Notes and Queries, Number 184, May 7, 1853

In the first place, I differ from Mr. Collier entirely as to the famous passage from Henry VIII., p. 324., which he brings so prominently forward as to give it special notice in his Introduction. To me, I confess, the phrase—

"To steal from spiritual labour a brief span,"

appears quite tame and poor in comparison with

"To steal from spiritual leisure a brief span,"

and, moreover, destroys all the poetry of the thought. Nor can I see the slightest difficulty in the sense of the original passage. The king means to say that Wolsey cannot steal from the little leisure afforded him by his spiritual labours "a brief span, to keep his earthly audit:" and surely this is much more poetical than the substituted passage.

In p. 323., from the same play, we have—

"to the sharp'st kind of justice,"

transformed to "sharp'st knife of justice:" but I cannot assent to this change. The obvious meaning of the poet is, that the contempt of the world, "shutting all doors" against the accused, is a sharper kind of justice than any which the law could inflict: but, to be given up to "the sharp'st knife of justice" could only mean, being consigned to the public executioner,—which was just what Katherine was deprecating.

In p. 325. the lines relating to Wolsey's foundations at Ipswich and Oxford are printed thus in the folio—

"one of which fell with him,Unwilling to outlive the good that did it:"

that is, unwilling to outlive the virtues which prompted it,—a passage teeming with poetical feeling: but the commentator has ruthlessly altered it to—

"Unwilling to outlive the good man did it;"

which, I submit, not only destroys all the poetry, but is decidedly not English!

The next passage I would notice is from Much Ado about Nothing, p. 76. How, I would ask, can the phrase—

"And sorrow wag,"

be a misprint for "call sorrow joy?" No compositor, or scribe either, could possibly be misled by any sound from the "reader" into such a mistake as that! The words "and sorrow wag," I admit, are not sense; but the substitution of "call sorrow joy" strikes me as bald and common-place in the extreme, and there is no pretence for its having any authority. If, then, we are to have a mere fanciful emendation, why not "bid sorrow wag?" This would be doing far less violence to the printed text, for it would only require the alteration of two letters in the word "and;" while it would preserve the Shakspearian character of the passage. "Wag" is a favourite expression in the comedies of the Bard, and occurs repeatedly in his works. The passage would then run thus—

"If such a one will smile and stroke his beard,Bid sorrow wag—cry hem! when he should groan."

In p. 73. we find—

"Soul-tainted flesh," &c.

substituted for "foul tainted flesh;" and we are told that the critics have been all wrong, who supposed that Shakspeare intended any "metaphor from the kitchen!" If so, what meaning can be attached to the line—

"And salt too little which may season give?"

If that is not a metaphor from the kitchen, I know not what could be? I still believe that "foul tainted flesh" is the correct reading. The expression "soul-tainted flesh" is not intelligible. It should rather be "soul-tainting flesh." The soul may be tainted by the flesh: but how the flesh can be soul-tainted, I cannot understand.

Turning further back, to p. 69., we find it asserted, quite dogmatically, that the word "truths" of the folios ought to be "proofs;" but no reason whatever is offered for the change. I cannot help thinking that "seeming truths" is much the most poetical expression, while in "seeming proofs" there is something like redundancy,—to say nothing of the phrase being infinitely more common-place!

In the play of the Tempest, p. 4., the beautiful passage—

"he being thus lordedNot only with what my revenue yielded," &c.,

is degraded into "he being thus loaded," &c. Can there be a moment's doubt that "lorded" was the word used by Shakspeare? It is completely in his style, which was on all occasions to coin verbs out of substantives, if he could. "He being thus lorded," i. e. ennobled "with what my revenue yielded," is surely a far superior expression to "being thus loaded,"—as if the poet were speaking of a costermonger's donkey!

Again, in p. 10.:

"Wherefore this ghastly looking?"

or, this ghastly appearance? Who will venture to say, that the substitution of "thus ghastly looking" is not decidedly a change for the worse?

