part i
. p. 244.):--
"(7 Edw. 2.) _De ducendo Elizabetham uxorem Roberti de Brus, usque ad Castrum Rossense._
"Mandatum est Vicecomitibus London quod Elizabetham. Uxorem Roberti de Brus, quæ cum Abbatissà de Berkyngg' stetit per aliquot tempus, de mandato Regis, ab cadem Abbatissà sine dilatione recipiant, eam usque Ross' duci sub salvâ custodia faciant, Henrico de Cobeham, Constabulario Castri Regis ibidem per Indenturam, indè faciendam inter ipsos, liberandam; et hoc nullatenus omittant.
"Teste Rege, apud Westm. xii. die Martii, "Per ipsum Regem.
"Et mandatum est præfatæ Abbatissæ, quod præfatam Elizabetham, quam nuper, de mandato Regis, admisit in domo suâ de Berkyng' quousque Rex aliud inde ordinâsset, moraturam, sine dilatione deliberet præfatis Vicecomitibus, ducendam pront eis per Regem plenius est injunctum, et hoc nullatenus omittat.
"Teste Rege ut supra, "Per ipsum Regem.
"Et mandatum est dicto Henrico, Constabulario Castri Regis prædicti, quod ipsam Elizabetham de prædictis Vicecomitibus, per Indenturam hujus modi, recipiat, et ci cameram, infra dictum Castrum competentem pro mora suâ assignari:
"Et viginti solidos, de exitibus Ballivæ suæ, ei per singulas septimanas, quamdiu ibidem moram fecerit, pro expensis suis, liberari faciat:
"Eamque, infra Castrum prædictum, et infra Prioratum Sancti Andreæ ibidem, opportunis temporibus spatiari sub salva custodia (ita quod securus sit de corpore suo), permittat:
"Et Rex ei de prædictis viginti solidis, præfatæ Elizabethæ singulis septimanis liberandis, debitam allocationem, in compoto suo ad Scaccarium Regis, fieri faciet.
"Teste ut supra, "Per ipsum Regem."
But the day of deliverance was close at hand: the battle of Bannockburn, so fatal to the English, was fought on the 24th June; and on the 2nd of October the Constable of Rochester Castle is commanded to conduct the wife, sister, and daughter of Robert Bruce to Carlisle (_usque Karliolum_), where an exchange of prisoners was made. Old Hector Boece, who, if Erasmus can be trusted, "knew not to lie," informs us, that "King Robertis wife, quhilk was hald in viii. yeris afore in Ingland, was interchangeit with ane duk of Ingland"[3] [Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford]. And the aforesaid Barbour celebrates their restoration in the following lines:--
"Quhill at the last they tretyt sua, That he[4] till Inglond hame suld ga, For owtyn paying of ransoune, fre; And that for him suld changyt be Byschap Robert[5] that blynd was mad; And the Queyne, that thai takyn had In presoune, as befor said I; And hyr douchtre dame Marjory. The Erle was changyt for thir thre."
W.B. RYE.
[Footnote 1: _Loricati_, (in their coats of mail.)--_Matthew of Westminster._]
[Footnote 2: See the order at length in Rymer, _ut sup._]
[Footnote 3: Bellenden's translation.]
[Footnote 4: The Earl of Hereford.]
[Footnote 5: Wishcart, Bishop of Gloucester, before alluded to.]
* * * * *
A NOTE ON ROBERT HERICK, AUTHOR OF "HESPERIDES."
In the summer of 1844, I visited Dean Prior in company with my brother, in order to ascertain if we could add any new fact to the scanty accounts of the _Life of Herrick_ recorded by his biographers. The events of his life have been related by Dr. Drake, (_Literary Hours_, vol. iii., 1st edit. 1798.--3rd edit. 1804), by Mr. Campbell, by Dr. Nott (_Select Poems from the Hesperides_, &c. Bristol, 1810,) by a writer in the _Quarterly Review_, vol. iv. 1810, by Mr. Wilmott in his elegantly written _Lives of Sacred Poets_, vol. i., 1834, and in the memoirs prefixed to the recent editions of _Herrick's Poems_ published by Clarke (1844), and Pickering (1846). On examining any of these biographies, it will be found that the year and place of Herrick's death have not been ascertained. This was the point which I therefore
## particularly wished to inquire into.
Dean Prior is a village about six or seven miles from Totnes: the church, with the exception of the tower, had been recently rebuilt. The monuments and inscribed stones were carefully removed when the old fabric was taken down, and restored as nearly as could be to corresponding situations in the new building. I sought in vain, amongst these, for the name of Herrick. On making inquiry of the old sexton who accompanied us, he said at first in a very decided tone, "Oh, he died in Lunnun," but afterwards corrected himself, and said that Herrick died at Dean Prior, and that an old tombstone in {292} the churchyard, at the right hand side of the walk leading to the south side of the church, which was removed several years ago, was supposed to have covered the remains of the former vicar of Dean Prior.
Being baffled in our search after "tombstone information," we called at the vicarage, which stands close by the church, and the vicar most courteously accorded us permission to search the registers of the marriages, births, and burials, which were in his custody. The portion of the dilapidated volume devoted to the burials is headed thus:--
"Dean Prior
"The names of all those y't have been buried in y'e same parish from y'e year of our Lord God 1561, and so forwards."
After some careful search we were gratified by discovering the following entry:--
"Robert Herrick Vicker was buried y'e 15th day October, 1674."
I fancy I met with a selection from _Herrick's Poems_ edited by _Mr. Singer_, several years ago, comprised in a small neat volume. Can any of your readers inform me whether there is such a book? I possess Mr. Singer's valuable editions of _Cavendish_, _More_, and _Hall's Satires_, and would wish to place this volume on the same shelf.
J. MILNER BARRY.
Totnes, Feb. 21. 1850.
* * * * *
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF "LÆRIG?"
This _query_, evidently addressed to our Anglo-Saxon scholars by the distinguished philologist to whom we are all so much indebted, not having been hitherto replied to, perhaps the journal of "NOTES AND QUERIES" is the most fitting vehicle for this suggestive note:--
TO DR. JACOB GRIMM.
Allow me, though an entire stranger to you, to thank you for the pleasure I have derived, in common with all ethnological students, from your very valuable labours, and especially from the _Geschichte der Deutschen Sprache_. At the same time I venture, with much diffidence, to offer a reply to your question which occur in that work at p. 663.:--"Was heisst _lærig_?"
Lye says, "Hæc vox occurrit apid Cædm. At interpretatio ejus minime liquet." In the Supplement to his Dictionary it is explained "docilis, tyro!" Mr. Thorpe, in his _Analecta A.-S._ (1st edit. Gloss), says, "The meaning of this word is uncertain: it occurs again in _Cædmon_;" and in his translation of _Cædmon_ he thus renders the passage:--"Ofer linde lærig=over the linden shields." Here then _lærig_, evidently an adjective, is rendered by the substantive _shields_; and _linde_, evidently a substantive, is rendered by the adjective _linden_. In two other passages, Mr. Thorpe more correctly translates _lindum_=bucklers.
