METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.

"Nettle out, dock in."

This charm is so common in Huntingdonshire at this day that it seems to come to children almost instinctively. None of them can tell where they first heard it, any more than why they use it.

Arun.

The following passage from a sermon preached at Paul's Cross, March 26, 1620, by John King, Bishop of London, refers in a curious manner to many improvements and alterations which have either been already effected in our own time, or are still in contemplation. The sermon was "on behalfe of Paule's Church," then in a ruinous condition; and was delivered in the presence of James himself, who suggested the preacher's text, Psal. cii. 13, 14.

"So had my manner ever beene aforetime," says the Bishop, "to open the volume of this Booke, and goe through the fields of the Old and New Testament, plucking and rubbing such eares of corne therein as I best liked, makings, choice (I meane) of my text, and buckling myself to my task at myne owne discretion; but now I am girt and tied to a Scripture by him, who as he hath most right to command, so best skill to direct and appoint the best service I can."

After an elaborate laudation of England, and of London as the "gem and eye," which has

"the body of the King, the morning and midday influence of that glorious sun; other parts having but the evening....O fortunati nimium; you have the finest flowre of the wheat, and purest bloud of the grape, that is, the choice of His blessed Word hath God given unto you; and great is the companie of the preachers"—

the Bishop proceeds thus:

"Not to weary mine eyes with wandering and roving after private, but to fixe upon publicke alone,—when I behold that forrest of masts upon your river for trafficke, and that more than miraculous bridge, which is thecommunis terminus, to joyne the two bankes of that river; your Royall Exchange for merchants, your Halls for Companies, your gates for defence, your markets for victuall, your aqueducts for water, your granaries for provision, your Hospitalls for the poore, your Bridewells for the idle, your Chamber for orphans, and your Churches for holy assemblies; I cannot denie them to be magnificent workes, and your Citty to deserve the name of an Augustious and majesticall Citty; to cast into the reckoning those of later edition, the beautifying of your fields without, and pitching your Smithfield within, new gates, new waterworkes, and the like, which have been consecrated by you to the dayes of his Majestie's happy reigne: and I hope the cleansing of the River, which is thevena portato your Citty, will follow in good time. But after all these, as Christ to the young man in the Gospell, which had done all and more,Unum tibi deest, si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende; so may I say to you. There is yet one thing wanting unto you, if you will be perfit,—perfit this church: not by parting fromall, but somewhat, not to the poore, but to God himselfe. This Church is your Sion indeed, other are butSynagogues, this yourJerusalem the mother to them all, other but daughters brought up at her knees; this the Cathedrall, other but Parochiall Churches; this theBethelfor the daily and constant service of God, other have their intermissions, this the common to you all, and to thisdoeyour tribes ascendin their greatest solemnities; others appropriated to several Congregations, this the standart in the high rode of gaze; others are more retired, this the mirrour and marke of strangers, other have but their side lookes; finally, this unto you, asS. Peters in the Vaticanat Rome,S. Marksat Venice, and that ofDianaat Ephesus, and this at Jerusalem of the Jewes; or if there be any other of glory and fame in the Christian world, which they most joy in."

Richard John King.

Meaning of Luncheon.—Our familiar name ofluncheonis derived from the daily meal of the Spaniards at eleven o'clock, termedonceorl'once(pronouncedl'onchey).—From Ford'sGatherings in Spain.

A. L.

Charade upon Nothing translated.—In your No. for July a correspondent asks who was the author of the very quaint charade upon "Nothing:"

"Me, the contented man desires,The poor man has, the rich requires,The miser gives, the spendthrift saves,And all must carry to their graves."

"Me, the contented man desires,

The poor man has, the rich requires,

The miser gives, the spendthrift saves,

And all must carry to their graves."

Possibly he may not object to read, without troubling himself as to the authorship of, the subjoined translation:

"Me, qui sorte sua contentus vixerit, optat,Et quum pauper habet, dives habere velit;Spargit avarus opum, servat sibi prodigus æris,Secum post fati funera quisque feret."

"Me, qui sorte sua contentus vixerit, optat,

Et quum pauper habet, dives habere velit;

Spargit avarus opum, servat sibi prodigus æris,

Secum post fati funera quisque feret."

Effigies.

Giving the Lie.—The great affront of giving the lie arose from the phrase "Thou liest," in the oath taken by the defendant in judicial combats before engaging, when charged with any crime by the plaintiff, and Francis I. of France, to make current his giving the lie to the Emperor Charles V., first stamped it with infamy by saying, in a solemn Assembly, that "he was no honest man that would bear the lie."

Blowen.

Anachronisms of Painters.—An amusing list is given in D'Israeli'sCuriosities of Literature(edit. 1839, p. 131.). The following are additional:

At Hagley Park, Worcestershire, the seat of Lord Lyttleton, is a painting by Varotari, a pupil of Paul Veronese, of Christ and the Woman taken in Adultery. One of the Jewish elders present wears spectacles.

At Kedleston, Derbyshire, the seat of Lord Scarsdale, is a painting by Rembrandt, Daniel interpreting Belsazzar's Dream. Daniel's head is covered with a peruke of considerable magnitude.

