Queries.

"Doubt not but God who sits on high,Thy secret prayers can hear;When a dead wall thus cunninglyConveys soft whispers to the ear."

"Doubt not but God who sits on high,

Thy secret prayers can hear;

When a dead wall thus cunningly

Conveys soft whispers to the ear."

H. G. D.

â€”The following singular definition ofthunderoccurs in Bailey'sDictionary, vol. i. 17th edit., 1759:â€”

"Thunder [Dunder, Sax. &c.], a noise known by persons not deaf."

In Bailey's 2nd vol. 2nd edition, 1731 (twenty-eight years previous to the edition of vol. i. above cited), the word is much more scientifically treated.

CRANMORE.

Imitated."Shouldst thou, O Daphne! for my sake,An equal pain endure,A sense of gratitude will makeThe bond of love secure.But shouldst thou, reckless of my fate,Unkind and cruel prove,Sweet maid, thou'lt never learn to hateSo truly as I love."

Imitated.

"Shouldst thou, O Daphne! for my sake,An equal pain endure,A sense of gratitude will makeThe bond of love secure.

"Shouldst thou, O Daphne! for my sake,

An equal pain endure,

A sense of gratitude will make

The bond of love secure.

But shouldst thou, reckless of my fate,Unkind and cruel prove,Sweet maid, thou'lt never learn to hateSo truly as I love."

But shouldst thou, reckless of my fate,

Unkind and cruel prove,

Sweet maid, thou'lt never learn to hate

So truly as I love."

N. N.

The Quarterly Reviewer who endeavours in the number just published to establish the claim of Thomas Lord Lyttelton to the authorship of Junius, instances the following coincidence in support of his theory:â€”

"Junius tells us directly, 'I remember seeing Busenbaum, Suarez, Molina, and a score of other Jesuitical books, burnt at Paris, for their sound casuistry by the hands of the common hangman.'We may assumethat this took place in 1764, as it was in that year that Choiseul suppressed the Jesuits. Thomas Lyttelton was on the continent during the whole of 1764, and for part of that time resided at Paris."[1]

[1][The burning of the books referred to by BIFRONSnot Junius (unless it be proved that JUNIUSand BIFRONSare one, which is not yet universally admitted), took place on 7th August, 1761. See a very curious note on the subject in Bohn's recently published edition ofJunius, vol. ii. pp. 175-6.â€”ED."N. & Q."]

But the orders of the parliament of Paris against the Jesuits, one of which condemned some thirty of their books to be burnt, were issued three years before the suppression of their order in France, viz., in the early part and summer of 1761. That Thomas Lyttelton could then have been in Paris is highly improbable; he was only seventeen, and it was a time of war. Will any one take the trouble to ascertain where Francis was? I believe he was appointed secretary to the Portuguese embassy in 1760, and returned to London in 1763.

H. MERIVALE.

An old book now lies before me, intituledEngland's Reformation from the time of King Henry VIII. to the end of Oates's Plot, a Poem in four Cantos, with large Marginal Notes according to the Original. By Thomas Ward. London: Printed for W. B. and sold by Thomas Bickerton, in Little Britain.1716.

In Canto IV., and beginning at p. 353., there is an account of a brawl in the parish church of Grantham, anno 1627, arising, as appears by a marginal note, out of circumstances connected with the "removal of the Communion table from the upper part of the quire to the altar place." A master alderman Wheatley, assisted by "an innkeeper fat as brawn," and "a bow-legged tailor that was there," appears to have taken an active part in the scuffle which ensued upon the vicar's persisting in his determination. The alderman and his mob seem to have been triumphant on this occasion, for we read, p. 356.:

"The alderman, by help of rabble,Brought from the wall communion table;Below the steps he plac'd it, whereIt stood before, in midst of quire."

"The alderman, by help of rabble,

Brought from the wall communion table;

Below the steps he plac'd it, where

It stood before, in midst of quire."

A pamphlet war followed; for there was immediatelyA Letter to the Vicar of Grantham about setting his Table altarwise. In answer to this cameA Coal from the Altar; which was in its turn assailed byThe Quench Coal out, andThe Holy Table, Name and Thing(said to have been written by Williams, Bishop of Lincoln.) A Dr. Pocklington (who was he?) espoused the side of the Altar party, and published hisAltare Christianum. During this literary contest the vicar appears to have died, and, some twelve months after his death, out comesThe Dead Vicar's Plea.

