Title: Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 92, August 2, 1851
Author: Various
Editor: George Bell
Release date: December 17, 2011 [eBook #38324]
Most recently updated: January 8, 2021
Language: English
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"When found, make a note of."—CAPTAIN CUTTLE.
VOL. IV.—No. 92.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2. 1851.
Price Threepence. Stamped Edition, 4d.
NOTES:—
Proverbial Philosophy 81
Paraphrase on the 137th Psalm by Churchill 82
On the Description of the Medicean Venus in Childe Harold 83
Minor Notes:—On the Word "raised" as used by the Americans—Contradiction: D'Israeli and Hume—A Ship's Berth 83
QUERIES:—
John a Kent and John a Cumber, by J. Payne Collier 83
Swearing on the Horns at Highgate 84
Minor Queries:—Proverb of James I.—Mrs. Hutchinson—Early Translation of Amadis de Gaule—Hogarth and Cowper—Latin Translation of Butler's Analogy—"Non quid responderent," &c.—"The Worm in the Bud of Youth," &c.—Queen Brunéhaut—Sculptured Stones in the North of Scotland—Prophecies of Nostradamus—Quaker Expurgated Bible—Salmon Fishery in the Thames—Cromwell Grants of Land in Monaghan—Siege of Londonderry 85
MINOR QUERIES ANSWERED:—The Twentieth of the Thirty-nine Articles—Exons of the Guard—Curious Monumental Inscription—Meaning of Deal—La Mer des Histoires—"The noiseless Foot of Time" 87
REPLIES:—
Passage in Virgil, by T. Henry, &c. 88
The Vine of St. Francis 89
"Jusjurandum per Canem;" "Sedem Animæ in Digitis ponunt;" "Fiat Justitia, ruat Cœlum" 90
Hugh Holland and his Works, by Bolton Corney 91
Lady Flora Hastings' Bequest 92
Replies to Minor Queries:—Coke and Cowper—Dunmore Castle—Gooseberry Fool—Dryden and Oldham—Theobald Anguilbert and Michael Scott—Penn Family—Bummaree—Miss or Mistress—Book Plates 93
MISCELLANEOUS:—
Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, &c. 94
Books and Odd Volumes wanted 94
Notices to Correspondents 94
Advertisements 94
The following "sententious truths" are extracted from Bishop Jewel's grand performance, A Defense of the Apologie of the Churche of Englande, fol. 1571, a work as remarkable for "the pomp and charms" of its eloquence, as for the profound erudition, and the consummate ability, with which its "good doctrine" is exhibited and enforced. In common, however, with the other productions of this illustrious champion of the Reformation, it has an additional and most attractive feature; one, indeed, which, less or more, characterises all the literary achievements of the gigantic geniuses of the Elizabethan period, the "very dust of whose writings is gold."[1] The "Defense" abounds with proverbial folk-lore of the rarest sort; and this is so skilfully and appositely introduced, that the subject-matter presents itself to the reader's mind rather as a corollary, naturally deduced from a self-evident proposition—for who would think for a moment of questioning the truth of what has the semblance of a popular adage?[2]—than as a nicely managed argument, which receives no other help from the latter than that of illustration, employed for the simple and single purpose, not of strengthening such argument, but of rendering it comprehensible by the "meanest capacities."
[1] Bentley, of Bp. Pearson, in Dissert. on Phalaris.
[2] I have somewhere met with an amusing instance of this. It seems that Dean Swift, with a party of friends, were invited to view the garden of a gentleman, the walls of which were laden with peaches of a most tempting ripeness, but which they were strictly forbidden to touch. This injunction was followed, until Swift ('twas like him) at length put forth his hand and plucked, at the same time observing, with all becoming gravity, "As my deeply venerated grandmother used to say,
'Never fail to pluck a peach,
Whene'er you find one in your reach.'"
'Twas enough. The authority of the adage was sufficient to overrule every other obligation; and the rest of the company, much to the disgust of the master of the garden, immediately proceeded, with infinite gusto, to follow the Dean's example, not for a moment doubting the propriety of the act. "The court awards it, and the law doth give it."