_Lind_, which Lye explained by the Latin _labarium_, _vexillum_, that excellent scholar, the late lamented Mr. Price, was the first, I believe, to show frequently signified _a shield_; which was, probably for lightness, made of the wood of the _lime tree_, and covered with skin, or leather of various colours. Thus we have "sealwe linde" and "hwite linde" in _Cædm._, "geolwe linde" in _Beowulf_.
All this is superfluous to you, sir, I know--"_Retournons à nos moutons_," as Maistre Pierre Pathelin says.
The sense required in the passage in _Brythnoth_ seems to me to be:--
"bærst bordes lærig=the empty (hollow concave) shields
"and seo byrne sang=and the armour (_lorica_) resounded."
And in _Cædmon_:--
"ofer linde lærig=over the empty (hollow concave) shield."
In Judith, _Th. Anal._ 137, 53. we have a similar epithet:--
"hwealfum lindum=vaulted (arched concave) shields."
We should remember that Somner has _ge-lær_, void, empty, _vacuus_; and Lye, with a reference to the Herbarium, _lær-nesse_, vacuitas. In the _Teuthonista_ we have _lær_, vacuus, _concavus_. In _Heiland_, 3, 4. "_larea_ stodun thar stenuatu sehsi=_empty_ stood there stone-vats six." I need not call to your mind the O.H.G. _lári_.
I think, therefore, we cannot doubt that what is intended to be expressed by the A.-S. _lærig_ is _empty_, _hollow_, _concave_. But if we wanted further confirmation, _leer_, _leery_, _leary_ are still in use in Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and perhaps elsewhere, for _empty_, _hollow_, as the provincial Glossaries will show. Skinner has the word _leer_, vacuus, and says, "foeliciter alludit Gr. [Greek: lagaros], laxus, vacuus." In _Layamon_ we have (244, 16.), "the put wæs _i-lær_." I have found but one instance in Middle English, and that is in the curious old _Phrase-Book_ compiled by William Horman, Head Master of Eton School in the reign of Henry VIII:--
"'At a soden shyfte _leere_ barellis, tyed together, with boardis above, make passage over a streme.' Tumultuario opere, _inanes_ cuppæ colligatæ et tabulatis instratæ fluminis transitu perhibent."--_Hormanni Vulgaria_, Lond. 1519, f. 272 b.
Instances of the word are not frequent, possibly because we had another word for empty (_toom_) in common with the Danes; but perhaps there was no necessity for dwelling upon it in the sense of _empty_; it was only its application as an epithet to a _concave_ or _hollow shield_ that your question could have had in view. {293}
Once more thanking you most heartily for the pleasure and profit I have derived from the _Deutsche Grammatik_, and all your other important labours, I am, sir, your grateful and obliged servant,
S.W. SINGER.
Mickleham, Nov. 23. 1849.
* * * * *
FOLK LORE.
ST. VALENTINE IN NORWICH--COOK-EELS, &c. &c.
The day appropriated to St. Valentine is kept with some peculiarity in the city of Norwich. Although "Valentines," as generally understood, that is to say billets sent by means of the post, are as numerously employed here as in other places, yet the _custom_ consists not in the transmission of a missive overflowing with hearts and darts, or poetical posies, but in something far more substantial, elegant and costly--to wit, a goodly present of value unrestricted in use or expense. Though this custom is openly adopted among relatives and others whose friendship is reciprocated, yet the secret mode of placing a friend in possession of an offering is followed largely,--and this it is curious to remark, not on the _day_ of the saint, when it might be supposed that the appropriateness of the gift would be duly ratified, the virtue of the season being in full vigour, but on the _eve_ of St. Valentine, when it is fair to presume his charms are not properly matured. The mode adopted among all classes is that of placing the presents on the door-sill of the house of the favoured person, and intimating what is done by a run-a-way knock or ring as the giver pleases.
So universal is this custom in this ancient city, that it may be stated with truth some thousands of pounds are annually expended in the purchase of Valentine presents. At the time of writing (February 2.) the shops almost generally exhibit displays of articles calculated for the approaching period, unexampled in brilliancy, taste and costliness, and including nearly every item suitable to the drawing room, the parlour, or the boudoir. The local papers contain numerous advertising announcements of "Valentines;" the walls are occupied with printed placards of a similar character, and the city crier, by means of a loud bell and an equally sonorous voice, proclaims the particular advantages in the Valentine department of rival emporiums. All these preparations increase as the avator of St. Valentine approaches. At length the saint and his eve arrives--passes--and the custom, apparently expanding with age, is placed in abeyance until the next year. I am inclined to believe that this mode of keeping St. Valentine is confined to this city and the county of Norfolk.
As regards priority of occurrence this year, I should have first mentioned, that on Shrove Tuesday a custom commences of eating a small bun called cocque'els--cook-eels--coquilles--(the name being spelt indifferently) which is continued through the season of Lent. Forby, in his _Vocabulary of East Anglia_, calls this production "a sort of cross bun," but no cross is placed upon it, though its composition is not dissimilar. My inquiries, and, I may add, my reading, have not led me to the origin of either of the customs now detailed (with the exception of a few unsatisfactory words given by Forby on cook-eels), and I should be glad to find these brief notices leading by your means to more extended information on both subjects, not only as regards this part of the country, but others also.
JOHN WODDERSPOON.
Norwich.
_Old Charms._--I think that, if you are anxious to accumulate as much as you can of the Folk Lore of England, no set of men are more likely to help you than the clergy, particularly the younger part, viz., curates, to whom the stories they hear among their flock have the gloss of novelty. I send you a specimen of old charms, &c. that have come under my notice in the south-eastern counties.
No. 1. is a dialogue between the Parson and the old Dame:--
"_P._ Well, Dame Grey, I hear you have a charm to cure the toothache. Come, just let me hear it; I should be so much pleased to know it.
"_Dame_. Oh, your reverence, it's not worth telling."
(Here a long talk--Parson coaxing the Dame to tell him--old lady very shy, partly suspecting he is quizzing her, partly that no charms are proper things, partly willing to know what he thinks about it.) At last it ends by her saying--
"Well, your reverence, you have been very kind to me, and I'll tell you: it's just a verse from Scripture as I says over those as have the toothache:--
"'And Jesus said unto Peter, What aileth thee? and Peter answered, Lord, I have toothache. And the Lord healed him.'"
"_P._ Well, but Dame Grey, I think I know my Bible, and I don't find any such verse in it."
"_Dame_. Yes, your reverence, that is just the charm. _It's in the Bible_, but _you can't find it_!"
No. 2. To avert sickness from a family, hang up a sickle, or iron implement, at the bed head.
No. 3. Should a death happen in a house at night, and there be a hive or hives of bees in the garden, go out and wake them up at once, otherwise the whole hive or swarm will die.
