Replies.

[On the title-page of this tract among the King's pamphlets in the British Museum, the name of Mr. Bifield has been written. No doubt it is the production of the Rev. Adoniram Byfield, chaplain to Col. Cholmondeley's regiment, in the army of the Earl of Essex in 1642, and who was subsequently one of the scribes to the Assembly of Divines, and a most zealous Covenanter. See Wood'sAthenæ, by Bliss, vol. iii. p. 670.]

Trisection of the Circle.—Has the problem of the trisection of the angle been solved? or, if not, is there any reward for its solution; and what steps should be taken to obtain it?

John Vincent Lyster.

[The problem of the trisection of the angle by aid of the straight line and circle, used as in Euclid, has never been solved—no reward was ever offered for its solution.]

Wolsey's Son.—Can any of your readers give an account of a son of Cardinal Wolsey, whose existence is recorded in a letter from EustaceChapuysto the Emperor Charles V., October 25, 1529, in the following words:—

"The cardinal has now retired with a very small train to a place about ten miles hence. A son of his has been sent for from Paris, who was there following his studies, and of whom I have formerly made some mention to your Majesty"—Correspondence of Charles V., p. 291.

Cardinal Beaton had lots of bastards, but I never remember to have seen in any account of Wolsey mention made of natural children.

J. M.

[The existence of a natural son of Cardinal Wolsey is afactas well ascertained as any otherfactof the Cardinal's history, and referred to in the various biographies of him that have appeared. His name was Thomas Winter. In Chalmers'sBiographical Dictionary, vol. xxxii. pp. 255. and 256.note, reference is made to a Bull of Pope Julius II., dated August, 1508, to be found in Kennet's MSS. in the British Museum, in which he is styled, "dilecti filio Thomæ Wulcy," Rector of Lymington diocese of Bath and Wells, Master of Arts, "pro dispensatione ad tertium incompatibile." This is explained by the passage in Wood'sAthenæ Oxon. Fasti, part i. p. 73. (Bliss ed.), relating to him. "This Tho. Winter, who was nephew (or rather nat. son) to Cardinal Tho. Wolsey, had several dignities confer'd upon him before he was of age, by the means of the said Cardinal," viz. the archedeaconry of York, 1523; chancellorship of the church of Sarum; the deanery of Wells, 1525; the provostship of Beverly; and the archdeaconry of Richmond, &c.: on which there is a note by Baker, that "this Tho. Winter is said to have held of the church's goods clearly more than 2000 pds. per an." Wood adds, that about the time of the Cardinal's fall, he gave up all or most of his dignities, keeping only the archdeaconry of York, which he resigned also in 1540. In Grove'sLife and Times of Cardinal Wolsey, vol. iv. p. 315., among the "Articles" against the Cardinal, Article XXVII. expressly charges him, "that he took from his son Winter his income of 2,700l.a-year, applied it to his own use, and gave him only 200l.yearly to live on." A reference is made in Sir H. Ellis'sLetters Illustrative of English History, 2nd Series, vol. ii. p. 70., to a letter of Edmund Harvel to Dr. Starkey, dated from Venice, April 1535, in which the writer expresses his obligations to Mr. Winter, for his "friendly mynde toward him," and begs him to return his thanks.In Mr. Galt'sLife of Wolsey(Appendix IV. p. 424. of Bogue's edition) will be found a copy of a letter from John Clusy to Cromwell, in relation to a natural daughter of Wolsey's in the nunnery of Shaftesbury.]

In Mr. Galt'sLife of Wolsey(Appendix IV. p. 424. of Bogue's edition) will be found a copy of a letter from John Clusy to Cromwell, in relation to a natural daughter of Wolsey's in the nunnery of Shaftesbury.]

Cardinals and Abbots in the English Church.—It may not be generally known, but the fact is so, that the English church numbers twoCardinalsand aLord Abbotamongst her members. In Whitaker'sClerical Diary, under the head of London Diocese, there is attached to St. Paul's a senior and a junior cardinal; and in Ireland exists the exempt jurisdiction of Newry and Mourne, under the government of the Lord Abbot, who is the Earl of Kilmorey. Can any of your readers give me any information respecting these officials?