The affair seems to have created what we shouldnow call a great sensation in the "religious world:" for, says our author:

"Scarce was a pen but what has try'd,And books flew out on every side,Till ev'ry fop set up for wit,And Laud, and Hall and Heylin writ,And so did White and Montague,And Shelford, Cousins, Watts, and Dow,Lawrence and Forbis, and a crewWhose names would"â€”â€”

"Scarce was a pen but what has try'd,

And books flew out on every side,

Till ev'ry fop set up for wit,

And Laud, and Hall and Heylin writ,

And so did White and Montague,

And Shelford, Cousins, Watts, and Dow,

Lawrence and Forbis, and a crew

Whose names would"â€”â€”

Master Ward did not like these men, and therefore I omit his rather uncharitable conclusion.

Is there any record left of the notable quarrel, which appears to have engaged the attention and pens of some of the learned men of the age? Perhaps some of your correspondents at Grantham could throw some light upon this question.

L. L. L.

Kirton-in-Lindsey.

[This celebrated altar controversy occurred during the reign of Charles I., and its origin will be found in Clarendon'sHistory of the Rebellion. The Puritans contended that the proper place for the table, when the eucharist was administered, was in the body of the church before the chancel door, and to be placedtablewise, and notaltarwise;that is, that one of theendsof the table was to be placed towards the east, so that one of the larger sides might be to the north, the priest being directed to stand at the north side, and not at the northendof the table. The Church party, on the contrary, contended that as the Injunctions ordered that the table should stand where the altar used to stand, it should consequently be placed as the altar was. This matter was the source of much violent contention, and tracts were published neither remarkable for courtesy of language nor for accurate statements of facts. It appears to have originated in a dispute between Mr. Titly, the Vicar of Grantham, and his parishioners, respecting the proper place for the table. The vicar insisted that it ought to stand at the upper end of the chancel, against the east wall. Some of the parishioners contended that it should stand in the body of the church. The vicar removed it from that situation, and placed it in the chancel. The alderman of the borough and others replaced it in its former situation, when a formal complaint was made to the bishop (Williams). In 1627 the bishop published his judgment on the question, inA Letter to the Vicar of Grantham. The visitation of 1634 tempted Peter Heylyn to republish thisLetter, together with an answer under the title ofA Coal from the Altar, &c. Williams replied in 1637 by a treatise entitledThe Holy Table, Name and Thing, more anciently and literally used under the New Testament than that of Altar. Heylyn rejoined by hisAntidotum Lincolniense; or an Answer to a Book entitled "The Holy Altar, Name and Thing," &c.The bishop was preparing for his further vindication, when he was prevented by his troubles in the Star Chamber, in consequence of which his library was seized. "And how," says Hacket, "could he fight without his arms? or, how could the bell ring when they had stolen away the clapper?" During the controversy Dr. Pocklington, Chaplain in Ordinary to the King, published hisAltare Christianum; or, the Dead Vicar's Plea, wherein the Vicar of Grantham being dead yet speaketh, and pleadeth out of Antiquity against him that hath broken down his Altar, 4to. 1637. The best historical notice of this controversy is given in Hacket'sLife of Archbishop Williams, pt. ii. pp. 99-109., and was particularly referred to by the counsel on the Cambridge stone altar case, 1844-1845, as well as by Sir Herbert Jenner Fust in his judgment on it.]

In investigating the descent of two Devonshire families, I save met with four instances of persons designating themselves asgroom. They were certainly well connected, and in fortune apparently much above the class of people who accept the care of horses in this present day.

If they were grooms of horses, society was in a very different state from that in which it is at the present day; if they were not such grooms, what then were they? I believe they were unmarried persons. First, there is Samuel Weeks, of South Tawton, groom; will proved in the Archdeacon of Exeter's Court, 1639. His father was Richard Weeks, styled gentleman in the parish register; and Samuel Weeks signs his name in a peculiarly fine Italian hand, that I do not remember to have seen in any instance of that time except in that of a thorough gentleman.

