Vol. V.—No. 116. NOTES AND QUERIES: A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.

"When found, make a note of."—CAPTAIN CUTTLE.

VOL. V.—No. 116.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17. 1852.

With Index, Price Tenpence. Stamped Edition, 11d.

Transcriber's Note: Notes and Queries, Index of Volume 4, July-December, 1851, has been made available separately as PG ebook #40166.

CONTENTS.

NOTES:—

Mechanical Arrangements of Books 49

Caxton Memorial, by Beriah Botfield 51

Settle's Female Prelate, or Pope Joan; a Tragedy, by James Crossley 52

Historical Bibliography 52

Calamities of Authors 55

Folk Lore:—Valentine's Day; Superstition in Devonshire—Fairies 55

Minor Notes:—Lines in Whispering Gallery at Gloucester Cathedral—Definition of Thunder—Greek Epigram by an uncertain Author 56

QUERIES:—

Burning of the Jesuitical Books at Paris, by H. Merivale 56

Grantham Altar Case 56

Meaning of Groom, by E. Davis Protheroe 57

Minor Queries:—Gregentius and the Jews in Arabia Felix—King Street Theatre—Lesteras and Emencin—Epigram on Franklin and Wedderburn—Plenius and his Lyrichord—Epigram on Burnet—Dutch Chronicle of the World—"Arborei fœtus alibi, atque iniussa virescunt Gramina" (Virgil G. I. 55.)—History of Brittany—Serjeants' Rings—The Duchess of Cleveland's Cow-pox—Arms of Manchester—Heraldical MSS. of Sir Henry St. George Garter 58

MINOR QUERIES ANSWERED:—The Pelican, as a Symbol of the Saviour—Bishop Coverdale's Bible—Age of the Oak—Olivarius—Vincent Bourne's Epilogus in Eunuchum Terentii—Burton, Bp., Founder of Schools, &c., at Loughborough, co. Leicester—Hoo 59

REPLIES:—

Modern Names of Places 61

Proverbial Philosophy; Parochial Library at Maidstone, by John Branfill Harrison 61

"A Breath can make them as a Breath has made" 62

Bogatzky 63

Moravian Hymns 63

Replies to Minor Queries:—Inveni portum—Quarter Waggoner—Cibber's Lives of the Poets—Poniatowski Gems—Dial Motto at Karlsbad—Passage in Jeremy Taylor—Aue Trici and Gheeze Ysenoudi—Rev. John Paget—Lines on the Bible—Dial Mottoes—Martial's Distribution of Hours—Nelson's Signal—Cooper's Miniature, &c.—Roman Funeral Pile—Barrister—Meaning of Dray—Tregonwell Frampton—Vermin, Parish Payments of, &c.—Alterius Orbis Papa—Dido and Æneas—Compositions during the Protectorate 64

MISCELLANEOUS:—

Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, &c. 69

Books and Odd Volumes wanted 70

Notices to Correspondents 70

Advertisements 70

List of Notes and Queries volumes and pages

Notes.

MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF BOOKS.

All persons who, whatever might be their motive, have followed any subject of literary research, must be aware of the extent to which their labours are facilitated or retarded by the mechanical arrangements of books, such as the goodness of paper, the legibility of type, the size of volumes, the presence or absence of table of contents, indexes, and other means of reference. It is in the possession of these conveniences that the capabilities of typography, and its superiority over manuscript, mainly consist. I propose now to set down a few remarks on this subject, in the hope that any means, however trifling they may seem, by which literary knowledge is rendered more commodious and accessible, will not be deemed unworthy of attention by your readers.

