Notes.
Reading edition
ROBERTSON'S "INDEX OF CHARTERS."
This work, so often quoted, is familiar to every antiquary; but as the name of the intelligent and laborious editor does not appear in any of our biographical dictionaries, a short sketch may not be unacceptable to our readers.
William Robertson was born at Fordyce, in the county of Banff, in the year 1740. Having gone through the usual course of elementary instruction in reading and writing, he entered the Latin class at the grammar school of his native parish; a seminary then, as now, of great celebrity in the North of Scotland. Among his schoolfellows he contracted a particular intimacy with Mr. George Chalmers, afterwards Secretary of the Board of Trade; so well known by many elaborate and valuable commercial, historical, and biographical publications. The connexion between the schoolboys, originating in a similarity of taste and pursuits, was strengthened at a subsequent period of their lives by the contributions of the intelligent Deputy Keeper of the Records of Scotland to the local and historical information of the author of Caledonia, so honourably recorded in that national work. He completed his academical studies at King's College, Aberdeen, where he was particularly distinguished by his proficiency in the Greek language, under Professor Leslie. He was then apprenticed to Mr. Turner of Turnerhall, advocate in Aberdeen; but had been little more than a year in that situation, when Mr. Burnett of Monboddo applied to Professor Leslie to recommend to him as his second clerk a young man who had a competent knowledge of the Greek language, and properly qualified to aid him in his literary pursuits. The Professor immediately mentioned young Robertson; and Mr. Turner, in the most handsome manner, cancelled his articles of apprenticeship. During his connexion with Mr. Burnett, he accompanied him in several visits to France, on taking evidence as one of the counsel in the great Douglas cause. On his first visit there, he went with him to see the savage girl, who, at that time, was creating a great sensation in Paris; and, at his request, made a translation of M. Condamines' account of her, to which Mr. Burnett wrote a preface. In the year 1766 he was appointed Chamberlain to James, Earl of Findlater and Seafield, on the recommendation of Lord Monboddo. In 1768 he published, at Edinburgh, The History of Greece, from the Earliest Times till it became a Roman Province, being a concise and particular account of the civil government, religion, literature, and military affairs of the states of Greece, for the use of seminaries of education, and the general reader, in 1 vol. 12mo. At this period, having caught a portion of the jealous nationality of the multitude, he published a political jeu d'esprit entitled A North Briton Extraordinary, by a young Scotsman in the Corsican service, 4to., 1769: designed to repel the illiberal invectives of Mr. Wilkes against the people of Scotland. Some of the popular objections to the Union reiterated by the young Scotsman having been found in the characteristic discussion between Lieutenant Lesmahagon and Matthew Bramble on the same subject, in The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker, the authorship was on that account erroneously attributed to Dr. Smollet, who had then discontinued an unsuccessful opposition to Mr. Wilkes in the The Briton.
In 1773 Mr. Robertson married Miss Donald, only child of Captain Alexander Donald, of the 89th, or Gordon Highlanders. In the year 1777 he received his commission from Lord Frederick Campbell, the Lord Clerk Register of Scotland, as colleague of his brother, Mr. Alexander Robertson, who had been appointed one of the Deputy Keepers of the Records of Scotland some years before. He was now in a situation completely suited to his wishes, and entered on the duties of his office with the utmost enthusiasm. It very early occurred to him, that many ancient records of Scotland, which had been removed by Edward I., might still be recovered; and he suggested to Lord Frederick Campbell, who was as enthusiastic as himself in everything tending to throw light on the early history of Scotland, that searches ought to be made in the State Paper Office in London for the purpose of ascertaining whether some of the earlier records might yet be found. Lord Frederick Campbell entered warmly into his views, and the success with which the search was made may be ascertained by consulting the Preface to the Index of Charters.
