Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

"This wisdom I have learn'd, That him, who is my foe, I so may hate As one perchance to be my friend again."

Potter.

The letter of Augustine to Jerome, written
mainly for the purpose of trying to soften his
anger against Ruffinus, and to heal the breach
between them, is a model of Christian mediation,
and highly to the honour of the writer. The
characters of the two men are greatly in contrast,
and it can be only attributable to the mild,
chastened, and forbearing temper of Augustine,
that they did not come to an open rupture. What
Hooker says of Tertullian is surely quite as ap-
plicable to Jerome "a sponge steeped in worm-
wood and gall."*
EDMUND TEW, M.A.

DOUBLE DIMINUTIVES.-In looking at Mr. Wedgwood's Dictionary the other day, I was disappointed to find how meagre were his remarks on the term "Huguenot.” When so eminent an etymologist preserves such a silence, one is apt to ask the question, Is the origin of the word so hopelessly doubtful as this seems to imply? To my mind, nothing can be more satisfactory than DR. CHARNOCK'S statement, made a few weeks ago, that the term is nothing more than a double diminutive from "Hugue” or “Hugues" (Hugh). Thus the word belongs to the directory rather than to the dictionary, and it is there we must look for its history.

a surname. I say a less formal register, because in France, as in England, the ceremonious registrar always sets down the name in its native dress or in Latin.

Guillotine, from the French physician Guillotin, has exactly the same history. It is a double diminutive of Guillaume, the first part answering to our English Willott. The syllables are simply been fortunate enough to find an instance of in a reverse order from those of Huguenot. I have Guillotin in its original use as a personal name as distinct from a surname. "Gilletyne Hansake" will be found in The Wars of the English in France: Henry VI., vol. ii. p. 531.

That Huguenot is a term derived from a man of that name I cannot doubt; further than that I make no assertion. CHARLES BARDSLEY. Manchester.

DR. WOLCOT AND OZIAS HUMPHREY, R.A.— Looking over the very interesting MS. correspondence of the celebrated miniature painter, Ozias Humphrey, I came across a letter addressed to him by the eccentric Dr. Wolcot (better known by his pseudonym of Peter Pindar), which I think will prove of interest to your readers, and, therefore, forward a copy. I am not aware whether the eulogistic verses it contains have been published or not; but I cannot find them in the pretty edition of the poet's works, in four volumes, which came out in 1816, some years previous to his death. He probably carried into effect the intention indicated in the conclusion of his letter, and had them printed in one of the papers of the day :

"Dear Sir,-Give me leave to congratulate you on your return from Italy to old England, loaded, I make no doubt, with all the Excellencies of the Painters of His Holynesses Dominions. I have often enquired conCollett, the present Genoese Consul, pleas'd me much cerning you, & have met with frequent information. with his accounts of you. I have been told that you have entirely dropp'd your miniatures for the large in oil, & that instead of painting for five-&-twenty dimi-years, you have taken a resolution for five hundred. I make no doubt of your succeeding as well in oil as in water colors, in which you are now alone, than Claude in Landschape. As I am myself a Dabler, I want a head in water colors and in oil finished in your highest manner, not only for my instruction, but for the Vanity of being possess'd of the finest paintings in the World. of Mrs Collier is still in my possession, & held sacred. Will you tell me in your next, your Price. Your present

It is a curious fact that, while a double diminutive is unknown in English, it is of common occurrence in French nomenclature. Our forefathers, after the Norman fashion, used ot or et, as in Willmot (Williamot) or Hewet (Hugh). Following the same pattern, they introduced on, en, or in, as in Alison (Chaucer's form for Alice), Perren (Pierre), or Colin (Nicholas). Both diminutives are often connected with the same name, but they are invariably used separately. Thus, Hugh gives us Hughet and Huggin; Mary, Marion and Mariot; Pierre, Perrot and Perrin or Perren. Turning to France, we find that these nutives were commonly used together. Thus, Marie became Marinot; Margaret, Margotin; Pierre, Perrinot, or, transversely, Perrotin; Jean, Jannotin; and Philip, Philiponet. Thus, again, of Hugue. This, one of the most popular of French as of English names, became, similarly, Huguenot. Thus, in the Paris Directory for the current year, we have as surnames (the personal name, as in the other cases quoted, having become surnominal) Hugonet, Huguenet, Hugonin, and Huguenin. Curiously enough, in these two latter instances, the same diminutive has been doubled. I have not the slightest doubt that a search into the less formal of French registers will disclose Huguenot as a personal name before it had become

* Eccles. Pol., B. vi. ch. vi. § 6.