In the Merchant of Venice, p. 118.:

"and leave itself unfurnished,"

is altered to "leave itself unfinished!" I confess I cannot see the slightest warrant for this change. The words—

"having made one,Methinks IT should have power to steal both his,"

distinctly show that the author was alluding to the eye only, and not to the portrait and how could the eye (already made) describe itself as unfinished? Surely the sense is unfurnished, that is, unfurnished with its companion, or probably with the other accessories required to complete the portrait.

P. 119. has the line—

"And swearing 'til my very roof was dry,"

transmogrified into—

"And swearing 'til my very tongue was dry."

Now, why "this lame and impotent conclusion?" What can be a more common expression than the "roof of the mouth?" and it is just the part which is most affected by a sensation of dryness and pricking, after any excitement in speaking, whereas the tongue is not the member that suffers!

In As You Like It, p. 127., in the line—

"Mistress dispatch you with your safest haste,"

the last two words are made "fastest haste," which, to say the least, are tautology, and are like talking, of the "highest height", or the the "deepest depth!" Surely, the original form of words, "Dispatch you with your safest haste;" that is, with as much haste as is consistent with your personal safety—is much more dignified and polished address from the duke to a lady, and at the same time more poetical!

In p. 129.,

"The constant service of the antique world,"

is converted into

"The constant favour of the antique world:"

in which line I cannot discover any sense. If I might hazard a guess, I should suggest that the error is in the second word, "service," and that it ought to be "servants:"

"When servants sweat for duty, not for meed."

In the Taming of the Shrew, p. 143., the substitution of "Warwickshire ale" for "sheer ale" strikes me as very far-fetched, and wholly unnecessary. There is no defect of sense in the term "sheer ale." Sly means to say, he was "fourteen pence on the score for ale alone:" just as one speaks of "sheer nonsense," i. e. nothing but nonsense, "sheer buffoonery," "sheer malice," &c. Why should Sly talk of being in debt for Warwickshire ale at Wincot? If he kind been drinking ale from Staffordshire, or Derbyshire, or Kent, he might possibly have named the county it came from; but to talk of Warwickshire ale within a few miles of Stratford-on-Avon seems absurd. It is as if a man came from Barclay and Perkins's, and talked of having been drinking "London porter."

In p. 144., I submit, with great deference, that turning "Aristotle's checks" into "Aristotle's ethics" is the very reverse of an improvement. What can be more intelligible than the line—

"And so devote to Aristotle's checks;"

that is, to the checks which Aristotle's rules impose upon profligacy? The idea is more poetical, and the line runs more smoothly; while the altered line is prosaic in comparison, and the metre is not correct.

My dwindling space warns me that I must very soon pause; but these examples can be extended ad infinitum, should another opportunity be afforded me.

The instances of alterations simply unnecessary are too numerous to be recorded here. I have already a list of forty odd, selected from only eight plays.

Cecil Harbottle.

Minor Notes

Local Rhymes, Norfolk.—

"Halvergate hares, Reedham rats,Southwood swine, and Cantley cats;Acle asses, Moulton mules,Beighton bears, and Freethorpe fools."Z. E. R.

"Hobson's Choice."—I, the other day, in a paper of 1737, came upon the inclosed, if of interest sufficient for insertion in "N. & Q.:"

"Upon the mention of Mr. Freeman being appointed one of the four horse carriers to the university of Cambridge, we had the following paragraph:—'This was the office that old Hobson enjoyed, in which he acquired so large a fortune as enabled him to leave the town that ever-memorable legacy the conduit, that stands on the Market Hill, with an estate to keep it perpetually in repair. The same person gave rise to the well-known adage, 'Hobson's choice—this or none;' founded upon his management in business. He used to keep, it seems, hackney horses, that he let out to young gentlemen of the university, with whose characters being well acquainted, he suited his beast to its rider, who upon a dislike was sure to receive that answer from him, 'This or none.'"

J. W. G. G.

Khond Fable.—The following is a free version of a fable current among the Khonds of Oriosa, of whom a very interesting account is given by Captain Macpherson in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1852:

"A mosquito was seated on the horn of a bull, and fearing that his weight might be oppressive to the quadruped, he politely accosted him, begging that, if he felt any inconvenience, he would mention it, and professing himself ready, in that case, to remove to some other position. The bull replied, 'O mosquito, so far are you from oppressing me with your weight, that I was not even aware of your existence.'"