With this little bit of criticism, let me take the liberty of recommending to such of your readers, and I trust they are many, who seek for knowledge and wisdom in the richly-stored tomes, especially of the divines, whose appearance imparted a further glory to the days of our "good queen Bess," to note down the "wise saws and modern instances" which lie scattered along their glowing periods, like "dew-drops on the flow'ry lawn," for the purpose of transferring them to your very appropriate pages.
The remark of our old lexicographer, Florio[3], that "daily both new words are invented, and books still found that make a new supply of old," may, in its latter part, very fitly be applied to our proverbial philosophy; for, great as is the light which has already been thrown upon the subject, it must be admitted that a more systematic examination than they have yet received, of the works of the Elizabethan writers, would elucidate it to an extent that can scarcely be appreciated.
[3] Worlde of Wordes, Ital. and Eng. Pr. 1598.
With these observations I offer you my little string of pearls, under the hope that row after row may be added to it.
It is as well to remark that the above aphorisms are contained within the first 365 pages of the "Defense." Their orthography and punctuation have been carefully preserved, as they ought always to be in such like cases. Some of them I have not elsewhere met with, and others present variæ lectiones of an interesting character. They are all delivered in a quaint simplicity of style, which admirably illustrates the general tone of thought and language of the period.
COWGILL.
A paraphrase of the 137th psalm by Charles Churchill may, perhaps, be deemed not unworthy of a place amongst your Notes. It was originally sent to Mrs. Baily of Cadbury, who had remonstrated with him on his devoting his pen exclusively to satire. That lady gave them to my maternal grandfather. Three lines of the last verse are lost.
R. C. H. H.
Thimbleby.
"Our instruments untun'd, unsung,
(Grief doth from musick fly)
Upon the willow trees were hung,
The trees that grew thereby.
"'Raise, raise your voice,' the victors say,
'Touch, touch the trembling string,
In Sion's manner briskly play,
In Sion's manner sing.'
"Our voice, alas! how should we raise
In Babylonish ground?
How should we sing Jehovah's praise
In Pagan fetters bound?
"If ever, much lov'd Sion, thou
Dost from my mind depart,
May my right hand no longer know
Soft musick's soothing art.
"If when in jocund songs I smile,
Thou'rt not my choicest theme,
May my tongue lose her wonted skill,
Nor drink at Siloa's stream.
"When Babylon's unhallowed host,
Flow'd in with hostile tide,
'Down, down with Sion to the dust,'
The sons of Edom cried.
"Hear, hear O Lord these sons of spight,
Nor let thy anger sleep,
Let their own wishes on them light,
In turn let Edom weep.
"Blest is the man whose fated host
Shall Babylon surround,
Who shall destroy her impious boast,
And raze her to the ground.
LI.
"Appear'dst thou not to Paris in this guise?
Or to more deeply blest Anchises? or,
In all thy perfect goddess-ship, when lies
Before thee thy own vanquished Lord of War?
And gazing in thy face as toward a star
Laid on thy lap, his eyes to thee upturn,
Feeding on thy sweet cheek![4] while thy lips are
With lava kisses melting while they burn,
Showered on his eyelids, brow, and mouth, as from an urn!
LII.
Glowing, and circumfused in speechless love,
Their full divinity inadequate
That feeling to express, or to improve,
The gods become as mortals, and man's fate
Has moments like their brightest ——" &c. &c.
[4] To these beautiful and glowing lines the author has appended the following:
" Ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐστιᾶν."
"Atque oculos pascat uterque suos."
It seems to me that the noble poet has condescended to avail himself of a little ruse in referring to this passage of Ovid. It would have been perhaps more honest to have referred his readers to those magnificent lines in the opening address to Venus, by Lucretius, "De Rerum Naturâ," beginning,—
"Æneadum genitrix, hominum divômque voluptas,
Alma Venus!" &c.
I subjoin the verses which Lord Byron really had in mind when he wrote the foregoing stanzas:
"Nam tu sola potes tranquillâ pace juvare
Mortaleis: quoniam belli fera mœnera Mavors
Armipotens regit, in gremium qui sæpe tuum se
Rejicit, æterno devictus volnere Amoris:
Atque ita, suspiciens tereti cervice reposta
Pascit amore avidos, inhians in te, Dea, visus;
Eque tuo pendet resupini spiritus ore.