Francis Kingwell, of Crediton, groom. His will was proved in the Bishop's Court in 1639; his sister married a Richard Hole, of South Tawton, yeoman of substance; her second husband was John Weeks, of South Tawton, gentleman, and his sons were gentlemen. These Weekses were, I doubt not, nearly related to the Wykes or Weeks, of North Wyke, in the same parish, a family of great antiquity.

Thirdly, here is John Hole, of South Tawton, groom, 1640. His inventory is 180l., of which 4l.was for his clothes, whereas a gentleman in one case in this neighbourhood has his clothes valued at ten shillings; Kingwell's inventory was the same.

Robert Hole, of Zeal Monachorum, groom, is the fourth instance. His will was proved at Westminster in 1654; he was the son of a wealthy yeoman, and his brother, Thomas Hole, was a gentleman.

I trouble you that I may learn, through your kindness, whethergroom, in these instances, was used with the meaning which we attach to it; or at that time, or in the English language, or the vernacular tongue of central Devonshire, meant anything else.

E. DAVISPROTHEROE.

I had also had my place at that "We have a remarkable instance to this purpose in ecclesiastical history, which is attested by many and great authors. It seems, about 400 years after our Saviour's ascension, one Gregentius, a bishop, endeavoured the conversion of those Jews which lived in Arabia Felix. After a tedious disputation of three days' continuance some of the Jews desired the bishop to show them Jesus alive, and it would convince them. Immediately upon this the earth began to tremble, and the sky to shine and echo with lightnings and thunder. After these ceased, the gates of the celestial palace opened, and a bright serene cloud appeared, darting forth beams of an extraordinary lustre. At last our blessed Saviour showed himself walking on this bright cloud, and a voice was heard from this excellent glory saying, 'I am He who was crucified by your fathers.' This glorious appearance cast all the Jews prostrate on the ground, and, beating their breasts, they cried with a loud voice, 'Lord have mercy on us!' and afterwards were baptised into the faith of Christ."â€”Sermonsby John March, B.D., late Vicar of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 2nd ed. 1699, p. 235.

Who are the "many and great authors" who have attested this extraordinary apparition?

E. H. A.

â€”Among a large collection of medallic tickets of admission to theatres, I am unable to fix the precise attribution of the following:

Ob.: A group of dramatic emblems, mask, sword, mirror, scourge, and a legend:

"Spectas et tu spectabere. King Street Theatre."

Rev.:

"Admit Mr. Cooper, or bearer, to any part of the house before the curtain."

The ticket is of silver, and is evidently of the time of Garrick; it cannot therefore apply to the theatre in King Street, St. James's, which is of recent erection; nor am I aware of any other King Street in London which contained a theatre. Its situation will most probably be found in some provincial town.

If any of your obliging correspondents could furnish information as to its locality, they would confer a favour on the writer.

B. N.

â€”In an old MS. I meet with the following words:â€”

"One (a pillar) was made ofLefteras(I do not know whether the third letter is ansor anfin the original) which would not burn."

"After they came to the land ofEmencin, which is the country of Jerusalem."

Can any of your readers give me any information as to either of the wordsLesterasorEmencin?

O. OGLE.

Oxford.

â€”Will any of your correspondents acquaint me with the name of the author of the following lines, written shortly after Dr. Franklin's attendance at the Privy Council in January, 1774, in allusion to Wedderburn's severe remarks upon him?â€”

"Sarcastic Sawney, full of spite and hate,On modest Franklin poured his venal prate;The calm philosopher without replyWithdrewâ€”and gave his country liberty."

"Sarcastic Sawney, full of spite and hate,

On modest Franklin poured his venal prate;

The calm philosopher without reply

Withdrewâ€”and gave his country liberty."

The lines were repeated to me by the late Francis Maseres, Esq., Cursitor Baron of the Court of Exchequer.

W. S.

Richmond, Surrey.

â€”May I hope to ascertain, through the medium of your journal, where to look for information on the subject of the "lyrichord of Plenius," referred to in Rees'EncyclopÃ¦dia, art. "Basse Fondamentale," as having been "tuned by weights instead of tension?" The point left in doubt by this, is whether a single weight was substituted for tension, or whether the different notes in the musical scale were produced by altering the weight according to the rules for that purpose.