I hope your Folk Lore is not confined to the fading memorials of a past age. The present superstitions are really much more interesting and valuable to be gathered together; and I am sure your pages would be very well employed in recording these for a future generation. I would {294} suggest, in all humility, that it would be really useful, for the rulers of our Church and State, to know how far such a superstition as the following prevails among the peasantry:
That, if a dying person sees "glory," or a bright light, at or near the time of their dissolution, such a vision is a sure sign of their salvation, whatever may have been their former life, or their repentance.
D. Sholbus.
_Superstitions in North of England._--I find some curious popular superstitions prevalent in the north of England some three centuries ago recorded in the _Proceedings before the Special Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes appointed by Queen Elizabeth_. Thus:
"Anthony Haggen presented for medicioning children with miniting a hammer as a smythe of kynde."
Again
"John Watson presented for burying a quick dogg and a quick cowe."
And
"Agnes, the wyf of John Wyse, als Winkam John Wyse, presented to be a medicioner for the waffc of an yll wynde, and for the fayryes."
Some of your readers may perhaps explain what these were. It is clear that they were superstitious practices of sufficient prevalence and influence on the popular mind to call for the interference of the queen's commissioners.
A.B.
_Decking Churches with Yew on Easter Day._--In the village of Berkely near Frome, Somerset, and on the borders of Wiltshire, the church is decorated on Easter Sunday with yew, evidently as an emblem of the Resurrection. Flowers in churches on that day are common, but I believe the use of yew to be unusual.
W. Durrant Cooper.
_Strewing Straw or Chaff._--The custom mentioned by your correspondent "B." (p. 245.) as prevailing in Gloucestershire, is not peculiar to that county. In Kent, it is commonly practised by the rustics. The publican, all the world over, decorates his sign-board with a foaming can and pipes, to proclaim the entertainment to be found within. On the same principle, these rustics hang up _their_ sign-board,--as one of them, with whom I was once remonstrating, most graphically explained to me. When they knew of a house where the master deems a little wholesome discipline necessary to ensure the obedience of love, considering it a pity that the world should be ignorant of his manly virtues, they strew "well threshed" chaff or straw before his door, as an emblematical sign-board, to proclaim that the sweet fare and "good entertainment" of a "well threshed" article may be found within. The custom, at all events, has one good tendency, it shames the tyrant into restraint, when he knows that his cowardly practices are patent to the world.
Lambert B. Larking.
* * * * *
FOLK LORE OF WALES.
No. 1. _Cron Annwn_.--When a storm sounds over the mountains, the Welsh peasant will tell you that his ear discerns the howl of the _Cron Annwn_ mingling with that of the wind, yet as clearly distinct from it as is the atmosphere in a diving-bell from that of the surrounding waters. These dogs of Annwn, or "couriers of the air," are spirit hounds, who hunt the souls of the dead; or, as occasionally said, they foretell, by their expectant cries, the approaching death of some man of evil deeds. Few have ever pretended to see them; for few, we presume, would linger until they dawned on the sight; but they are described by Taliesin, and in the _Mabinogion_, as being of a clear shining white, with red ears; colouring which confirms the author of the _Mythology of the Ancient Druids_ in the idea that these dogs were "a mystical transformation of the Druids with their white robes and red tiaras." Popular superstition, however, which must always attribute ugliness to an object of fear, deems that they are either jet black, with eyes and teeth of fire, or of a deep red, and dripping all over with gore. "The nearer," says the Rev. Edmund Jones, "they are to a man, the _less_ their voice is, and the farther the louder, sometimes swelling like the voice of a great hound, or a blood-hound."
They are _sometimes_ accompanied by a female fiend, called _Malt y nos_--Mathilda or Malen of the night, a somewhat ubiquitous character, with whom we meet under a complication of names and forms.
Jones of Brecon, who tells us that the cry of the Cron Annwn is as familiar to the inhabitants of Ystrad Fellte and Pont Neath-vaughan [in Glamorganshire] as the watchman's rattle in the purlieus of Covent Garden--for he lived in the days when watchmen and their rattles were yet among the things of this world--considers that to these dogs, and not to a Greek myth, may be referred the hounds, _Fury_, _Silver_, _Tyrant_, &c., with which Prospero hunts his enemies "soundly," in the _Tempest_. And they must recall to the minds of our readers the _wisk_, _wisked_, or _Yesk_ hounds of Devon, which are described in the _Athenæum_ for March 27. 1847, as well as the _Maisne Hellequin_ of Normandy and Bretagne.
There has been much discussion respecting the signification of the word _Annwn_, which has been increased by the very frequent mistake of writing it _Anwn_, which means, _unknown_, _strange_, and is applied to the people who dwell in the antipodes of the speaker; while _Annwn_ is an adaptation of _annwfn_, a _bottomless_ or _immeasurable pit_, _voidless_ {295} _space_, and also Hell. Thus we find, that when _Pwyl_, or _Reason_, drives these dogs off their track, the owner comes up, and, reproving him, declares that he is a crowned king, lord of Annwn and Pendaran, i.e. chief of thunder. (See _Myth. Ant. Druids_, p. 418.)
This Prince of Darkness is supposed to be the spouse of Andraste, now corrupted into Andras, and equivalent with _Malt y nos_, the Diana or Hecate of the ancient Britons.
These dogs sometimes appear singly, on which occasions they sit by the side of a stream, howling in so unearthly a manner, that the hapless man who finds one in his path usually loses his senses. This seems to have a connection with the "Manthe Doog" of the Isle of Man; but the tradition is not, we suspect, genuine.
Seleucus.
No. 2. _Cyoeraeth or Gwrach-y-rhybin._--Another instance of the grand, though gloomy superstitions of the Cymry, is that of the _Cyoeraeth_, or hag of the mist, an awful being who is supposed to reside in the mountain fog, through which her supernatural shriek is frequently heard. She is believed to be the very personification of ugliness, with torn and dishevelled hair, long black teeth, lank and withered arms and claws, and a most cadaverous appearance; to this some add, wings of a leathery and bat-like substance.
The name _Cy-oer-aeth_, the last two syllables of which signify _cold-grief_, is most descriptive of the sad wail which she utters, and which will, it is said, literally freeze the veins of those who hear it; she is _rarely_ seen, but is heard at a cross-road, or beside a stream--in the latter case she splashes the water with her hands--uttering her lamentation, as if in allusion to the relatives of those about to die. Thus, if a man hears her cry _fy nqwsaig, fy nqwsaig_, &c., his wife will surely die, and he will be heard to mourn in the same strain ere long; and so on with other cases. The cadence of this cry can never be properly caught by any one who has not heard, if not a Cyoeraeth, at least a native of Wales, repeat the strain. When merely an inarticulate scream is heard, it is probable that the hearer himself is the one whose death is fore-mourned.
Sometimes she is supposed to come like the Irish _banshee_, in a dark mist, to the windows of those who have been long ill; when flapping her wings against the pane, she repeats their names with the same prolonged emphasis; and then it is thought that they must die.