With regard to the form of printed letters, it is difficult to conceive any improvement in modern typography, as practised in Italy, France, and England. This is equally true of Roman and Greek characters. The Greek types introduced by Porson leave nothing to be desired. The Germans still to a great extent retain the old black-letter type for native works, which was universal over all the north of Europe in the early period of printing, and is not a national type, as some persons seem to imagine. These letters being imitated from the manuscript characters of the fifteenth century, are essentially more indistinct than the Roman type, and have for that reason been disused by the rest of Europe, Holland and Denmark not excepted. In England this antiquated mode of printing was long retained for law-books, and, till a comparatively recent date, for the statutes. The Anglo-Saxon letters are in like manner nothing but a barbarous imitation of old manuscript characters, and have no real connexion with the Anglo-Saxon language. Their use ought to be wholly abandoned (with the exception of those which are wanting in modern English). Roman numerals, likewise, as being less clear and concise than Arabic numerals, especially for large numbers, ought to be discarded, except in cases where it is convenient to distinguish the volume from the page, and the book from the chapter. English lawyers, indeed, who in general have only occasion to cite the volume and page, invariably make their quotations with Arabic figures, by prefixing the number of the volume, and subjoining the number of the page. Thus, if it were wished to refer to the 100th page of the second volume of Barnewall and Alderson's Reports, they would write 2 B. & C. 100. Roman numerals are still retained for the sections of the statutes.

Akin to the retention of antiquated forms of letters is the retention of antiquated orthography. Editors of works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries sometimes retain the spelling of the period, of which Evelyn's Diary is an example; but this practise is unpleasant to the modern reader, and sometimes, particularly in proper names, perplexes and misleads him. The modern editions of the classical writers of that period, such as Shakspeare, Bacon, Milton, Clarendon, &c., are very properly reduced to the modern standard of orthography, as is done by Italian editors with the works of Dante, Boccaccio, &c. The attempt to introduce the native orthography of foreign proper names naturalised in English, is likewise unsuccessful, and merely offends the eye of the reader, without giving any real information. Mr. Lane and other Orientalists will never succeed in banishing such forms as vizier, caliph, cadi, &c., nor will even Mr. Grote's authority alter the spelling of the well-known Greek names. Names of ancient persons and places which are enshrined in the verses of Milton and other great poets, cannot be altered.

The old unmeaning practice of printing every noun substantive with a capital letter (still retained in German) has been abandoned by every English printer, except the printer of parliamentary papers for the House of Lords. Proper names used to be printed in italics; and generally, the use of italics was much greater than at present. In modern reprints, these ancient flowers of typography ought to be removed. The convenient edition of Hobbes' Works, for which we are indebted to Sir W. Molesworth, would be more agreeable to read if the italics were less abundant.

The use of the folio and quarto size is now generally restricted to such books as could scarcely be printed in octavo, as dictionaries and similar books of reference. The parliamentary blue book, which long resisted the progress of octave civilization, is now beginning to shrink into a more manageable size. With regard to separate volumes, the most convenient practice is to consider them as a mere printer's division, which may vary in different editions; and to number them consecutively, without reference to their contents. The Germans have a very inconvenient practice of dividing a volume into parts, each of which is a volume in the ordinary meaning of the word; so that a work consisting of nine volumes, for example, may be divided into four volumes, one of which consists of three parts, and the other three of two parts each. The result is, that every reference must specify both the volume and the part: thus, Band II. Abtheilung III. S. 108. Frequently, too, this mode of numbering misleads the bookbinder, who (unless properly cautioned) numbers the volumes in the ordinary manner.

Volumes, as I have remarked, are merely a printer's division. Every literary composition ought, however, to have an organic division of its own. The early Greeks seem indeed to have composed both their poems and prose works as one continuous discourse. The rhapsodies of Homer and the muses of Herodotus were subsequent divisions introduced by editors and grammarians. But literary experience pointed out the commodiousness of such breaks in a long work; and the books of the Æneid and of the History of Livy were the divisions of the authors themselves. Since the invention of printing, the books of the prose works of the classical writers have been subdivided into chapters; while for the books of poems, as well as for the dramas, the verses have been numbered. The books of the Old and New Testament have likewise been portioned into chapters, and into a late typographical division of verses.

In making a division of his work, an author ought to number its parts consecutively, without reference to volumes. The novels of Walter Scott are divided into chapters, the numbering of which is dependent on the volume; so that it is impossible to quote them without referring to the edition, or to find a reference to them in any other edition than that cited. For the same reason, an author ought not to quote his own book in the text by a reference to volumes.