Was Plenius an ancient, a Middle-Age man, or was heHerr Plen, who latinized his name, as was the fashion a century or two ago?

â€”A friend of mine across the Atlantic wishes to ask, whether any one knows where the following epigram, which he remembers in MS. in an old folio copy of Burnet'sHistory, comes from:â€”

"If Heaven is pleas'd when sinners cease to sin,If Hell is pleas'd when sinners enter in,If men are pleas'd at parting with a knave,Then all are pleas'dâ€”for Burnet's in his grave."

"If Heaven is pleas'd when sinners cease to sin,

If Hell is pleas'd when sinners enter in,

If men are pleas'd at parting with a knave,

Then all are pleas'dâ€”for Burnet's in his grave."

C. B.

â€”Will any of your readers oblige me with information respecting a Dutch work, professing to be an historical chronicle of the world from the creation to the time in which it was printed, which was in the days ofMerian, the celebrated engraver, father to the naturalist Madame Merian, who was also an artist of some repute. The work I allude to was illustrated by numerous spirited engravings (supposed to have been executed onpewter), and of which I possess several hundred, which had been cut out of the letter-press which surrounded the prints, and bought at a stall in London many years back. I question whether there is a copy of the work to be found in England, except it be in the British Museum.

JOHNFENTON.

â€”Amongst my school reminiscences, I retain very distinctly the remembrance of the surprise we felt in the sixth form,when we were desired by our revered and excellent master to construe the above words as follows:

"'Arborei fÅ“tus,'flourish unbidden in one situation, grass in another."

Or, more literally:

"'Arborei fÅ“tus,'flourish unbidden in situations different from those in which grass (flourishes unbidden)."

I well remember too, that some of us, while we admired the ingenuity, ventured to doubt the correctness of the translation. Will some of your learned correspondents kindly favour me with their opinions?

W. S.

â€”I shall feel obliged to any one who can refer me to a good history or histories of Brittany; more especially to those which relate to the genealogies and heraldry of the Breton families, or which contain pedigrees.

T. H. KERSLEY, B.A.

â€”T. P. would be obliged to any of your antiquarian readers who could inform him, through the medium of your paper, whether the custom of serjeants-at-law presenting rings with mottoes, on taking the coif, prevailed so long back asA.D.1670-80, and, if so, whether there are any records, or other sources, from which he could ascertain the motto used by an individual who was admitted to that degree about that period?

â€”In Baron'sLife of Jenner, Vol. i. p. 123., there occurs the following note, extracted from one of Dr. Jenner's note-books of 1799:

"I know of no direct allusion to the disease in any ancient author, yet the following seems not very distantly to bear upon it. When the Duchess of Cleveland was taunted by her companions, Moll Davis (Lady Mary Davis) and others, that she might soon have to deplore the loss of that beauty which was then her boast, the small-pox at that time raging in London, she made a reply to this effect,â€”that she had no fear about the matter, for she had had a disorder which would prevent her from ever catching the small-pox. This was lately communicated by a gentleman in this county, but unfortunately he could not recollect from what author he gained his intelligence."

Can any reader of "N. & Q." supply this missing authority for a fact which is very important in the history of medicineâ€”if true?

ONETWOTHREE.

â€”What are the arms of Manchester? and are they of ancient usage? or only assigned to the town since its incorporation? and if the latter, whence did the bearings originate?

H. H. H. V.

â€”What has become of these valuable MSS.? and if the place of their deposit is known, can access be obtained to them for literary purposes? They were, as Noble relates, originally sold into the Egmont family, and descended to John James, the third Earl; but some time after his death, about the year 1831, all the personal property of the family was disposed of; the effects at Enmore Castle were sold by auction on the spot; and the writer of this well remembers seeing the old family pictures preparing for the same fate in a sales-room in Conduit Street, he thinks of Mr. Abbots. Mr. Braithwaite, of Great Russell Street, was the auctioneer employed at Enmore, and an inquiry was made of him at the time relative to these MSS., and the answer was, that they also were destined to the hammer. A catalogue also was promised whenever it should come out. The writer was subsequently informed that the MSS. were withdrawn, and he could never learn what became of them.

Mâ€”â€”N.