It is this hag who forms the torrent beds which seam the mountain side; for she gathers great stones in her cloak to make her ballast, when she flies upon the storm; and when about to retire to her mountain cave, she lets them drop progressively as she moves onwards, when they fall with such an unearthly weight that they lay open the rocky sides of the mountain.
In some parts of South Wales this hag of the mists either loses her sway, or divides it with a more dignified personage, who, in the form of an old man, and under the name of _Brenhin Llwyd_, the _grey king_, sits ever silent in the mist.
Any one who has witnessed the gathering and downward rolling of a genuine mountain fog must fully appreciate the spirit in which men first peopled the cloud with such supernatural beings a those above described; or with those which dimly, yet constantly, pervade the much-admired _Legend of Montrose_.
Seleucus.
* * * * *
WILLIAM BASSE AND HIS POEMS.
I regret that I am unable to offer any information in answer to "Mr. P. Collier's" inquiry (No. 13. p. 200.) respecting the existence of a perfect or imperfect copy of a poem by William Basse on the Death of Prince Henry, printed at Oxford by Joseph Barnes, 1613, and am only aware of such a poem from the slight mention of it by Sir Harris Nicolas in his beautiful edition of Walton's _Complete Angler_, p. 422. But as the possessor of the 4to. MS. volume of poems by Basse, called _Polyhymnia_, formerly belonging to Mr. Heber, I feel greatly interested in endeavouring to obtain some further biographical particulars of Basse,--of whom, although personally known to Isaac Walton, the author of one or two printed volumes of poems, and of the excellent old songs of "the Hunter in his Career" and "Tom of Bedlam," and worthy of having his verses on Shakspeare inserted among his collected poems, yet the notices we at present possess are exceedingly slight. We learn from Anth. Wood, in his _Ath. Oxon._, vol. iv. p. 222., that Basse was a native of Moreton, near Thame in Oxfordshire, and was for some time a retainer of Sir Richard Wenman, Knt., afterwards Viscount Wenman, in the peerage of Ireland. He seems also to have been attached to the noble family of Norreys of Ricot in Oxfordshire, which is not far from Thame; and addressed some verses to Francis Lord Norreys, Earl of Berkshire, from which I quote one or two stanzas, and in the last of which there is an allusion to the [plainness of the] author's personal appearance:
"O true nobilitie, and rightly grac'd With all the jewels that on thee depend, Where goodnesse doth with greatnesse live embrac'd, And outward stiles, on inward worth attend. Where ample lands, in ample hands are plac'd And ancient deeds, with ancient coats descend: Where noble bloud combin'd with noble spirit Forefathers fames, doth with their formes inherit.
"Where ancestors examples are perus'd Not in large tomes, or costly tombs alone, But in their heires: and being dayly us'd Are (like their robes) more honourable growne, {296} Where Loyalty with Piety is infus'd, And publique rights are cherish'd w'th their owne; Where worth still finds respect, good friend, good word, Desart, reward. And such is _Ricot's_ Lord.
"But what make I (vaine voyce) in midst of all The Quires that have already sung the fame Of this great House, and those that henceforth shall (As that will last) for ever sing the same. But, if on me, my garland instly fall, I justly owe my musique to this name. For he unlawfully usurps the Bayes That has not sung in noble _Norrey's_ prayse.
"In playne (my honour'd Lord) I was not borne, Audacious vowes, or forraigne legs to use, Nature denyed my outside to adorne, And I, of art to learne outsides refuse. Yet haveing of them both, enough to scorne Silence, & vulgar prayse, this humble muse And her meane favourite; at yo'r comand Chose in this kinde, to kisse your noble hand."
His Polyhymnia is dedicated to the sister of this person, the Lady Bridget, Countess of Lindsey, and Baroness of Eresbie and of Ricot. Besides the "Anglers' Song" made at Walton's request, and the before-mentioned two songs, which are given at length in the Appendix to the _Complete Angler_, p. 420., Sir H. Nicolas's edit., besides these, and the verses "on William Shakespeare, who died in April, 1616," sometimes called "Basse his Elegie on Shakespeare," which appear in the edition of Shakespeare's Poems of 1640, 8vo., and are reprinted in Malone's edition of his Plays, vol. i. p. 470.: another poem by William Basse will be found in the collection entitled _Annalia Dubrensia, upon the Yearely Celebration of Mr. Robert Dover's Olympick Games upon Cotswold Hills_, 4to. 1636. This consists of ten stanzas, of eight lines each, "To the noble and fayre Assemblies, the harmonious concourse of Muses, and their Ioviall entertainer, my right generous Friend, Master Robert Dover, upon Cotswold." Basse was also, as Mr. Collier remarks, the author of a poem, which I have never seen, called _Sword and Buckler, or Serving Man's Defence_, in six-line stanzas, 4to. Lond., imprinted in 1602. A copy of this was sold in Steevens's sale, No. 767., and is now among "Malone's Collection of Early Poetry" in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. And, according to Ritson, he wrote another work, published in the same year, viz. _Three Pastorall Elegies of Anander, Anytor and Muridella_, entered to Joseph Barnes, 28 May, 1692, of which I am not aware that any copy is now in existence. These, with the addition of _Great Brittaines Sunnes-set, bewailed with a Shower of Teares_, at Oxford, printed by Joseph Barnes, 1613, the fragment of which is in the possession of Mr. Collier, appear, as far as I can yet ascertain, to be the only known publications of William Basse, with his name attached to them in full. Other works, however, have been attributed to him from the similarity of the initials,--but most of them probably without much foundation; viz. 1. _Scacchia Ludus: Chesse-play_: a poetical translation of Vida's poem at the end of _Ludus Sacchiæ, Chesse-Play_, by W.B. 4to. Lond. 1597; by Ritson. 2. _A Helpe to Discourse; or a Miscelany of Merriment_, by W.B. and E.P. 2nd edit. 8vo. Lond. 1620; by Mr. Malone. And 3. _That which seemes Best is Worst, exprest in a Paraphrastical Transcript of Iuuenals tenth Satyre. Together with the Tragicall Narration of Virginius Death interserted_, by W.B. small 8vo. Lond.; imprinted by Felix Kyngston, 1617, by Mr. Octavius Gilchrist, who however rather leans to the opinion of William Barkstead being the author, from the circumstance of his having, as early as 1607, paraphrased, much in a similar way, the interesting tale of Myrrha, the mother of Adonis, from the 10th Book of the Metamorphoses. (See _Restitutu_, vol. i. p. 41.)