J. E.

Spenser's Faerie Queene.—The following brief notes may perhaps prove interesting:—

1. Spenser gives us a hint of the annoyances to which Shakspeare and Burbage may have been subject:—

"All suddenly they heard a troublous noise,That seemed some perilous tumult to design,Confused with women's cries and shorts of boys,Such as the troubled theatres oft-times annoys."—B. IV. iii. 37.

"All suddenly they heard a troublous noise,

That seemed some perilous tumult to design,

Confused with women's cries and shorts of boys,

Such as the troubled theatres oft-times annoys."—B. IV. iii. 37.

2. Spenser's solitary pun occurs in book iv. canto viii. verse 31.:

"But when the world wox old, it woxwar-old,Whereof it hight."

"But when the world wox old, it woxwar-old,

Whereof it hight."

3. Cleanliness does not appear to have been a virtue much in vogue in the "glorious days of good Queen Bess." Spenser (book iv. canto xi. verse 47.) speaks of

"Her silver feet, fair washed against this day,"

i. e.for a special day of rejoicing.

4. An instance of the compound epithets so much used by Chapman in his translation of Homer, is found in Spenser's description of the sea-nymphs, book iv. canto xi. verse 50.:

"Eione well-in-age,And seeming-still-to-smile Glauconome."

"Eione well-in-age,

And seeming-still-to-smile Glauconome."

J. H. C.

Adelaide, South Australia.

Prayer of Mary Queen of Scots.—The incorrect arrangement, in Seward'sAnecdotes, of the following beautiful lines, said to be composed by Mary Queen of Scots, and repeated immediately before her execution, and a diffuse paraphrase subjoined, in which all their tenderness is lost by destroying their brevity and simplicity, may justify another arrangement, and an attempt to preserve their simple and tender character in fewer words and a different measure:—

Can any of your correspondents inform me where these lines first appear? on what authority they are ascribed to Mary Queen of Scots? and also who mentions their having been repeated immediately before her execution?

Alexander Pytts Falconer.

Beeton-Christchurch, Hants.

A small Instance of Warren Hastings' Magnanimity.—During the latter years of his life, Warren Hastings was in the habit of visiting General D'Oyley in the New Forest; and thus he becameacquainted with the Rev. W. Gilpin, vicar of Boldre, and author ofForest Scenery, &c. Mr. Gilpin's custom was to receive morning visitors, who sat and enjoyed his agreeable conversation; and Warren Hastings, when staying in the neighbourhood, often resorted to the Boldre Parsonage. It happened, one Sunday, that Mr. Gilpin preached a sermon on the character of Felix, which commenced in words like these:

"Felix was a bad man, and a bad governor. He took away another man's wife and lived with her; and he behaved with extortion and cruelty in the province over which he ruled."

Other particulars followed equally in accordance with the popular charges against the late Governor-General of India, who, to the preacher's dismay, was unexpectedly discovered sitting in the D'Oyley pew. Mr. Gilpin concluded that he then saw the last of his "great" friend. But, not so: on the following morning Warren Hastings came, with his usual pleasant manner, for a chat with the vicar, and of course made no allusion to the sermon.

This was told me by a late valued friend, who was a nephew and curate of Mr. Gilpin; and I am not aware that the anecdote has been put on record.

Alfred Gatty.

Ecclesfield.

Richard Baxter.—In the long list of Richard Baxter's works, one is entitled,An unsavoury Volume of Mr. Jo. Crawford's anatomized: or, a Nosegay of the choicest Flowers in that Garden, presented to Mr. Joseph Caryl, by Richard Baxter. 8vo., Lond. 1654.

At the end of apostscriptto this tract, the following sentence is subjoined:

"Whatsoever hath escaped me in these writings that is against meekness, peace, and brotherly love, let it be all unsaid, and hereby revoked; and I desire the pardon of it from God and Man.

Richard Baxter."

Baxter's literary career was not the least extraordinary part of his history. Orme's life of him says, that the catalogue of his works contains nearly a hundred and sixty-eight distinct publications. A list of no less than one hundred and seven is given at the end of hisCompassionate Counsel to all Young Men, 8vo., Lond. 1682.

Baxter's most popular treatises, as the world knows, were hisCall to the Unconverted, and hisSaint's Everlasting Rest.

H. E.

Registry of Dissenting Baptisms in Churches.—A fact came to my knowledge some time since, which seems worthy of havinga note of itmade, and recorded in your journal. On looking over the registry of baptisms administered in the meeting-house of an ancient city, I was struck by the occurrence of four names, which I had seen entered in a genealogy as from the baptismal registry of one of its parish churches. This appeared to me so strange, that I examined the parish registry in order to verify it; and I found that the baptisms were actually recorded as on the same days in both registries. Of course, the father, having had his child baptized by the dissenting minister, prevailed on the clergyman of his parish church to register it.

Whether this was a common custom at the time when it took place (1715-21) I have no means of knowing. As a fee was probably charged for the registration, it was not likely to be asked for in all instances; and, no doubt, when it was asked for, many clergymen would consider it inconsistent with their duty to grant it.