â€”Is the pelican now, or was it formerly considered as a symbol of Our Saviour? I have seen it used in the ancient decorations of churches, but never looked on it as such; nor can I remember ever having seen it mentioned as an emblem of the Saviour, with the exception of one passage in Dante's Vision (Canto xxv.) of Paradise.

ROBERTNELSON.

[In theCalendar of the Anglican Church Illustrated, p. 328., will be found an engraving of "a pelican feeding her young with blood from her own breast, signifying the Saviour giving Himself up for the redemption of mankind;" and in the foot-note references to Aringhi'sRoma Subterranea, and other works, in which other representations of the same symbol are to be found. Our correspondent may also be referred to Alt'sHeiligenbilder, s. 56.]

â€”When did Bishop Coverdalecommencehis translation of the Bible? Where was the first edition printed? Is any copy in existence which possesses theoriginaltitle-page, i.e.notthe one added in England, stating that it is translated from the "Douche and Latyn?"

H. H. H. V.

[We have submitted H. H. H. V.'s Query to our obliging correspondent, GEORGEOFFOR, ESQ., whose library is particularly rich in early English versions of the Bible, and who has kindly favoured us with the following communication]:â€”

In reply to your correspondent H. H. H. V.'s very curious question to know when Myles Coverdalecommencedhis translation, I beg to state that he was born in 1488, and that it has not yet been discovered when his mind was first led to contemplate the translation of the Sacred Scriptures, nor whether hecommencedwith the New or the Old Testament. The facts known are, that he finished the translation or the printing of it onthe 4th day of October, 1535,â€”probably at Cologne, because other books printed there about that time have the same initials, wood-cuts, and type. A copy, with the original title-page, is in the Holkham library, having, on the reverse, part of the list of books, showing that originally it was without a dedication; this has the words, "Douche and Latyn." When the dedication was printed, this title was cancelled and a new one printed, still with the words "Douche and Latyn," with the reverse blank. A fine copy of this is in the possession of Earl Jersey, and one with the title-page repaired is in the British Museum. Perfect copies have a map of Palestine. In 1537, this book was reprinted, both in folio and quarto, probably at Antwerp, and in these the words "from the Douche and Latyn" were very properly omitted, Coverdale being still living to see them through the press; these are ornamented with large initial letters with a dance of death, and are the rarest volumes in the English language. In these the dedication is altered from Queen Anne to Queen Jane, as the wife of Henry VIII. They were all dedicated to the king and to the queen; the two latter are all in Old English type. These were followed by an edition dedicated to Edward VI. in a Swiss type, 4to., printed at Zurich by Chr. Froschover, and published under three titlesâ€”1st, as the translation of Thos. Matthewe; 2nd, as the translation of Myles Coverdale, London, by Andrew Hester, 1550; and 3rd, London, by Jugge, 1553. These are books of great rarity, and may be all seen in my library by any of your readers, sanctioned by a note from you or any minister of religion. My first edition has several uncut leaves.

The introduction of the words "from the Douche (meaning Luther's German) and Latyn" has never been accounted for; they probably were inserted by the German printer to make the volume more popular, so as to interest reformers by the German of Luther, and Romanists by the Vulgate Latin. The translation is certainly from the Hebrew and Greek, compared with Luther's and the Vulgate.

GEORGEOFFOR.

Grove Street, Victoria Park.

â€”The late Queries respecting the age of trees, remind me of some lines of which I have been long in searchâ€”

"The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees:Three centuries he grows, and three he staysSupreme in state; and in three more decays."

"The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,

Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees:

Three centuries he grows, and three he stays

Supreme in state; and in three more decays."

I think it probable that they are from a play of Dryden or Otway; but some of your readers may probably be able to answer this Query.

T. C.

Durham.

[In Richardson'sDictionary, as well as in theEncyclopÃ¦dia Metropolitana, these lines are quoted under the wordPatriarch, as fromThe Cock and the Fox, by Dryden; whereas Bysshe, in hisArt of English Poetry, under the wordOak, refers us to Dryden'sOvid. In neither of these pieces do they occur; our correspondent, however, will find them in Dryden'sPalamon and Arcite, or the Knight's Tale, line 2334.]

â€”Can any of your readers inform me what is the title of a book written by Olivarius, a French astrologer, 1542, in which there is a prophecy relative to France, and somewhat similar to that of St. CÃ¦sarius (p. 471.)? What was his christian name, and in what library is the work to be found?