W. J.

[Cardinal.—The title of cardinal (cardinalis) in early times was frequently applied to any bishop, priest, or deacon holding an official post. In France there were many cardinal priests: thus, the curate of the parish of St. John de Vignes is called, in old charters, the cardinal priest of that parish. There were also cardinal deacons, who had the charge of hospitals for the poor, and who ranked above the other deacons. Thus, two of the minor canons of St. Paul's are calledcardinals of the choir, whose duties are to preserve order in Divine service, administer the Eucharist, and officiate at funerals. In former times, they heard confessions and enjoined penances. (Newcourt'sRepertorium, vol. i. p. 233.) It was not till the twelfth century that the Sacred College of Cardinals was organised; nor was it till 1567 that clergymen were forbidden by Pius V. to assume the title of cardinal unless appointed by the Pope.Lay Abbots.—In early times we frequently find secular persons denominated "field abbots" and "abbot counts," upon whom the sovereign had bestowed certain abbeys, for which they were obliged to render military service, as for common fiefs. In the time of Charles the Bald many of the nobility in France were abbots, having a dean to officiate for them. Thus, too, in Scotland, James Stuart, the natural son of James V., was, at the time of the Reformation, Prior of St. Andrew's, although a secular person. The Earl of Kilmorey, who is impropriator of the tithes of St. Mary, Newry, is a lay abbot, or representative of the preceding abbots of a Cistertian Abbey which formerly existed in that town. His abbatial functions, however, are confined to convening ecclesiastical courts, and granting probates of wills, and licenses for marriages, subject only to the metropolitan jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Armagh. A remnant of the secularisation of ecclesiastical dignities has already been noticed in our pages (Vol. ii., pp. 447. 500.), in the case of the late Duke of York, who was at the same time Commander-in-chief and Bishop of Osnaburg.]

Lay Abbots.—In early times we frequently find secular persons denominated "field abbots" and "abbot counts," upon whom the sovereign had bestowed certain abbeys, for which they were obliged to render military service, as for common fiefs. In the time of Charles the Bald many of the nobility in France were abbots, having a dean to officiate for them. Thus, too, in Scotland, James Stuart, the natural son of James V., was, at the time of the Reformation, Prior of St. Andrew's, although a secular person. The Earl of Kilmorey, who is impropriator of the tithes of St. Mary, Newry, is a lay abbot, or representative of the preceding abbots of a Cistertian Abbey which formerly existed in that town. His abbatial functions, however, are confined to convening ecclesiastical courts, and granting probates of wills, and licenses for marriages, subject only to the metropolitan jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Armagh. A remnant of the secularisation of ecclesiastical dignities has already been noticed in our pages (Vol. ii., pp. 447. 500.), in the case of the late Duke of York, who was at the same time Commander-in-chief and Bishop of Osnaburg.]

(Vol. ii., p. 375.)

Your correspondentJ. Mt.has great reason to congratulate himself on the possession of the singularly curious tract which he describes, and which gives an autobiography of this extraordinary adventurer. I am not aware of any other copy in any public or private collection. I have a 4to. tract in nineteen pages, evidently printed abroad, the title of which is—

"Balthazar Gerbier, Knight,toAll Men that love Truth."

This gives a very interesting life of him by himself, perfectly distinct from, and containing many particulars not given in the tract possessed by your correspondent, which also contains matter not in the above. I have likewise another tract, privately printed in Holland in English, French, and Dutch, in fifteen pages 12mo., the English title to which is—

"A true Manifest,By SrB. Gerbier.Anno1653."

In this, which gives some curious particulars as to "Mr. Hughe Peeters," and the book entitledThe Nonsuch Charles, he refers to another "little manifest" published on the 2nd day of October, 1652, "that the world might take notice that he was not at all invested with any foreigne engagement." Of the tract so referred to, I regret to say no copy is known. None of the other three tracts appear to have been seen by Horace Walpole, who had collected a great number of Gerbier's pamphlets, and also the MS. next mentioned, which, at the Strawberry Hill sale, came together into my possession. The MS. contains the original appointments of Sir Balthazar to the offices he held while in England, a pedigree of his family beautifully emblazoned, and a large quantity of MS., prose and poetry, in his autograph; including a most extensive collection of projects and proposals, which seem to have been equally at the service of England or France. The best account we have of Gerbier is that which Horace Walpole has supplied in theAnecdotes of Painting(seeWorks, vol. iii. p. 189.); but his diplomatic negotiations, and his career as an artist and adventurer, never forgetting his academy at Whitefriars and Bethnal Green, would furnish matter for a very amusing volume. The general biography, however, to which he would be most appropriately remitted, and which is still a desideratum in literature, is that which is proposed by Dr. Johnson, in Chalmers's admirable parody:

"I think a good book might be made of scoundrels. I would have aBiographia Flagitiosa, the Lives of Eminent Scoundrels from the earliest accounts to the present day."

Jas. Crossley.

(Vol. ii., p. 519.; Vol. iii., p. 117.)

Is not your correspondentJ. Me.in error when he says the original travels of the Baron were written to ridicule Bruce? I think this will only apply to the second volume, or "Sequel," seeing that there exists an edition ofGulliver Revived, printed at Oxford, 1786, four years before Bruce published.J. Me.further remarks, that there was at one time reason to believe that James Graham was the author of the well-known book in question, but that circumstances have come to his knowledge altogether precluding the possibility that the author ofThe SabbathandThe Travels of Baron Munchausenare identical.