D. X.

Can any of your readers furnish a list of the different editions ofOlaus Magnus? I have lately met with a curious one entitledHistoria delle Gente et della Natura delle Cose Settentrionali, da Olao Magno Gotho Arcivescovo di Vpsala nel Regno di Suezia e Gozia, descritta in XXII Libri. Tradotta in Lingua Toscana. In Vinegia, 1565.This edition, in folio, contains a very interesting old map of Scandinavia, and a profusion of little cuts or engravings, representing men, animals, gods, mountains, weapons, religious rites, natural wonders, and everything relating to the people and the country that could be conceived or gathered together. Is there any English translation of Olaus Magnus?

Is there any English translation of Jornandes'Histoire Générale des Goths? It is full of curious matter. The French edition of 1603 gives the following accounts of the midnight sun:—

"Diverses nations ne laissent pas d'habiter ces contrées" (Scanzia or Scandinavia). "Ptolomée en nomme sept principales. Celle qui s'appelle Adogit, et qui est la plus reculée vers le Nord, voit (dit on) durant l'Esté le Soleil rouler l'horizon quarante jours sans se coucher; mais aussi pendant l'Hyver, elle est privée de sa lumière un pareil espace de temps, payant ainsi par le long ennui que lui cause l'absence de cet Astre, la joye que sa longue présence lui avoit fait ressentir."

There is a little old book calledHistoire des Intrigues Galantes de la Reine Christine de Suède et de sa Cour, pendant son sejour à Rome. A Amsterdam, 1697. It opens thus:

"Rome, qui est le centre de la religion, est aussi le Théâtre des plus belles Comédies du Monde:"

and after giving various accounts, personal and incidental, of her mercurial majesty, and of her pilgrimage to Rome, recites the following epigram on her first intrigue there, which, to give due precedence to the church, happened to be with a Cardinal, named Azolin:—

"Mais Azolin dans RomeSceut charmer ses ennuis,Elle eût sans ce grand hommePassé de tristes nuits;"

"Mais Azolin dans Rome

Sceut charmer ses ennuis,

Elle eût sans ce grand homme

Passé de tristes nuits;"

adding:

"Dans ce peu de paroles Mr. de Coulanges [its author] dit beaucoup de choses, et fait comprendre l'intrigue du Cardinal avec la Reine."

I can find no account of this Reverend Cardinal. Who was he (if anybody), and what is his history? And who was the author of these odd memoirs of the Swedish Queen?

At page 228. of "Notes and Queries" I see mention of an English translation ofDanishballads by Mr. Borrow. Is there any translation ofNorwegianballads? Many of them are very beautiful and characteristic, and well worthy of an able rendering into our own language, if there were any one to undertake it. There is also much beauty in the Norwegian national music, of which a pretty but limited collection, theNorske Field-Melodier, arranged by Lindeman, is published at Christiania.

What is the best method of reaching Iceland? and whatreally goodbooks have been published on that country within the last twenty years?

William E. C. Nourse.

London, April 22. 1851.

Query, Has Mons. Foucault's pendulum experiment been as yet clearly enunciated? and do I understand it aright, when I conceive it is intended to show the existence of a certain uniformrotation in azimuth of the horizon, but different for different latitudes; which rotation, if made out to exist, is acquired solely in virtue of the uniform diurnal rotation (15° hourly) in right ascension of the equator, identical in all latitudes.

A pendulum, manifestly, can only be suspended vertically, and can only vibrate in a vertical plane; and surely can only be conceived, in the course of the experiment, to be referred to thehorizon, that great circle of the heavenly sphere to which all vertical circles are referred.

A spectator at the north pole has the pole of the heavens coincident with his zenith; and there, all declination circles are also vertical circles; and there, the equator coincides with the horizon; whereby the whole effect of the rotation of the earth there (15° hourly) may be conceived to be given to thehorizon: whilst, at the equator, the horizon is perpendicular to the equator, which therefore gives no such rotation at all to the horizon. Simple inspection of a celestial globe will illustrate this. Considering the matter thus, at the pole the rotation of thehorizonis 15° hourly, and at the equator is 0, or nothing. But the sine of the latitude (=90°) at the pole is unity, or 1; and the sine of the latitude (=0°) at the equator is 0. Therefore, at these two extremes, the expression 15° × sin. lat. actually does give the amount ofhourly apparent rotation of the horizon; namely, 15° at one place, and 0° at the other. Now, as I understand the experiment, as given in the public prints, it is asserted that the same expression of 15° × sin. lat. will give therotation of the horizonin intermediate latitudes; of which rotation I subjoin a table calculated for the purpose.

Now this is the point which, it should seem, ought to be the business of experimenters to establish; it being proposed, as we are informed, to swing, in different latitudes, freely suspended pendulums, over horizontal dials, or circular tables, properly graduated, similarly to the horizons of common globes; and to note theapparentvariation of the plane of oscillation of the pendulums with respect to the graduated dials; these latter serving as representatives of the horizon. For the hypothesis is (as I understand it), that the pendulums will continue to swing each of them severally in one invariable vertical plane fixed in free space, whilst the horizontal dials beneath, by their rotation, will slip away, as it were, and turn round inazimuth, from under the planes of the pendulums.

It should seem to be imperative on those who wish to put this experiment to proof, to give all possible attention to the precautions suggested in the excellent paper that appeared on the subject, on Saturday, April 19, in theLiterary Gazette, copied also into theMorning Postof Monday the 21st. To my mind, the experiment is beset with practical difficulties; but even should the matterbe satisfactorily made out to those best capable of judging, I cannot readily conceive of an experiment less likely than the above to carry conviction to the minds of the wholly unlearned of the rotation of the earth.