CLERICUSD.

Dublin.

[Maittaire, in hisAnnales Typograph., tom. v. pt. ii. p. 102., notices the following work: "Olivarius (Petrus Joannes) Valentinus de ProphetiÃ¢. BasileÃ¦ ex officinÃ¢ Joannis Oporini, 1543, mense Augusto." From the catalogues of the British Museum and the Bodleian, it does not appear to be in either of these libraries.]

â€”Will any of your readers inform me whether an Epilogue to theEunuchof Terence, written by V. Bourne, and spoken in 1746, has ever been printed in any, and what, edition of Bourne'sPoems? Gnatho appears on the stage, dressed as a recruiting sergeant, with several recruits, and thus begins:

"Sisteâ€”taceâ€”Gnatho sum Miles, cum gloria civesEvocat ad Martem, quis parasitus erit?Aut quis venari cÅ“nas et prandia malit,Nobile cui stimulet pectus honoris amor?"

"Sisteâ€”taceâ€”Gnatho sum Miles, cum gloria cives

Evocat ad Martem, quis parasitus erit?

Aut quis venari cÅ“nas et prandia malit,

Nobile cui stimulet pectus honoris amor?"

And the concluding lines are:

"Arma viros facientâ€”Vosmet simul arma geratis,Seribatis, jubeo, protinus armigeros:HÃ¢c lege, ut conclametis, Rex Vivat; idemqueTu repetas, Stentor noster, utrÃ¢que manu."

"Arma viros facientâ€”Vosmet simul arma geratis,

Seribatis, jubeo, protinus armigeros:

HÃ¢c lege, ut conclametis, Rex Vivat; idemque

Tu repetas, Stentor noster, utrÃ¢que manu."

This epilogue is in my possession in MS., the handwriting of my father, who was, in 1746, a scholar of Westminster College. It should seem, from a letter written to theGentleman's Magazineby the late Archdeacon Nares, in April, 1826, and reprinted in Nichols'sIllustrations, vol. vii. p. 656., that he was in possession of a copy, as he there tenders it to the editor of the sixth edition ofBourne, which had then (1826) recently issued from the Oxford press.

W. S.

Richmond, Surrey.

[The Epilogue referred to will be found in the beautiful edition of Vinny Bourne'sPoems, published by Pickering in 1840, and in theGentleman's Magazine, May, 1826, p. 450, where, however, the first line readsâ€”

'Siste, tace; Gnatho sum Miles, cum gloriapulchra,' &c.]

â€”Can any of your genealogical readers give a clue to his family, and their armorial bearings?

J. K.

[Thomas Burton was a French merchant, not a prelate. A short notice of him and his gifts will be foundin theReports of Commissioners of Inquiry into Charities, and in Carlisle'sEndowed Charities; but no account of his family has been given by his namesake, William Burton, in hisHistory of Leicestershire, or by Nichols in hisHistory.]

â€”What is the meaning of this word? In Bedfordshire there are two houses and estates called by this name, Luton Hoo and Pertenhall Hoo; and in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Kent are villages so called.

ARUN.

[Luton Hoo, in Bedfordshire, was the manor of the family of Hoo, or De Hoo, who are said by Sir Henry Chauncy to have been settled there before the Norman Conquest. Hasted, in his Kent, says, "Hoo comes from the Saxonhou, a hill." Ihre derives the word fromhoeg, high. Spelman, vo.Hoga, observes thatho,how, signifies mons, collis. Jamieson says "Howis certainly no other than Isl.haug, Suio-Gothichoeg, the name given to sepulchral mounds." See also Lemon'sEnglish Etymology, s. v.Hough,how.]

Your correspondent L. H. J. T. has noticed the corruption of Greek topographical names, arising from the use of the definite article, which the ear of a traveller not skilled in the language supposes to be a part of the name, and so makesStatinesorSatinesfrom Athens,Stivesfrom Thebes, &c.

It may be interesting to some readers of "NOTES ANDQUERIES" to know that exactly the same thing has happened in Ireland, and that the recognised Anglicised forms of several proper names, now stereotyped, are a combination of the definite articlean, of the Gaelic or Irish language, with the name of the place.

