'Life' does not appear to vouchsafe this informa- slept at Windsor Castle, when Her Majesty prition, and I have not been able to discover it my-vately invested him with the insignia of the self. The twelfth edition of the 'Life,' enlarged, Thistle " previous to his leaving for nearly a year's contains an epitaph on the miser, in which occur absence in Australia. He had been recently apthe following lines:pointed Dean of the Chapels Royal in Scotland and Dean of the Order of the Thistle. Y. S. M. Here, to man's honour, or to man's disgrace, It is said to have been copied from the Chelmsford Chronicle. Is it known who wrote the lines? Are they to be found on his tombstone? Elwes died at Marcham, in Berkshire, where was part of his property; but I learn from the vicar that there is no entry of his burial in the parish register. ALPHA. Heidegger.—Where is there any authority for the statement in Mr. Lecky's 'History' (vol. i. p. 533) that the great nobles attracted Heidegger to the rival theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields? G. F. R. B. 'THE KALEVALA.'-The following remark upon this work appears in a recent catalogue : "Max Müller places Kalevala' on a level with the greatest epics of the world, and says it possesses merits not dissimilar from those of the Iliad, and will claim its place as the fifth national epic of the world." Where is this opinion of Prof. Müller's expressed? In what order are the four greater national epics SPRAT AND CLIFFORD.-Are any descendants of F. C. H. THE CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY.-Froude, in one of his essays, declares he had seen a list of twenty English ecclesiastics (temp. Henry VIII.) who had licences to keep concubines." Were such documents really issued; or is it a Protestant invention? Surely it is possible to ascertain the truth on this point! J. W. HARDMAN, LL.D. brightness? When we use the plural "brains," it is in the sense of capacity, intelligence. A man with plenty of brains is otherwise to be described as a man of good parts. A surgeon may write on the brain, and study its anatomy, as being a single object, non-plural; but the vernacular will always have its man of brains" for a clever fellow, and myself I cannot see why not. Literal views on such matters are always in danger of falling into literal nonsense. Language is a haphazard engine, that flashes a meaning, and leaves logic limping to rearward. 66 not burnt anything, except gunpowder. Now, what is there commendable in the French phrase, "Il s'est brûlé la cervelle d'un coup de pistolet"? The brain is left in the singular. So ESTIENNE LE NOIR, FRENCH CLOCKMAKER.-Ifar so good. But "s'est brûlé" is absurd. He has have a fine old French clock, temp. Louis XIV., with the name of the maker, "Estienne le Noir, Paris," in black letters on a piece of white enamel, let into the brasswork below the dial. Though I have seen many of similar style, I have not met with any bearing the name of the above maker, and therefore send this query in the hope of eliciting information. W. E. BUCKLEY. INSIGNIA OF KNIGHTHOOD.-When the sovereign invests any person with the insignia of an order of knighthood, does it not follow as a matter of course that he must, ipso facto, receive the honour of knighthood? I ask the question because I found in the World of March 23, 1887, the statement that "Dr. Cameron Lees, the well-known minister of St. Giles's Cathedral, Edinburgh, dined and As to the line of Milton's, I am pleased to see that MR. MOUNT is of opinion that that foolish folk the modern editors and verbal critics would have altered it, or corrected it, to "circumstances." They are always correcting what is not wrong, when often what is wrong they cannot see to be so. Still, although the word "circumstance" means an environment, it means a vast deal besides that. It means even a condition and state of affairs. You may correctly say, "A man is in good circumstances." Young says: Who does the best his circumstance allows. A man may speak of a remarkable circumstance in history. There it is merely an incident, and incidents may be plural or singular. There is no rule in all this to be laid down. The less rule the better. A good stylist must decide in each particular instance. A cultivated judgment can abolish rules. to " MR. MOUNT's remark about the plural as applied "politics," " "ethics," &c., is very interesting, but I do not see that the slightest preference is to be given to languages that retain the singular in such cases. The Greek expresses the art of government by ToλITIKý, whilst Tà ToλITIKά is state affairs. Our "politics" represents the latter. When we talk of government, and the art of it, our word is far better than the Greek. E TOMITIK is simply an adjective, réxvn being understood; and then it only means the citizen-art, which is a painfully vague abstraction as against our phrase government" or the art of government." The French follow the Greek precisely, and, of course, are as faulty as that. Dr. Johnson defines politics as "the science of government, the art of administering public affairs "; but his three examples show nothing of a science, only the art of state affairs. 