To me it appears there weretwoof these James Grahams, and that from their being contemporaries, they are usually rolled into one. I have in my library a volume containingWallace, a Tragedy, Edinburgh, 1799; andMary Stewart, Queen of Scots, an Historical Drama, Edinburgh, 1801, which appears to have belonged to Mr. George Chalmers, upon the titles of which that gentleman has written, "by James Graham, Advocate, Edinburgh, son of T. Graham, a writer of reputation in Glasgow."

From this one would think Mr. Chalmers had the author ofThe Sabbathin his eye: a conclusion, however, difficult to come to in the face of a critique which thus characterises the tragedy ofWallace:

"The play is not uninteresting, and the author has exhibited occasional proofs of poetical genius; but there are some passages in the piece that fall little short of blasphemy:"

—a charge which, of course, could never apply to this "lovable" and subsequentlyreverendauthor ofThe Sabbath, a poem breathing the humblest piety, and published only five years afterWallace; consequently here is, in the author of the tragedy ofWallace, another James Graham at the service ofJ. Me., to whom, if his other proofs are strong, the Baron may be assigned with more probability.

I may add, taking it for granted that Chalmers was right in claiming these two plays for a James Graham, that there is the strongest corroborative proof of there being two of the name in the existence ofMary Stewart, a Dramatic Poem, the acknowledged performance of the author ofThe Sabbath(see hisPoems, 2 vols. 1809), a production differing in title, and bearing no resemblance, I should think, to the first named.

While upon the subject, and presuming that the tragedy ofWallaceis known toJ. Me., I may take the opportunity to ask him, as he isayont the Tweed, whether there is really any authority for the assertion contained in the Abbotsford Library Catalogue, and also in that of Constable's Library, sold in 1817, that of this anonymous tragedy ofWallacethere wereonly six copies printed? Upon the face of mine there is nothing to indicate its rarity, it being an octavo, printed for A. Constable; but the remarkable book may be some other: your correspondents will, however, I dare say, be able to enlighten me.

A Collector.

Baron Munchausen(Vol. ii., p. 519.).—As it was nearly thirty years since I had seen thePercy Anecdotes, I was obliged to speak doubtfully ofhaving derived from that work the statements that the author ofMunchausenwas a Mr. "M——," and that he was a prisoner in France. Accident has within the last few days thrown in my way the very volume of theAnecdotesin which this is stated (vol. v.,Anecdotes of Captivity, p. 103.); and I find that I was mistaken only in supposing "M——'s" place of confinement to have been the Bastile, whereas the time is said to have been the Reign of Terror, and therefore of course the Bastile cannot have been the place.

J. C. R.

Tobacco in the East(vol. ii., pp. 155. 231.).—M. D. asks for "chapter and verse" of A. C. M.'s reference to Sale'sKoranrespecting tobacco.

Had A. C. M. recollected that tobacco (Nicotiana) is an American plant, he would hardly have asked whether "tobaccois the word in the original" of the tradition mentioned by Sale in hisPreliminary Discourse, § 5. p. 123. (4to. ed. 1734.) Happily Reland, whom Sale quotes (Dissert. Miscell., vol. ii. p. 280.), gives his authority, the learned orientalist, Dr. Sike, who received the Hadéth at Leghorn from Ibn Sáleh, a young Muselman. It says, in good Arabic, that in the latter days Moslims, undeserving of the name, shall drink hashish (hemp), and call it tabák; the last words, "yukál lehn tabáku," are no doubt a modern addition by those who had heard oftambákó(the Romaicτανπάκον). As the use of hashish orhashishah(the herb), more completelyhashishata fukara, i.e. Monk's Wort, a technical term forhemp, chewed as a narcotic by fakirs (monks), was not known tillA.H.608 (A.D.1211), it could not be mentioned in the Koran unless Mohammed were, as Sale observes, "a prophet indeed."Tabakak, a plate, dish, or shelf, is now sometimes used by ignorant persons in the East fortambákó, of which a complete account is given in theKarábádén, or great treatise of Materia Medica in Persian. Of that work, there is a beautifully written copy, made, probably, for the late Mr. Colebrooke, by whom it was presented to the library of the Royal Asiatic Society. I shall conclude by another Query: What is the Greek word transformed by Asiatic scribes intoKarábádén?

Anatolicus.

Captain John Stevens(Vol. ii., p. 359.).—This ingenious man, as to whom your correspondent inquires, was one of the hard-working translators in the early part of the last century. The materials for his biography are very scanty. He was a Roman Catholic, and at the Revolution followed the fortunes of his abdicating master, in whose service he accepted a commission, and accompanied him in the wars in Ireland. He was also employed in several other services, and died October 27, 1726. SeeBiographia Dramatica, vol. i. p. 691., edit. 1812. He is not noticed in Chalmers'sBiographical Dictionary, though as the continuator of Dugdale'sMonasticonhe unquestionably ought to have been. Watt gives a list (Bib. Brit., vol. i. p. 880.) of his books and translations; but it is, as usual, very defective and erroneous. It does not include his translation ofDon Quixote, ofDupin, ofAn Evening's Intrigue(1707, 8vo.), and a great number of other works; and it ascribes to him theHistory of the Wars of Charles XII., King of Sweden, London, 1715, which was written, as it needs no great sagacity to discover, by Daniel Defoe, though Chalmers and Wilson have not noticed it.