"I have sent you a few stanzas long since penn'd, which if you do not disapprove of I will print in some of the papers. They are the Effusions of real regard for yourself and your art carried to its highest perfection. "I am, with the greatest Sincerity, Sir, "Your humble Serv1, "J. WOLCOT.

"To Mr. Humphrey on his Return from Italy. At length, my Friend, I hail thy wish'd Return, Joy'd to review once more my Country's PrideOf Thee bereft (too long condemn'd to mourn) Hath British Beauty for thy Pencil sigh'd!

[blocks in formation]

A LEGISLATOR-COMEDIAN.-Give me leave to embalm in the pages of "N. & Q.," for the benefit of future annalists of the British stage, the subjoined unique theatrical advertisement from the pages of the Melbourne Argus of this day, April 19th, 1875:

"Theatre Royal.-Wednesday next, April 21. Eight hours' anniversary. Grand demonstration and annual benefit. Amy Stone's first appearance in comedy, Mrs. Ormsby Delmaine.' Mr. G. Coppin, M.L.A., as Aminadab Sleek,' in The Serious Family. Its first production in the new Theatre Royal, also for very many years. An address, written by Marcus Clarke, Esq., will be recited by Mr. Dampier. To be followed by, for the first time in Australia, a new drama, in three acts, entitled, Miralda, a Story of Cuba. In which Amy Stone and Mr. H. F. Stone will appear."

Now, hereby hangs a tale. Mr. George Coppin, M.L.A., the Aminadab Sleek of the programme, is one of the two representatives of the electoral district of East Melbourne in our Victorian Legislative Assembly. He is by profession a "low comedian," and is at present part proprietor of the Theatre Royal here. East Melbourne, be it remarked, is one of our most select constituencies, answering to the West-end of London in respect of relative social position. At the last general election Mr. Coppin won his seat by a considerable majority over Professor Hearn, who is one of our leading intellects, a man of large and varied scholarship, and author of two notable works on Plutology, the Science of Social Wealth, and on the British Constitution. Mr. Coppin is by courtesy the "Honourable" George Coppin, in virtue of having previously been a member of our Legislative Council, or Upper House. He has always been in the habit of varying his public labours as a legislator by a return to his private professional pursuits; and this season he has performed, in the presence of thousands of his delighted constituents, the characters of Jem Baggs, Paul Pry, Milky White, Tony Lumpkin, and several others of that cast. His character-recitation of "Villikins and his Dinah" always brings down the house. His singing of the burlesque version of "Poor Dog Tray" convulses alike pit, gallery, and dress circle. His extemporaneous speeches in Paul Pry, wherein he sharply satirises all the current social and political whims, and especially the Legislative Assembly doings, take the town by storm. He is extremely popular amongst his constituents, and is held to be a very useful public man. Was there ever another instance of a low

[blocks in formation]

EPITAPH. In the churchyard of Mayne, county Louth, bordering the sea-shore, the following. epitaph was lately to be seen; it has since been defaced, all but the last line. Ward died about ninety years ago:

"Beneath this stone here lieth one

That still his friends did please,
To Heaven I hope he 's surely gone
To enjoy eternal ease.

He drank, he sang, whilst here on earth,
Lived happy as a lord,

And now he hath resigned his breath-
God rest him, Paddy Ward!"

W. H. PATTERSON.

NORWICH CATHEDRAL.- -It may interest many to learn that during the restoration (so called) of Norwich Cathedral, the original bishop's throne in the apse at the back of the altar was discovered. Being in a dilapidated condition, notwithstanding the great interest attaching to the historical fact, it was thought wise to restore it; in other words, to destroy the historical and most interesting original, and put up a copy in its place, in which coming generations may entirely disbelieve. What a happy thing it is that the old Romans were builders instead of restorers !

J. C. J.

MILTON'S SIXTEENTH SONNET.-The Spectator, in reviewing the work, King and Commonwealth, says:"We must also protest strongly against such a quotation as this (p. 347):

'Peace hath her victories No less renowned than war.'

What Milton wrote was true and accurately expressed. This is neither."

In Phillips's copy of the sonnet (1694) the passage stands :

"Peace has her victories No less than those of war."

But surely the Spectator will not contend that this version is more true or accurate than the common one quoted by the author of King and Commonwealth, which is the same as the MS. in Trinity College Library, written in a female hand, but corrected by Milton. Phillips's copy is, according

to Professor Masson (and all critics except the
Spectator), "a sheer vitiation of the original as we
have it in the Cambridge draft."
C.

Queries.