I perceive that B.A.C., in theTimesof April 24, avows his determined scepticism as to the virtue of the experiment.

Robert Snow.

William ap Jevan's Descendants.—In Burke'sLanded Gentry, p. 1465., mention is made of William ap Jevan, "an attendant upon Jasper Duke of Bedford, and afterwards upon Hen. VII.;" and of a son, Morgan Williams, ancestor of the Cromwells. Will some correspondent oblige by giving a reference to where any account may be met with of any other son, or children, to such William ap Jevan, and his or their descendants?

W. P. A.

"Geographers on Afric Downs."—Can any of your correspondents tell me where these lines are to be found?—

"So geographers on Afric downs,Plant elephants instead of towns."

"So geographers on Afric downs,

Plant elephants instead of towns."

They sound Hudibrastic, but I cannot find them inHudibras.

A. S.

Irish Brigade.—Can any of your correspondents furnish any account of what were called "The Capitulations of the Irish Brigades?" TheseCapitulations(to prevent mistakes) were simply the agreements under which foreign regiments entered the French service. The Swiss regiments had their special "capitulations" until 1830, when they ceased to be employed in France. They appear to have differed in almost every regiment of the Irish brigade; the privileges of some being greater than those of others. One was common to all, namely, the right oftrialby their officers or comrades solely, and according to the laws of their own country.

Also, is there any history of the brigades published? I have heard that a Colonel Dromgoole published one. Can any information be afforded on that head?

Passage in Oldham.—The following lines, on the virtues of "impudence," occur in that exquisite satirist, Oldham, described by Dryden as "too little and too lately known:"

"Get that great gift and talent, impudence,Accomplish'd mankind's highest excellence:'Tis that alone prefers, alone makes great,Confers alone wealth, titles, and estate;Gains place at court, can make a fool a peer;An ass a bishop; can vil'st blockhead rearTo wear red hats, and sit in porph'ry chair:'Tis learning, parts, and skill, and wit, and sense,Worth, merit, honour, virtue, innocence."

"Get that great gift and talent, impudence,

Accomplish'd mankind's highest excellence:

'Tis that alone prefers, alone makes great,

Confers alone wealth, titles, and estate;

Gains place at court, can make a fool a peer;

An ass a bishop; can vil'st blockhead rear

To wear red hats, and sit in porph'ry chair:

'Tis learning, parts, and skill, and wit, and sense,

Worth, merit, honour, virtue, innocence."

I quote this passage chiefly with reference to the "porphyry chair," and with the view of ascertaining whether the allusion has been explained in any edition of Oldham's Poems. Does the expression refer to any established use of such chairs by the wearers of "red hats?" or is it intended merely to convey a general idea of the sumptuousness and splendour of their style of living?

Henry H. Breen.

St. Lucia, March, 1851.

Mont-de-Piété.-Can any of your readers furnish information as to the connexion between these words and the thing which they are used to denote? Mrs. Jameson says, in herLegends of the Monastic Orders, p. 307.:

"Another attribute of St. Bernardin's of Siena, is theMonte-di-Pietà, a little green hill composed of three mounds, and on the top either a cross or a standard, on which is the figure of the dead Saviour, usually called in Italy aPietà. St. B. is said to have been the founder of the charitable institutions still called in FranceMonts-de-Piété, originally for the purpose of lending to the poor small sums on trifling pledges—what we should now call a loan society,—and which, in their commencement, were purely disinterested and beneficial. In every city which he visited as a preacher, he founded a Monte-di-Pietà; and before his death, these institutions had spread all over Italy and through a great part of France."

It is added in a note:

"Although the figures holding the M. di P. are, in Italian prints and pictures, styled 'San Bernardino da Siena,' there is reason to presume that the honour is at least shared by another worthy of the same order, 'Il Beato Bernardino da Feltri,' a celebrated preacher at the end of the fifteenth century. Mention is made of his preaching against the Jews and usurers, on the miseries of the poor, and on the necessity of having aMonte-di-Pietàat Florence, in a sermon delivered in the church of Santa Croce in the year 1488."

On p. 308. is a representation of the Monte-di-Pietà, borne in the saint's hand. I need not specify the points on which the foregoing extract still leaves information to be desired.

W. B. H.

Manchester.

Poem upon the Grave.—A. D. would be obliged by being informed where to find a poem upon The Grave. Two voices speak in it, and, it commences—

"How peaceful the grave; its quiet how deep!Its zephyrs breathe calmly, and soft is its sleep,And flowerets perfume it with ether."

"How peaceful the grave; its quiet how deep!

Its zephyrs breathe calmly, and soft is its sleep,

And flowerets perfume it with ether."

The second voice replies—

"How lonesome the grave; how deserted and drear," &c. &c.

Clocks: when self-striking Clocks first invented.—In Bolingbroke'sLetters on the Study of History(Letter IV.), I read the following passage in relation to a certain person:

"His reason had not the merit of common mechanism. When you press a watch or pull a clock, they answer your question with precision; for they repeat exactly the hour of the day, and tell you neither more nor less than you desire to know."