The moral of this is common enough, but is the fable found elsewhere in a similar form?

J. C. R.

Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart.—As those who have read the deeply interesting memoirs of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton are aware, he was placed at a school in Donnybrook in the year 1802, and shortly after "entered" the University of Dublin. His success in that seat of learning, where able competitors were many in number, was brilliant; for "on the 14th of April in the same year [1807], he received his thirteenth premium, and also the highest honour of the university,—the gold medal. With these distinctions, and the four silver medals from the Historical Society, he prepared to return to England." In fact, so high did his character stand, that a proposal was made to him by the electors (which, however, he deemed it prudent to decline) to come forward as a candidate for the representation of the university in the imperial parliament, and good grounds were given him to expect a triumphant return.

Now, this man was doubtless an honour to the "silent(?) sister" in Ireland; and, as an Irishman, I feel some little degree of pride in our having educated him so well for his subsequent career. With surprise, then, do I find, on referring to the Dublin University Calendar for the present year, the name of a "Mr. John Powell Buxton" in the list of gold medallists. The editor appears to be sadly ignorant of the proper person, and cannot lay the blunder at the printer's door, having very unaccountably repeated it from year to year. I have taken the trouble of examining many volumes of the Calendar.

Abhba

Anagrams.—I beg to forward the following:

"Antonius B. Magliabechius"

(He was the librarian at Florence, about the end of the sixteenth century). This name makes—

"Is unus Bibliotheca magna."

In the poems of some Jesuit father (Bacchusius, I think) the following rather offensive one is mentioned, on the celebrated father Costerus:

"Petrus Costerus Jesuita!"

i. e.

"Vere tu es asinus: ita!"Philobiblion.

Queries

SEAL OF WILLIAM D'ALBINI

A few years since there was published a History of the Parish of Attleburgh, in Norfolk, by the then rector, Dr. Barrett. It is a very handsome volume in quarto, and reflects great credit upon the learning and taste of the reverend editor.

What I wish more particularly to allude to is an engraving of the seal of William de Albini, who was called "William with the Strong Hand;" of whom Dugdale records, that having distinguished himself at a tournament appointed by a queen of France, then a widow, she became so enamoured of him that she offered him marriage. But he, having plighted his troth to Adeliza, widow to King Henry I. of England, refused her. In revenge for this refusal, the queen of France inveigled him into a den in the garden, where was a fierce lion. Being in this danger, he rolled his mantle about his arm, and putting his hand into the mouth of the beast, pulled out his tongue by the root; followed the queen to her palace, and gave it to one of her maids to present to her. Returning to England with the fame of this glorious exploit, he was forthwith advanced to the earldom of Arundel, and for his arms the lion given him.

Amongst the many illustrations in Dr. Barrett's book is the seal of this William de Albini, representing a knight on horseback, in the usual style of such knightly seals; but in front of the knight is a young lion, and under the feet of the horse some sort of animal of the lizard kind.

In elucidation of this seal, there is a long and elaborate note, with remarks by Mr. Hawkins of the British Museum, with a view of showing that the device on this seal alludes to the story of his combat with the lion.

The attempt to establish this point appears to me amusing; for there seems nothing on the face of the seal different from the usual seals of royal and knightly rank in ancient times.

It strikes me, that the true interpretation of this device, and the introduction of the lion and the lizard-like animal under the horse's feet, may be found in the 13th verse of Psalm xci.:

"Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet."

I should like to learn from some of your correspondents, whether this Psalm, or this portion of it, was used in the solemnities attendant on the installation of a knight, which would tend much to confirm my conjecture.

Senex.

FORMS OF JUDICIAL OATH

The forms of an oath are different among different denominations of Christians. The Roman Catholics of the Continent swear by raising the hand; the Scotch Presbyterians follow the same practice. The Protestants of the Church of England are sworn on the Gospels; so also are the Irish Roman Catholics. The Quakers reject every form of oath, and confine themselves to a simple affirmation. Upon these points I beg leave to submit the following Queries.