[We must request correspondents desiring information on family matters of only private interest, to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that the answers may be addressed to them direct.]

Malta; and Nicholas Magnus de la Fountain, were committed to Maidstone Gaol, in virtue of a warrant under the hands and seals of James (or Jacob?) Woodcott, Mayor of Gravesend and Milton, and John Watson, Esquire, a justice of our Lord the King. No year nor reign, however, is quoted, nor the reason of the imprisonment; but it seems probable that the date would be in the reign of Charles II. Can any reader supply any further information as to the three delinquents or their offence? JOHN W. BONE, F.S.A.

BÁB-UL-MANDAB, the gate of tears, the straits or passage into the Red Sea, vulgarly called "Babelmandel" (Richardson's Persian and Arabic Dictionary), but, according to the same authority, Mandel is the name of a town famous for its aloes, evidently Socotora. Babelmandel is the name by which it is mentioned by De Barros, Lafitau, and early Portuguese accounts generally. In what work, Arabic or Persian, are the name and derivation first given to be found?

E.

LIBRARY OF AUGUSTINE FRIARS AT NAPLES.— In reading over Montfaucon's Italian diary, translated by John Henley, London, 1725, I find a valuable library, with numerous manuscripts, mentioned, belonging to the Augustine monks of St. John de Carbonaria at Naples. The tour of Montfaucon was in 1698 and 1699. The monastery has no doubt disappeared long ago, but what has become of the manuscripts? It was formerly the library of Anthony Seripandus, a cardinal, I believe, who had been left it by the will of Janus Parrhasius. Montfaucon was informed that the library, which was formerly much more numerous, OLD MSS.-I have by me an old MS. consisthad been considerably impaired by a Dutchman, ing of sermons, and dating from the early part of who bought many of the manuscripts. If the the sixteenth century. The writing is bad in itself, libraries of Holland possess ancient manuscripts, and the contractions are so numerous as to make to this Dutchman, whoever he was, they would the caligraphy a species of shorthand. I should be, no doubt, indebted. There were seventy-one be glad if any of your readers could recommend Greek manuscripts, of different ages, and twenty-me a book on the handwriting of the period, which four Latin. Among the Greek manuscripts he might help me in the reading of these crabbed mentions

"The Gospels, on vellum, of the eleventh century. In the first chapter of St. Matthew I observed this:And Josias begat Joachim, and Joachim begat Jechonias and his brethren,' &c."

Our Bibles do not mention Joachim. Also

"A curious manuscript of Dioscorides, vellum; the characters uncial, without accents, the plants and flowers painted in miniature by a skilful hand. I believe there is no other copy of this author so ancient and fair."

Is it known what has become of this manuscript? Among the Latin manuscripts there were many of Cicero and of Livy, of the twelfth century, and three, very ancient, of Priscian's Grammar, with these verses in one of them :"Me legat antiquas qui vult proferre loquelas : Qui me non sequitur, vult sine lege loqui.". Also

“A curious manuscript Virgil of the tenth century, with short notes, and Servius's comments on Virgil, written A.D. 1007, as is noted at the end."

Was this monastery suppressed by the French? and, if so, what became of the manuscripts ?

C. T. RAMAGE.

GRAVESEND AND MILTON.-In The New Retorna Brevium, printed in 1728, is quoted, as an example, a return made by D- P-, Esquire, Sheriff, that, on the 8th of January, Paul Francis, Marquess of Brabantine; Marc Antony Puget, Knight of

Star Cross, near Exeter.

characters.

CLERICUS.

STATUTES AND ORDINANCES OF THE LONG PARLIAMENT AND CROMWELL.-Is there, in her Majesty's Record Office or elsewhere, a roll of these documents similar to the Statute Roll? If not, by what means is a full list to be obtained of them, and where are authentic copies to be found? Husband's and Scobell's collections contain many of them, but the two collections taken together by no means supply the whole. ANON.

ALEXANDER DAVISON, ST. JAMES'S SQUARE. -Where can I find a biographical notice of him? He was prize agent for Lord Nelson after the TYRO. victory of the Nile.

THE AUSTRALIAN WATTLE-TREE.-What are

Is

its properties, &c.? It is said to be a preventative against fever, but in what way is not stated. there any truth in the statement?

HENRY CHRISTIE. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF IMPERIAL ROME.-Has such a thing ever been published? I mean, of course, a "restored " view, and one like those excellent perspective maps of France and Germany published during the late war. A reference to any work, old or new, containing such a plan would be of great service to me. H. S. SKIPTON.

