Minor Notes
Charles Lamb's Epitaph.—Perhaps the following lines, which I have copied from the gravestone of Charles Lamb, who lies in the churchyard at Edmonton, may be interesting to those of your readers who are among the admirers of the witty and gentle Elia:—
"Farewell, dear friend; that smile, that harmless mirth,
No more shall gladden our domestic hearth;
That rising tear, with pain forbid to flow,
Better than words, no more assuage our woe;
That hand outstretch'd from small but well-earn'd store,
Yield succour to the destitute no more.
Yet art thou not all lost; thro' many an age
With sterling sense and humour shall thy page
Win many an English bosom, pleased to see
That old and happier vein revived in thee.
This for our earth, and if with friends we share
Our joys in heav'n, we hope to meet thee there."
I have heard it conjectured that the above were written by Wordsworth. I shall feel obliged if any of your readers will inform me whether the late laureate was the author of them or not?
Maria S.
Edmonton.
M. or N. (Vol. i., p. 415.; Vol. ii., p. 61.).—There have been several suggestions as to the origin of the use of these letters in the services of the church, but I do not think that any correspondent has hit upon the very simple one which I have always considered to be most probably the true explanation; which is, that as these services were compiled when algebra stood much higher in the rank of sciences than it does at present, it is by no means unlikely that these two letters should be used to signify indefinite and variable names, as they are in algebra to represent indefinite or variable numbers, in the same manner as A. B. C. are as signs of known or definite, and X. Y. Z. of unknown sums.
E. H. Y.
Henry VIII. and Sir Thos. Curwen.—The following quaint extract from Sandford's MS. History of Cumberland, now in the library of the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle, exhibits that "reknowned king," Henry VIII., in so good-natured a light, that I think, if you can find a corner for it, it may amuse some of your readers. That the good knight and "excelent archer" should have been so outwitted by his son-in-law is a matter of some regret to one of his descendants:—
"Sir Thos. Curwen, Knight, in Henry the Eight's time, an excelent archer at twelvescore merks; and went up with his men to shoote with that reknowned King at the dissolution of abbeys: and the King says to him, Curwen, why doth thee begg none of these Abbeys? I wold gratify thee some way. Quoth the other, Thank yow, and afterward said he wold desire of him the Abbie of ffurness (nye unto him) for 20ty one yeares. Sayes the King: take it for ever: quoth the other, it is long enough, for youle set them up againe in that time: but they not likely to be set up againe, this Sir Tho. Curwen sent Mr. Preston, who had married his daughter, to renew the lease for him; and he even rennewed in his own name; which when his father-in-law questioned, quoth Mr. Preston, you shall have it as long as you live; and I think I may as well have it with your daughter as another."
After some descents, this family of Preston, of the manor of Furness, terminated in a daughter, who married Sir William Lowther, whose grandson left his estates in Furness and Cartmell to his cousin, Lord George Cavendish, through whom they are inherited by the Earl of Burlington. As Harry the Eighth's good intentions towards Sir Thomas Curwen have been frustrated, his descendants must console themselves by knowing that the glorious old ruin of Furness could not be in better hands than his lordship's.
H. C.
Workington.
Periodical Literature, 1707.—
"The author of the Observator is Mr. Ridpath, ye author of the Flying Post. The base author of the late paper, which has been some time since dropp'd, viz. The Observator Reviv'd, was one Pearce, an exchange broker, some time since concerned in the paper called Legion's Address, and forced to fly on that account into Holland. The publisher of the Phœnix is a Presbyterian bookseller, named J. Darby, in Bartholomew Close, who has told me that he was chiefly assisted therein by the famous Mr. Collins, the supposed author of The Use of Reason in Propositions, &c., and Dr. Tindal's familiar acquaintance."—Original Letter of the Rev. Robert Watts, M.A., dated London, Feb. 6. 1707-8.
P. B.
Archbishop Sancroft.—It is well known that Dr. William Dillingham, Master of Emanuel College, Cambridge, published, in 1678, a volume of Latin poems, partly translations from George Herbert, partly pieces of his own, with some few added from other sources. But it is not known that most of the pieces in this volume were corrected by the hand of Archbishop Sancroft, and that one certainly was from his own pen. It occurs at p. 155. of the octavo volume alluded to, and is entitled "Hippodromus." This is a translation from an epigram by Thomas Bastard, first printed in 1598, and beginning:
"I mett a courtier riding on the plaine."
That it is Archbishop Sancroft's is proved from an original letter addressed to him by Dillingham in 1677, and preserved in the Bodleian.