James Crossley.

MS. Catalogue of Norman Nobility(Vol. iii., p. 266.).—The MS. Catalogue of Norman Nobility referred to in No. 75., a document of great value, is or was in the possession of Sir William Betham, having been purchased by him about six years ago, from Mr. Boone, of New Bond Street.

Your correspondent will find that Odardus de Loges was infeoffed by Earl Ranulph the 1st in the barony of Wigton in Cumberland, in which he was confirmed by Henry I. Bigod, whose name was attached to the charter of foundation of St. Werburg's Abbey, is elsewhere, according to Ormerod, called Robert.

M. J. T.

Illustrations of Chaucer, No. III.(Vol. iii., p. 258.).—

Φως.

Comets(Vol. iii., pp. 223. 253.).—If your correspondent S. P. O. R. wish to go fully into the history of comets, and be not alarmed at the prospect of three thick folios, through which I have gone, I can assure him, with considerable interest, let me recommend to himTheatrum Cometicum, Auctore Stanislao Lubienietz Lubieniecio Rolitsio, Amst., in 2 vols. (but generally bound in three) folio. The first contains an immense correspondence, not merely with astronomers, but with poets, critics, physicians, and philosophers, to whom the indefatigable editor wrote for their opinions on the subject of comets. The second vol. gives a history of comets from the Deluge to 1665, and is a repository of everything bearing upon the subject. From this work Bayle derived his learning, when he wrote his most amusing work on comets.

James Crossley.

Pope Joan(Vol. iii., p. 265.).—Nemowill find much information on the question, "Whether Pope Joan ever held the keys of St. Peter?" in Alexander Cooke'sDialogue between a Protestant and a Papist; manifestly proving that a Womancalled Joane was Pope of Rome: against the surmises and objections made to the contrary by Robert Bellarmini and Cæsar Baronius, Cardinals, Florimondus Ræmondus, and other Popish Writers, impudently denying the same, 4to, pp. 128, 1610. The work was dedicated to the Archbishop of York, and was reprinted in 1625 in 4to., and in French, 1633, 8vo. The author, in his addressTo the Popish Reader, says:

"I offer unto thee here a discourse touchingPope Joane(if thou darest read it, for fear of falling into thy Pope's curse), whose Popedome I will make good unto thee, not by the testimonies ofPantaleon,andFunctius,andSleidan,andIllyricus,andConstantinus Phrygio,andJohn Bale,andRobert Barnes,because thou hast condemned their persons, and their books too, to hell; but by the testimonies of thy brethren, the sonnes of thine own mother; because, as one saith, 'Amici contra amicum, et inimici pro inimico, invincibile testimonium est.'"

E. C. Harington.

The Close, Exeter.

Abbot Eustacius(Vol. iii., p. 141.).—As J. L.'s inquiry after an abbot of that name has hitherto been unsuccessful, perhaps he would like to know that Eustacia was abbess of the monastery at Shaftesbury (founded by King Alfred), tempore incerto, but probably in the time of Stephen. See Willis'sHistory of Abbeys, and aHistory of the Ancient Town of Shaftesbury, p. 21.

Blowen.

The Vellum-bound Junius(Vol. iii., p. 262.).—In the Minor Queries of your Number 75., you have kindly inserted my notice on the vellum-boundJunius. I beg to state further, that the reason of my being so desirous to procure this copy at the Stowe sale was, that it was not only bound in vellum, but was alsoprintedon that article. If any of your correspondents can inform me of another copyprintedon vellum, I should be glad.

W. D. Haggard.

Bank of England, April 5, 1851.

Meaning of Waste-Book(Vol. iii., pp. 118. 195. 251.).—Among a list of "the books printed for, and are to be sold by John Hancock, at the sign of the Three Bibles in Pope's-head Alley, in Cornhill," I findThe Absolute Accountant, or London Merchant, containing instructions and directions for the methodical keeping of merchant's accounts, after the most exact and concise way of debtor and creditor; also aMemorial, vulgarly called a waste-book, and a cash-book, with a journal and a ledger, &c., 1670. This is the first reference I have seen to the correct designation of the book, which might have received it vulgar name ofwastefrom wast, the second person ofwas—thus the Memorial or the Wast-book.

Blowen.

Cowdray(Vol. iii., p. 194.).—There is a misprint here ofEastbourneforEasebourne. There is a curious note on Cowdray, and the superstition attached to it, in Croker'sBoswell, p. 711. 8vo. edit.