Hatherly Place, Cheltenham

PETER OR ST. PETER.-I should be glad to know if there is any good reason or authority for calling the capital of Russia "St. Petersburg," instead of "Petersburg." Peter the Great, with all his grand qualities, made no particular pretensions to sanctity, and I believe I am right in saying that it is only in England he has been canonized, by the prefix of Saint being given to the city he founded. H. H. A. S.

ZAPHNATH-PAANEAH.-I have looked out from time to time, in many commentaries and other works of reference, for the signification of this Egyptian expression, given to Joseph by the Pharaoh, as related Gen. xli. 45. Yet the variations are so conflicting that one feels that the exact sense of this name is not yet reached. Even in the Speaker's Commentary this is the case. It would be interesting and profitable if some one well up in the ancient Egyptian language would contribute in your columns an exact rendering of the name, if possible; or, short of that, give your readers, as next best, the nearest and most trustworthy signification of this appellative. CHURCHDOWN.

T. TUCKE: CURTIS.-In Q1, 1634, of The Two Noble Kinsmen, p. 80, the above names are given in the direction, "Enter Theseus and some Attendants, T. Tucke: Curtis." Curtis is previously introduced, p. 64. Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." give me some information about these " supers at the Blackfriars? what time were they there? H. LITTLEDALE. Trin. Coll., Dublin,

[ocr errors]

At

THE BISHOPS' OR PRAYER-BOOK VERSION OF THE PSALMS. This old translation is said to have been "commonly prefixed" to the beginning of some Bibles in the middle of the seventeenth century. What particular editions are referred to? J. E. B.

R. E. "MEDICUM INSIGNEM."-Geffrey Whitney dedicates an emblem "ad affinem suum, R. E. medicum insignem" (see p. 90 of Green's reprint of Whitney's Choice of Emblems). Who was this "distinguished physician"? Whitney's sister married an Evans, as appears from his will (see Mr. Green's Introductory Dissertation, p. lxxxiii). Was his "connexion, R. E." a member of that family, and does Hutchinson mention him in his Biographia Medici, London, 1799? P. W. S.

New York.

"QUIS CÆTERA NESCIT?"-In Carter's Notes on the Church of St. John the Evangelist at Slymbridge, in Gloucestershire, p. 22, he describes a mural tablet, which commemorates William Cradock, who died Rector of Slymbridge in 1727. He was, Carter states, a Nonjuror, and his monumental record has the usual motto of Nonjurors, " Cætera

quis nescit ?" Is any other monument known which contains this motto as appertaining to a Nonjuror? I question whether Cradock, who died Rector of Slymbridge, was a Nonjuror. He was deprived of his Fellowship at Magdalen College, Oxford, by James II., in 1687, was restored in 1688, and wrote lines in honour of William and Mary in the Carmen apud Vota Oxoniensia, 1689. "Cætera quis nescit ?" would apply more properly to the celebrated expulsion of the Fellows of Magdalen, and its results. J. R. B.

THE LATE M. LÉVY.-The Paris correspondent of The Evening Post, of New York, speaking of the death of M. Lévy, the well-known publisher, says:

"A curious incident is mentioned in connexion with the funeral. The Chief Rabbi of the Israelites here is

named Zadoc Kohn. Now, no Israelite bearing the name of Kohn, Cahn, Cahen, or Kahn, can enter a Hefuneral sermon at the graveyard gate." brew cemetery, so that the Grand Rabbi delivered his

Will some Hebrew scholar give the reason of the above interdiction? R. P. F. Salem, Ohio, U.S.A.

member some forty years ago, when I was a small GERMAN (CHILDREN'S) STORIES.-I well reboy, being much amused with a volume of German stories, and, if the book is in existence, should be very glad of a copy for my own youngsters. Perhaps some of your readers may know where it can be procured. The stories chiefly consist of a series of narratives of the adventures of companies of various animals, each individual devoting his special powers and qualifications to the general good. One of the earlier stories, I remember, was of a cock and hen (Chanticleer and Partlet), who went into a forest to eat nuts, made a carriage of the shells, and captured a duck, which they harnessed and drove home. Z. W.

"RELIGIO CLERICI."-To whom is allusion made in the following lines? They are from the third edition, published by Murray in 1819, of the Religio Clerici :—

"Next, strong in limbs and brawny-knit of frame,
Some stuttering German, with a sounding name,
Rumbles and vomits his unmeaning note,
A wordy flood which struggles in his throat.
A sea of consonants, in rugged trim,
Where vowels, thinly scatter'd, sink or swim.
He tells what grace the Gentiles shall imbibe,
If they and theirs but largely will subscribe;
How, through their bounty, missions have been sent
To all remoter villages in Kent."

