not been a misprint foreosol(asinus).Footnote 10:(return)Merchant of Venice, Introduction.

This deduction is not warranted by theVocab. della Crusca, or any other Ital. Dic. to which I have had the opportunity of reference: andSomnerandLyeare quite distinct on the A.-Sax. words,WermodandEisell.

Garden of Health, 4to. London, 1633. The portions within the brackets were omitted byMr. Singer.

Via Recta ad Vitam Longam, by Thomas Venner, M.D. 4to. London, 1660.

Med. Dict.

A description of the rivers Yssel will be found inDict. Géograph. de la Martinière, v. ix. fo. 1739.

As the verb "to drink" was not limited to the act of bibition, but forMr. Hickson'sdecision against drinking up the "sea-serpent," it might yet become a question whether Hamlet'seisellhad not been a misprint foreosol(asinus).

Merchant of Venice, Introduction.

William Chilcott(Vol. iii., pp. 38. 73.).—The few notes which follow are very much at the service of your correspondent. William Chilcott, M.A., was rector of St. George's, Exeter, where he died on May 30, 1711, at the age of forty-eight. The coat of arms on the tablet to his memory indicates that he married a Coplestone. His daughter Catherine died in August, 1695. The first edition of thePractical Treatise concerning Evil Thoughtswas printed at Exeter in 1690, and was dedicated to his parishioners. Robert Chilcott, whom I take to be the brother of William, was rector of St. Mary-Major in Exeter, and died Feb. 7, 1689.

There does not appear to be any evidence that the persons above mentioned, were descended from the Chilcotts of Tiverton, though the identity of the Christian names renders it probable. If the object were to trace their ancestors or their descendants, much might be added to the suggestions of E.A.D. by searching the registers at Tiverton, and by comparing Prince'sWorthies of Devon, ed. 1810, p. 213., and Polwhele'sDevon, vol. iii. p. 351., with Harding'sTiverton; in various parts of which eight or nine individuals of the name are mentioned; especially vol. i. book ii. p. 114.; vol. ii. book iii. pp. 101, 102. 167. 183., and book iv., p. 20., where the connexion of the Chilcotts with the families of Blundell, Hooper, Collamore, Crossing, Slee, and Hill, is set forth. Failing these, the object might be attained by reference to the registers at Stogumber, co. Somerset, and of Northam, near Bideford, with the inscribed floorstones in the church there. Something might perhaps be learned of their descendants by reference to the registers at Exeter, and those at Morchard-Bishop, where a John Chilcott resided in 1700; Nympton St. George, where a family of the same name lived about 1740; North Molton, where C. Chilcott was vicar in 1786; and Dean Prior, where Joseph Chilcott was vicar about 1830. A Mr. Thomas Chilcott, who was an organist at Bath, married Ann, daughter of the Rev. Chichester Wrey. This lady died in 1758, and was buried at Tavistock, near Barnstaple. The coat of arms on the tablet to her memory is almost identical with the coat of the Rev. William Chilcott of Exeter first above mentioned.

J. D. S.

Fossil Elk of Ireland(Vol. iii., p. 121.).—In theEdinburgh Journal of Science, New Series, vol. ii., 1830, p. 301., is a curious paper by the late Dr. Hibbert Ware, under the title of "Additional Contributions towards the History of the Cervus Euryceros, or Fossil Elk of Ireland." It is illustrated with a copy of an engraving of an animal which Dr. H. W. believes to have been the same as the Irish elk, and which was living in Prussia at the time of the publication of the book from which it is taken, viz. theCosmographia Universalisof Sebastian Munster: Basiliæ, 1550.

Dr. H. W. in this paper refers to a former one in the third volume of the first series of the same journal, in which he advanced proofs that the Cervus was a race which had but very recently become extinct.

W. C. Trevelyan.

Edinburgh, Feb. 19. 1851.

Canes Lesos(Vol. iii. p. 141.).—In a note to Beckwith's edition of Blount'sJocular Tenures, 4to. 1815, p. 225., Mr. Allan of Darlington anticipates your correspondent C. W. B., and says, respecting Blount's explanation of "Canes lesos," "I can meet with no such word in this sense: why may it not be dogs that have received some hurt?læsosfromlædo."Clancturamshould beclausturam, and so it is given in the above edition, and explained "a tax for fencing."