Solemnisation of Matrimony(Vol. ii., p. 464.).—A. A. will find, from Blackstone'sCommentaries, vol. ii. p. 135., that in feudal times a husband had the power of protecting his lands from the wife's claim to dower, by endowing her,ad ostium Ecclesiæ, with specific estates to the exclusion of others; or, if he had no lands at the time of the marriage, by an endowment in goods, chattels, or money. When special endowments were thus made, the husband, after affiance made and troth plighted, used to declare with what specific lands he meant to endow his wife ("quod dotat eam de tali manerio," &c.); and therefore, in the old York ritual (Seld. Ux. Hebr.l. ii. c. 27.) there is at this part of the matrimonial service the following rubric—"Sacerdos interroget dotem mulieris; et si terra ei in dotem detur, tunc dicatur psalmus iste", &c. When the wife was endowedgenerally, the husband seems to have said "with all my lands and tenements I thee endow," and then they all became liable to her dower. When he endowed her with personalty only, he used to say, "with all my worldly goods (or, as the Salisbury ritual has it, "with all my worldly chattels") I thee endow," which entitled the wife to her thirds, orpars rationabilis, of his personal estate, which is provided for by Magna Charta, cap. 26. The meaning, therefore, of the words noticed in A. A.'s Query, if they can be said to have any meaning in the present state of the law, is simply that the wife's dower is to be general, and not specific, or, in other words, that she is to have herpars rationabilisinallher husband's goods.

J. F. M.

Epitaph on the Countess of Pembroke(Vol. iii., p. 262.).—Although J. H. M. has concluded that William Browne was not the author of this epitaph, because it is not to be found amongst hisPastorals, it would nevertheless appear that the lines are rightly attributed to him, if the following extract may be relied on:

"The well-known epitaph of the celebrated Countess of Pembroke, the sister of Sir Philip Sidney, has been generally ascribed to Ben Jonson. The first stanza is printed in Jonson's poems; but it is found in the manuscript volume of poems by William Browne, the author ofBritannia's Pastorals, preserved in the Lansdown Collection, British Museum, No. 777., and on this evidence may be fairly appropriated to him, particularly as it is known that he was a great favourite with William, Earl of Pembroke, son of the Countess."—Relics of Literature: London, Boys, 1823, p. 60.

Alfred Gatty.

Scandal against Queen Elizabeth(Vol. ii., p. 393.; Vol. iii., pp. 11. 151. 197. 225.).—Your correspondents seem to have overlooked the celebratedletter of Queen Mary of Scotland, printed in theState Trials, and lately reprinted by Lord Campbell in hisLives of the Chancellors, tit. Sir C. Hatton. I may as well add (though I do not believe the fact) that my grandmother (herself a Devereux) repeated to me the tradition of a son of Queen Elizabeth's having been sent to Ireland.

The Tanthony(Vol. III., pp. 105. 229.).—I am obliged to A. for the trouble he has taken in reference to my Query; but perhaps I may be correct in my suggestion, for on looking into the second volume of theArchæological Journalthe other day, I accidentally found an account of the discovery of a figure of St. Anthony at Merthyr, near Truro, in which it is mentioned that

"Under the left arm appears to have passed a staff, and the pig, witha large bellattached to its neck, appears in front of the figure."—P. 202.

I shall be much obliged to anybody who will settle the point satisfactorily. The fair held on old St. Andrew's Day is always called in Kimbolton and the neighbourhood "Tandrew" fair, so why not "Tanthony" for "Saint Anthony?"

Arun.

The Hippopotamus(Vol. iii., p. 181.).—Your correspondentMr. E. S. Taylorwill find in Vol. ii, p. 458, an example of the wordἱπποπόταμοςcited from Lucian, a writer anterior both to Horapollo and Damascius. In the same page is a reference to the story of the wickedness of the hippopotamus in Plutarch; so that Horapollo and Damascius, doubtless, borrowed from a common source, or repeated a current fable, to be found in many writings then extant.

Tu Autem(Vol. iii., p. 265).—The words "Tu autem, Domine, miserere nostri," "But Thou, O Lord! have mercy upon us," were originally a form of prayer used by the preacher at the end of his discourse, as a supplication for pardon for any sinful pride or vainglory, into which he might have been betrayed in addressing his congregation. Hence the words "tu autem," as Pegge properly says, came to denote a hint to the reader to leave off.

The custom is still in constant use among the members of the cathedral church of Durham. At the public dinners given by the canons, in what is there called "hospitality residence," one of the choristers comes in after dinner, dressed in his official costume, and, taking his station behind the canon in residence, reads, in the manner which is now well known asintoning, eight verses of the 119th Psalm, first saying, "Here beginneth the —— part of the 119th Psalm."