The Reports to the Parliamentary Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of the records, with the suggestions made by him, and which have been so ably followed up since his death by the late Thomas Thomson, Esq., Deputy Clerk Register, were considered of such importance as to merit a vote of thanks of the Select Committee, which was transmitted to him along with a very friendly letter from Mr. Abbot, then Speaker of the House of Commons, afterwards Lord Colchester. He commenced the laborious work of printing The Records of the Parliament of Scotland, in which he made considerable progress, having, previous to his death, completed one very large folio volume.
Between the years 1780 and 1790, in consequence of a strict investigation into the validity of the claims of several persons to peerages in Scotland, Mr. Robertson was much employed in inquiring into the state of the peerage, both by those who made and those who rejected such claims. This circumstance naturally led him to a minute acquaintance with the subject; and induced him to publish, in 1794, a quarto volume, entitled Proceedings relative to the Peerage of Scotland from 16th January, 1707, to 20th April, 1788: a work which has been found of the greatest service in conducting the elections of the representative peers of Scotland.
In 1798, at the request of Lord Frederick Campbell, he published an—
"Index, drawn up in the Year 1629, of many Records of Charters granted by the different Sovereigns of Scotland, between 1309 and 1413 (which had been discovered by Mr. Astle in the British Museum), most of which Records have been long missing; with an Introduction, giving a State, founded upon Authentic Documents still preserved, of the Ancient Records of Scotland, which were in that Kingdom in 1292."
The object of this publication was to endeavour to recover many ancient records, which there was much reason to believe were still in existence. The labour which he underwent in preparing this volume for the press, and in transcribing a very ancient quarto manuscript, written on vellum, which was found in the State Paper Office, was very great. Every word of this ancient vellum MS. he copied with his own hand, and it is printed along with the volume of the Records of the Parliament of Scotland. The preface, introduction, notes, and appendix to the Index of Charters, show, not only the great labour which this work required from him, but the extensive information also, on the subject of the ancient history of Scotland, which he possessed.
At a general meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, held Jan. 28, 1799, he was elected a member, and placed in the literary class of the Society. He died March 4, 1803, at his house, St. Andrew's Square, Edinburgh, in the sixty-third year of his age.
Elginensis.
COWPER, OR COOPER.
In the midsummer holidays of 1799, being on a visit to an old and opulent family of the name of Deverell, in Dereham, Norfolk, I was taken to the house of an ancient lady (a member of the aforesaid family), to pay my respects to her, and to drink tea. Two visitors were particularly expected. They soon arrived. The first, if I remember rightly (for my whole attention was singularly riveted to the second), was a pleasant-looking, lively young man—very talkative and entertaining; his companion was above the middle height, broadly made, but not stout, and advanced in years. His countenance had a peculiar charm, that I could not resist. It alternately exhibited a deep sadness, a thoughtful repose, a fearful and an intellectual fire, that surprised and held me captive. His manner was embarrassed and reserved. He spoke but little. Yet once he was roused to animation; then his voice was full and clear. I have a faint recollection that I saw his face lighted up with a momentary smile. His hostess kindly welcomed him as "Mr. Cooper." After tea, we walked for a while in the garden. I kept close to his side, and once he addressed me as "My little master." I returned to school; but that variable, expressive, and interesting countenance I did not forget. In after years, standing, as was my wont, before the shop windows of the London booksellers (I have not quite left off this old habit!), reading the title-pages of tomes that I intensely longed, but had not then the money, to purchase, I recognised at a shop in St. Paul's Churchyard that well-remembered face, prefixed to a volume of poems, "written by William Cowper, of the Inner Temple, Esq." The cap (for when I saw "Mr. Cooper" he wore a wig, or his hair, for his age, was unusually luxuriant) was the only thing that puzzled me. To make "assurance doubly sure," I hastened to the house of a near relation hard by, and I soon learnt that "Mr. Cooper" was William Cowper. The welcome present of a few shillings put me in immediate possession of the coveted volumes. I will only just add, that I read, and re-read them; that the man whom, in my early boyhood, I had so mysteriously reverenced, in my youth I deeply and devotedly admired and loved! Many, many years have since passed away: but that reverence, that admiration, and that love have experienced neither diminution nor change.