P. B.
Sir Henry Slingsby.—This gallant cavalier, who was murdered (as Lloyd says in his Memoirs) by Oliver Cromwell in 1658, wrote an account of the scenes in which he bore a part, from 1638 to 1648, which he called "Commentaries, containing many remarkable occurrences during the Civil Wars." Can any of your correspondents tell me where the original manuscript is to be found, and whether it was ever printed? I have seen an indifferent transcript, beginning, "The chappel at Red House was built by my father, Sir Henry Slingsby." If it has never been published, it would be an acceptable contribution to the historical memoirs of the times, and worth the attention of the Camden Society.
P. B.
Origin of a Surname.—Martha Denial, widow, aged seventy-five, was buried in Ecclesfield churchyard, 3rd February, 1851. Her husband, Joseph Denial, told the parish clerk that his grandfather was found when an infant deserted in a church porch; and that he was surnamed Denial, as one whom all deny; and was christened Daniel, which is composed of the same letters. This is the tradition of the origin of a surname now common in this parish.
A. G.
Ecclesfield.
Madden's Reflections.—Madden's Reflections and Resolutions for the Gentlemen of Ireland. In the preface to the reprint of this work we meet with the following paragraph:
"The very curious and interesting work which is now reprinted, and intended for a wide and gratuitous circulation, is also of uncommon rarity: there is not a copy of it in the Library of Trinity College, or in any of the other public libraries of this city [Dublin], which have been searched on purpose. The profoundly-learned Vice-Provost, Doctor Barrett, never met with one; and many gentlemen well skilled in the literature of Ireland, who have been applied to for information on the subject, are even unacquainted with the name of the book."
The full title of the work to which I refer, and which is an 8vo. volume of 200 or 300 pages, is Reflections and Resolutions proper for the Gentlemen of Ireland, as to their Conduct for the Service of their Country. It was printed in Dublin in 1738; it was reprinted there in 1816 at the sole expense of the well-known philanthropist, Thomas Pleasants, and the author was Samuel Madden, D.D., the author of several publications: a great patron of arts and literature in his native land, and one of whom Dr. Johnson remarked with truth,—"His was a name Ireland ought to honour." For some authentic information respecting him, see Nichols's Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, vol. ii. pp. 31. 699.; and Grosley's Tour in England, vol. ii p. 260. These writers, however, make no mention of his Reflections.
The original edition may indeed be looked upon as rather rare, but not so rare as some appear inclined to think. I have a copy, and until lately had two; and at different times I have met with copies for sale. However, the copy now in the library of the Royal Dublin Society was purchased some years ago at a high price; and, unless I am mistaken, there is not one as yet in the British Museum. The reprint which is there is much to be preferred by readers in general.
Abhba.
Queries
THE BELLMAN, AND HIS HISTORY
I have often read Vincent Bourne's poem, "Ad Davidem Cook, Westmonasterii Custodem Nocturnum et Vigilantissimum, Anno 1716:" Pickering's edition, p. 129. This nightly guardian, it appears, was accompanied by a dog:
"Cùm variis implent tenebræ terroribus orbem,
Tu comite assuetum cum cane carpis iter,"
was armed with a stout staff, or knotty club:
"Nec te perterrent, nodoso stipite fretum,
Subdola qui tacito pectore furta parant,"
and carried a bell:
"Tinnitu adventum signans, oriantur an astra,
Narras, an purè lucida Luna micet."
To the last-mentioned part of his equipment, he owed the title of "Bellman."
The Bellman's duty, however, was not confined to crying the rising of the stars, or the shining of the moon, but he cheered his nightly round with many a chant:
Nocturnum multo carmine fallis iter."
The next lines are descriptive of the Bellman's poetry, and tell us the subjects of it. Of some of these I want explanation; and of all, examples. I am at a loss to explain the following four lines:
"Divorum hyberni menses quotcunque celebrant,
Cuique locum et versum dat tua musa suum:
Crispino ante omnes; neque enim sine carmine fas est
Nobile sutorum præteriisse decus."
The next lines refer to the Bellman's loyalty in ever remembering the Royal Family; to his salutation of masters and mistresses; to the useful instruction he pours forth in song to young men and maidens; and to the happy marriages he wishes to such as give heed to his warnings. The Bellman then addresses himself to men-servants and maid-servants, enjoining honesty on the former, cleanliness on the latter. Repeatedly wishing prosperity to his masters, he concludes with one pre-eminent exhortation to keep in mind, that the friendly hand of death levels the highest and the lowest.
My ignorance asks several questions. When did the Bellman lay aside his bell, and assume the rattle; and, with this change (I presume), drop the name of Bellman for that of Watchman, to whom the silent policeman has succeeded? Was the dog the usual aide-de-camp of the Bellman? Are there any other instances in which the dog is mentioned as assisting the Bellman in his nocturnal guardianship?