When the eight verses are concluded, the canon turns round to the chorister, saying "tu autem," giving him a shilling; to which the chorister replies, "Domine miserere nostri," and retires.

The explanation of the words, as originally employed, is given by RupertusDe Divinis Officiis, lib. i. c. xiv.:

DE "TU AUTEM DOMINE.""Quodque in fine dicit, 'Tu autem Domine miserere nostri,' hoc innuit, ne ipsum quidem bonum officium prædicandi sine alicujus vel levis culpæ pulvere possa pagi. Nam, ut ait B. Augustinus, 'Verbum prædicationis securiùs auditur quàm dicitur. Prædicator quippe cùm benè dicere se sentit, difficile nimis est ut non quantulumcunque spiritu elationis tangat; et quia quasi per terram ambulat et pedes ejus pulvere sordidantur, idcirco misericordiâ Dei indiget, ut in hâc parte lavetur, etiamsi mundus sit totus.'"

DE "TU AUTEM DOMINE."

"Quodque in fine dicit, 'Tu autem Domine miserere nostri,' hoc innuit, ne ipsum quidem bonum officium prædicandi sine alicujus vel levis culpæ pulvere possa pagi. Nam, ut ait B. Augustinus, 'Verbum prædicationis securiùs auditur quàm dicitur. Prædicator quippe cùm benè dicere se sentit, difficile nimis est ut non quantulumcunque spiritu elationis tangat; et quia quasi per terram ambulat et pedes ejus pulvere sordidantur, idcirco misericordiâ Dei indiget, ut in hâc parte lavetur, etiamsi mundus sit totus.'"

From this explanation it is plain, that the Monk of St. Albans, writing to the abbot—

"Si vis, veniam; Sin autem, tu autem,"

would be understood to express—

"If you wish, I will come; but if otherwise, there is an end of the matter."

T. C.

Durham, April 8. 1851.

Places called Purgatory(Vol. iii., p. 241.).—There is a farm-house still called "Purgatory," about two miles south of Durham, east of the London road, and close to the left bank of the river Wear. The farm is part of the estate of a highly respectable family, which has, I believe, always been Roman Catholic. No reason for the name is known in the neighbourhood.

T. C.

Durham, April 8. 1851.

Swearing by Swans, &c.(Vol. ii., p. 392.; Vol. iii., pp. 70. 192.).—In addition to what has already appeared on this subject, the following extract from Tyrwhitt'sGlossary to Chaucerwill, I hope, be acceptable.

"Ale and Bred. This oath of Sire Thopas on ale and bred was perhaps intended to ridicule the solemn vows, which were frequently made in the days of chivalrie, to a peacock, a pheasant, or some othernoble bird."—See M. de Sainte Palaye,Sur l'anc. Cheval., Mem. iiime.

This practice is alluded to in "Dunbar's Wish that the King were Johne Thomsonnis man" (MS. Maitland, st. v.):

"I would gif all that ever I haveTo that condition, so God me saif,That ye hadVOWIT TO THE SWANAne yeir to be John Thomsonnis man."

"I would gif all that ever I have

To that condition, so God me saif,

That ye hadVOWIT TO THE SWAN

Ane yeir to be John Thomsonnis man."

And so in theProl. to the Contin. of the Canterb. T., ver. 452., the Hosteler says:

"I make a vowe to the pecock, ther shall wake a foule mist."

The instance given in Vol. iii., p. 192., is recorded by Monstrelet,Hist. de France, Charles VII.

T. J.

Edmund Prideaux and the Post-office(Vol. iii., pp. 186. 266.).—In a MS. on parchment, nowbefore me, are contained entries of the dates of the various letters patent and grants connected with the post-office, to the latter end of the reign of Charles I., and the names of the persons to whom the grants were made. The earliest date is the 37th of Henry VIII., and the last the 13th of Charles I. If an extract from the MS., which gives a similar index to the appointments in the Courts of Law, the Customs, the Forests, and a great variety of other offices, will assist your correspondent, I shall be happy to supply it. I may notice, what seems to have been overlooked by your two correspondents who have replied to the inquiry, that some account of Prideaux is given by Wood (Vid.Fast.vol. i. p. 424., edit. Bliss), from which it appears that he was M.A. of Cambridge, Member of the Inner Temple, Member of Parliament for Lyme in Dorsetshire, and Recorder of Exeter; and that his death took place on the 19th Aug., 1659 (misprinted 1569 in this edit.), and that—

"From his employments gaining a vast estate, he left at the time of his death an incredible mass of gold (as the credible report then went), besides lands of very great demesnes."

Jas. Crossley.

Small Words and "Low" Words(Vol. ii., pp. 305. 349. 377.).—Apropos to Pope's use of "low words," in the sense ofshortwords, conf. Boileau, satire iv. 97. 8.

