Notes and Queries, Number 181, April 16, 1853
TekstPETER STERRY AND JEREMIAH WHITE
(Vol. iii., p. 38.)
Your correspondent's inquiry with respect to the missing MSS. of Peter Sterry, which were intended to form a second volume of his posthumous works, published without printer's name in 1710, 4to., and of which MSS. a list is given in vol. i., does not seem to have led to any result. As I feel equal interest with himself in every production of Sterry, I am tempted again to repeat the Query, in the hope of some discovery being made of these valuable remains. I have no doubt the editor of the "Appearance of God to Man," and the other discourses printed in the first volume, was R. Roach, who edited Jeremiah White's Persuasion to Moderation, Lond., 1708, 8vo.; and afterwards published The Great Crisis, and The Imperial Standard of Messiah Triumphant, 1727, 8vo.; and probably Sterry's MSS. may be found if Roach's papers can be traced. It is curious that a similar loss of MSS. seems to have occurred with regard to several of the works of Jeremiah White, who, like Sterry, was a chaplain of Cromwell (how well that great man knew how to select them!), and, like Sterry, was of that admirable Cambridge theological school which Whichcot, John Smith, and Cudworth have made so renowned. Neither of these distinguished men have yet, that I am aware of, found their way into any biographical dictionary. White is slightly noticed by Calamy (vol. ii. p. 57.; vol. iv. p. 85.). Sterry, it appears, died on Nov. 19, 1672. White survived him many years, and died in the seventy-eighth year of his age, 1707. Of the latter, there is an engraved portrait; of the former, none that I know of; nor am I aware of the burial-place of either. The works which I have met with of Sterry are his seven sermons preached before Parliament, &c., and published in different years; his Rise, Race, and Royalty of the Kingdom of God in the Soul of Man, 1683, 4to.; his Discourse of the Freedom of the Will (a title which does not by any means convey the character of the book), Lond., 1675, fol.; and the 4to. before mentioned, being vol. i. of his Remains, published in 1710. Of White I only knew a Funeral Sermon on Mr. Francis Fuller; his Persuasion to Moderation, above noticed, which is an enlargement of part of his preface to Sterry's Rise, &c.; and his Treatise on the Restoration of all Things, 1712, 8vo., which has recently been republished by Dr. Thom. To his Persuasion is appended an advertisement:
"There being a design of publishing the rest of Mr. White's works, any that have either Letters or other Manuscripts of his by them are desired to communicate them to Mr. John Tarrey, distiller, at the Golden Fleece, near Shadwick Dock."
This design, with the exception of the publication of The Restoration, seems to have proved abortive. White entertained many opinions in common with Sterry, which he advocates with great power. He does not however, like his fellow chaplain, soar into the pure empyrean of theology with unfailing pinions. Sterry has frequently sentences which Milton might not have been ashamed to own. His Discourse of the Freedom of the Will is a noble performance, and the preface will well bear a comparison with Cudworth's famous sermon on the same subject.
Jas. Crossley.
PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES AND QUERIES
Colouring Collodion Portraits.—I shall be obliged if any brother photographer will kindly inform me, through the medium of "N. & Q.," the best method of colouring collodion portraits and views in a style similar to the hyalotypes shown at the Great Exhibition.
We country photographers are much indebted to Dr. Diamond for the valuable information we have obtained through his excellent papers in "N. & Q.," and perceiving he is shortly about to give us the benefit of his experience in a compact form, under the modest title of Photographic Notes, I suggest that, if one of his Notes should contain the best method of colouring collodion proofs, so as to render them applicable for dissolving views, &c., he will be conferring a benefit on many of your subscribers; and, as one of your oldest, allow me to subscribe myself
Photo.
On some Points in the Collodion Process.—In your impression of this day's date (Vol. vii., p. 363.), the Rev. J. L. Sisson desires the opinion of other photographers relative to lifting the plate with the film of collodion up and down several times in the bath of nit. silv. solution; and as my experience on this point is diametrically opposed to his own, I venture to state it with the view of eliciting a discussion.
The evenness of the film is not at all dependent upon this practice; but its sensibility to light appears to be considerably increased.
The plate, after being plunged in, should be allowed to repose quietly from twenty to thirty minutes, and then rapidly slid in and out several times, until the liquid flows off in one continuous and even sheet of liquid; and this also has a beneficial effect in washing off any little particles of collodion, dust, oxide, or any foreign matter which, if adherent, would form centres of chemical action, and cause spottiness in the negative.