Cole, in his MS. Collectanea for _Athenæ Cantabrigiensis_, says:
"Mr. Knight, jun. shewed me a MS. written by William Basse, and corrected by him, in 4to., called _Polyhymnia_.--Dedication. To the Right Noble and vertuous Lady, the Lady Bridget, Countess of Lindsey, and Baroness of Eresbie and Ricot, in verse, with Verses to the Right Hon. Francis Lord Norreys, Earl of Berkshire (in his days). To the Right Hon. the Lady Aungier (then wife of Sir Thos. Wenman) upon her coming out of Ireland and return thither. To the Right Hon. the lady Viscountess Falkland, upon her going into Ireland, two Sonnets. The Youth in the Boat. Acrostics of the truly noble, vertuous, and learned Lady, the Lady Agnes Wenman; of the Lady Penelope Dynham; of Mrs. Jane Wenman. Verses on the Chapel of Wadham College consecration, St. Peter's Day, 1613; on Caversham or Causham House; of Witham House, Oxfordshire, the house of a noble Knight, and favourer of my Muse; and Elegy on a Bullfinch, 1648; of the Four Mile Course of Bayaides Green, six times run over, by two famous Irish footmen, Patrick Dorning and William O'Farrell.--It contains about 40 leaves, much corrected, and at the end is 'L'Envoy':--
"'Go, sweet Polymnia, thanks for all your cost And love to me; wherein no love is lost. As you have taught me various verse to use, I have to right you to be a Christian Muse.'"
I have been thus particular in transcribing this passage from Cole, because this copy, mentioned as being in the possession of Mr. Knight, jun. (quere, where is it now?), varies from mine, obtained from Mr. Heber's Collection, and was no doubt the one prepared and corrected for the press by Basse. The following poems, mentioned by Cole, are not in my copy:--
"To the Right Hon. the Lady Aungier (then wife of Sir Thos. Wenman) upon her coming out of Ireland, {297} and return thither. Acrostics of the truly noble, vertuous, and learned Lady, the Lady Agnes Wenman; of the Lady Penelope Dynham; of Mrs. Jane Wenman. Verses on the Chapel of Wadham College consecration, St. Peter's Day, 1613; and on Caversham or Causham House."
My copy, however, contains the following poems, not mentioned in the other:--
"Of a Great Floud; of the Raine-bowe; of Pen and Pensill, upon a fayre and vertuous Ladye's Picture; and the Spirituall Race."
The MS. contains 52 leaves, beautifully written without any corrections, and is in the original binding. It was procured by Mr. Heber from Hanwell, the Bookseller in Oxford, who had probably purchased it on the taking down of Ricot, the old seat of the Norreys family, and the dispersion of its contents. It has the autograph of Francis Lord Norreys on the fly-leaf, and was no doubt a presentation copy to him from Basse. The poetry of this work does not rise above mediocrity, and is not equal in thought or vigour to the Epitaph on Shakspeare. The chief portion of the volume is occupied with the singular tale of "The Youth in the Boat," which is divided into two parts; the first, containing (with the introduction) 59 verses of four lines each, and the second 163, exclusive of the "Morall," which occupies 11 more.
We know that it was Basse's intention to have published these poems, from some lines addressed by Dr. Ralph Bathurst "To Mr. W. Basse upon the intended publication of his poems, January 13. 1651," which are given in Warton's _Life and Literary Remains of Dean Bathurst_, 8vo. 1761, p. 288. In these lines the Dean compares Basse, who was still living, "to an aged oak," and says:--
"Though thy grey Muse grew up with elder times, And our deceased Grandsires lisp'd thy rhymes, Yet we can sing thee too."
From these lines, therefore, written nearly 50 years after the publication of his former works in 1602, when we may reasonably suppose he could not have been under 20, it is certain that Basse was then well stricken in years; and the probability is, that he died very shortly afterwards, and that this was the reason of the non-publication of his poems. It is possible that a search into the registers at Thame or that neighbourhood, or in the court at Oxford, might settle this point, and also furnish some further information concerning his family and connections. Cole mentions that a person of both his names was admitted a sizar in Emanuel College, Cambridge, in 1629, of Suffolk, and took his degree of B.A. in 1632 and M.A. in 1636. But this was too modern a date for our poet, and might possibly be his son.
I have been informed that in Winchester College library, in a 4to. volume, there are some poems by Mr. William Basse; but the title of the volume I have not been able to obtain.
Mr. Collier concludes his remarks, with a supposition that Basse "was a musical composer, as well as writer of verses." I believe Mr. C. to be right in this notion, from a passage which I find in the commencement of the 2nd Part of "The Youth in the Boat," where, alluding to "sweete Calliope," he remarks:--
"A Muse to whom in former dayes I was extremely bound, When I did sing in _Musiques_ prayse, And _Voyces_ heau'nly sound."
And from the circumstance also of one of the Ballads in the Roxburghe Collection, "Wit's never good till 'tis bought," being sung to the tune of "Basse's Carreere." Mr. Collier has reprinted this in his elegant _Book of Roxburghe Ballads_, 4to. 1847, p. 264., and says:--
"The tune to which is sung, 'Basse's Carreere,' means of course, the tune mentioned in Walton's _Angler_, 'The Hunter in his Career,' composed, as he states by William Basse."
I have a distant recollection of having seen other pieces in some of our early musical works, composed by Basse. Sir Harris Nicolas, also, in the "Life of Walton," prefixed to his edition of _The Complete Angler_, p. cxx., says:--
"He (Walton) appears to have been fond of poetry and music.... and was intimate with _Basse, an eminent composer_, in whose science he took great interest."
I fear that these notices of William Basse, thus collected together from scattered sources, will not afford much information to Mr. Collier, beyond what he is already possessed of; but they may possibly interest others, who may not be quite so conversant with our early writers as that gentleman is known to be. I shall feel much gratified and obliged if he or any other of your correspondents will add any further notices or communications respecting one who may possibly have been personally known to Shakspeare, but whose name, at all events, will be handed down to posterity in connection with that of our immortal bard.
THOMAS CORSER,
Stand Rectory, Feb. 22. 1850.
* * * * *
JOHN STOWE.
In the _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. vii., new series, p. 48., is a clever notice of the life and works of the venerable John Stowe. It says:--
"The biographers have affirmed that he quitted his trade; but there is nothing to authorize that assertion in what he says himself upon the subject."
In the preface to an edition of the _Summarie for the Year_ {298} 1575, now in my possession, Stowe says:--
"It is nowe x yeres, since I (seeing the confuse order of our late englishe Chronicles, and the ignorant handling of aunciet affaires) leaning myne own peculiar gains, coscerated my selfe to the searche of our famous antiquities."
Stowe was born in 1525; he was then 40 years of age when he gave up his "peculiar gains," and devoted himself entirely to antiquarian labours. There had already appeared his edition of _Chaucer_ in 1561, also the commencement of the _Summaries_; but his greater works, the _Annals, Survey of London_, &c., were not published till several years after.