To " Kent" there is a long note, which begins :

"This is not the only favoured county. The following are some of the institutions by which the Gentiles of England may hope to be gradually enlightened:-West Kent union, for promoting village preaching,'" &c.

Ashford, Kent.

RALPH N. JAMES.

BISHOP ATTERBURY.-In the Autobiography of Thomas Gent, edited by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, it is related by Gent, then a prisoner for some supposed treason :

"In the next room forward was confined that unhappy young Irish clergyman, Mr. Neypoe; unhappy gentleman indeed! through the reflections of the Bishop of Rochester (how deserving I cannot tell), as well as of the noted Mr. Dennys Kelly, then both prisoners in the

Tower."

the name of a person or the peculiarities of the locality?

One step towards the solution would be to ascertain what name the place bore before the advent of the Saxon invaders. Camden states that the British name was Lettidur (Lletty-dwr), or the lodge by the river. For this he gives no authority, but some information he must have possessed, as we can hardly suppose he coined the word. The In a subsequent page, Gent says that soon after-general opinion of those who have written on the wards "the Rev. Mr. Neypoe was found in the Thames as though he had been drowned." Gent adds, "It is very strange to me," &c. How did these men get into the bishop's clutches? and what was their crime? GEO. LLOYD. Cowpen.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

DANIEL DEFOE.-The name of the author of Robinson Crusoe, although frequently, and, I believe, originally, written Defoe, has lately come to be given as De Foe. Now, although it is said that the author in question used sometimes to sign himself Foe, I cannot help thinking that the correct division of the word into syllables should be thus-Def-oe. The name looks to me like a Danish or Norse local one, the syllable öe meaning island. The more common way of writing it -viz., De Foe-gives it something of a French aspect, although a moment's thought as to the possible meaning of Foe as a French particle will, I think, show the incorrectness of this way of writing it. Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." throw any light on this subject, either by giving the meaning of the first syllable Def, or other wise?

Replies.

BEDCA: BEDFORD.

F. P. J.

(5th S. iii. 48, 251, 311, 430.) This question brings out so many points connected with the origin of our English place-names, that I venture on a few additional words.

In attempting to ascertain the etymology of Bedford, we must of course refer to its earliest form, which we find in the Saxon Chronicle as "Bedicanforda," A.D. 571. In the subsequent entries it is written Bedan-forda. Several questions here arise :- Is the name British or Saxon, or part British and part Saxon? Is it derived from

subject is that Bedicanford means in A.-S. much the same as the British name the intrenchment by the river passage.

The A.-S. origin of the word is confirmed by the fact that the names of four other towns, mentioned in the same entry in the Chronicle where Bedford first appears, are decidedly of Saxon origin. They are Lygean-burh (Leighton-Buzzard), where there are evidences of a Roman station; Egelesburh (Aylesbury); Bensing-tun (Bensington); and Egones-ham (Eynsham). Although the entry occurs under the date A.D. 571, it by no means follows that it was contemporaneous. Some time must have elapsed before the towns mentioned would be generally known by their English names. The suffixes bury, ham, ton, unmistakably prove their English origin. But how about the prefixes? Lygean is equivalent to "Leigh," the river Lea in A.-S. being called Liga; but what is "Liga"? To what language does it belong? What does it mean? Again, Egeles, the prefix in Aylesbury, has no satisfactory meaning in A.-S. Bensing is in all probability a patronymic. Egones, the prefix in Eynsham, is equally unintelligible in our mother tongue. Now it is quite certain that these, like all other names, when first applied, had a meaning in some language. We are now brought face to face with the question to what extent our Saxon ancestors, in naming places, made use of the previous British or Cymric nomenclature. in many cases they adopted it we have plain testimony, as in the mountains Helvellyn, Pen-y-gant, &c.; in the rivers Avon, Dee, Derwent, &c. It is also evident in many names of places, as Eccles, Eccleston (eglwys = ecclesia); Landican (Llandican), Axminster, Kilham, Carlisle.

That

It is, therefore, quite within the bounds of possibility that the prefix in Bedford may be from a British source, though, if Camden's information be correct as to the original British name, it is hardly probable. The number of place-names with the prefix bed is considerable in England. A few, as Bedingfield, Bedingham, have the form of patronymics, and point to a personal Beda, but it by no means follows that all have the same origin. In Wales I have only been able to discover two or three, which are probably derived from bedd, a grave. In Wiltshire there are two Bedwyns, Great and Little, which are pure Cymrichnames, signifying a birch grove.

« AnteriorContinua »