As to the Bellman's poetry, Milton will occur to every one:
"Or the bellman's drowsy charm
To bless the door from nightly harm."—Il Penseroso.
1. Herrick's Hesperides, p. 169., is a Bellman's song, a blessing, concluding:
"Past one o'clock, and almost two,
My masters all, good-day to you."
2. Ibid. p. 251. is another song; a warning to remember the judgment-day, and ending—
"Ponder this when I am gone,
By the clock 'tis almost one."
See The Tatler, No. 111., for the Bellman's salutation:
"Good morrow, Mr. Bickerstaff, good morrow, my masters all."
"It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman,
Which gives the stern'st good night."—Shakspeare, Macbeth, Act II. Sc. 2.
Gay refers to the Bellman's song in the following lines:
"Behold that narrow street which steep descends,
Whose building to the slimy shore extends;
Here Arundel's fam'd structure rear'd its frame,
The street alone retains the empty name;
Where Titian's glowing paint the canvass warm'd,
And Raphael's fair design, with judgment, charm'd,
Now hangs the bellman's song, and pasted here
The colour'd prints of Overton appear."—Trivia, book ii. 482.
In the Archaic and Provincial Dictionary, the duty of the Bellman in his poetic character seems to be limited to blessing the sleepers. It appears from the poem by Vincent Bourne, that his Muse took a much more extensive range.
Can you inform me where I can find more about the Bellman, his bell and his dog; and, especially, his songs? Where can I find "The Bellman's Songs?"
Is "Bellman" a name given to dogs in modern times? See Taming of the Shrew, Induction.
F. W. T.
[We cannot insert F. W. T.'s Query without referring to the admirable translation of Vinny Bourne's Ode, which is to be found in our First Volume, p. 152.]
WAS SALLUSTIUS A LECTURER?—CONNEXION BETWEEN SALLUSTIUS AND TACITUS
Sallustius, in his celebrated abstract of the Punic records of Thempsal, makes the following remark:
"Nam de Carthagine silere melius puto, quam parum dicere, quoniam alio properare tempus monet."—De Bello Jugurthino, c. xix. ed. Allen.
Does not this sound as if the history has been read out to an assembly? There is strong presumptive evidence in favour of such a supposition, in the tradition of Herodotus having read aloud his history at the Grecian Games. Besides, it was a common practice of Cicero and Plinius the Younger to read out their orations and treatises. I cannot help thinking that the histories of Sallustius were first delivered as lectures, taken down by reporters2 employed by himself for the purposes of preserving his words, as he had only notes before him, fairly transcribed from the stenographic character, and then, but not till then, made a subject of closet-study. This, I think, is easy of proof, and instances may be adduced (the expression I have quoted is one) where the lecturer peeps out.
The interpolated state in which this classic has come down to us is indeed sad: there is scarcely a chapter throughout the Catiline and Jugurtha where some transcriber has not been at work, sticking in words and sometimes whole sentences, which, I am astonished to see, have escaped the notice of Cortius, Allen, and the older editors.
I said above that Sallustius made his lectures or orations on the history of his country a subject of closet study. He did so, and in an eminent degree. His conciseness, clearness (when relieved from the burden of interpolation), and usual impartiality, point to a careful and spiritual study of Thucydides; but he could not attain to an equal degree of sweetness as the Greek historian, on account of the general character of their several languages differing. As far, however, as Roman could approach to Greek, I conceive Sallustius has approached to Thucydides. Tacitus (whose mind was impregnated with, and steeped in Sallustius) rarely enounces a sentiment in his numerous works the origin of which is not referable to the latter author. It requires some careful thought sometimes, before the passages can be traced; but they are traceable; and if we had the whole works of Sallustius, I doubt not but that we should be able to trace them all much more easily. Perhaps—I say it without stress, mind; it is a mere suggestion—it would be possible to restore, or rather connect some of the historical fragments of Sallustius by means of the works of Tacitus. When we find a sentiment of Sallustius half expressed in the fragment, and trending towards the conclusion arrived at by Tacitus, may we not, as we know how completely the latter had imbibed the thoughts of the former, reasonably suppose the remainder of the passage to be parallel; and, following out the idea, restore it, taking into consideration the difference of the mode of expression in the two eras? And this may hold good, not only between Tacitus and Sallustius, but between Sallustius and Thucydides.