I believe this work was written about 1711. Can you tell me when the self-striking clock was invented, and by whom?

Jingo.

Clarkson's "Richmond."—Can any of your readers inform me who is in possession of the papers of the late Mr. Clarkson, the historian of Richmond, in Yorkshire? I wish to know what were the ancient documents, or other sources, from which the learned author ascertained some facts stated in his valuable work. To whom should I apply on the subject?

D. Q.

"Felix quem faciunt," &c.—I wish you could tell me where I can find this line:

"Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum."

Effigies.

Whitehall.

Sir Francis Windebank's elder Son.—Sir Francis Windebank, "of treacherous memory," it is well known, died at Paris in September, 1646. He had two sons; what became of Thomas, theelder? Francis, thesecond, was a colonel in the royal army: he was tried for cowardice in surrendering Blechingdon House, in Oxfordshire, to Oliver Cromwell without a blow; and being found guilty, was shot at Broken Hayes, near Oxford, in April, 1645. I am anxious to make out the fate of his elder brother.

Edward F. Rimbault.

Incised Slab.—I have a large incised slab in my church, with the figures of a man (Richard Grenewey) and his wife upon it, with the date 1473. Following the date, and filling up the remainder of the line of the inscription, is the figure of a cock in a fighting attitude. Can any of your readers enlighten me on the subject?

H. C. K.

Etymology of Balsall.—Will you allow me to ask some of your readers to give me the etymology ofBalsall? It occurs frequently about here, as Balsall Temple, B. Street, B. Grange, B. Common, and near Birmingham is Balsall Heath. It is not to be confounded with Beausall Common, which also is near this place.

F. R.

Kenilworth.

St. Olave's Churches.—In theCalendar of the Anglican Church, Parker, Oxford, 1851, at pp. 267. and 313., it is stated that Saint Olave helped King Ethelred to dislodge the Danes from London and Southwark, by destroying London Bridge; and that, in gratitude for this service, the churches at each end of the bridge are dedicated to him;—on the Southwark side, St. Olave's, Tooley Street, is; but was there ever a church on the London side, bearing the same name?—The nearest one to the bridge is St. Olave's, Hart Street; but that is surely too distant to be called "at the end of the bridge."

E. N. W.

Southwark, April 21. 1851.

Sabbatical and Jubilee Years of the Jews.—As the solution of many interesting topics in connexion with Jewish history is yet dependent on theperiodof the institution of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, the following observations will not perhaps be deemed unworthy of a "nook" in your columns. A spark may blaze! I therefore throw it out to be fanned into a more brilliant light by those of your readers whose studies peculiarly fit them to inquire more searchingly into the subject. The Jews, it has been remarked by various writers, were ignorant ofastronomy. Both, however, the Sabbatical and Jubilee years have been, as I conceive and will endeavour to show, founded on astronomical observation, commemorative of no particular event in Jewish history, but simply that of the moon's revolutions; for instance, with reference to theSabbaticalyear, allowing for a difference of four days and a half, which occursannuallyin the time of the moon's position on the equator, it would require, in order to realise a number corresponding to the days (29) employed by the moon in her synodical revolution round the earth, a period to elapse of little less than six years and a half: thus exhibiting the Jews'seventhorSabbatical year, or year of rest. This result, besides being instructive and commemorative of the moon's menstrual course, is at the same time indicative, as each Sabbatical year rolls past, of the approach of the "finisher of the Seven Sabbaths of years," or year of Jubilee, so designated from its being to the chosen people of God, under the Jewish dispensation, a year of "freedom and redemption," in commemoration of the moon'scompleterevolution, viz., her return to a certain position at the precise time at which she set out therefrom, an event which takes place but once infifty years: in other words, if the moon be on the equator, say, on the first day of February, and calculating twenty-nine days to the month, or twelve lunations to the year, a cycle of fifty years, or "seven Sabbaths of years," must elapse ere she will again be in that position on the same day.

Hipparchus.

Limehouse, March 31. 1851.

Arms of Isle of Man.—The arms of the Isle of Man are gules, three legs conjoined in the fess point, &c. &c. or. These arms were stamped on the old halfpence of the island, and we may well call them the current coin.

In an old edition of theMythology of NatalisComus, Patavii, 1637, small 4to., at page 278., I find an Icon of Triptolemus sent by Ceres in a chariot drawn by serpents, hovering in the clouds over what I suppose to be Sicily, or Trinacria; and on a representation of a city below the chariot occurs the very same form of coin, the three legs conjoined, with the addition of three ears of corn.

This seems to me to be a curious coincidence.

Merviniensis.

Doctrine of the Resurrection.—Can any of your readers inform me of any traces of the doctrine of the Resurrection to be found in authors anterior to the Christian era? The following passage from Diogenes Laertius is quoted in St. John'sManners and Customs of Ancient Greece, vol. i. p. 355.:

"Καὶ ἀναβιώσεσθαι, κατὰ τοὺς Μάγους, φησὶ (θεοπομπος), τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ ἔσεσθαι ἀθανάτους."

How far does the statement in this passage involve the idea of abodilyresurrection? I fancy the doctrine is not countenanced by any of the apparitions in the poetical Hades of Virgil, or of other poets.

Zeteticus.