66 66 Baltimore. MR. MOUNT's remarks have for me a great value as observations on the use of the plural; but I could About six years ago, when arranging the transfer well wish away all that he says about the "non- of a lease, in order to meet the wish of the owner sense......and of the useless and senseless significa- of the property I proposed the insertion of a special tion in this general tendency to employ plurals, when clause in the agreement; but the tradesman then possibly the singular might answer the same pur- in possession of the lease declared he saw no need pose." It is not more foolish to say even in my of any such claw. A. J. C. heart of hearts" than "in my heart of heart," for there is no definite sense in the latter. If there Beside, besides.-Your correspondent MR. MOUNT be a choice the former is the better: the inner-writes that, according to the rule, "If it be dry on all most heart, as it were, of all the hearts; the inner- the earth beside" should be besides; i. e., that the most shrine of all the shrines-adytum adytorum, word is apparently adverbial. Is not this a mistake? sanctum sanctorum, holy of holies. If it were intended to say that the earth was dry in It is only a mode by which we reach the superlative. But addition to something else-e. g., the earth was hot "heart of heart" reaches, if I may so say, nothing. and dry besides-the word would be adverbial, and If Shakspere could have said "heart of very heart," correctly written besides. But is it not here really I should have backed his phrase; as it is, I find prepositional, the object beside which all the earth it unmeaning, less expressive, and a hundredfold is dry being understood; i. e, the fleece? Etymoless vernacular than Keble's "heart of hearts." I logically, beside is no doubt "by the side," and in have already expressed my high appreciation of some cases may be taken in its literal meaning; MR. MOUNT'S paper, as showing breadth and but this is not necessary to justify its use in this mastery. As a mass of observations it is really case, while besides would not have correctly conR. C. N. valuable; but the drifting into plurals which he veyed the sense. condemns appears to me to lie at the root of right expression. Like much, or perhaps all, instructive wisdom, it runs dead contrary to logic. Logic never invented anything since the world began. Mother-wit, by breaking rules, finds laws. Walthamstow. C. A. WARD. Perhaps one of the forms of error most commonly in use is "I will summons him." H. T. In connexion with MR. MOUNT's interesting paper may be noted the habit of people in the lower classes of adding an s to surnames of one syllable, which is very prevalent; as also is the BALLADS AND SONGS OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND (7th S. vi. 442; vii. 44)—The announcement that the REV. S. BARING-GOULD is collecting, with a view to publication, the ancient melodies of the West of England, which has been made in 'N. & Q.'as well as in the Western Morning News (see Western Antiquary, viii. 103), is of very great interest and importance, since no systematic attempt has hitherto been made, I believe, to recover these venerable tunes from the mouths of the peasantry, and in a few years, for the reasons stated by MR. BARING-GOULD, it will be too late. The late Mr. Chappell gathered the materials for his work on 'Popular Music' entirely from printed nd manuscript sources; and although we may conidently assert that every ballad possessed its own pecial tune, it has been lamented by M. Gaidoz, In a review of Prof. Child's English and Scottish Ballads,' that it did not fall within the scope of hat magnificent work to include the music of the Dallads, although in several cases the airs were known to the learned compiler (Mélusine, tome iv. ol. 207). The French have acted on different principles when making their collections, and it night be worth the while of MR. BARING-GOULD o consult some of the more recent works on the ubject, such as Rolland's 'Recueil de Chansons Populaires,' which has just been published in five olumes, and has formed the basis of M. Anatole oquin's masterly and exhaustive series of articles n old French melodies which are now appearing in he pages of Mélusine. The motif in so many of he French and English ballads is identical, that t is not unreasonable to assume that in some cases he airs are also founded on a common theme. It night also repay MR. BARING-GOULD to refer to Mr. Newell's Games and Songs of American Children,' which includes several quaint old airs of undoubted English origin. There are several old Devonshire ballads which have