S. W. Singer.

"By Hook or by Crook" (vol. iii. p. 116.).—However unimaginative the worthy Cit may be for whose explanation of this popular phrase J. D. S. has made himself answerable, the solution sounds so pretty, that to save its obtaining further credence, more than your well-timed note is needed. I with safety can contradict it, for I find that "Tusser," a Norfolk man living in the reign of Henry VIII., in a poem which he wrote as a complete monthly guide and adviser for the farmer through the year, but which was not published till 1590, in the thirty-second year of Queen Elizabeth, has the following advice for March 30:

"Of mastiues and mongrels, that many we seeA number of thousands, to many there be:Watch therefore in Lent, to thy sheepe go and looke,For dogs will have vittels, by hooke and by crooke."

"Of mastiues and mongrels, that many we see

A number of thousands, to many there be:

Watch therefore in Lent, to thy sheepe go and looke,

For dogs will have vittels, by hooke and by crooke."

This must be a Norfolk phrase; for in January he advises farmers possessing "Hollands," rich grass lands, to only keep ewes that bear twins, "twinlins."

Blowen.

This appears as a well-known proverbial expression long before the time pointed out by J. D. S. Thus, inDevout Contemplations, by Fr. Ch. de Fonseca, Englished by J. M., London, 1629, we read that the Devil

"Overthroweth monasteries; through sloth and idleness soliciting religious men to be negligent in coming to Church, careless in preaching, and loose in their lives. In the marriage bed he soweth tares, treacheries, and lightness. With worldly men he persuadeth that he is nobody that is not rich, and therefore,bee it by hooke or by crooke, by right or wrong, he would have them get to be wealthy."

W. D—n.

Suem.—Allow me to suggest to your correspondents C. W. G. (Vol. iii., p. 7.) andΔ. (Vol. iii., p. 75.), thatsuemis probably a form of the A.-S. wordseam, ahorse-load, and generally aburden. For cognates, see Bosworth'sA.-S. Dict.I may add, that the word is writtenswunin a charter of Edward the Confessor, printed by Hickes in hisThesaurus, vol. i. p. 159., as follows:

"—ic annþætðridde treow.etþætðridde swun of ævesan ðæs nextan wudes ðe liþ to kyngesbyrig," &c.

Which Hickes thus renders:

"Dono tertiam quamque arborem, et tertiam quamque sarcinam jumentariam fructuum, qui nascuntur in sylva proxime ad kyngesbyrig sita," &c.

R. M. W.

Sir George Downing(Vol. iii., p. 69.).—The following extract of a letter in Cartes'Letters, ii. 319., confirms the accuracy of the memorandum as to Sir G. Downing's parentage, sent you by J. P. C. The letter is from T. Howard to Charles II., written April 5, 1660, on the eve of the Restoration. Downing had offered to Howard to serve the King,—

"alleging to be engaged in a contrary party by his father, who was banished into New England, where he was brought up, and had sucked in principles that since his reason had made him see were erroneous."

CH.

Miching malicho(Vol. iii., p. 3.).—Your correspondentMr. Collieris probably not aware that his suggestion respecting the meaning ofMalichohad been anticipated upwards of twenty years since. In the unpretending edition of Shakspeare by another of your correspondents,Mr. Singer, printed in 1825, I find the following note:—

"Miching malichois lurking mischief, or evil doing.To mich, for to skulk, to lurk, was an old English verb in common use in Shakspeare's time; andMalicho, orMalhecho, misdeed, he has borrowed from the Spanish. Many stray words of Spanish and Italian were then affectedly used in common conversation, as we have seen French used in more recent times. The Quarto spell the wordMallicho. Our ancestors were not particular in orthography, and often spelt according to the ear."

I have since looked atMr. Collier'snote to which he refers, and find that he interpretsmichingbystealing, which will not suit the context; and abundant examples may be adduced that tomichwas toskulk, tolurk, asMr. Singerhas very properly explained it. Thus Minsheu:—

"ToMiche, or secretly hide himself out of the way, asTRUANTSdoe from Schoole, vi.to hide, to cover."

and again—

"Amicher, vi.Truant."

Mr. Collier'stext, too, is not satisfactory, for he has abandoned the old wordMalicho, and givenMallecho, which is as far from the true form of the Spanish word as the old reading, which he should either have preserved or printedMalhecho, as Minsheu gives it.

I am glad to see from your pages thatMr. Singerhas not entirely abandoned Shakspearian illustration, for in my difficulties I have rarely consulted his edition in vain; and, in my humble opinion, it is as yet the most practically useful and readable edition we have.

Fiat Justitia.