1. What form of judicial oath was first sanctioned by the professors of Christianity as a body? It is stated in Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, that "oaths were taken on the Gospels so early as A.D. 528." How were they taken before then?

2. Did the practice of swearing on the Gospels prevail in England before the Reformation? If not, at what period was it introduced?

3. When was that form of oath first adopted by the Irish; and was its adoption a voluntary proceeding on their part, or enforced by legislative enactment?

4. Was the practice of raising the hand in use in Scotland before the Reformation?

5. At what period was the latter form adopted by the Continental Christians, in lieu of the more solemn oath on the Gospels?

6. Are there now, or have there been at any former period, any forms of judicial oath in use among Christians, other than the forms above mentioned?

Henry H. Breen.

St. Lucia.

Minor Queries

Passage in Boerhaave.—Will any of our readers kindly oblige me by the exact word of a passage in Boerhaave, of which I cite the following from memory?—

"The only malady inherent in the human frame, is the decay of old age."

A Foreign Surgeon.

7. Charlotte Street, Bedford Square.

Story of Ezzelin.—Where is the story to be found from which Fuseli derived the subject for his remarkable picture of Ezzelin (Braccioferro) musing over the body of Meduna? It was engraved by J. R. Smith, and published by Jas. Birchel, 473. Strand, May, 1781. What has become of the original picture?

J. Sansom.

The Duke.—Can any of your readers tell me whether Sir Arthur Wellesley's speech in the House of Commons upon Mr. Paull's charge against his brother, was the first he made in Parliament?

Robert J. Allen.

Oxford.

General Sir Dennis Pack.—This gallant officer, who, in command of the light division of the Duke's army, distinguished himself in nearly every battle of the Peninsula, and finally at Waterloo, was descended from a younger son of Simon, son of Sir Christopher Pack, Alderman and Lord Mayor of London. The family was originally from Leicestershire. Sir Christopher, having advanced money for the reduction of the Irish rebels of 1641, received a grant of land in the county of Westmeath; and his younger son, Simon, settled in Ireland about that period. From this Simon descended Thomas Pack, Esq., of Ballinakill in the Queen's County, grandfather of Sir Dennis Pack.

As I have in the press a History of the Cathedral of St. Canice, Kilkenny, which latter contains a monument and a fine bust of Sir Dennis Pack by Chantrey, and of which his father the Rev. Thomas Pack, D.D., was dean, any information which will enable me to complete the pedigree between Simon Pack and the above-named Thomas will be thankfully received.

James Graves.

Kilkenny.

Haveringemere.—Gervase of Tilbury, in the 4th book of his Otia Imperialia, sect. 88., mentions a certain pond or mere lying near the confines of Wales, and named Haveringemere, of which the peculiarity is, that if a person passing over it in a boat utters, in a loud voice, certain opprobrious words, a commotion arises in the waters and sinks the boat. The words, as printed in the edition of Leibnitz (Leibnitii Scriptores Brunsvicenses, tom. i. p. 990.), are "Prout haveringemere aut allethophe cunthefere;" which he explains to mean, "Phrut tibi, mare, et omnibus qui te transfretant." He adds with great simplicity: "Et satis mirandum, quod aquæ hujus modi concipiunt indignationes." It is plain that we ought to read, "Phrut Haveringemere, and alle thai that on thee fere" (i. e. ferry). Phrut or prut is a word of contempt, of which Mr. Halliwell gives an instance, s. v. Prut, from an Harleian MS.: "And seyth prut for thy cursing prest." Is anything known of this mere at the present day, and is there any remnant of this old superstition? Gervase wrote his book anno 1211.

C. W. G.

Old Pictures of the Spanish Armada.—At Beddington Hall, famous for its fine banqueting-hall, in which Queen Elizabeth feasted, I have heard that there used to be one or more pictures of the Spanish Armada, presented by Elizabeth herself to the family resident there. Can any reader of "N. & Q." inform me whether these pictures (if more than one) are still in existence: if so, where they are, and whether they are to be seen? A large gilt lock, also presented by Queen Elizabeth, still remains on one of the doors of the said banqueting-hall.