For instance,Nenaghin the co. Tipperary is properlyAonach[pron.eenagh], but generally spoken of by the people with the definite articlean Aonach, the Aonach,i.e.fair, place of a fair or assembly; and hence by the English madeNenagh.

So also the riverAinge[pron. nearly asAnny] is usually called an Ainge,theAinge; and therefore is nowNanny, the Nanny, or Nanny water, in the co. Meath.

In like manner, the islandAondruimin Loch Cuan, on which stood once a celebrated monastery, is in Irish always calledan Aondruim, the Aondruim, and is now Nandrum or Nantrim Island.

The town ofNewryis another instance. It has its name from an ancient yew tree [in IrishIubhair, pron. nearly as the wordyour] which stood near it, and was said to have been planted by St. Patrick. Hence the town is always calledan Iubhair, the yew tree; which, by incorporating the article, has been AnglicisedNewry.

The riverNorein Ossory, is properlyan Eoir, the Eoir [pron.Ore].

So also theNavanfort near Armagh, isan Eamhain, the Eamhain [pron. nearly asAvan].

I might fill a page with other instances, but I shall only mention another similar corruption in proper names, where after dropping theMacthecis retained, in cases where the patronymic begins with a vowel. Thus the descendants of the Danish family ofOttarbecameMac Ottar, and are now Cotter. SoMac EtiganbecameGettigan;Mac Eeoghegan, Geoghegan; thecbeing further transmuted intog. And hundreds of similar instances could be given.

It may also be observed that the English very generally caught the genitive, or oblique case, of the Irish proper names, and from it formed the name which is now in use amongst the English speaking population. Thus they heard the Irish speak of the islesAraun,i.e.the islesof Ara, forAraunis the genitive; and hence they are now theAran Isles. So also the ford Trim or Druim, in IrishAth-Druim(the ford of the long low hill,vadum Dorsi), whereDruim[pron. nearlyTrim] is the genitive ofDromorDrum, a long low hill, a back.

The names given to Ireland by medieval writers, after the ancient name of Scotia had been transferred toAlban(which, by the way, is itself a genitive, fromAlba), afford instances of the same thing.

One of the native names of Ireland isEri, orEire, genitiveErinn. From this the Greeks and Romans formed the nameIerne, from the old wordI, an islandâ€”I-Erinn, the islandof Eri. And so we now have also the genitiveErin, as a poetical name of the island. The Danes, however, retained the absolute form, and called itEri-landt, Ireland.

So also from the old wordIbh, orHibh, a tribe, or country, we haveHibh-Erinn, the tribe, or people of Eri, and hence evidentlyHiberniaandIvernia.

T. D.

As some of your readers may be aware, there is an old and somewhat valuable library in the vestry of All Saints Church, Maidstone, which was partly purchased by the parishioners of the executors of Dr. Bray (who bequeathed his books to any parish which would advance fifty pounds as a consideration for the value of them), and was afterwards increased by the munificence of several benefactors.

Up to the year 1810, when the present catalogue was made, it would appear that but little, or at any rate very insufficient, care was taken of these books; for Mr. Finch, who rearranged the library and wrote the catalogue, carefully correcting the inaccuracies in the former one, declares,in a note that he has placed at the commencement, dated October 1, 1810, that he "found many valuable books missing, and a still larger number irretrievably damaged by the incursions of worms and damp."

The number of volumes missing and decayed amounted to about 100, whilst the number remaining in the library appears to have been 710, and their gross value about 165l.

Since 1810 far greater care seems to have been bestowed on them, for but few, very few, volumes mentioned in the catalogue then made are missing, and a daily fire during the winter months tends greatly to prevent their further injury by damp.

I will not, however, trouble you with any further remarks about the library itself, but proceed at once to the subject of my note, which is to offer for your acceptance three proverbs (which I have met with in reading one of the books) as an addition to the valuable collection lately sent by your correspondent COWGILL.

The book from which I have derived them is a small quarto, containing the following tracts or treatises; but whether any or all of them are now but rarely to be met with, I know not.

1st. "The Heresiography, or a description of the Hereticks and Sectaries of these latter times, by E. Pagitt. 5th edit. London, 1654."