The division most convenient for purposes of reference is that which renders a quotation simple to note, and easy to verify. Divisions which run through an entire work (such as the chapters of Gibbon's History) are easy to quote, and the quotation can be easily verified when the chapter is not long. The numbering of paragraphs in one series through an entire work, as in the French codes, in Cobbett's writings, and in the state papers of the Indian government, is the simplest and most effectual division for purposes of reference. The Digest can now be referred to by book, title, and paragraph; nevertheless the Germans (who, notwithstanding their vast experience in the work of quoting, seem to have a predilection for cumbrous and antiquated methods) still adhere to the old circuitous mode of quotation, against which Gibbon long ago raised his voice (Decl. and Fall, c. 44. n. 1.).

Some works have been divided by their authors into chapters, but the chapters have been left unnumbered. Niebuhr's Roman History is in this state.

The internal division of a work by its author is not, however, merely for purposes of reference. It may likewise be a logical division; it may follow the distribution of the subject, and assist the reader by visibly separating its several parts. This process, however, may be carried so far as to defeat its purpose (viz. perspicuity of arrangement) by the intricacy of its divisions. Here again we must recur for an example to the Germans, who sometimes make the compartments of their writings as numerous as a series of Chinese boxes all fitted into each other. First, there is the part, then the book, then the chapter, then the section, then the article, and then the paragraph, which is itself subdivided into paragraphs with Roman numerals and Arabic numerals; and these again are further subdivided into paragraphs with Roman letters, and Greek letters, and sometimes Hebrew letters. To refer to a work divided in this manner by any other means than the volume and page, is a labour of as hopeless intricacy as it is to follow the logical cascade down its successive platforms.

It is a considerable convenience where the book or chapter is marked at the head or margin of the page; and in histories, or historical memoirs, chronological notation is very convenient.

In general no book (not being a book arranged in alphabetical order, as a dictionary, encyclopedia, &c.) ought to be printed without a table of contents. The trouble to the author of making a table of contents is very small, and the expense to the publisher in printing it is in general imperceptible. Modern English books rarely sin in this respect; foreign books, however, both French and German, are frequently wanting in a table of contents. The invaluable collection of the fragments of Greek historians lately published in Didot's Series—a work indispensable to every critical student of ancient history—has no table of contents, referring to the pages, prefixed to each volume. The Poetæ Scenici Græci of Dindorf is without a table of contents; and a similar want is a serious drawback to the use of the cheap and portable edition of the Greek and Latin classics published by Tauchnitz at Leipsic.

Lastly, an index adds materially to the value of every work which contains numerous and miscellaneous facts. The preparation of a good index is a laborious and sometimes costly task; the printing of it, moreover, adds to the price of the book. Many of the indexes to the English law-books are models of this species of labour; the indexes in the Parliamentary Reports are likewise prepared with great care and intelligence. Even a meagre index, however, is better than no index at all; and where the publisher's means, and the demand for the book, do not admit of the preparation of a copious index of subjects, an alphabetical list of names of persons and places would often be an acceptable present to the reader of an historical or scientific work.

CAXTON MEMORIAL.

The inquiries addressed to me by Mr. BOLTON CORNEY in your paper of the 15th of November appear to amount to this:—Whether the whole or part of the expense of his proposed volume will be defrayed out of the fund appropriated to the Caxton Memorial? To this question, so far as my own information extends, I can only give a negative reply. The Society of Arts, in compliance with a request preferred to them by the subscribers at their last meeting, have accepted the charge of the Caxton Fund; and it is sufficient, for my present purpose, to state that negociations are now in progress between the Council and the Dean and Chapter, for liberty to erect a suitable memorial within the precincts of Westminster to the memory of William Caxton. This is as it should be; the memorial, be it what it may, statue, obelisk or fountain, or even a niche in a wall, should be substantial and enduring, calculated to remind the passing stranger that within the precincts of Westminster, William Caxton first exercised in England the art of printing. This circumstance forms one of those epochs in the history of civilisation which deserve public commemoration; and any memorial of Caxton should be placed as near as possible to the scene of his literary labours.