I find that the plate is more sensitive also, if not exposed before all the exciting fluid that can be drained off is got rid of; that is, while still quite moist, but without any flowing liquid.
As to redipping the plate before development, it is, I believe, in general useless; but when the plate has got very dry it may be dipped again, but should be then well drained before the developing solution is applied.
Mr. F. Maxwell Lyte (p. 364.) quotes the price of the purest iodide of potassium at 1s. 3d. per oz. I should be glad to know where it can be obtained, as I find the price constantly varies, and upon the last occasion I paid 4s. per oz., and I think never less than 1s. 8d.
Mr. L. Merritt will probably succeed in applying the cement for a glass bath thus:—Place the pieces of glass upon wood of any kind in an oven with the door open until he can only just handle them; then, with a roll of the cement, melting the end in the flame of a spirit-lamp, apply it as if for sealing a letter. This should be done as quickly as possible. The glasses may then be passed over the flame of the lamp (in contact with it), so as to raise the temperature, until the cement is quite soft and nearly boiling (this can be done without heating the parts near the fingers); and while hot the two separate pieces should be applied by putting one down on a piece of wood covered with flannel, and pressing the other with any wooden instrument: metal in contact would cause an instantaneous fracture.
Mr. Merritt's difficulty with the developing solutions depends most probably in the case of the pyrogallic acid mixture not having enough acetic acid. The protonitrate of iron, if made according to Dr. Diamond's formula, does not require any acetic acid, and flows quite readily; but the protosulphate solution requires a bath, and the same solution may be used over and over again.
Geo. Shadbolt.
London, April 9, 1853.
Economical Iodizing Process.—Mr. Maxwell Lyte is probably as good a judge as myself, as to where any weak point or difficulty is found in iodizing paper with the carbonate of potass: if any chemical is likely to be the cause of unusual activity, it is the carbonic acid, and not the cyanide of potash. I still continue to use that formula, and have not iodized paper with any other: though I have made some variations which may perhaps be of use. I found that the nitrate of potash is almost the same in its effects as the carbonate. I would as soon use the one as the other; but the state I conceive to be the most effective, is the diluted liquor potassæ: that would be with iodine about the same state as the iodide of potash, but hitherto I have not tried it, though mean to do so.
I am not quite certain as to whether, theoretically, this position is right; but I find in iodide of potash, and in the above formula, that the iodine is absorbed in greater quantities by the silver, than the alkaline potash by the nitric acid. Thus, by using a solution for some time, it will at last contain but very little iodine at all, and not enough for the purpose of the photographer; hence it requires renewing. And I have lately observed that paper is much more effective, in every way, if it is floated on free iodine twice before it is used in the camera, viz. once when it is made, and again when it is dry: the last time containing a little bromine water and glacial acetic acid. It appears to me that the paper will absorb its proper dose of iodine better when dry, and the glacial acetic acid will set free any small amount of alkaline potash there may be on the surface; so that it will not embrown on applying gallic acid. By using the ammonio-nitrate of silver in iodizing, and proceeding as above, I find it all I can wish as far as regards the power of my camera. With this paper I can use an aperture of half an inch diameter, and take anything in the shade and open air in five or six minutes, in the sun in less time. The yellow colour also comes off better in the hypo. sulph.
I think Mr. Maxwell Lyte has made a mistake as to the price he quotes: about here I cannot get any iodide of potash under 2s. per ounce, and the five grains to the ounce added to the common dose of nitrate of silver is hardly worth speaking of; it would amount, in fact, to about fifteen grains in a quire of Whatman's paper,—no great hardship, because many use much higher doses of silver for iodizing; forty grains to the ounce is not uncommonly used, but I believe twenty-five grains quite enough.
I presume, in Sir Wm. Newton's mode of treating positives, the acid of the alum decomposes the alkali of the hypo. sulph. And it would be, I suppose, better for the picture, if its state were entirely neutral when put away or framed; but if alum is added, acid must remain, since Sir Wm. says it combines with the size. What I should imagine is, that the idea is good; but experience can only decide if the picture is better put away in an acid condition. I should think there are more available acids for the purpose, for alum has an injurious effect upon colour; and a positive is nothing but colour, the organic matter of the paper stained as it were by the silver: for, after all its washings and application of re-agents, no silver can possibly remain in the paper. The safest state therefore of putting away ought to be ascertained and decided upon; as it is no use doing them if they fade, or even lose their tones.