J. S. A.

Old Broad Street.

Bell Inscription.—The following inscription occurs on two bells formerly belonging to St. Sepulchre's Church, Cambridge. I should be glad of an explanation:

"[DE] [PVRI] SANTI EDMONDVS STEFANVS TOMMI ME FECIT [WL] 1576."C. W. G.

Loselerius Villerius, &c.—I wish to know who was Loselerius Villerius, who edited an edition of the Greek Testament, with the Vulgate and Beza's Latin version (I think) in parallel columns. This edition seems to have been successful, as I have a copy of the third edition. The title-page of my copy is missing, but the dedication to Henry Earl of Huntingdon is dated "London, vi cal. Nov. 1573." Any information about Loselerius would be acceptable. I should also be glad to know whether the edition is considered at all valuable.

Whilst upon this subject, let me ask whether there is any list of editions of the Bible that can be looked upon as in any way complete? I have had occasion to refer to the Duke of Sussex's catalogue, but have there been unable to find all that I required. There is, for instance, in a friend's possession, a Bible which his family traditions maintain to be of great rarity. I find it catalogued nowhere, and should be glad to know if it is really so great a curiosity. It is a fine folio, profusely illustrated. I subjoin a copy of the title-page:

"The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, &c., with most profitable Annotations on all the hard Places, and other Things of great Importance; which Notes have never before been set forth with this new Translation, but are now placed in due order, with great Care and Industry. A Amsterdam, printed for Stephen Swart, at the Crowned Bible, on the West Side of the Exchange. 1679."

S. A. S.

Bridgewater.

The Vinegar Plant.—Is it indigenous or imported? Some botanists and savans who have examined the subject take the former view. I should be inclined to take the latter, for the following among other reasons:—First, because it is known that many specimens of it have been so introduced from various quarters. Secondly, because in all the attempts to produce it that I have heard of, including some experiments made by myself, in no instance has a specimen been procured by means of any of the moulds that are of spontaneous growth in this country, which has entirely resembled the vinegar plant, or which has been so efficient in the production of vinegar. Thirdly, because in tropical and warm climates abnormal variations of vegetable productions are much more likely to originate, and to become naturalised, than in this country. If imported, perhaps some of your correspondents could say where it was originally brought from.

Fritz.

Westminster Parishes.—What are the names of the respective parishes in the city of Westminster in 1630; how far back do their records extend; and what charge would be made for a search in them? I wish to trace a family whose ancestor was born in that city, but in what parish I am ignorant. Were any churches in Westminster, as distinguished from London, destroyed in the Great Fire?

Y. S. M

Dublin.

Harley Family.—Can any reader of your invaluable miscellany give an account of Thomas Harley, citizen of London, who died in the year 1670, ætat. fifty-six? The Thomas Harley referred to possessed good estate in the county of Leicester, particularly at Osgathorpe, Walton-on-Wolds, Snibston, and Heather. He founded a hospital at Osgathorpe, and endowed the same at 60l. for the maintenance and support of six clergymen's widows. Moreover he also erected a free-school, which he endowed with 60l. a year. He married Mary, widow of William Kemp, citizen of London. His daughter, and sole heiress, married into the family of Bainbrigge of Lockington Hall, county of Leicester; which alliance carried with it the estate of Thomas Harley into that family.

The arms of Thomas Harley are: Crest, a lion's head rampant; shield, Or, bend cotized sable.

Is the foregoing family a branch of that of Herefordshire, now ennobled; or does it come down from one of the name anterior to the time when such earldom was made patent, viz. from Sir Richard Harley, 28 Edward I.: whose armorial bearings, according to one annalist, is mentioned as Or, bend cotized sable?

Brian de Harley, son of Sir Robert Harley, in the reign of Henry IV., changed his crest; which was a buck's head proper, to a lion rampant, gules, issuing out of a tower, triple towered proper.

Aldrorandus.

Leicester.

Lord Cliff.—In 1645, James Howell published his Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ; amongst the letters was one on Wines, addressed to the Right Hon. Lord Cliff. Who was he? The letter is dated Oct. 7, 1634.