Mr. BOLTON CORNEY says, that I seem to regard his project with somewhat less of disfavour. Now I do not wish to be misunderstood. As a substitute for the Caxton Memorial, originally proposed at the great meeting over which the Earl of Carlisle presided, I am disposed to reject it altogether, for reasons which I have already stated in your columns. But as a literary undertaking I am willing to give it a fair consideration upon its own merits. The apothegm that a man's best monument consists in his own works, is capable of considerable modification from the nature of the works themselves. In the case before us, I believe the interest felt by the public in the works of Caxton to be too limited to justify the republication of his collected works. The proposal which Mr. CORNEY makes for a selection from those works, with a new life of the author, and a glossary, the latter proving how much they are out of date, is much more feasible than his original plan. There is a Caxton Society which has already issued several publications, and whose usefulness would be materially increased by such a publication as that suggested by Mr. CORNEY, if the Society to which he alludes (the Camden, I presume) should not be disposed to undertake it. The true object of these and similar societies is the production of books of interest and value, which are not sufficiently popular to justify a bookseller, or an individual, in incurring the pecuniary risk of their separate publication. Mr. CORNEY's literary memorial of Caxton appears to me to come under this head, and as such might be properly undertaken by any of the clubs or societies formed for the cultivation of early English literature. He might perhaps more easily attain the object of his wishes in this manner than by that which he has hitherto pursued. When a selection is to be made from the works of any author, much will depend upon the taste and discretion of the editor. Now I gather from Mr. CORNEY's letter, that he is fully prepared to undertake that office himself; and I may be permitted to add that his scrupulous accuracy and unwearied diligence afford the best guarantee that the work will be executed in such a manner as to fully satisfy the public interest in Caxton, and to form a graceful and appropriate tribute to the illustrious father of the English press.

BERIAH BOTFIELD.

Norton Hall, Jan. 3. 1852.

SETTLE'S FEMALE PRELATE, OR POPE JOAN; A TRAGEDY.

I have not seen it anywhere noticed that this play, printed under Elkanah Settle's name, with a long dedication by him to the Earl of Shaftsbury, in 1680, 4to., was certainly a mere alteration of an old play on the same subject. It is impossible for any one to read many pages of it, without seeing everywhere traces of a much more powerful hand than "poor Elkanah's," although he needed no assistance in managing the ceremony of pope-burning. Take at random the following quotation, which is much more like Middleton's or Decker's than the debased style after the Restoration:

"Saxony. And art thou then in earnest?

Come, prithee, speak: I was to blame to chide thee;

Be not afraid; speak but the fatal truth,

And by my hopes of heav'n I will forgive thee.

Out with it, come; now wouldst thou tell me all,

But art ashamed to own thyself a bawd:

'Las, that might be thy father's fault, not thine.

Perhaps some honest humble cottage bred thee,

And thy ambitious parents, poorly proud,

For a gay coat made thee a page at court,

And for a plume of feathers sold thy soul;

But 'tis not yet, not yet too late to save it.

Amir. Oh, my sad heart!

Sax. Come, prithee, speak; let but

A true confession plead thy penitence,

And Heaven will then forgive thee as I do.

Amir. But, Sir, can you resolve to lend an ear

To sounds so terrible, so full of fate,

As will not only act a single tragedy,

But even disjoint all Nature's harmony,

And quite untune the world? for such, such are

The notes that I must breathe.

Sax. Oh, my dear murderer,

Breathe 'em as cheerfully as the soaring lark

Wakes the gay morn. Those dear sweet airs that kill me

Are my new nuptial songs. My Angeline

Has been my first, and Death's my second bride."

Fem. Prel. p. 58.

Or the following:

"Sax. Carlo, she must die;

The softest heart that yon celestial fire

Could ever animate, must break and die.

We are both too wretched to outlive this day;

And I but send thee as her executioner.

Carlo. I flie to obey you, Sir.

Sax. Stay, Carlo, stay;

Why all this haste to murder so much innocence?

Yet, thou must go. And since thy tongue must kill

The brightest form th' enamoured stars can e'er

Receive, or the impoverisht world can lose.