Weld Taylor.
N.B.—The iodized ammonio-nitrate paper will not bear exposure to the sun; it will keep any length of time, but should be kept in a paper, and away from any considerable degree of light.
Replies to Minor Queries
Bishop Juxon's Account of Vendible Books in England (Vol. vi., pp. 515. 592.).—The following note in Wilson's History of the Merchant Taylors' School, p. 783., solves the Query respecting the authorship of this bibliographical work.
"The Catalogue of Books in England alphabetically digested, printed at London, 1658, 4to., is ascribed to Bishop Juxon in Osborne's Catalogue for 1755, p. 40. But, as Mr. Watts, the judicious librarian of Sion College, has observed to me, this is no authority, the Epistle Dedicatory bearing internal evidence against it. The author's name was William London, whence arose the mistake!"
J. Yeowell.
Hoxton.
Dutensiana (Vol. vi., p. 376.; Vol. vii., p. 26.).—The following statement, extracted from Quérard's France Littéraire, sub voce Dutens, will account for the discrepancies mentioned by your correspondents with reference to the works of Louis Dutens.
Dutens published three volumes of Memoirs, which he afterwards committed to the flames, out of consideration for certain living characters. He then published, in three volumes, his Mémoires d'un Voyageur qui se repose, the two first containing the author's life, and the third being the Dutensiana.
Your correspondent W. (Vol. vi., p. 376.) says that Dutens published at Geneva, in six volumes 4to., with prefaces, the entire works of Leibnitz. This statement is thus qualified by the Biographie Universelle:
"L. Dutens est l'Editeur de Leibnitii opera omnia, mais c'est à tort que quelques bibliographes lui attribuent les Institutions Leibnitiennes. Cet ouvrage est de l'Abbé Sigorgne."
The same correspondent inquires whether Dutens was not also the author of Correspondence inteceptée: and Sir W. C. Trevelyan (Vol. vii., p. 26.) says he had seen a presentation copy of it, although it is not included in the list of Dutens' Works given by Lowndes.
This is explained by the fact that the work, originally published under the title of Correspondence interceptée, was afterwards embodied in the Mémoires d'un Voyageur. Lowndes seems to have had no knowledge of it as a separate publication.
Henry H. Breen.
St. Lucia.
Vicars-Apostolic (Vol. vii., pp. 309, 310.).—Allow me to correct an error or two in my list of the vicars-apostolic, which appeared in your 178th Number, p 309. The three archpriests were appointed to their office, not consecrated.
P. 309.—Northern District. Bishop Witham was consecrated 1703, not 1716. He was translated from the Midland to the Northern District in 1716.
P. 310.—In the list of the present Roman Catholic prelates in England and Wales, the bishops—from Archbishop Wiseman to Bishop Hendren inclusive—were translated in 1850, not consecrated.
J. R. W.
Bristol.
Tombstone in Churchyard (Vol. vii., p. 331.).—In Ecclesfield churchyard is the following inscription, cut in bold capitals, and as legible as when the slab was first laid down:
"Here lieth the bodie of Richard Lord, late Vicar of Ecclesfield, 1600."
If, however, A. C.'s Query be not limited to slabs in the open air, he will probably be interested by the following, copied by me from the floors of the respective churches, which are all in this neighbourhood. The first is from the unused church of St. John at Laughton-le-Morthing, near Roche Abbey, and is, according to Mr. Hunter, one of the earliest specimens of a monumental inscription in the vernacular:
"Here lyeth Robt. Dinningto' and Alis his wyfe. Robert dyed ī ye fest of San James Mmo ccc iiijxx xiijmo. Alis dyed o' Tisday ī Pas. Woke, ao Dn̅i Mo cccmo xxxo whose saules God assoyl for is m'cy. Ame'."
The next three are partly pewed over; but the uncovered parts are perfectly legible. The first two are from Tankersley, the third from Wentworth:
"Hic jacet dn̅s Thomas Toykyl … die mensis Aprilis anno dn̅i M. cccc. lxxxx. scd̅o...."
" … Mensis Octob. ano̅ dni Millim̅o cccc. xxx. quinto."