National Debts.—Is there any published work descriptive of the origin of the foundation of a "National Debt" in Florence so early as the year 1344, when the state, owing a sum of money, created a "Mount or Bank," the shares in which were transferable, like our stocks? It is not mentioned in Niccolo Machiavelli'sHistory of Florence; but I have a note of the fact, without a reference to the authority. Is there any precedent prior to the foundation of our National Debt?

F. E. M.

Leicester's Commonwealth.—Are the real authors ofLeicester's Commonwealth, and the poetical tract generally found with it,Leicester's Ghost, known? According to Dodd'sChurch History, the first iserroneouslyattributed to Robert Parsons the Jesuit.

Edward F. Rimbault.

(Vol. iii., pp. 4. 72. 147.)

The History of the Sevarites, in the original English edition, consists of two parts: the first published in 1675, in 114 pages, small 12mo., without a preface; the second published in 1679, in 140 pages, with a preface of six pages. The French version of this work is much altered and enlarged. The title is changed intoHistoire des Sévarambes, the "Sevarites" being dropped. There is a preface of fifteen pages, containing a supposed letter from Thomas Skinner, dated Bruges, Oct. 28, 1672. The work is divided into five parts, three of which are in the first, and two in the second volume of the Amsterdam edition of 1716. These five parts are together more than twice as bulky as the two parts of the English work. There is no copy of the original French edition of 1677-9 described by Marchand, in any English public library; but if there is a copy in the French national library, any of your bibliographical correspondents at Paris could easily ascertain whether (as is probably the case) the Amsterdam edition is a mere reprint from the original Paris edition.

The French version of this work is not only much enlarged, but it differs in the names and incidents, and is fuller in the account of the institutions and customs of the imaginary state. The English edition of 1738 (1 vol. 8vo.) is a literal translation from the French version, though it does not purport to be a translation. It may be doubted whether the translator was aware of the existence of the English publication of 1675-9. The German translation was published in 1680; the Dutch translation in 1682: both these appear to have been taken from the French.

Morhof (Polyhistor., vol. i. p. 74.), who inserts this work among thelibri damnati, and dwells upon its deistical character, refers to the French version; and though he knew that the book had originally appeared in English, he probably was not aware of the difference between the two versions. A note added by his first editor, Moller, states that Morhof often told his friends that he believed Isaac Vossius to have been the author of the work. Isaac Vossius was in England from 1670 until his death, which took place at Windsor, February 21, 1689. His residence in England, combined with the known laxity of his religious opinions, doubtless suggested to Morhof the conjecture that he wrote this freethinking Utopia. There is, however, no external evidence to support this conjecture, or to show that it had any better foundation than the conjecture that Bishop Berkeley wroteGaudentio di Lucca. The University of Leyden purchased the library of Isaac Vossius for 36,000 florins. If it is still preserved at Leyden, a search among his books might ascertain whether there is among them any copy of the English or French editions of this work, and whether they contain any written remark by their former possessor. Moreover, it is to be observed that the system of natural religion is for the first time developed in the French edition; and this was the part which chiefly gave the book its celebrity: whereas, the supposition of Morhof implies that the English and French versions are identical.

Heumann, in hisSchediasma de Libris Anonymis et Pseudonymis(Jena, 1711), p. 161. (reprinted in Mylius,Bibliotheca Anon. et Pseudon., Hamburg, 1740, vol. i. pp. 170-6.) has an article on theHistoire des Sévarambes. It is there stated that "Messieurs de Portroyal" superintended the French translation of the work; but no authority is given for the statement. Christian Thomasius,in hisMonthly Reviewof November 1689, attributed the work to D'Allais (or Vairasse). He alleged three reasons for this belief: 1. The rumour current in France; 2. The fact that Allais sold the book, as well as his French grammar; 3. That a comparison of the two works, in respect of style and character of mind, renders it most probable that both are by the same author. The testimony of Thomasius is important, as the date of its publication is only ten years posterior to the publication of the last part of the French version.

Leclerc, in a review of theSchediasmaof Heumann, in theBibliothèque Choisie, published in 1712 (tom. xxv. p. 402., with an addendum, tom. xxvi. p. 460.), attests positively that Vairasse was the author of the work in question. He says that Vairasse (or, as he spells the name, Veiras) took the name of D'Allais in order to sell his book. He had this fact from persons well acquainted with Vairasse. He likewise mentions that Vairasse was well known to Locke, who gave Leclerc an account of his birthplace. Leclerc adds that he was acquainted with a person to whom Vairasse wished to dedicate his book (viz. theHistoire des Sévarambes),and who possessed a copy of it, with a species of dedication, written in his hand.

This testimony is so distinct and circumstantial, as to leave no reasonable doubt as to the connexion of Vairasse with the French version. The difficulty as to the authorship of the English version still, however, remains considerable. The extensive alterations introduced in the French edition certainly render it probable thattwodifferent writers were concerned in the work. The words of Leclerc respecting the information received from Locke are somewhat ambiguous; but they do not necessarily imply that Locke knew anything as to the connexion of Vairasse with the book, though they are not inconsistent with this meaning. Locke had doubtless become acquainted with Vairasse during his residence in England. Considering the length of time which Vairasse passed in England, and the eminence of the persons with whom he is said to have had relations (viz. the Duke of York, Lord Clarendon, and Locke), it is singular that no mention of him should be discoverable in any English book.