Go, Carlo, go; but prithee wound her soul

As gently as thou canst; and when thou seest

A flowing shower from her twin-orbs of light

All drown the faded roses of her cheeks;

When thou beholdst, 'midst her distracted groans,

Her furious hand, that feeble, fair revenger,

Rend all the mangled beauties of her face.

Tear her bright locks, and their dishevell'd pride

On her pale neck, that ravisht whiteness, fall;

Guard, guard thy eyes: for, Carlo, 'tis a sight

Will strike spectators dead."

Fem. Prel. p. 61.

In the Biog. Dram. (vol. iii. p. 237.), it is stated that the same play, with the same title, was printed in 4to., 1689, except that it was there said to be written by a person of quality. The play is, however, claimed by Settle in his dedication to Lord Shaftsbury, prefixed to the edition of 1680, now before me. I do not, however, believe he had more to do with it than in adapting it, as he did Philastes, for representation. The only question seems to be by whom the original play was written? This I will not at present attempt to decide, though I entertain a strong opinion on the subject, but will leave it to be resolved by the critical acumen of your readers.

JAS. CROSSLEY.

HISTORICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(Eustache le Noble.)

Having been favoured by Mr. Gancia, of 73. King's Road, Brighton, with an opportunity of examining the following work, I venture to send you a notice of its contents, with some account of the author. Such books have, I conceive, their utility to historians and historical readers. We gain through them an accurate idea of party spirit, are brought into more immediate communion with the opinions of the times to which they refer, and can thus trace more closely the means by which parties worked, were consolidated, and advanced their schemes. Even from their personalities, we gain some gleams of truth. In this case, I am assured that perfect copies of the work are very scarce. I cannot find that any other copy has recently been offered for sale. This appeared to me an additional reason for submitting a notice of it to your readers.

LE PIERRE DE TOUCHE POLITIQUE, OU PASQUINADES.
By Eustache le Noble. Rome (Paris), Octobre, 1688; Novembre, 1691. 5 vols. 12mo.

Each of the twenty-eight pieces which compose the work should have an engraved title, and a separate pagination. The place of publication is fictitious, and in general satirical. The first volume has a portrait.

The following is a collation from what is understood to form a perfect copy:

"Tome 1. Rome, chez Francophile Alétophile. Octobre, 1691.
Le Cibisme, Le Songe de Pasquin. Londres, Jean Benn, 1689.
Le Couronnement de Guillemot et de la Reine Guillemette, avec le Sermon du grand Docteur Burnet. Londres, 1689.
Le Festin de Guillemot, 1689.
La Chambre des Comptes d'Innocent XI. Rome, F. Alétophile, 1689, with portrait.

"'These five dialogues have for interlocutors Pasquin and Marforio, under which names the dialogues are sometimes introduced, as also under the title of Pasquinades.' (Quérard, art. Le Noble.)

"Tome 2. Title (no engraved title). Janvier, 1690.
Janvier. La Bibliothèque du Roi Guillemot. Londres, Jean Benn, 1690.
Février. La Fable du Renard. Leyde, 1690.
Mars. La Diète d'Augsbourg. Vienne, Peter Hansgood, 1690.
Avril. La Lotterie de Pasquin. Basle, Eugene Tyrannomostix, 1690.
Mai. L'Ombre de Monmouth. Oxford, James Good King, 1690.
Juin. Les Medaillez, Amsterdam, Eugene Philolethe, 1690.

"Tome 3. Title.
Juillet. La Clef du Cabinet de Neufbourg. Heidelberg, Neopolo Palatino, 1690.
Août. Le Triomphe. Fleuruz, chez Valdekin Bienbattu, 1690.
Septembre. Les Ombres de Schomberg et de Lorraine. Dublin, chez Le Vieux, Belle Montaigne.
Octobre. La Lanterne de Diogène. Whitehall, chez La Veuve Guillemot. 1690.
Novembre. Les Mercures, ou la Tabatière des Etats d'Hollande. Hermstadt, chez Emeric Hospodar, 1690.
Décembre. Le Roy des Fleurs. A Bride, chez Leopol la Dupe.