not been included in the more accessible collections, and of which MR. BARING-GovLD may, perhaps, have met with traditional variants. Some of these I noted a few years ago in the Western Antiquary, and I may add a couple in the Euing collection in the University Library at Glasgow, which bear the following titles, 'The Devonshire Damsel's Frollick' and 'The Devonshire Boy's Courage and Loyalty to their Majesties King William and Queen Mary.' The former of these ballads was sung to "a pleasant new Play-house Tune; or, Where's my Shepherd." This tune is not included in Chappell's collection; but as the musical notes are printed on the broadside, it would not be difficult to recover it. It is a rare thing to find the airs noted on the broadside sheets, and it seems a pity that when they do occur they should be overlooked. Of the weird old dirges which were sung by our ancestors when their dead were "waked," and which corresponded with the Irish "keens," few specimens survive. A Devonshire dirge was printed in 'N. & Q.,' 1 S. iv. 405, and if it be MR. BARINGGOULD'S happy fate to rescue a few others from oblivion, he will indeed earn the gratitude of all who love and reverence the past. Jaipur, Rajputana. W. F. PRIDEAUX. The ballad a portion of which is given at the latter reference was discussed in 'N. & Q.,' 5th S. vii. 387, 436, 495, but only a fragment of it, commencing Cold blows the wind o'er my true love; and a corrupted version, which had been published in the Ipswich Journal, are to be found at these references. J. F. MANSErgh. Liverpool. "SOMETHING ABOUT EVERYTHING (7th S. vii. 88).-This saying, with some modifications in form, has a much longer pedigree than the query assigns to it. While yet a schoolboy I heard it from an old English squire, the late Thomas Northmore, of Cleeve, near Exeter, who graduated in 1789 at Emanuel, Cambridge, having been a pupil of Gilbert Wakefield and Bennet, the friend of Dr. Parr, and subsequently Bishop of Cloyne. He was an accomplished scholar, as evinced by his edition of Tryphiodorus in 1791, and with additions in 1804, and an ardent lover of liberty, which led him to print a poem on Washington, which has, I imagine, become a very scarce volume. Knowing that I was designed for the university, he told me that the definition of a scholar was knows something of everything, and one thing well," laying a strong emphasis on the last word. This had no doubt been impressed on himself by the distinguished scholars above mentioned, and seems to be traceable back to Aristotle, who, when describing those who would alone be profitable hearers of his teaching on moral and political science, says, ἕκαστος δὲ κρίνει καλῶς ἃ γινώσκει, καὶ τούτων ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸς κριτής. καθ ̓ ἕκαστον ἄρα ὁ [καθ' ἕκαστον, οι περί τι] πεπαιδευμένος. απλῶς δ ̓ ὁ Teрì пâν пежαideνμevos ('Eth. Nic.,' i. 3). one who W. E. BUCKLEY. GUNDRADA DE WARRENNE (6th S. iv. 96, 131; vi. 66; viii. 207; xi. 307; xii. 8, 76).-The following lines in my contribution at the third reference appear to have been overlooked by your correspondents, viz.: "Will'mus de Warrena postea vero processu temporis et Will'mo Rufo filio Regis et conquestoris Anglie cuius filiam desponsaverat plurimum honoratus est," &c.'Excheq. Treas. Rec. Misc.,' 60/36,' Ric II. to Ed. IV. H. H. DRAKE. CHRISTMAS TREE (7th S. vii. 247).-For the origin of and introduction into England see 'N. & Q.,' 1st S. viii. 619; 2nd S. i. 191; iii. 184; iv. 505; x. 363; 3rd S. viii. 489, 491; 5th S. xii. 507. EVERARD HOME COLEMAN. 71, Brecknock Road, [Many replies have been forwarded to DR. MURRAY. The substance of these is found at the references supplied by MR. COLEMAN.] "The practice of presentment of Englishry in the case of murder, which was once attributed to Canute, is now generally regarded as one of the innovations of the Norman Conquest." SERINGAPATAM (7th S. vii. 27, 113, 256).-To cap. x. ('Select Charters,' p. 193); 'Ll. Henr. I.,' accompany Sir R. K. Porter's large historical paint-§ 92, 6. In the text he says:ing of the Siege of Seringapatam there was published 'Narrative Sketches of the Conquest of the Mysore, effected by the British Troops and their Allies, in the Capture of Seringa patam,' 12mo., sixty-six leaves, fifth ed., 1804. The compiler says he has used contemporary accounts printed in India and the despatches of Lord Mornington, and he gives lists of all the troops and their officers, and of the killed and wounded. The picture (of which prints were issued) contained portraits of twenty British officers. W. C. B. "PRESENTMENT OF ENGLISHRY" (7th S. vii. 229). For this refer to Mr. Justice Stephen's "History of the Criminal Law of England,' vol. iii. pp. 30-40, where the learned author quotes the passages from Bracton. He says at p. 31, "The effect of a presentment of Englishry was to free the hundred from the fine which was to be paid