How the phrase was disposed

"Lui faisant voir ses vers et sans force et sans graces,Montés sur deux grands mots, comme sur deux échasses."

"Lui faisant voir ses vers et sans force et sans graces,

Montés sur deux grands mots, comme sur deux échasses."

On which one of his commentators makes the following note:

"Boileau, pour se moquer des mots gigantesques, citoit ordinairement ce vers de Chapelain:'De ce sourcilleux roc l'inébranlable cime.'Et il disposoit ce vers comme il est ici à côté. Dans cette disposition il semble que le mot 'roc' soit monté sur deux échasses.'

"Boileau, pour se moquer des mots gigantesques, citoit ordinairement ce vers de Chapelain:

'De ce sourcilleux roc l'inébranlable cime.'

Et il disposoit ce vers comme il est ici à côté. Dans cette disposition il semble que le mot 'roc' soit monté sur deux échasses.'

I commend toΦ.'s attention this instance of a "low" word supported on two "high" ones.

K. I. P. B. T.

Lord Howard of Effingham(Vol. iii., pp. 185. 244.).—It has been supposed that the Earl of Nottingham was a Catholic, and having held office in the reign of Queen Mary, he probably was so at that time; but he certainly was a Protestant during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and in the beginning of James I. was at the head of a commission to discover and expel all Catholic priests. (VideMemorials of the Howard Family.)

R. R. M.

Obeahism.—Ventriloquism(Vol. iii., pp. 59. 149.).—T. H. will find, in the authorities given below, that Obeahism is not only a rite, but a religion, or rather superstition, viz.Serpent-worship.Modern Universal History, fol. vol. vi. p. 600.; 8vo. vol. xvi. p. 411.; which is indebted for its information to the works of De Marchais, Barbot, Atkyns, and Bosman: the last of which may be seen in Pinkerton'sCollection, vol. xvi., and a review of it inActa Eruditor., Lips. 1705, p. 265., under the form of an "Essay on Guinea." In Astely'sCollection of Voyages, there is an account compiled from every authority then known, and a very interesting description of the rites and ceremonies connected with this superstition. According to the same authors, the influence of the Obeist does not depend on the exercise of any art or natural magic, but on the apprehensions of evil infused into his victim's mind. See also Lewis'sJournal of a Residence among the Negroes in the West Indies.

The following references will furnish a reply at once to two Queries; to that here noticed, and to that on "Ventriloquism" (Vol. ii., p. 88.).

The name of the sacred serpent, which in the ancient language of Canaan was variously pronounced, was derived from "ob" (inflare), perhaps from his peculiarity of inflation when irritated. See Bryant'sAnalysis, vol. i.; Deane'sWorship of the Serpent, p. 80. From a notion of the mysterious inflation produced by the presence of the divine spirit, those who had the spirit of Ob, or Python, received the names of Ob, or Pythia; according to the not unusual custom for the priest or priestess of any god to take the name of the deity they served. See Selden,De Dis Syris, Synt. 1. c. 2. It is a curious coincidence, that as the Witch of Endor is called "Oub," and the African sorceress "Obi," from the serpent-deityOub, so the old English name of a witch, "hag," bears apparent relationship to the wordhak, the ancient British name of a species of snake. In Yorkshire, according to Stukeley, they call snakes "hags" and "hag-worms," (Abury, p. 32.).

In the Breton language,Belechis "Priest," and may similarly indicate a priest of Bel-the-Dragon.

From the HebrewOb, the Greekὄφιςwas probably derived; for the same word, in Hebrew, Arabic, and Greek, which denotes "divination" denotes a "serpent." "Nachash,"[4]"ilahat,"[5]"οἰωνίζεσθαι,"[6]have the same double signification as if the serpent were recognised as the grand inspirer of the heathen prophets. See Faber'sHoræ Mosaicæ, vol. i. p. 98.

The word "Ob" was translated by the LXX.ἐγγαστριμύθος, "a ventriloquist," inaccommodation to the received opinions respecting the Pythian priestess. See the Notes to Creech'sLucretius, book v.; Jones's (of Nayland)Physiolog. Disquis.p. 290. The deception practised by the Witch of Endor, and by the damsel mentioned in Acts xvi. 16., was of this description. See Wierus dePræstig. Dæmon.p. 203.; and Reginald Scot'sDiscoverie of Witchcraft, p. 148.

The serpent, which with heathen mythologists had various acceptations (see Vossius,Theologia Gent. et Physiologia Christ.), was also understood as a natural symbol or hieroglyphic of the air. Can any of your learned correspondents furnish materials illustrative of this figurative relation between the serpent and the elements?

T. J.

Footnote 4:(return)See Parkhurst.Footnote 5:(return)Dickinson'sDelphi Phœnic., p. 10.Footnote 6:(return)Stillingfleet'sOrig. Sacræ, book iii. c. iii. s. 18.

See Parkhurst.