"Tome 4. Title.
Janvier. Les Estrennes d'Esope ('burnt at Amsterdam, by the hand of the hangman, by order of the States-General. The dialogue had its origin, probably, in the proscription of the History of the Republic of Holland by the same author, which was seized wherever it was found.'—Peignot.). Bruxelles, chez Jean Gobbin, 1691.
Février. L'Ombre du Duc d'Albe, with illustration. Anvers, Antoine Maugouverne, 1691.
Mars. Le Carnaval de la Haye, with illustration. A la Haye, chez Guillaume l'Emballeur, 1691.
Avril. Le Tabouret des Electeurs, with illustration. Honslar dük, Guillemin Tabouret, 1691.
Mai. Le Reveille Matin des Alliez, with illustration. A Monts, Guillaume le Chasseur, 1691.
Juin. Les Lunettes pour le Quinze Vingts. Turin, Jean sans Terre, 1691.

"Tome 5. Title.
Juillet. Nostradamus, ou les Oracles, with illustration. A Liege, Lambert Bonnefoi, 1691.
La Fable du Baudet Extraordinaire, with illustration. A Asnières, chez Jean le Singe, 1691.
Août. L'Anneau des Giges, with illustration. A Venise, Penetrante Penetranti, 1691.
Septembre. L'Avortement, with illustration. Gerpines, chez Guillaume Desloge sur le Quai des Morfondus au Pistolet qui prend un Rat, 1691.
Octobre. Le Jean de Retour, with illustration. A Loo, chez Guillaume Pie de Nez, rue Perdue au Bien Revenu, 1691.
Novembre. Le Prothée, with illustration. Chez Pedre l'Endormy, 1691."