if the presumption that the person slain was a Frenchman was not removed." This seems to explain shortly the meaning; and it is interesting to note that lower down the historian says, "I have found no definition in Bracton as to what constituted Englishry." Englishry was abolished by 14 Edw. III., st. 1; c. 4, "Soit l'Englescherie et le presentement dycel pur touz jours ouste," &c. W. H. Q. "The name of murder (as a crime) was anciently applied only to the secret killing of another (which the word, moerda, signifies in the Teutonic language), and it was defined, homicidium quod nullo vidente, nullo sciente, clam perpetratur,' for which the vill wherein it was committed, or, if that were too poor, the whole hundred, was liable to a heavy amercement; which amercement itself was also denominated murdrum. This was an ancient usage among the Goths in Sweden and Denmark; who supposed the neighbourhood, unless they produced the murderer, to have perpetrated, or at least connived at the murder; and, according to Bracton, was introduced into this kingdom by King Canute, to prevent his countrymen, the Danes, from being privily murdered by the English; and was afterwards continued by William the Conqueror, for the like security to his own Normans. And therefore if, upon issue had, it appeared that the person found slain was an Englishman (the presentment whereof was denominated Englescherie), the country seems to have been excused from this burthen. But this difference being totally abolished by statute 4 Edw. III., c. 4, we must now (as is observed by Staunforde) define murder in quite another manner, without regarding whether the party slain was killed openly or secretly, or whether he was of English or foreign extraction." Blackstone's 'Commentaries,' vol. iv. p. 194. G. O. E. It is also given in Feilden, 'Short Cons. Hist. of Eng.' (1882), p. 69. It would, therefore, presumably be a fair question to ask in a constitutional history examination. EXAMINEE. [H. J. C., MR. THOS. J. EWING, LADY RUSSELL, and the REV. W. F. MARSH JACKSON are thanked for replies to the same effect.] 'ENOCH ARDEN' (7th S. vii. 206).-Has any Arden' and Miss Procter's little one pointed out the resemblance between 'Enoch Bound (Legends and Lyrics, vol. i.)? Miss poem 'Homeward Procter's must have been the earlier of the two pieces. EDWARD H. Marshall, M.A. Hastings. A similar story, and older, is that in the old sweet song of 'Old Robin Gray.' A. B. BECKFORD'S 'VATHEK' (7th S. i. 69, 154, 217). At the first of these references I asked for Vathek,' printed at Paris and Lausanne; and at information about the scarce original editions of the second I received replies of great value from two correspondents, to whom I duly expressed my gratitude at the third reference. I hope that what I now wish to add may be considered worth recording here, or that it may lead to further elucidation of the mystery which seems to surround the first publication of Beckford's book. In a sale at Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge's rooms, on Friday, March 29, lot 373, a copy of ' Vathek,' uncut, was sold (as described), "Lausanne, chez Isaac Hignon and Comp., 1787," to which the following note was appended "On the title are the following most interesting lines, written by M. Chavannes, the Savant whom M. Beckford originally entrusted with the correction of his manuscript: coriger son Manuscrit et de le faire imprimer à Lau'A la demande de M. Beckford je me suis chargé de L'ouvrage ne me paraissait ni moral ni intéressant. J'ai sanne. Je me suis repenti d'avoir cédé à sa solicitation. de plus des désagremens. M. Beckford en quittant Laude l'imprimeur de Lausanne, et je dus menacer M. Becksanne se hâta de le faire imprimer à Paris au préjudice ford de mettre dans les papiers son infidelité qui fit qu'on arrêta à la douane de France l'envoy de l'imprimeur Hignon les trois exemplaires qu'il envoyait à Paris, et M. B. se hâta de dédomager l'imprimeur pour éviter la publicité.' It proves conclusively that this is the genuine first issue." Inner Temple. The term is explained in a foot-note, on p. 215, Does it? The statement does not seem very clear vol. i., of Stubbs's Cons. Hist. of Eng.': "If an to me. Is it true? If really written by Chavannes, unknown man was found slain, he was presumed who claims to have undertaken to correct Beckford's to be a Norman, and the hundred fined accord- MS., it does not present him in a very favourable ingly, unless they could prove that he was Eng-light as a master of style. Some faults may be lish." The following references are given: 'LI. due, no doubt, to the printer; for auctioneers' Edw. Conf.,' § 16; Dialogus de Scaccario,' i. catalogues are not, and can scarcely be expected to Peut-elle trouver une guérison, be, models of typographical accuracy. But it is diffi- by inexorable laws. Now, the last verse of the cult to believe that Chavannes, or