Hunc tu, Diva, tuo recubantem corpore sancto
Circumfusa super, suaveis ex ore loquelas
Funde, petens placidam Romanis, incluta, pacem."
Surely if the author of Childe Harold were indebted to any ancient poet for some ideas embodied in the lines cited, it was to Lucretius and not to Ovid that he should have owned the obligation.
A BORDERER.
—An American, in answer to an inquiry as to the place of his birth, says, "I was raised in New York," &c. Was it ever an English phrase? And if so, by what English writer of celebrity was it ever used? Dr. Franklin, in a letter to John Alleyne, Esq., Aug. 9, 1768, says:
"By these early marriages we are blest with more children; and from the mode among us, founded in nature, of every mother suckling and nursing her own child, more of them are raised."
JAMES CORNISH.
"Rousseau was remarkably trite in conversation."—Essay on Literary Character, vol. i. p. 213.
"Rousseau, in conversation, kindles often to a degree of heat which looks like inspiration."
Quoted by D'Israeli in the same vol., p. 230.
JAMES CORNISH.
—Compilers of Dictionaries have attempted to show, but I think without success, that this word has been derived from one of the meanings of the verb to bear. I conjecture that it has been derived from the Welsh word porth, a port or harbour. This word is under certain circumstances written borth, according to the rules of Welsh grammar. A ship's place in harbour (borth) is her berth. A sailor's place in his ship is his berth.
S. S. S. (2)
I am much obliged to you, Mr. Editor, for giving additional circulation to my inquiry (through the medium of the Athenæum of the 19th ult.) regarding the two ancient popular wizards, John a Kent and John a Cumber. I was aware, from a note received some time ago from my friend the Rev. John Webb of Tretire, that there are various current traditions in Monmouthshire, and that Coxe's history of that county contains some information regarding one of these worthies. That fact has since been repeated to me by a gentleman of Newport, who wrote in consequence of what appeared in the Athenæum, and whose name I do not know that I am at liberty to mention. I may, however, take this opportunity of thanking him, as well as the transmitter of the curious particulars printed in the Athenæum of Saturday last.
One point I wish to ascertain is, whence John a Kent derived his appellation? This question has not been at all answered. Has his name any connexion, and what, with the village of Kentchurch, in Monmouthshire; and why was the place called Kentchurch? To what saint is the church dedicated? and has the name of that church anything to do with the name of the saint? Anthony Munday (or Mundy), in his MS. play (now in my hands by the favour of the Hon. Mr. Mostyn, and by the kind interposition of Sir F. Madden), does not give the slightest clue to the "birth, parentage, and education" of John a Kent. As to John a Cumber, all we learn is, that he was a Scottish conjuror, employed by a nobleman of the same country to counteract the proceedings of John a Kent, who is represented as in the service of Sir Gosselin Denville, a person who appears, from what Munday says, to have had power and influence in South Wales.
Now, the name of Sir Gosselin Denville itself suggests a Query; because I find in Johnson's Lives of Highwayman, &c., fol. 1734, p. 15. (I do not of course refer to it as a book of any authority), that there was a celebrated collector of tribute from travellers who bore that name and rank. He, however, came from Yorkshire, and lived (according to the narrative of Johnson, who had it most likely from Capt. A. Smith, whose work I have not at hand) as long ago as the reign of Edward II. Let me ask, therefore, whether there exist any tidings respecting such a person as a native of Wales, and as the "master" (I use Munday's word) of John a Kent?
But this is not the principal object of my present communication, which relates to one of the heroines of Munday's drama—a daughter of Llewellin, Prince of North Wales. To her the name of Sidanen is given, and she is constantly spoken of as "the fair Sidanen," with the additional information, in one place, that "sonnets" had been written in her praise. Every person who sends a Query must plead ignorance, and mine may be great as regards Welsh poetry, when I inquire, who was Sidanen, and where has she been celebrated? By the second volume of Extracts from the Registers of the Stationers' Company (printed for the Shakspeare Society), it is evident that she was well known about the middle of the reign of Elizabeth, for on p. 94. I read the following entry:—
"xiii Augusti [1580]
"Rich. Jones. Rd. of him for printinge a ballat of brittishe Sidanen, applied by a courtier to the praise of the Queen."