In his old age he was reduced to poverty, or rather to actual beggary; for shortly before his death, when fourscore years old, he was permitted, by royal letters patent, to become a mendicant. This curious document is printed in Mr. Bolton Corney's _Curiosities of Literature Illustrated_, and sets forth, that
"Whereas our louing Subject, John Stowe, this fine & forty yeers hath to his great charge, & with neglect of his ordinary meanes of maintenance (for the generall good as well of posteritie, as of the present age) compiled and published diuerse necessary bookes & Chronicles; and therefore we, in recompense of these his painfull laboures, & for the encouragement to the like, haue in our royall inclination ben pleased to graunt our Letters Patents &c. &c.; thereby authorizing him and his deputies to collect amongst our louing subjects, theyr voluntary contributions & kinde gratuities."
The whole preface to this edition of the _Summarie_ is curious, and is followed by a List of "Authors out of whom this Summary is collected."
In Hearne's _Robert of Gloster_, preface, p. lxi., allusion is made to these _Summaries_. He says:--
"I have not yet met with a copy of this _Summary_ in which we have an account of his authors."
After a panegyric on Stowe's incredible industry he says:--
"Sir Roger Lestrange, talking some years before his death with a very ingenious and learned Gentleman about our Historians, was pleased to say, _that it was always a wonder to him, that the very best that had penn'd our History in English should be a poor Taylour, honest John Stowe_. Sir Roger said a _Taylour_, because Stowe, as is reported, was bred a cap-maker. The trade of Cap-making was then much in fashion, Hats being not at that time much in request."
J.E.N.
* * * * *
TRANSPOSITION OF LETTERS.
The only reason, I imagine, which can be given for the transposition of letters spoken of by Mr. Williams (No. 12. p. 184.), is that it was done on "phonetic" principles--for the sake of euphony:--the new way was felt or fancied to be easier to the organs of speech, or (which is nearly the same) pleasanter to those of hearing. Such alterations have at all times been made,--as is well known to those versed in the earlier stages of the language,--and often most arbitrarily. It is needless to say that "provincial and vulgar" usage throws much light on the changes in the forms of words; and perhaps a little attention to the manner in which words are altered by the peasantry would illustrate the point in question more than a learned comment.
No form of verbal corruption is more frequent throughout the rural districts of England than that produced by the transposition of letters, especially of consonants: such words as _world_, _wasp_, _great_, are, as every one knows, still ordinarily (though less frequently than a dozen years ago) pronounced _wordle_, _waps_, _gurt_. So with names of places: thus Cholsey (Berks.) is called Chosley.
The dropping of a letter is to be accounted for in a like manner. Probably the word was first _pronounced_ short, and when the ear became accustomed to the shortened sound, the superfluous (or rather unpronounced) letter would be dropped in writing. In proper names, to which your correspondent particularly refers, we observe this going on extensively in the present day. Thus, in Caermarthen and Caernarvon, though the _e_ is etymologically of importance, it is now very generally omitted--and that by "those in authority:" in the Ordnance Maps, Parliamentary "Blue Books," and Poor-law documents, those towns are always spelled Carnarvon, Carmarthen. A still more striking instance is that of a well-known village on the Thames, opposite Runnimede. Awhile back it was commonly spelled Wyrardisbury; now it appears on the time-tables of the South-Western Railway (and perhaps elsewhere) Wraysbury, which very nearly represents the local pronunciation.
It is, perhaps, worth while to remark that letters are sometimes added as well as dropped by the peasantry. Thus the Cockley, a little tributary of Wordsworth's _Duddon_, is by the natives of Donnerdale invariably called Cocklety beck; whether for the sake of euphony, your readers may decide.
And now, Sir, you will perhaps permit me to put a query. Tom Brown, in his _Dialogues_, p. 44. ed. 1704., has a well-known line:--
"Why was not he a rascal Who refused to suffer the Children of Israel to go into the Wilderness with their wives and families to eat the Paschal?"
which he says he found on some "very ancient hangings in a country ale-house." I have never doubted that he was himself the author; but having heard it positively ascribed to a very different person, I should be glad to know whether {299} any of your readers have met with it in an earlier writer; and if so, to whom is it to be ascribed?
J.T.
_Pet-Names--"Jack."_--Perhaps one of your many readers, erudite in etymologies, will kindly explain how "Jack" came to be used as the _diminutive_ for John. Dr. Kennedy, in his recent interesting disquisition on pet-names (No. 16. p. 242.), supposes that Jaques was (by confusion) transmuted into "Jack;" a "metamorphosis," almost as violent as the celebrated one effected, some two centuries ago, by Sir John Harrington. "Poor John," from being so long "Jack among his familiars," has been most scurvily treated, being employed to form sundry very derogatory compounds, such as, Jackass, Jackpudding, Jack-a-dandy, Jackanapes, Jack-a-lent, Jack o' oaks (knave of clubs), Jack-o' th' Lantern, &c. &c. Might not "Jack" have been derived from John, somewhat after the following fashion:--Johan--Joan--Jan--Janchen or Jankin.
"Ho! jolly Jenkin, I spy a knave in drinkin."
Jankin = little John. Jank--Jak. This etymology has, I confess, a very great resemblance to the Millerian mode of educing Cucumber from Jeremiah King; but it is the most plausible which occurs at present to
L. Kennaquhair.
_John--Pisan._--I will thank you to inform your correspondent "C." (No. 15 p. 234.), that we must look to the East for the "original word" of John. In the Waldensian MSS. of the Gospels of the 12th Century, we find Ioanes, showing its derivation from the Greek _Iohannaes_. The word Pisan occurs in the 33rd vol. of the _Archæologia_, p. 131.
I have considered it was a contraction for _pavoisine_, a small shield; and I believe this was the late Dr. Meyrick's opinion.
B.W. Feb. 25.
Sir,--If the signature to the article in No. 16., "on Pet Names," had not been Scottish, I should have been less surprised at the author's passing over the name of _Jock_, universally used in Scotland for _John_. The termination _ick_ or _ck_ is often employed, as marking a diminutive object, or object of endearment. May not the English term _Jack_, if not directly borrowed from the Scottish _Jock_, have been formed _through_ the primary _Jock_--John--Jock--Jack?
EMDEE.
_Origin of the Change of "Mary" into "Polly"_ (No. 14. p. 215.).--This change, like many others in diminutives, is progressive. By a natural affinity between the liquids _r_ and _l_, _Mary_ becomes _Molly_, as _Sarah_, _Sally_, _Dorothea_, _Dora_, _Dolly_, &c. It is not so easy to trace the affinity between the _initials_ M. and P., though the case is not singular; thus, _Margaret_, Madge, Meggy, Meg, _Peggy_, _Peg_--_Martha_, Matty, _Patty_--and _Mary_, Molly, _Polly_ and _Poll_; in which last abbreviation not one single letter of the original word remains: the natural affinity between the two letters, as _medials_, is evident, as in the following examples, all of which, with one exception, are Latin derivatives: _empty_, _peremptory_, _sumptuous_, _presumptuous_, _exemption_, _redemption_, and _sempstress_ and again, in the words _tempt_, _attempt_, _contempt_, _exempt_, _prompt_, _accompt_, _comptroller_ (vid. Walker's _Prin. of Eng. Pron._ pp. 42, 43.); in all which instances however, the _p_ is mute, so that "Mary" is avenged for its being the accomplice in the desecration of her gentle name into "Polly." Many names of the other sex lose their initials in the diminutive; as,
_R_ichard _D_ick _R_obert _B_ob _W_illiam _B_ill _E_dward _N_ed _C_hristopher _K_it _R_oger _H_odge,
and probably many others; but I have no list before me, and these are all that occur.