any other savant, first stanza, or Frenchman, ever wrote " mettre dans les papiers son infidelité," for "publish his breach of faith in the papers." Why should Beckford have wished to defraud the printer at Lausanne? Is it likely that he would do so? There seems here a strange want of motive and likelihood in the fraud attributed to an author who was, as has been hitherto believed, more sinned against than sinning. What do MR. BUCKLEY and G. F. R. B. think? The book was bought by Quaritch at the very high price of 5l. 10s. JULIAN MARSHALL. with which it ought to correspond. The first two verses of the second stanza, Le seul remède qu'elle peut ressentir, La seule revanche pour son tort, not to mention that they would seem, I should think, to a Frenchman an intolerable jargon, could not, I am sure, be scanned by any Frenchman, as they each have a syllable too much. The last Hélas! trop tard-est la mort, cannot be scanned for want of a syllable. Moreover, in the first stanza, masculine and feminine rhymes alternate. The second has only masculine rhymes. This last feature is almost conclusive that the verses are the product of an English translator into French. E. P. CLARENDON HOUSE (7th S. vii. 228, 278).—verse, About thirty years ago there was a private entrance on the west side next to the shop now No. 74, Piccadilly, formed by two magnificent wooden pillars, or columns, the cornices of which were elaborately carved. These pillars came originally from Clarendon House, the stately residence of the great chancellor, and had once formed part of the building itself in that immediate locality. At the time I refer to a fishmonger carried on business at No. 74, but the lease having fallen in, the premises were put into complete repair and let to Mr. H. Wearne, wholesale woollen draper, who remained there for several years. Some alterations were then effected, and Mr. Ramus, dealer in works of art, was the next tenant, and is still in possession. What became of the Clarendon House columns is uncertain, but most pro-was reported in the Scots Magazine of the day, bably they disappeared some twenty years since, and I would call MR. MARSHALL'S attention thereto. during the alterations consequent on the rebuild- The September number of the magazine referred to ing or extension of the St. James's Hotel, which contains the opinion of an English lawyer, named adjoins No. 74, Piccadilly. M'Carty, dated from London, from which I will only quote a few lines: GEORGE J. T. MERRY. 35, Warwick Road, Earl's Court, S.W. The pioneer of mail coaches was Mr. John Palmer, M.P. for Bath, and not General Palmer. The first coach on his system began running on Aug. 8, 1784, and went to Bristol as its destination, and not Bath, through which latter place it passed. When John Wykeham Archer published his 'Vestiges of Old London,' in 1851, a mail on Mr. Palmer's system was still nightly leaving the General Post Office. In memory of him to whom the prosperity of the Post Office is due I must correct MR. ARCHER. HAROLD MALET, Colonel. LITERARY PLAGIARISMS (7th S. vii. 226, 272). -I do not know whether the French verses quoted under this title in 'N. & Q.' are a translation of Goldsmith's When lovely woman stoops to folly by an Englishman unacquainted with the rules of French versification, or are an inaccurate transcript of the original of Goldsmith's stanzas. The rhythm of French verses is not very appreciable to an English ear, but French versifiers govern themselves TRIAL OF PATRICK OGILVIE (7th S. vii. 227).— It is somewhat surprising that, on looking back some ten or twelve years over 'N. & Q.,' not a note one can find on this subject. Most undoubtedly it was an extraordinary case, causing very considerable sensation at the time, and must be of great interest to those who study celebrated crimiI have read and reread the case as it nal cases. "I am of opinion that, if the crimes charged are considered severally, and the evidence produced to support one crime is taken singly, without the assistance of the other, no jury in England would have found the prisoners guilty." And with regard to the charge of poisoning, the same writer says : "The matter might have been cleared up by opening the body. Surgeons were present and ready to perform the operation, but were prevented by the person who has spirited up the prosecution, and who is to be the only gainer by the death of the prisoners." In the October number I find it recorded that Ogilvie was reprieved four times. In February, 1766, among the births, it appears Mrs. Ogilvie, while in Edinburgh prison, gave birth to a daughter; and in April there are a few verses on the death of the child. With regard to Katharine Nairn's death, I do not know my authority, but am quite of the opi nion that she was not executed. ALFRED CHAS. JONAS. The male prisoner was executed under rather revolting circumstances, as the rope broke. Kathe |