British Sidanen probably meant Sidanen of Ancient Britain, or Wales, to whom some unnamed and adulatory courtier had compared Queen Elizabeth. I fancied also that I recollected, in Warner's Albion's England, some allusion to Elizabeth under the name of Sidanen, but I cannot at present find it.
As I have my pen in hand, may I add another word, quite upon a different subject: it is upon the nimium (pardon the word) vexata questio about esile, as it is spelt in the first and second folios of Hamlet. Have any of your correspondents, from MR. SINGER to MR. CAMPKIN, with all their learning and ingenuity, been able at all to settle the point? Surely, then, I cannot be blamed for not taking upon me dogmatically to decide it eight years ago. I stated the two positions assumed by adverse commentators, and what more could I do? What more have your friends done? The principle I went upon was to make my notes as short as possible; and after pages on pages have been employed in your miscellany, it seems, in my humble judgment, that the case is not one jot altered. Esile may still either mean vinegar (eyesel) or the river Eisell.
J. PAYNE COLLIER.
Can any of your readers give a satisfactory explanation of what Lord Byron, in the LXXth stanza of the first canto of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, calls the worship of the solemn horn? The whole stanza is as follows:
"Some o'er thy Thamis row the ribbon'd fair,
Others along the safer turnpike fly;
Some Richmond Hill ascend, some send to Ware,
And many to the steep of Highgate hie.
Ask ye, Bœotian shades! the reason why? (15)
'Tis to the worship of the solemn Horn,
Grasp'd in the holy hand of mystery,
In whose dread name both men and maids are sworn,
And consecrate the oath with draught and dance till morn!"
And the note (15) merely refers to the poet's writing from Thebes, the capital of Bœotia.
I have a faint recollection of a circumstance which occurred on a journey from York to town some forty years ago, and which I almost fancy may throw some distant light on Lord B.'s horn. Among the inside passengers by the stage was a middle-aged Yorkshireman, apparently a small farmer, who kept the rest in a continual titter with his account of various personal adventures, which he related in a style of quaint and ludicrous simplicity; and as, in the course of conversation, it appeared that he had never visited the metropolis before, it was suggested by a couple of wags, that on the arrival of the coach at Highgate he should be invited "to make himself free of the Horns." Accordingly, when in due time the vehicle halted at the above-mentioned place, and the inside passengers, with the exception of York, had quitted it, an ostler, having received his cue, appeared at the door with a pole, to which we attached a pair of gilded ram's horns; and inquired if the "genelman" from Yorkshire, who was on his first visit to London, wished to obtain his freedom by swearing on the horns, or would rather forego the ceremony by a payment of the customary fee. The Yorkshireman was evidently taken aback by the unexpected question; but, after a moment's hesitation, intimated that he preferred the horns to forking out the cash. He was thereupon directed with mock solemnity to place his right hand upon the horns, and to follow the ostler in reciting a ridiculous formula; which, if I remember right, consisted in his vowing, under certain penalties, to prefer wine to water, roast beef and ale to a dry crust and water gruel, the daughter to the mother, the sister to the brother, laughing to crying, and songs and glees to requiems and psalms, &c.
Can you then oblige me with any information respecting the worship of the solemn horn alluded to by Lord Byron; and, secondly, with any account respecting the solemn farce of swearing in strangers on the horns when reaching Highgate on their first visit to the metropolis, which farce I presume has long since been exploded by the introduction of the railway.
KEWENSIS.