Dickinson'sDelphi Phœnic., p. 10.

Stillingfleet'sOrig. Sacræ, book iii. c. iii. s. 18.

Meaning of Peep(Vol. ii., p. 118.).—You have already told us the meaning of the wordpeepin the phrase "Wizards thatpeepand that mutter;" in confirmation I may add that the noise made by the queen bee in the hive previous to swarming is in Devonshire calledpeeping.

J. M. (4.)

Venwell or Venville(Vol. iii., p. 38.).—VenwellorVenvilleappears to me to be a corruption of the wordfengfield; and the meaning of it seems to be, that custom of delivering possession of land to a purchaser by cutting a piece of turf from the field bought, and delivering it into his hands.

I well remember, when a boy, accompanying my father to receive possession of an outlying field, distant from the main estate which he had bought; the seller's agent, I think, came with us and cut a small piece of turf from the ground, and delivered it into my father's hands, saying (if I recollect right), "By this turf I deliver this field into your possession." By this means my father "fenged" (took) the "field" into his own hands, and became the legal proprietor of it.

Venville.—The peat or black earth of Dartmoor is still calledvenorfen. Is it not more probable that the adjoining parishes (or parts of them) are said to be in Venville or fengfield, from their being within the peat district, than that an abbreviation of a legal term,fines villarum—fin. vil., should become naturalised among the peasantry, as is the case with the word Venville?

The second part of the word seems akin to the Scottishfail, "a turf, or that clod covered with grass cut off from the rest of the sward." (Jamieson.)

Hand-bells at Funerals(Vol. ii., p. 478.).—In theTestamenta Eboracensia, p. 163., Johannes Esten de Scardeburgh, le Ankersymth, bequeaths 2d.—

"Clerico ecclesiæ pro pulsacione campanarum, et le belman portand' campanam per villam excitandum populum ad orandum."

A hand-bell (as I am informed by a Roman Catholic gentleman) often precedes the Host, when carried in procession to the sick, &c., in order to clear the way, and remind passengers of the usual reverence paid at such times.

Lincoln.

Shillings and Sixpences of George III.(Vol. iii., p. 275.).—R. W. C. has fallen into a misconception in supposing that these coins present an erroneous spelling of the Latinized style of the monarch, whilst the contemporary crowns and half-crowns have the correct orthography. The spelling of the legend on the sixpences and shillings was intentional, and with a meaning, being inscribed in an abridged form—GEOR: III. D: G: BRITT: REX F: D:—the reduplication of theTwas designed, after classical precedent, to represent the pluralBritanniarum, i.e., Great Britain and Ireland.

Odour from the Rainbow(Vol. iii., p. 224.).—I hope that I have foundJarltzberg'snote in the following lines:

"Like to that smell which oft our sense descriesWithin a field which long unploughëd lies,Somewhat before the setting of the sun;And where the rainbow in the horizonDoth pitch her tips; or as when in the prime,The earth being troublëd with a drought long time,The hand of heaven his spongy clouds doth strain,And throws into her lap a shower of rain;She sendeth up (conceivëd from the sun)A sweet perfume and exhalation."Browne,Britannia's Pastorals, Book i. Song 2.[Clarke's Cabinet Series, 1845, p. 70.]

"Like to that smell which oft our sense descries

Within a field which long unploughëd lies,

Somewhat before the setting of the sun;

And where the rainbow in the horizon

Doth pitch her tips; or as when in the prime,

The earth being troublëd with a drought long time,

The hand of heaven his spongy clouds doth strain,

And throws into her lap a shower of rain;

She sendeth up (conceivëd from the sun)

A sweet perfume and exhalation."

Browne,Britannia's Pastorals, Book i. Song 2.

[Clarke's Cabinet Series, 1845, p. 70.]

C. Forbes.

Odour from the Rainbow.—The following stanzas are from a poem, called "The Blind Girl," in a publication by Pickering, 1845, ofMemorials of a Tour, and Miscellaneous Poems, by Robert Snow, Esq. Lond., 1845:—

"Once in our porch whilst I was resting,To hear the rain-drops in their mirth,You said you saw the rainbow crestingThe heavens with colour, based on earth:And I believe it fills the showersWith music; and when sweeter airThan common breathes from briar-rose bowers,Methinks, the Rainbow hath touched there."

"Once in our porch whilst I was resting,To hear the rain-drops in their mirth,You said you saw the rainbow crestingThe heavens with colour, based on earth:

"Once in our porch whilst I was resting,

To hear the rain-drops in their mirth,

You said you saw the rainbow cresting

The heavens with colour, based on earth:

And I believe it fills the showersWith music; and when sweeter airThan common breathes from briar-rose bowers,Methinks, the Rainbow hath touched there."

And I believe it fills the showers

With music; and when sweeter air

Than common breathes from briar-rose bowers,

Methinks, the Rainbow hath touched there."

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