" … Ano̅ dn̅i Millesimo cccc. xxxx. vi. cuius aie̅ deus propitietur."
Also in Ecclesfield Church is a slab bearing the dates 1571, and J. W. 1593; and the remains of two others, with dates "Mo ccccco xixo," and "Mo ccccco xxxo vio."
J. Eastwood.
Ecclesfield Hall, Sheffield.
"Her face is like," &c. (Vol. vii., p. 305.).—
"Her face is like the milky way i' the sky,—
A meeting of gentle lights without a name."
These lines are from Act III. of Sir John Suckling's tragedy of Brennoralt, and are uttered by a lover contemplating his sleeping mistress; a circumstance which it is important to mention, as the truth and beauty of the comparison depend on it.
B. R. I.
Annuellarius (Vol. vii., p. 358.).—Annuellarius, sometimes written Annivellarius, is a chantry priest, so called from his receiving the annualia, or yearly stipend, for keeping the anniversary, or saying continued masses for one year for the soul of a deceased person.
J. G.
Exon.
Ship's Painter (Vol. vii., p. 178.).—Your correspondent J. C. G. may find a rational derivation of the word painter, the rope by which a boat is attached to a ship, in the Saxon word punt, a boat. The corruption from punter, or boat-rope, to painter, seems obvious.
J. S. C.
True Blue (Vol. iii., passim).—The occurrence of this expression in the following passage in Dryden, and its application to the Order of the Garter, seem to have escaped the notice of the several correspondents who have addressed you on the subject. I quote from The Flower and the Leaf, Dryden's version of one of Chaucer's tales:
"Who bear the bows were knights in Arthur's reign,
Twelve they, and twelve the peers of Charlemain;
For bows the strength of brawny arms imply,
Emblems of valour and of victory.
Behold an order yet of newer date,
Doubling their number, equal in their state;
Our England's ornament, the Crown's defence,
In battle brave, protectors of their prince;
Unchang'd by fortune, to their sovereign true,
For which their manly legs are bound with blue.
These of the Garter call'd, of faith unstain'd.
In fighting fields the laurel have obtain'd,
And well repaid the honors which they gain'd."
Henry H. Breen.
St. Lucia.
"Quod fuit esse" (Vol. vii., pp. 235. 342.).—In one of Dr. Byrom's Common-place Books now in the possession of his respected descendant, Miss Atherton, of Kersal Cell, is the following arrangement and translation of this enigmatical inscription, probably made by the Doctor himself:
"Quod fuit esse quod est quod non fuit esse quod esse
Esse quod est non esse quod est non est erit esse.
Quod fuit esse quod,
Est quod non fuit esse quod,
Esse esse quod est,
Non esse quod est non est
Erit esse.
What was John Wiles is what John Wiles was not,
The mortal Being has immortal got.
The Wiles that was but a non Ens is gone,
And now remains the true eternal John."
I take this opportunity of mentioning that my friend, the Rev. Dr. Parkinson, Canon of Manchester, and Principal of St. Bees, is at present engaged in editing, for the Chetham Society, the Diary and unpublished remains of Dr. Byrom; and he will, I am sure, feel greatly indebted to any of your correspondents who will favour him with an addition to his present materials. O. G. ("N. & Q.," Vol. vii., p. 179. art. Townshend) seems to have some memoranda relating to Byrom, and would perhaps be good enough to communicate them to Dr. Parkinson.
James Crossley.
I have seen the above thus paraphrased:
"What we have been, and what we are,
The present and the time that's past,
We cannot properly compare
With what we are to be at last.
"Tho' we ourselves have fancied Forms,
And Beings that have never been;
We into something shall be turn'd,
Which we have not conceived or seen."
C. H. (a Subscriber.)
Subterranean Bells (Vol. vii., pp. 128. 200. 328.).—In a most interesting paper by the Rev. W. Thornber, A.B., Blackpool, published in the Proceedings of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 1851-2, there is mention of a similar tradition to that quoted by your correspondent J. J. S.
Speaking of the cemetery of Kilgrimol, two miles on the south shore from Blackpool, the learned gentleman says:
"The ditch and cross have disappeared, either obliterated by the sand, or overwhelmed by the inroads of the sea; but, with tradition, the locality is a favourite still. The superstitio loci marks the site: 'The church,' it says, 'was swallowed up by an earthquake, together with the Jean la Cairne of Stonyhill; but on Christmas eve every one, since that time, on bending his ear to the ground, may distinguish clearly its bells pealing most merrily.'"