Cor Linguæ, &c.(Vol. iii., p. 168.).—The lines quoted by J. Bs. occur in the poem "De Palpone et Assentatore," printed in the volume ofLatin Poems, commonly attributed to Walter Mapes, edited by Mr. T. Wright for the Camden Society, 1841, at p. 112., with a slight variation in expression, as follows:—

"Cor linguæ fœderat naturæ sanctio,Tanquam legitimo quodam connubio;Ergo cum dissonant cor et locutio,Sermo concipitur ex adulterio."

"Cor linguæ fœderat naturæ sanctio,

Tanquam legitimo quodam connubio;

Ergo cum dissonant cor et locutio,

Sermo concipitur ex adulterio."

Mr. Wright's only source quoted for the poem is MS. Cotton, Vespas, E. xii. Of its authority he remarks (Preface, p. xx.), that the writer's name was certainly Walter, but that he appears to have lived at Wimborne, with which place Walter Map is not traced to have had any connexion; and if Mr. Wright's conjecture be correct, that the young king alluded to in it is Henry III., it must of course have been written some years after Walter Map's death.

J. G. N.

Under the Rose(Vol. i., pp. 214. 458.; Vol. ii., pp. 221. 323.).—I am surprised that no one has noticed Sir T. Browne's elucidations of this phrase. (Vulg. Err.lib. v. cap. 21. § 7.) Besides the explanation referred to byArchæus(Vol. i., p. 214.), he says:

"The expression is commendable, if the rose from anynaturallpropertie may be the symbole of silence, as Nazienzene seems to imply in these translated verses—'Utque latet Rosa verna suo putamine clausa,Sic os vinela ferat, validisque arctetur habenis,Indicatque suis prolixa silentia labris.'"

"The expression is commendable, if the rose from anynaturallpropertie may be the symbole of silence, as Nazienzene seems to imply in these translated verses—

'Utque latet Rosa verna suo putamine clausa,Sic os vinela ferat, validisque arctetur habenis,Indicatque suis prolixa silentia labris.'"

'Utque latet Rosa verna suo putamine clausa,

Sic os vinela ferat, validisque arctetur habenis,

Indicatque suis prolixa silentia labris.'"

He explains "the Germane custome, which over the table describeth a rose in the seeling" (Vol. ii., pp. 221. 323.), by making the phrase to refer only to the secrecy to be observed "in society and compotation, from the ancient custome in Symposiacke meetings to wear chapletts of roses about their heads."

Ache.

"Impatient to speak and not see" (Vol. ii., p. 490.).—There is no doubt of the fine interpretation of your correspondent; but it is not illustrated by the Latin. Also, I apprehend, "indocilis pati" is not put for "indocilis patiendi." It is a common use ofto—proud to be praised; angry to be so ill-treated.

It illustrates a line in Hotspur, the construction of which Warburton would have altered:

"I then, all smarting, and my wounds being cold,To beso pestered," &c.,i.e.at being.

"I then, all smarting, and my wounds being cold,

To beso pestered," &c.,i.e.at being.

May I mention a change inTroilus and Cressidawhich I have long entertained, but with doubt:

"And with an accent tun'd in self-same key,Retires to chiding fortune."

"And with an accent tun'd in self-same key,

Retires to chiding fortune."

Pope reads "returns," Hanmer "replies." My conjecture is "recries."

C. B.

Bishop Frampton(Vol. iii., p. 61.).—See an interesting notice of his preaching in Pepys'Diary, Jan. 20, 1666-7; and what is said of him in Lathbury'sNonjurors, p. 203. But probablyMr. Evansis already aware of these references to Bishop Frampton, whose life is a desideratum which many will be glad to hear is going to be supplied.

E. H. A.

Old Tract on the Eucharist(Vol. iii., p. 169.).—The author of the tract on the Eucharist, referred to byAbhba, was the Rev. John Patrick. The title of the tract, as given in the catalogues of Archbishop Wake, No. 22.; of Dr. Gee, No. 73.; and of Peck, No. 286., of theDiscourses against Popery during the Reign of James II., is as follows:—

"A Full View of the Doctrines and Practices of the Ancient Church relating to the Eucharist, wholly different from those of the presentRomanChurch, and inconsistent with the Belief of Transubstantiation; being a sufficient Confutation ofConsensus Veterum,Nubes Testium, and other late Collections of the Fathers pretending the contrary. ByJohn Patrick, Preacher at the Charter-house, 1688. 4to."

E. C. Harrington.

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