Philologos. Deanery of Gloucester, Shrove Tuesday, 1850.
* * * * *
PARALLEL PASSAGES OR PLAGIARISMS IN CHILDE HAROLD.
Permit me to add two further plagiarisms or parallel passages on the subject of _Childe Harold_ to those already contributed by your valuable correspondent "Melanion."
Mrs. Radcliffe (who I am informed was never out of England) is describing in her _Mysteries of Udolpho_, Chap. xvi. the appearance of Venice. "Its terraces, crowded with airy, yet majestic fabrics touched as they now were with the splendour of the setting sun, appeared as if they had been _called up from the Ocean by the wand of an enchanter_."
In the 1st stanza of the 4th canto of _Childe Harold_ we have the well known lines--
"I stood in Venice on the bridge of sighs, A palace and a prison on each hand: I saw from out the wave her structures rise As from the stroke of the enchanter's wand."
In one of his letters Lord Byron tells us of his fondness for the above novel.
Again in Kirke White's _Christiad_--
"The lyre which I in early days have strung, And now my spirits faint, and I have hung The shell that solaced me in saddest hour On the dark cypress--"
May be compared with the last stanza but one of the 4th canto.
T.R.M.
* * * * * {300}
INEDITED LINES BY ROBERT BURNS.
The following lines by Robert Burns have never appeared in any collection of his works. They were given to me some time ago at Chatham Barracks by Lieut. Colonel Fergusson, R.M., formerly of Dumfriesshire, by whom they were copied from the _tumbler_ upon which they were originally written.
Shortly before the death of Alan Cunningham I sent these verses to him, as well as two Epigrams of Burns, "On Howlet Face," and "On the Mayor of Carlisle's impounding his Horse," which were not included in his edition of Burns' works. In a letter which I received from Alan Cunningham, and which now lies before me, he says:--
"The pieces you were so good as to send me are by Burns, and the Epigrams are old acquaintances of mine. I know not how I came to omit them. I shall print them in the next edition, and say it was you who reminded me of them."
I believe that one or both of the Epigrams were printed in the 8vo. edition of the works in one volume, but my name is not mentioned as the contributor, which I regret; for, as an enthusiastic admirer of Burns, and a collector for many years of his fugitive pieces, it would have been gratifying to me to have been thus noticed. Perhaps Cunningham did not superintend that edition.
The verses I now send you, and which may, perhaps, be worth preserving in your valuable miscellany, originated thus:--On occasion of a social meeting at Brownhill inn, in the parish of Closeburn, near Dumfries, which was, according to Alan Cunningham, "a favourite resting-place of Burns," the poet, who was one of the party, was not a little delighted by the unexpected appearance of his friend William Stewart. He seized a tumbler, and in the fulness of his heart, wrote the following lines on it with a diamond. The tumbler is carefully preserved, and was shown some years since by a relative of Mr. Stewart, at his cottage at Closeburn, to Colonel Fergusson, who transcribed the lines, and gave them to me with the assurance that they had never been printed.
The first verse is an adaptation of a well known Jacobite lyric.
"You're welcome Willie Stewart! You're welcome Willie Stewart! There's no a flower that blooms in May That's half so welcome as thou art!
Come bumper high, express your joy! The bowl--ye maun renew it-- The _tappit-hen_--gae fetch her ben, To welcome Willie Stewart!
May faes be strong--may friends be slack-- May he ilk action rue it-- May woman on him turn her back Wad wrang thee Willie Stewart!"
J. Reynell Wreford.
* * * * *
LACEDÆMONIAN BLACK BROTH.
Your correspondent "R.O." having inquired after the author of the conjecture that the Lacedæmonian Black Broth was composed wholly, or in part, of coffee, such an idea appearing to me to have arisen principally from a presumed identity of colour between the two, and to have no foundation in fact, I have endeavoured to combat it, in the first instance by raising the question, whether it was black or not?
This has brought us to the main point, what the [Greek: zomos melas] really was. And here "R.O." appears to rest content upon the probablity of coffee having been an ingredient. Permit me to assign some additional reasons for entertaining a different opinion.
We read nothing in native writers of anything like coffee in Greece, indigenous or imported; and how in the world was it to get into Laconia, inhabited, as it is well known to have been, by a race of men the least prone of any to change their customs, and the least accessible to strangers. Lycurgus, we are told, forbade his people to be sailors, or to contend at sea[6], so that they had no means of importing it themselves; and what foreign merchant would sell it to them, who had only iron money to pay withal, and dealt, moreover, as much as possible by way of barter?[7]
But it may be said they cultivated the plant themselves; that is, in other words, that the Helots raised it for them. If so, how happens it that all mention of the berry is omitted in the catalogue of their monthly contributions to the Phiditia, which are said to have consisted of meal, wine, cheese, figs, and a very little money?[8] and when the king of Pontus[9] indulged in the expensive fancy of buying to himself (not hiring, let it be recollected) a cook, to make that famous broth which Dionysius found so detestable, how came he not at the same time to think of buying a pound of coffee also? Moreover, if we consider its universal popularity at present, it is hardly to be supposed that, in ancient times, coffee would have suited no palate except that of a Lacedæmonian.
With respect to the colour of the broth, I am reminded of my own reference to _Pollux_, lib. vi. who is represented by your correspondent to say that the [Greek: melas zomos] was also called [Greek: aimatia], a word which Messrs. Scott and Liddell interpret to {301} denote "blood broth," and go on to state, upon the authority of Manso, that blood was a principal ingredient in this celebrated Lacedæmonian dish. Certainly, if the case were really so, the German writer would have succeeded in preparing for us a most disagreeable and warlike kind of food; but my astonishment has not been small, upon turning to the passage, to find that "R.O.'s" authorities had misled him, and that _Pollux_ really says nothing of the kind. His words (I quote from the edition 2 vols. folio, Amst. 1706) are these,
[Greek: "O de melas kaloumenos zomos Lakonikon men hos epi to poly to edesma. esti de hae kaloumenae haimatia. to de thrion hode eskeuazon, k.t.l."]
The general subject of the section is the different kinds of flesh used by man for food, and incidentally the good things which may be made from these; which leads the writer to mention by name many kinds of broth, amongst which he says towards the end, is that called [Greek: melas zomos] which might be considered almost as a Lacedæmonian dish; adding further, that there was a something called hæmatia (and this might have been a black pudding or sausage for anything that appears to the contrary); also the thrium, which was prepared in a manner he proceeds to describe. Now the three parts of the sentence which has been given above in the original do, to the best of my judgment, clearly refer to three different species of food; and I would appeal to the candid opinion of any competent Greek scholar, whether, according to the idiom of that language, the second part of it is so expressed, as to connect it with, and make it explanatory of, the first. We want, for this purpose, a relative, either with or without [Greek: esti]; and the change of gender in hæmatia seems perfectly unaccountable if it is intended to have any reference to [Greek: zomos].