Broctuna.
Bury, Lancashire.
Spontaneous Combustion (Vol. vii., p. 286.).—I presume H. A. B.'s question refers to the human body only, because the possibility of spontaneous combustion in several other substances is, I believe, not disputed. On that of the human body Taylor says:
"The hypothesis of those who advocate spontaneous combustion, is, it appears to me, perfectly untenable. So far as I have been able to examine this subject, there is not a single well-authenticated instance of such an event occurring: in the cases reported which are worthy of any credit, a candle or some other ignited body has been at hand, and the accidental ignition of the clothes was highly probable, if not absolutely certain."
He admits that, under certain circumstances, the human body, though in general "highly difficult of combustion," may acquire increased combustible properties. But this is another question from that of the possibility of its purely spontaneous combustion. (See Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence, pages 424-7. edit. 1846.)
W. W. T.
Muffs worn by Gentlemen (Vol. vi., passim; Vol. vii., p. 320.).—The writer of a series of papers in the New Monthly Magazine, entitled "Parr in his later Years," thus (vol. xvi. p. 482.) describes the appearance of that learned Theban:
"He had on his dressing-gown, which I think was flannel, or cotton, and the skirts dangled round his ankles. Over this he had drawn his great-coat, buttoned close; and his hands, for he had been attacked with erysipelas not long before, were kept warm in a silk muff, not much larger than the poll of a common hat."
In an anonymous poetical pamphlet (Thoughts in Verse concerning Feasting and Dancing, 12mo. London, 1800), is a little poem, entitled "The Muff," in the course of which the following lines occur:
"A time there was (that time is now no more,
At least in England 'tis not now observ'd!)
When muffs were worn by beaux as well as belles.
Scarce has a century of time elaps'd,
Since such an article was much in vogue;
Which, when it was not on the arm sustain'd,
Hung, pendant by a silken ribbon loop
From button of the coat of well-dress'd beau.
'Tis well for manhood that the use has ceased!
For what to woman might be well allow'd,
As suited to the softness of her sex,
Would seem effeminate and wrong in man."
William Bates.
Birmingham.
Crescent (Vol. vii., p. 235.).—In Judges, ch. viii. ver. 21., Gideon is recorded to have taken away from Zeba and Zalmunna, kings of Midian, "the ornaments that were on their camels' necks." The marginal translation has "ornaments like the moon;" and in verse 24. it is stated that the Midianites were Ishmaelites. If, therefore, it be borne in mind that Mohammed was an Arabian, and that the Arabians were Ishmaelites, we may perhaps be allowed to infer that the origin of the use of the crescent was not as a symbol of Mohammed's religion, but that it was adopted by his countrymen and followers from their ancestors, and may be referred to at least as far back as 1249 B.C., when Zeba and Zalmunna were slain, and when it seems to have been the customary ornament of the Ishmaelites.
W. W. T.
The Author of "The Family Journal" (Vol. vii., p. 313.).—The author of the very clever series of papers in the New Monthly Magazine, to which Mr. Bede refers, is Mr. Leigh Hunt. The particular one in which Swift's Latin-English is quoted, has been republished in a charming little volume, full of original thinking, expressed with the felicity of genius, called Table Talk, and published in 1851 by Messrs. Smith and Elder, of Cornhill.
G. J. De Wilde.
Parochial Libraries (Vol. vi., p. 432. &c.).—I fear that there is little doubt that these collections of books have very often been unfairly dispersed. It is by no means uncommon, in looking over the stock of an old divinity bookseller, to meet with works with the names of parochial libraries written in them. I have met with many such: they appear chiefly to have consisted of the works of the Fathers, and of our seventeenth century divines. As a case in point, I recollect, about ten years since, being at a sale at the rectory of Reepham, Norfolk, consequent upon the death of the rector, and noticing several works with the inscription "Reepham Church Library" written inside: these were sold indiscriminately with the rector's books. At this distance of time I cannot recollect the titles of many of the works; but I perfectly remember a copy of Sir H. Savile's edition of Chrysostom, 8 vols. folio; Constantini Lexicon, folio; and some pieces of Bishop Andrewes. These were probably intended for the use of the rector, as in the case reported by your correspondent Cheverells (Vol. vii., p. 369.).