2nd. "An apologie for our publick ministerie and infant baptism, by William Lyford, B.D. and Minister of the Gospel at Sherborn in Dorcetshire. London, 1653."

3rd. "The Font guarded with XX arguments, containing a compendium of that great controversie of Infant Baptism, proving the lawfulness thereof; as being grounded on the word of God, agreeable to the Practice of all Reformed churches: together with the concurrent consent of a whole jury of judicious and pious divines. With a word to one Collier and another to Mr. Tombs, in the end of the Book. Birmingham, 1651."

4th. "VindiciÃ¦, PÃ¦do-Baptismi, or A Vindication of Infant Baptism in a Full Answer to Mr. Tombs his twelve arguments alleaged against it in his exercitation, and whatsoever is rational or material in his answer to Mr. Marshall's sermon. By John Geree, M.A. and Preacher of the Word sometime at Tewksbury, but now at St. Albanes. London, 1646."

5th. [Title-page wanting, but it appears to have been this:] "The Gangrene of Heresie, or A catalogue of many of the Errours, Blasphemies, and Practices of the Sectaries of the time, with some observations upon them. By Thomas Edwards, 1650."

6th. "The Patrimony of Christian Children, or A defence of Infants Baptisme prooved to be consonant to the Scriptures and will of God against the erroneous positions of the Anabaptists. By Robert Cleaver, with the joynt consent of Mr. John Dod. London, 1624."

These six treatises contain from 80 to 220 pages each, and in reading them I have noted the three following "sententious truths," which I hope may be thought worthy to be added to the much larger number contributed by COWGILL. The first is from the lines of Beriah Philophylax to his friend Mr. Thomas Hall, which is prefixed to his "Font Guarded;" and the other two from Edwards' "Gangrene of Heresie,"â€”

1st. "Answers are Honours to a Scold,And make her spirit much more bold."2nd. "A spark not quenched may burn down a whole house."3rd. "Little sins make way for great, and one brings in all."

1st. "Answers are Honours to a Scold,And make her spirit much more bold."

1st. "Answers are Honours to a Scold,

And make her spirit much more bold."

2nd. "A spark not quenched may burn down a whole house."

3rd. "Little sins make way for great, and one brings in all."

JOHNBRANFILLHARRISON.

Maidstone.

With reference to the observations of HENRYH. BREENupon a well-known passage in Goldsmith'sDeserted Village, a little consideration will convince him that the view taken by D'Israeli and himself is not only extremely superficial, but that the proposed emendation would entirely destroy the poet's meaning.

The antithesis is not between flourishing and fading, but between the difficult restoration of a bold peasantry and the easy reproduction of princes and lords.

The first branch of the antithesis is betweenwealthandmen:

"Where wealth accumulates and men decay."

It then proceeds to set forth that it matters little whether nobles flourish or fade, because a breath can makethemas easily as it has originally made them: but not so with a bold peasantry. When oncetheyare destroyed,theycan never be replaced.

In fact, so far from the sense requiring the alteration of "makes" into "unmakes," the substitution, if we would preserve the author's meaning, should be "remakes:"

"Princes and lords may flourish or may fade,A breathremakes them, as a breath has made."

"Princes and lords may flourish or may fade,

A breathremakes them, as a breath has made."

I only put this in illustration: Heaven forbid I should recommend it as an improvement!

As for the cited "parallel passages," the best answer that can be given tothemis, that they cease to be parallel passages!

I shall therefore take the liberty to repeat a sentence from MR. BREEN, with a slight alteration:

"That Goldsmith wrote the line in question with the word 'unmakes,' there seems (every) reason to doubt."

A. E. B.

Leeds.

P.S.â€”As a mere matter of fact, apart from other considerations, although a breath from the fountainof honour may create a noble, it may be questioned whether it would not require something more than a breath tounmake him?

[We have received many other excellent defences of the original reading of this passage in Goldsmith. We have selected the present as one of the shortest among those which first reached us. We will add to it a postscript from the communication of another correspondent, J. S. W., showing a curious typographical error which has crept into the recent editions of Goldsmith.]

Passage in the Traveller.â€”There is a line in theTraveller, I may observe, into which an error of the press, or of some unlucky critic, has intruded. Goldsmith, speaking of the Swiss, says that he

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