[Moore, in his edition of Byron's Works, has the following note on this passage:—"Lord Byron alludes to a ridiculous custom which formerly prevailed at the public-houses in Highgate, of administering a burlesque oath to all travellers of the middling rank who stopped there. The party was sworn on a pair of horns, fastened, 'never to kiss the maid when he could kiss the mistress; never to eat brown bread when he could get white; never to drink small beer when he could get strong;' with many other injunctions of the like kind, to all which was added the saving clause, 'unless you like it best.'" Our correspondent, W. S. GIBSON, Esq., in his Prize Essay on the History and Antiquities of Highgate, has preserved some curious notices of this burlesque oath. He says, "All attempts to trace the once prevalent, but now obsolete, custom of 'swearing at Highgate' to any really probable source have proved unavailing, and the custom has fallen into disuse. The early identity of the site of the present hamlet with the ancient forest, and the vicinity of Highgate to a park or chase, naturally suggests the possible connexion of these trophies with huntsmen and their horns; and it is not difficult to perceive that the spoils and emblems of the chase, and the hunter's joyous horn, may in time have acquired the character of household gods, and at length, become like the sword of the warrior, a sacred emblem upon which vows were taken, and the most binding engagements made. It is, however, less difficult to imagine the reality of such an origin, than to account for the strange degeneracy exhibited in the modern aspect of the custom. 'Swearing on the horns' was an observance at all events more than a century old; for a song which embodied a close paraphrase of the oath, according to the best authorised version yet extant, was introduced in a London pantomime at the Haymarket Theatre in the year 1742."]
—In the Miscellaneous State Papers (published 1778), vol. i. p. 462., we find Steenie (the Duke of Buckingham) writing to his royal master as follows:—
"Give my leave here to use your own proverb,—For this the devil cone me no thanks."
At the risk of being thought very dull, I ask, what is cone, and what is the meaning of the proverb? James was no ignoramus, after all.
VARRO.
—What became of the celebrated Lucy Hutchinson, who wrote the memoirs of her husband—where did she die? and from whence is all the information that can be got about her, subsequently to her autobiography, to be obtained?
M.
—I have lately purchased a black-letter volume, dated 1595. The first part has no title, but the second is called,—
"The Second Booke of Amadis de Gaule, containing the description, wonders, and conquest of the Firme-Island. The triumphes and troubles of Amadis. His manifold victories obtained, and sundry services done for King Lisuart. The kinges ingratitude, and first occasion of those broils and mortal wars, that no small time continued between him and Amadis. Englished by L. P. London: Printed for C. Burbie, and are to be sold at his shop at the Royal Exchange, 1595."
The Epistle Dedicatory to "Master Walter Borough" is signed "Lazarus Pyott," which is perhaps an assumed name; and, if I mistake not, I have seen it assigned to some known writer of the time. As I do not find this work noticed by Lowndes, perhaps MR. COLLIER or some of your readers would kindly give me some information respecting its rarity, &c.
J. M. S.
—Which preceded the other, and who was the greater artist, Hogarth or Cowper, in the portrait and description of the stately and antiquated lady going to church on the winter's morning with her boy, who—
"Carries her Bible, tuck'd beneath his arm,
And hides his hands to keep his fingers warm?"
JAMES CORNISH.
—In Bartlett's Life of Bishop Butler mention is made (p. 62.), on the authority of a late Dean of Salisbury (Dr. Pearson), of a translation of The Analogy into Latin, which had been executed with a view to its publication in Germany, and had been submitted for revision to Professor Porson.
Was this translation ever published or is anything now known of it?
THOS. MCCALMONT.
Highfield, near Southampton, July 22. 1851.
—In the Life of Bishop Jewel prefixed to the edition of his works, 1611, §24., there occurs a sentence attributed to Cicero in Verrem 3.:
"Like Verres in Tully, Non quid responderent, sed quemadmodum non responderent laborabant."
But are the words to be found in Cicero at all? They give no bad representation of what is called fencing, while unwillingly subjected to an examination; and the true authorship would oblige
NOVUS.
—With whom did the following idea originate, and where are the words to be found?
"The worm is in the bud of youth, and in the root of age."
Can any similar expression be adduced from the ancient classics?
R. VINCENT
—I read in a French book of travels that the abbey of Saint Martin's, at Autun, contained the tomb of Queen Brunéhaut, upon which was engraved the following inscription:
"Ci-gît la Reine Brunéhaut,
A qui le Saint Pape Gregoire
Donna des éloges de gloire,
Qui mettent sa vertu bien haut.