The error, that the work in question was written by Algernon Sidney, appears to have arisen from a confusion with the name of Captain Siden, the imaginary traveller. Fabricius (Bibliograph. Antiq., c. xiv. §16. p. 491.) mentions Sidney and Vairasse as the two most probable claimants to the authorship.

Hume, in hisEssay on Polygamy and Divorces, refers to theHistory of the Sevarambians, and calls it an "agreeable romance."

I have great pleasure in complying with the very proper request ofMr. Foss, and give my authority at once for stating in theHand-book for Londonthat the so-called "Outer Temple" was a part of the Fleet Street possession of the Knights Templars or Knights of St. John, or was in any manner comprehended within the New Temple property of Fleet Street and Temple Bar. My authority is Sir George Buc, whose minute and valuable account of the universities of England is dedicated to Sir Edward Coke. Buc's words are these:—

"After this suppression and condemnation of the Templers, their house here in Fleete Street came to the handes and occupation of diuers Lordes. For our Antiquaries and Chronologers say, that after this suppression Sir Thomas Plantagenet Earl of Lancaster (and Cousin to the King then raigning) had it, but beeing after attainted of treason, hee enjoyed it but a short time."Then next Hugh Spencer Earle of Glocester got into it, but he also was soone after attainted, and executed for Treason. After him Andomare de Valence, a nobleman of the great house of Lusignan, and Earle of Pembrooke, was lodged in it for a while. But this house was 'Equus Seianus' to them all: and (as here it appeareth) was ordayned by God for other better uses, and whereunto now it serueth. After all these noble tenants and occupants were thus exturbed, dead, and gone, then certaine of the reuerend, ancient professours of the Lawes, in the raign of King Edward the Third, obtained a very large or (as I might say) a perpetuall Lease of this Temple, or (as it must bee understood) of two parts thereof distinguished by the names of the Middle Temple and the Inner Temple, from the foresayd Ioannites.... But the other third part, called the Outward Temple, Doctor Stapleton, Bishop of Exceter, had gotten in the raign of the former King, Edward the Second, and conuerted it to a house for him and his successors, Bishops of Exceter ... of whom the late Earle of Essex purchased it, and it is now called Essex house: hauing first beene (as I haue sayd) a part of the Templers' house, and in regard of the scituation thereof, without the Barre, was called the Outward or Utter Temple, as the others, for the like causes, were called the Middle Temple and the Inner Temple."—Sir George Buc, inStowby Howes, ed. 1631, p. 1068.

"Then next Hugh Spencer Earle of Glocester got into it, but he also was soone after attainted, and executed for Treason. After him Andomare de Valence, a nobleman of the great house of Lusignan, and Earle of Pembrooke, was lodged in it for a while. But this house was 'Equus Seianus' to them all: and (as here it appeareth) was ordayned by God for other better uses, and whereunto now it serueth. After all these noble tenants and occupants were thus exturbed, dead, and gone, then certaine of the reuerend, ancient professours of the Lawes, in the raign of King Edward the Third, obtained a very large or (as I might say) a perpetuall Lease of this Temple, or (as it must bee understood) of two parts thereof distinguished by the names of the Middle Temple and the Inner Temple, from the foresayd Ioannites.... But the other third part, called the Outward Temple, Doctor Stapleton, Bishop of Exceter, had gotten in the raign of the former King, Edward the Second, and conuerted it to a house for him and his successors, Bishops of Exceter ... of whom the late Earle of Essex purchased it, and it is now called Essex house: hauing first beene (as I haue sayd) a part of the Templers' house, and in regard of the scituation thereof, without the Barre, was called the Outward or Utter Temple, as the others, for the like causes, were called the Middle Temple and the Inner Temple."—Sir George Buc, inStowby Howes, ed. 1631, p. 1068.

This seems decisive, if Buc is to be relied on, as I think he is. But new facts, such asMr. Foss'sresearches andMr. Burtt'sdiligence are likely to bring to light, may upset Buc's statement altogether.

I must joinMr. Fossin his wish to ascertainwhenthe names Inner Temple and Middle Temple were first made use of, with a further Query, which I should be glad to have settled,whenthe See of Exeter first obtained the site of the so-called"Outer Temple?" Stapleton, by whom it wasperhapsobtained, was Bishop of Exeter from 1307 to 1326.

Peter Cunningham.

(Vol. iii., p. 59.)

In reply to F. H., I beg leave to state that Obeism is not in itself a religion, except in the sense in which Burke says that "superstition is the religion of feeble minds." It is a belief, real or pretended, in the efficacy of certain spells and incantations, and is to the uneducated negro what sorcery was to our unenlightened forefathers. This superstition is known in St. Lucia by the name ofKembois. It is still extensively practised in the West Indies, but there is no reason to suppose that it is rapidly gaining ground. F. H. will find ample information on the subject in Père Labat'sNouveau Voyage aux Isles françaises de l'Amérique, tome ii. p. 59., and tome iv. pp. 447. 499. and 506., edition of 1742; in Bryan Edwards'History of the West Indies, vol. ii. ch. iii., 5th edition (London, 1819); and in Dr. R. R. Madden'sResidence in the West Indies, vol. ii. letter 27. Perhaps the following particulars from Bryan Edwards (who says he is indebted for them to a Mr. Long) on the etymology ofobeah, may be acceptable to some of your readers:—