Eustache le Noble, Baron of St. George and of Tenelière, the author of this work, was born at Troyes in 1643, of a good and ancient family. His natural abilities and attainments, combined with political influence, readily obtained for him, at an early age, the post of Procureur-Général to the Parliament at Metz. But a dissolute life soon brought on its consequent evils—duties neglected and discreditable debts—and he was compelled to sell his appointment. The proceeds were insufficient, and he had recourse to forgery to satisfy his creditors. To be successful in such a case, more than ability is required. Le Noble was suspected, arrested, confined in the Châtelet, and condemned to nine years' imprisonment. Upon his appeal, he was removed to the Conciergerie, a place destined to become another scene in his life of uniform villainy. Gabrielle Perreau, known under the name of "La Belle Epicière," was confined here at the instigation of her husband, who indulged in the hope of thus reforming her disorderly conduct. But a prison is hardly a school of reformation, and La Belle Epicière and Le Noble were not characters to receive, even in monastic seclusion, any such impression. He won her affections, or the mastery over her passions: the husband, frantic with jealous rage, obtained for himself the satisfaction of immuring her in a convent of his own selection. From this she escaped, and joined Le Noble, who had similarly evaded the vigilance of his keepers. By living in the vilest and least frequented quarters of Paris, by disguises, false names, and constant changes of residence, they succeeded in baffling the pursuit of the police for three years, when Le Noble was accidentally discovered; the judgment of the Châtelet was confirmed, and he was reconducted to prison. It was then that his great resources were displayed. He retained his gaiety, and assured his friends he still enjoyed "une parfaite tranquillité d'esprit, inséparable de l'innocence!" A man of this kind, with a venal and capacious intellect, and a heart utterly unconscious of the slightest moral feeling, could not with advantage be suffered to remain unemployed. There was work to be done for James II., and the hireling was worthy of his hire. It was simply to lie and libel with ability, with caution, with the appearance of loyalty, and an ardent zeal for religion. Le Noble was equal to the task. He had written histories burnt by the hangman; Bayle had praised him for his skill in judicial astrology; he had composed treatises on money, and on Catholic doctrine; compiled historical romances, and translated the Psalms of David! In poetry he had attempted to rival La Fontaine; written the Eulogy of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and translated Persius,—substituting French customs for the Roman, and praising, or censuring, his contemporaries as though he were the Roman poet and not the Paris scribe! An ability so various was at least well paid. He received from the booksellers, and others by whom he was retained, a hundred pistoles a month; Peignot states, in all, about one hundred thousand crowns. There cannot be the least doubt this was but a portion of his earnings, or that the work I have described was not written for the Jacobite interest of James II. But no success in such characters is ever accompanied with prudence. Although the penalty of banishment from France was suspended, that his venal abilities might assist the designs of others, he was always living between luxury and the direst want. As he advanced in years, he was less useful, and was consequently driven from doors where he had formerly been welcomed. D'Argenson allowed him a louis-d'or for charity per week; but all other resources failed, until, in his sixty-eighth year, after a long period of misery, and of the uttermost mental and bodily degradation, he died on the 31st January, 1711, and was buried at the communal expense. It cannot be denied that Le Noble united many pleasing qualities as a writer. He had read much, could condense ably, and united to a strong memory a rare facility in employing its resources. He touched with light ridicule the weaker points of a case, and could wield both reason, sarcasm and polished inuenda in misstating facts, or damaging the argument of his adversaries. Such a man was well adapted to the French advisers of James. Public attention was to be engaged and won by falsehoods in the disguise of truth; bad designs were to be cloaked under moral purposes; and the revolution was to be discredited in the name of loyalty and religion. All this Le Noble did with infinite ability, and infinite obliquity. I can give but a slight sketch of his work. The Couronnement de Guillemot is a violent tirade against William. Marforio and Pasquin converse about his coronation, and the king is described as one "qui vouloit estre le bourreau du Prince de Galles." Churchill is "l'infame comblé de tant de bienfaitz par son bon maître, et qui l'a vendu, trahi et livré." In the decorations of the abbey, consisting of tapestry, &c., there is stated to be a representation of Pilate placing Jesus Christ and Barabbas before the people, and the choice of Barabbas by the latter; James occupying, in Le Noble's opinion, the place of the former. The people he describes as preferring even "ce voleur public, ce scélérat, ce séditieux de Barabbas, ce meurtrier qui a poignardé les Withs (Witts), à cet aimable maistre qui n'a jamais eu pour eux que de la douceur et de la bonté." The Sermon du grand Docteur Burnet is very clever, light, pungent, and satirical, especially against the king: the text being "Dominus regnavit, exultet terræ, lætentur insulæ." In the L'Ombre de Monmouth, William is described as wishing to be "le singe du glorieux Cromwell;" Portland, Shrewsbury, Burnet, and Dykvelt, are "ses quatre Evangélistes;" and the king is made to utter violent complaints against the Parliament, which he calls "une étrange beste," and adds: "Si je n'avois pas cassé celui que j'ai rompu pour en convoquer un autre, toutes mes affaires s'en alloient sens dessus dessous." In the Estrennes d'Esope, which was burnt by order of the States-General, there is the following description of England:

"L'Angleterre sous son Roi légitime et ne lui donnant qu'avec epargne comme elle faisoit le nécessaire pour son entretien, estoit justement comme ces sages et vertueuses femmes qui, fidèles à leurs époux, gouvernen avec un prudent économie leur ménage reglé, et cette mesme Angleterre, qui s'épuise pour satisfaire à l'avidité d'un tyran, est aujourd'hui comme une de ces infames debauchées qui, emportée de fureur pour une adultère qui l'enlève à son mari, lui fait une profusion criminelle de son bien."

In illustrations such as these, Le Noble was most happy, as with the vice he was most familiar. The length of this paper precludes my sending to you a pasquinade, in the epitaph written for Innocent XI., which, considering its purport, is of value as indicating the opinions of the Jacobites against the policy of the Pope. This I will do in another paper.

S. H.

CALAMITIES OF AUTHORS.

The miseries and disappointments of the literary life are proverbial:

"Toil, envy, want, the patron and the gaol."

To these "calamities of authors," I wish to add a new, and as yet unrecorded trial, incidental to this age of cheap postage and extravagant puffs. I am myself a small author, and have written on theology and antiquarianism; and my publisher's shelves know the weight of my labours. Conceive then my delight, a few weeks ago, at receiving a "confidential" letter from B. D., requesting the immediate transmission of my theological tomes to a country address; on the representation that, although B. D. well knew that my writings had been favourably received, he judged that "striking recommendations at this moment in influential journals to which he had reviewing access during the parliamentary recess, would prove of essential service." I wrote to my publisher, who coolly answered that it was "no go;" and I even stood the tempting shock of a second application from B. D., remonstratively hinting that, but for the non-arrival of the volumes, a notice would have appeared that very week in an "important quarter." The hopeful mind has difficulty in settling down into a belief that men deceive.