Sa piété pour les saints mystères
Lui fit fonder trois monastères,
Sous la règle de Saint Benoît:
Saint Martin, Saint Jean, Saint Andoche,
Sont trois saints lieux où l'on connoît
Qu'elle est exempte de reproche."
1. Who was the Saint Gregory mentioned in this inscription? I believe there can be little doubt that it was Pope Gregory I., commonly known as Gregory the Great, and the cotemporary of Queen Brunéhaut. The only other Pope of that name, that has been canonized, is Gregory VII., the famous Hildebrand; but as his canonization did not take place till the close of the last century (700 years after his death), an inscription, which, from its obsolete rhymes of "Benoît" and "connoît," bears internal evidence of having been made in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, could not have applied to him the epithet Saint.
2. Brunéhaut having been one of the most profligate queens that ever sat upon a throne, and Gregory the Great one of the most virtuous Popes that have shed lustre on the tiara, a second Query presents itself:—Is it possible that such a Pope could have degraded himself and his office by eulogising such a queen? The bare idea is at variance with the known character of that Pope; and the imputation, if substantiated, would materially detract from his established reputation for piety and wisdom.
3. Is there any passage in the writings of Gregory the Great that can be cited in support of the allegations of this inscription?
HENRY H. BREEN.
St. Lucia, June, 1851.
—Some time ago Patrick Chalmers, Esq., of Auldbar, in the county of Forfar, obtained drawings of all the sculptured stone obelisks in Angus, and got them lithographed for the members of the Bannatyne Club. The work has excited considerable attention among historical students in this country as well as abroad, and certainly has laid a foundation for correct comparison of these with other similar remains of a symbolical nature in other parts of the country. In Aberdeenshire there is a considerable number of these obelisks, which, either from the more primitive state of the people, or the hardness of the granite, are much less elaborate than those in Angus. None, however, can exceed the obelisks in Easter Ross for beauty of execution. It is singular that no monument of this class has been found south of the Forth. The Spalding Club (Aberdeen) proposes to obtain drawings of all the stones of this description in the North of Scotland; and the artist who depicted the Angus stones so accurately and well for Mr. Chalmers has commenced his labours. Circulars have been sent to the clergy of about 240 parishes in the North, asking for information as to the locality of any sculptured stones in their districts, but as yet answers have been obtained from only about 150. It is probable that where no return has been made, there is no stone of the description alluded to; but it would be desirable to know that the Spalding Club had exhausted the matter.
ABERDONIENSIS.
—In a little work I am meditating on the subject of English Popular Prophecies, I shall have occasion to introduce a notice of this celebrated astrologer, whose successful prediction of the Great Rebellion, and consequent English popularity, almost entitle him to a place among our native vaticinating worthies.
The curious prefiguration of the fate of Charles I. stands thus in the original edition of the Prophesies: Lyons, 1572, under the head, "A mes Imprimeurs de Hongrie:"
"Senat de Londres mettront à mal leur Roy."
In the only other edition to which I have the opportunity of referring, London, 1672, "Translated and commented upon by Theophilus de Garencieres," it is much amplified:
"XLIX.
"Gand et Bruxelles marcheront contra Anvers.
Senat de Londres mettront à mort leur Roy.
Le sel et vin luy seront à l'envers
Pour eux avoir le Regne or desseroy."
The more literal accuracy of this version, and the number of the quatrain (interpreted by the commentator to refer to the year of Charles's death), induce doubts as to its authenticity. Collections of early editions of Nostradamus are not of frequent occurrence in England: but I am told that a fine series exists in the "Bibliothèque du Roi," and as the subject is interesting, some one, perhaps, out of the many readers of "NOTES AND QUERIES" who will visit Paris this holiday time may be induced to examine them, and make a note of the earliest edition in which the latter form of the prediction occurs.
SPERIEND.
—In an extremely curious and interesting volume entitled Quakerism, or the Story of my Life, I meet with the following passage, p. 386.:
"About four years ago, an English Friend waited on me, to request me to enter my name as a subscriber to an edition of the Bible, which a Committee of Friends were intending to publish. The printed prospectus stated that the work was designed to be one suited for daily perusal in Friends' families; that from it would be carefully excluded every passage that was indelicate, and unfit for reading aloud; and also those portions which might be called dangerous, which it was possible the unlearned and unstable might wrest to their own destruction."