"The termobeah,obiah, orobia, (for it is variously written,) we conceive to be the adjective, andobeorobi, the noun substantive; and that by the wordobia—men or women—is meant those who practiseobi. The origin of the term we should consider as of no importance, in our answer to the question proposed, if, in search of it, we were not led to disquisitions that are highly gratifying to curiosity. From the learned Mr. Bryant's commentary upon the wordoph, we obtain a very probable etymology of the term. 'A serpent, in the Egyptian language, was calledoboraub.' 'Obionis still the Egyptian name for a serpent.' 'Moses, in the name of God, forbids the Israelites ever to inquire of the demonOb, which is translated in our Bible, charmer or wizard, divinator aut sorcilegus.' 'The woman at Endor is calledouborob, translated Pythonissa; andoubaois(he cites fromHorus Apollo) was the name of the Basilisk or Royal Serpent, emblem of the sun, and an ancient oracular deity of Africa.'"

One of your correspondents has formed a substantive fromobeby the addition ofism, and another fromobeahby the same process; but it will be seen by the above quotation that there is no necessity for that obtrusive termination, the superstitious practice in question being already sufficiently described by the wordobeorobi.

Henry H. Breen.

St. Lucia, March, 1851.

(Vol. iii., p. 321.)

On the death of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, without legitimate male issue, in October, 1468, Pope Paul II. declared Rimini and his other fiefs to have reverted to the Holy See. In the spring of the following year the Pontiff proceeded, with the assistance of the Venetians, to enforce his claim, and threatened the Republicans of San Marino with his vengeance if they did not aid him and his allies in gaining possession of Rimini, which Roberto Malatesta, one of the illegitimate sons of Sigismondo Pandolfo, had seized by stratagem.

By advice of their faithful friend Federigo, Count of Urbino, who was at the head of the opposite league, comprising the King of Naples, the Duke of Milan, and the Florentines, the San-Marinese forwarded the Papal mandate to Florence, and requested through their ambassador, one Ser Bartolomeo, the support of that Republic. Several letters appear to have been sent in answer to their applications, and the one communicated byMr. Sydney Smirkeis characterised by Melchiarre Delfico (Memorie storiche della Repubblica di San Marino.Capolago, 1842, 8vo. p. 229.) as

"Del tutto didattica e parenetica intorno alla libertà, di cui i Fiorentini facevano gran vanto, mentre erano quasi alla vigilia di perderla intieramente."

San Marino was not attacked during the campaign, which terminated on the 30th of August of the same year (1469) with the battle of Vergiano, in which Alessandro Sforza, the commander of the Papal forces, was signally defeated by Federigo.

San Marino has never, so far as I have been able to ascertain, undergone the calamity of a siege, and its inhabitants have uninterruptedly enjoyed the blessing of self-government from the foundation of the Republic in the third or fourth century to the present time, with the exception of the few months of 1503, during which the infamous Cesare Borgia forced them to accept a Podestà of his own nomination. Various causes have contributed to this lengthened independence; but it may be stated that, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the San Marinese owed it no less to their own patriotism, courage, prudence, and good faith, than to the disinterested protection of the Counts and Dukes of Urbino, whose history has been so ably written by Mr. Dennistoun, in his recently published memoirs of that chivalrous race.

The privileges of the Republic were confirmed on the 12th of February, 1797, by Napoleon Buonaparte, who offered to enlarge its territory,—a boon which its citizens were wise enough to decline; thinking, perhaps, with Montesquieu, that—

"Il est de la nature d'une république qu'elle n'ait qu'un petit territoire: sans cela, elle ne peut guère subsister."—Esprit des Lois, liv. viii. chap. 16.

Your readers will find some notices of SanMarino in Addison'sRemarks on several Parts of Italy; Aristotle'sPolitics, translated by Gillies, lib. ii. Appendix.

Its lofty and isolated situation has supplied Jean Paul with a simile in hisUnsichtbare Loge:

"Alle andre Wissenschaften theilen sich jetzt in eine Universal Monarchie über alle Leser: aber die Alten sitzen mit ihren wenigen philologischen Lehnsleuten einsam auf einem S. Marino-Felsen."—Jean Paul'sWerke (Berlin, 1840, 8vo.), vol. i. p. 125.

In the first line of the letter, "vedato" should be veduto; and in the seventh line, "difenderai" difendervi.

F. C. B.

(Vol. iii., p. 324.)

The Bellman's songs may be found in theBellman's Treasury, containing above a Hundred several Verses, fitted for all Humours and Fancies, and suited to all Times and Seasons. London: 8vo. 1707. Extracts from this book are given in Hone'sEvery Day Book, vol. ii. p. 1594.

I have now before me a broadside thus entitled: "A copy of verses, humbly presented to the Right Worshipful the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Councilmen, and the rest of my worthy Masters and Mistresses, dwelling in Cambridge. By Thomas Adams, Bellman, 1810." There is a large engraving, from a wood-block, apparently a century old, representing a bellman, in a flowing wig and a three-cornered hat, holding, in his right hand a bell, and in his left a javelin and lantern; his dog is behind him.

The verses are:

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