It may not be unimportant to add that the significant silence of Meursius, (an author surely not to be lightly thought of) who in his _Miscellanea Laconica_ says nothing of blood broth at the Phiditia, implies that he understood the passage of Pollux as intended to convey the meaning expressed above.
Another lexicographer, Hesychius, informs us that [Greek: Bapha] was the Lacedæmonian term for [Greek: zomos]; and this, perhaps, was the genuine appellation for that which other Greeks expressed by a periphrasis, either in contempt or dislike, or because its colour was really dark, the juices of the meat being thoroughly extracted into it. That it was nutritive and powerful may be inferred from what Plutarch mentions, that the older men were content to give up the meat to the younger ones, and live upon the broth only[10], which, had it been very poor, they would not have done.
When these remarks were commenced, it was for the purpose of showing, by means of a passage not generally referred to, what the ancients conceived the "black broth" to be, and that consequently, all idea of coffee entering into its composition was untenable. How far this has been accomplished the reader must decide: but I cannot quit the subject without expressing my sincere persuasion, founded upon a view of the authorities referred to, that the account given by Athenæus is substantially correct. Pig meat would be much in use with a people not disposed to take the trouble of preparing any other: the animal was fit for nothing but food; and the refuse of their little farms would be sufficient for his keep. Athenæus also, in another passage, supplies us with a confirmation of the notion that _the stock_ was made from _pig_, and this is stronger because it occurs incidentally. It is found in a quotation from Matron, the maker of parodies, who, alluding to some person or other who had not got on very well at a Lacedæmonian feast, explains the cause of his failure to have been, that the black broth, and boiled odds and ends of pig meat, had beaten him;
"[Greek: Damna min zomos te melas akrokolia t' hephtha.]"[11]
That their cookery was not of a very recondite nature, is evident from what is mentioned by Plutarch, that the public meals were instituted at first in order to prevent their being in the hands of artistes and cooks[12], while to these every one sent a stated portion of provisions, so that there would neither be change nor variety in them. Cooks again were sent out of Sparta, if they could do more than dress meat[13]; while the only seasoning allowed to them was salt and vinegar[14]; for which reason, perhaps, Meursius considers the composition of the [Greek: zomos melas] to have been pork gravy seasoned with vinegar and salt[15], since there seemed to have been nothing else of which it could possibly have been made.
For MR. TREVELYAN's suggestion of the cuttlefish, I am greatly obliged to him; but this was an Athenian dish, and too good for the severity of Spartan manners. It is impossible not to smile at the idea of the distress which Cineparius must have felt, had he happened to witness the performances of any persons thus swallowing ink bottles by wholesale.
The passages which have been already quoted, {302} either by R.O. or myself, will probably give Mr. T. sufficient information of the principal ones in which the "black broth" is mentioned.
W.
[Footnote 6: _Xen. de Rep. Lac._]
[Footnote 7: "Emi singula non pecuniâ sed compensatione mercium, jussit (Lycurgus)."--_Justin_. iii. 2.]
[Footnote 8: _Plut. in Lyc._]
[Footnote 9: _Plut. in Lyc._ The word is [Greek: priasthai], the cook probably a slave and Helot. There seems some confusion between this story, and that of Dionysius tyrant of Syracuse, noticed in the beginning of the _Inst. Lacon._, and by Cicero in the _Tusculan Questions_, v. 34. The Syracusan table was celebrated.]
[Footnote 10: _Plut. in Lyc._]
[Footnote 11: _Ath. Deip._ iv. 13. l. 93.]
[Footnote 12: _Plut. in Lyc._ "[Greek: En chersi daemiourgon kai mageiron.]"]
[Footnote 13: "[Greek: Edei de opsopoious en Lakedaimoni einai kreos monou ho de para touto epizamenos exelauneto taes Spartaes]."--_Æl. Var. Hist._ xiv. 7.]
[Footnote 14: "[Greek: Hoi Lakones hoxos men kai halas dontes to mageiro, ta loipa keleuoysin en to hiereio xaetein]."--_Plut. de tuenda Sanitate._]
[Footnote 15: _Meursii Misc. Lacon_. lib. i. cap. 8.]
* * * * *
QUERIES.
TEN QUERIES CONCERNING POETS AND POETRY.
1. In a curious poetical tract, entitled _A Whip for an Ape, or Martin displaied_; no date, but printed in the reign of Elizabeth, occurs the following stanza:--
"And ye grave men that answere Martin's mowes, He mockes the more, and you in vain loose times. Leave Apes to Dogges to baite, their skins to Crowes, And let old LANAM lashe him with his rimes."
Was this _old Lanam_, the same person as Robert Laneham, who wrote "a Narrative of Queen Elizabeth's Visit to Kenilworth Castle in 1575"? I do not find his name in Ritson's _Bibliographica Poetica_.
2. In Spence's _Anecdotes of Books and Men_ (Singer's edit. p. 22.), a poet named Bagnall is mentioned as the author of the once famous poem _The Counter Scuffle_. Edmund Gayton, the author of _Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixote_, wrote a tract, in verse, entitled _Will Bagnall's Ghost_. Who was Will Bagnall? He appears to have been a well-known person, and one of the wits of the days of Charles the First, but I cannot learn anything of his biography.
3. In the _Common-place Book_ of Justinian Paget, a lawyer of James the First's time preserved among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum, is the following sonnet:--
"My love and I for kisses play'd; Shee would keepe stakes, I was content; But when I wonn she would be pay'd, This made me aske her what she ment; Nay, since I see (quoth she), you wrangle in vaine, Take your owne kisses, give me mine againe."
The initials at the end, "W.S.", probably stand for William Stroud or Strode, whose name is given at length to some other rhymes in the same MS. I should be glad to know if this quaint little conceit has been printed before, and if so, in what collection.
4. What is the earliest printed copy of the beautiful old song "My Mind to me a Kingdom is?" It is to be found in a rare tract by Nicholas Breton, entitled _The Court and Country, or A Briefe Discourse betweene the Courtier and Country-man_, 4to. 1618. Query, is Breton its author?
5. Mr. Edward Farr, in his _Select Poetry, chiefly Devotional, of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth_ (vol. i, p. xix.), calls Nicholas Breton, _Sir Nicholas_. Is there any authority for Breton's knighthood?
6. Can John Davies, the author of _Sir Martin Mar-people_, 1590, be identified with John Davies of Hereford, or Sir John Davies, the author of _Nosce Teipsum_, 1599?
7. In whose possession is the copy of Marlow and Chapman's _Hero and Leander_, 1629, sold in Heber's sale (