Can any of your readers tell whether this expurgated Bible was ever published, and where it is to be procured?
A copy of the prospectus alluded to would also be very acceptable.
T.
—This was once of great importance to the inhabitants of the villages upon the banks of the Thames, who appear to have had each their assigned bounds for their fishery. In the Churchwardens' Book of Wandsworth, under date 1580, is the following entry:
"M.D. that this yere in som̄er the fishinge Rome of Wandesworthe was by certen of Putney denyed, and long sute before my L. Mayor of London continued, and at the last, accordinge to Right, restored by the Lord Mayor and the Councell of London. And in this som̄er the fysshers of Wandesworthe tooke betweene Monday and Saturday seven score salmons in the same fishinge, to the gret honor of God."
I have heard my mother say, that Thames salmon was plentiful when she was a younger woman, and that it was the most esteemed of any. She died recently, aged eighty-nine.
Shall we ever have Thames salmon again?
R. J. R.
—Are there any records, and where, of grants of land in the county of Monaghan, Ireland, as made by Cromwell?
E. A.
—Are there any details of the siege of Londonderry, particularly as to the names of officers engaged on the Protestant side, other than those to be found in Walker, Mackensie, or Graham's account of it?
E. A.
—In a note to a work entitled Sketches of the History of Man, Dublin, 1779, at vol. i. p. 104. I observe the following statement:
"In the Act 13th of Elizabeth, anno 1571, confirming the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, these Articles are not engrossed, but referred to as comprised in a printed book, intitled 'Articles agreed to by the whole Clergy in Convocation holden at London, 1562.' The forged clause is, 'The Church has power to decree Rites and Ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of Faith.' That clause is not in the Articles referred to; nor the slightest hint of any authority with respect to matters of faith. In the same year, 1571, the Articles were printed both in Latin and English, precisely as in the year 1562. But soon after came out spurious editions, in which the said clause was foisted into the Twentieth Article, and continues so to this day," &c.
This is a grave charge. Is it a true one? I have not at hand the authorities by which to examine it, and therefore seek an answer from some of your readers who may be able to give it. My question refers to the imputation of a clause having been foisted into our Articles of Faith by a forgery, and still continuing in them; not to the truth of any part of our Articles as they now stand. To this there is sufficient testimony.
CM.
London, July 25. 1851.
[The following note from p. 131. of Mr. Hardwick's recently published History of the Articles will furnish a reply to this Query:—
"He (Laud) was accused of forging the contested clause in Art. XX. And after appealing to four printed copies of the Articles, one of them as early as 1563, and all containing the passage which the Puritans disliked, he added, 'I shall make it yet plainer: for it is not fit concerning an Article of Religion, and an Article of such consequence for the order, truth, and peace of the Church, you should rely upon my copies, be they never so many or never so ancient. Therefore I sent to the public records in my office, and here under my officer's hand, who is public notary, is returned to me the Twentieth Article with this affirmative clause in it, and there is also the whole body of the Articles to be seen.'—Remains, ii. 83. (quoted by Bennet, 166.) The copy thus taken before the destruction of the records is said to be still extant; Bennet made use of it, and has printed it in his Essay, 167-169."]
—Can any of your readers inform me what are the duties of these officers, and the derivation of their title? I find, in the papers describing her Majesty's state ball, the following: "the exons or capitaines exempts de la garde du corps;" but that does not throw much light upon the subject.
E. N. W.
Southwark.
[The name of Exempts or Exons is manifestly borrowed from that of the officers in the old French Garde du Corps, who were styled in their commissions Capitaines Exempts des Gardes du Corps. Richelet describes the Exempt as the officer who commanded in the absence of the Lieutenant or Ensign, and who had charge of the night watch. In both cases, the duties of the English and French officers are completely parallel.]
—Have any of your readers seen Latin verses constructed in the following curious manner? I copied these many years ago from an old magazine:—