Not a month had elapsed before I received another letter, sealed with such a signet as in size would rival the jewel sometimes seen pendent from the waistcoat pocket of a Jew broker on Saturday, and engraven with evidence of illustrious lineage, if quarterings be only half true. I did not break this magnificent seal, but I tore open the envelope, and I found that my antiquarian researches had been most flatteringly estimated by a gentleman with a double surname, which happened to be familiar to me. The communication was, of course, "private;" and it expressed the writer's knowledge, from hearsay, of the "value, merit, and ability" of my book, and the satisfaction it would afford my correspondent, to give it a "handsome an elaborate review in both the widely circulating and reviewing publications with which he had the honour of being connected." A copy of my work was to be sent to his own address, or to that of his bookseller: or, even a third course was obligingly opened to me—"he would send his man-servant to my publisher for the volume!" I sent the book, and the same day communicated with the head of the family who legally bore this very handsome name used by my correspondent, and he told me that he had just received 5l. worth of books from a great house in "the Row," which were obviously designed to be the response to an application from the gentleman with a large seal, who was "an impostor." This may be so; but I have received an acknowledgement for the receipt of my little work, so kind and courtly in its tone, that I do not even yet quite despair of one day reading the promised "handsome and elaborate review."

A SMALL AUTHOR.

FOLK LORE.

Valentine's Day—Superstition in Devonshire.

—The peasants and others believe that if they go to the porch of a church, waiting there till half-past twelve o'clock on the eve of St. Valentine's day, with some hempseed in his or her hand, and at the time above-named then proceed homewards, scattering the seed on either side, repeating these lines—

"Hempseed I sow, hempseed I mow,

She (or he) that will my true love be,

Come rake this hempseed after me;"—

his or her true love will be seen behind, raking up the seed just sown, in a winding-sheet. Do any of your readers know the origin of this superstitious custom?

J. S. A.

Old Broad Street.

Fairies.

—An Irish servant of mine, a native of Galway, gave me the following relations:—Her father was a blacksmith and for his many acts of benevolence to benighted travellers became a great favourite with the fairies, who paid him many visits. It was customary for the fairies to visit his forge at night, after the family had retired to rest, and here go to work in such right good earnest, as to complete, on all occasions, the work which had been left overnight unfinished. The family were on these occasions awoke from their slumber by the vigorous puffing of bellows, and hammering on anvil, consequent upon these illustrious habits of the fairies, and it was an invariable rule for the fairies to replace all the tools they had used during the night; and, moreover, if the smithy had been left in confusion the previous evening, the "good people" always arranged it, swept the floor, and restored everything to order before the morning. I never could glean from her any detailed instances of the labour accomplished in this way, or indeed anything which might aid in the formation of an estimate of the relative skill of the fairies in manual labour; and I must confess that on these subjects I never question too closely,—the reader will know why.

On one occasion, one of the family happening to be unwell, the father went back to the smithy at midnight for some medicine which had been left there on the shelf, and put the "good people" to flight, just as they had begun their industrial orgies. To disturb the fairies is at any time a perilous thing; and so it proved to him: for a fat pig died the following day, little Tike had the measles, too, after, and no end of misfortunes followed. In addition to this occult revenge, the inmates of the house were kept awake for several nights by a noise similar to that which would be produced by peas being pelted at the windows. The statement was made with an earnestness of manner which betrayed a faith without scruples.

SHIRLEY HIBBERD.

Minor Notes.

Lines in Whispering Gallery at Gloucester Cathedral.

—The following verse is inscribed in the Whispering Gallery of Gloucester Cathedral; to preserve it, and as a "Note" to the fourth stanza of the "Ditty" I inserted in Vol iv., p. 311., I copied it for "N. & Q."

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Notes and Queries, Vol. V, Number 116, January 17, 1852