Such is the aspect under which I endeavour to behold the classics, viz. as one great whole, having here and there pieces gone or faded (lost or hopelessly corrupted), and which fit into each other, showing the building which intellect erects, the only building calculated to withstand the hand of time. Thanks be to printing, to cheap literature, and to English energy and investigation, antiquity may again rear her head, and fell that it is comprehended in all its varied bearings, and lights and shadows.
To men like Niebuhr, Grote, Layard, Prescott, St. John, Wilkinson, Rawlinson, and Norris, do we owe a debt of gratitude, for such patience and investigation; and no one cheers them on with a more sincere feeling, and thanks them for their past exertions, than
Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie.
THE OUTER TEMPLE
Mr. Peter Cunningham, in his delightful Handbook of London, says that when the New Temple "passed to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the Inner and Middle Temple were leased to the Students of the Common Law; and the Outer Temple to Walter Stapleton, Bishop of Exeter:" and in describing Essex House, by which name it was afterwards known, he repeats the same statement; as if the Outer Temple was part of the original property of the Knights Templars.
I should be very glad to know what authority he has for this; because I have very great doubt whether the "Outer Temple" ever belonged to the Knights Templars or to the Knights of St. John, or was in any manner comprehended within the property. The New Temple, as the whole property was called, belonged to Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, at the time of his death, in June, 1323. The Council of Vienna, in 1324, bestowed all the lands of the Knights Templars on the Knights of St. John. Since my letter to you on the general subject of the Temple, and L. B. L.'s obliging answer (Vol. ii., pp. 103. 123.), I have been kindly furnished by Mr. Joseph Burtt, of the Chapter House, with a deed, dated June 28, 1324, by which the Knights of St. John granted the whole of the New Temple, "totum messuagium nostrum vocatum Novum Templum," to Hugh le Despencer the younger; describing it to be lying between the house (hospicium) of the Bishop of Exeter towards the west, and the house of Hugo de Courteneye towards the east. This shows manifestly that if the Bishop of Exeter's house ever belonged to the Temple, it did not at that time; and I am not aware of any earlier evidence proving that the Templars ever possessed it.
I believe, though I have not seen the record, that, in the grant to Sir William Paget, temp. Henry VI., it is described as the "Outer Temple;" but I am inclined to think, from various circumstantial testimonies, that it was merely so called because it was situate on the outside of the Temple.
If any of your correspondents could illustrate this question, or that more curious one,—when the new Temple was first divided between Inner and Middle,—I should feel infinitely obliged.
Edward Foss.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL QUERIES
1. Can any of your readers give me any information regarding a work which I find recorded in a catalogue thus:—A Catalogue of above 300 Coins of Canute, King of Denmark and England, found near Kirkwall, with Specimens. 4to. London, 1777? I should like, if possible, to have a copy of the title-page, the size, and the number of pages; and, if possible, the name of the compiler.
2. I should like to find out the name of the translator into English, of Pontoppidan's Natural History of Norway, published in folio in London in 1755.
3. Can any of your readers oblige me with the name of the author of a controversial sermon, entitled Whigs no Christians, preached at London, on the anniversary of the martyrdom of King Charles, in 1712-13, and published in the same year?
Βορεας.
DUTCH BOOKS PUBLISHED OUT OF THE NETHERLANDS
Although the Dutch language is now regarded in foreign countries with a neglect bordering on contempt, and its study, when attended to at all, generally undertaken as a work of necessity rather than a labour of love, I have thought it would not be without interest to examine to what extent it was formerly cultivated (were it even chiefly by Dutchmen) in foreign lands; to institute a search after the productions of the Dutch mind in the Dutch language brought forth on foreign soils; in a word, to pass in review the Dutch books which have been published in other countries during the period included between the invention of printing and our own days.
It appears to me that such a review would lead to much interesting research, and would tend not only to illustrate our literature, but also to clear up many points still obscure in our national, and more especially in our ecclesiastical, history.
The review which I propose would be limited, in the first instance, to the formation of an exact and complete list of such exotic works, with the addition of such notes as I might be able to add. A more experienced hand may then make use of these materials to form a more perfect treatise on this portion of our literature.
In execution of this plan I have already compiled a list of names of books and authors; these have been gathered partly from an examination of the works themselves, partly from catalogues and other sources where such works are mentioned. Now, however, as my resources are nearly exhausted, and my labours by no means complete, I take the liberty to lay my plan before those who may be disposed to concur with me, those who may be able to procure me information, those who have the possession or the care of libraries in which such books are to be found, and of which catalogues have not been printed; and, for the end I have in view, I invite them all to help me in the completion of my work. The editors of the Navorscher have consented to open their columns to contributors. To spare needless trouble, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not include any works published in Belgium, or in the colonies now or formerly in our possession.
Martinus.
Amsterdam, March 11. 1851.