It was something, said Washington Irving, to have seen even the dust of Shakspeare. It is something too, good Mr. Editor, to have beheld the face and to have heard the voice of Cowper.
George Daniel.
YANKEE, ITS ORIGIN AND MEANING.
The meaning of the term Yankee, which our transatlantic brethren now willingly adopt as their collective name, has acquired more notoriety than it deserved from the unlucky and far-fetched derivations which it has received in so many different publications. The term is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and of home-growth. We all know, from the veritable Diedricht Knickerbocker's History of New York, that its earliest settlers were exclusively Dutchmen, who naturally named it, though from anything but similarity in local situation, New Amsterdam. We may, of course, suppose that in the multitude of these Dutch settlers the names they carried over would be pretty nearly in the same proportion as at home. Both then and now the Dutch Jan (the a sounded very broad and long), abbreviated from the German Johann, our John, was the prevailing Christian appellative; and it even furnished, in Jansen, &c. (like our Johnson), frequent patronymics, particularly with the favourite diminutive cke, Jancke: and so common does it still remain as such, that it would be difficult to open the Directory of any decent-sized Dutch or Northern German town without finding numerous instances, as Jancke, Jaancke, Jahncke, &c., according as custom has settled the orthography in each family. It is scarcely necessary to say that the soft J is frequently rendered by Y in our English reading and speaking foreign words (as the Scandinavian and German Jule becomes our Yule), to show how easily and naturally the above names were transformed into Yahnkee. So much for the name as an appellative; now for its appropriation as a generic. The prominent names of individuals are frequently seized upon by the vulgar as a designation of the people or party in which it most prevails. We have Paddies for Irishmen, Taffies for Welshmen, and Sawnies (abbreviated Alexander) for our Scotch brethren: so, therefore, when English interests gained the upper hand, and the name of New Amsterdam succumbed to that of New York, the fresh comers, the English settlers, seized upon the most prominent name by which to designate its former masters, which extended to the whole of North America, as far as Canada: and the addition of doodle, twin brother to noodle, was intended to mark more strongly the contempt and mockery by the dominant party; just as a Sawney is, in most of the northern counties, a term next door to a fool. It is, however, to the credit of our transatlantic brethren, and the best sign of their practical good sense, that they have turned the tables on the innuendo, and by adopting, carried the term into repute by sheer resolution and determinate perseverance.
The term slave is only the misappropriation, by malevolent neighbours, of the Slavonic term slaus or laus, so frequent in the proper names of that people; Ladislaus, Stanislaus, Wratislaus, &c., meaning, in their vernacular tongue, glory or praise, like the Latin laus, with which it is no doubt cognate: and so servi and servants is but a derivative from the Serbs, Sorbs, or Servians, whose glorious feats in arms against their Turkish oppressors have proved that there is nothing servile in their character.
William Bell, Phil. Dr.
17. Gower Place, Euston Square.
SHAKSPEARE'S BEDSIDE, OR THE DOCTORS ENUMERATED.—A NEW BALLAD.
On looking over a collection of MSS. which has lain untouched for many years, I have lighted on the accompanying ballad. Of its source I know nothing; nor do I recollect how it fell into my hands. I have never seen it in print. The author, fancifully enough, imagines the various editions of Shakspeare brought in succession to the sick-bed of the immortal bard, and has curiously detailed the result of their several prescriptions.
If you do me the favour of giving it insertion in your valuable "N. & Q." I shall feel obliged; and I think that your numerous Shakspeare correspondents, to some of whom it may be unknown, will not be displeased at seeing it in the columns of your interesting journal. The editorial period to which the ballad is brought down will tolerably fix its date:
Old Shakspeare was sick—for a doctor he sent— But 'twas long before any one came; Yet at length his assistance Nic Row did present; Sure all men have heard of his name.
As he found that the poet had tumbled his bed; He smooth'd it as well as he could; He gave him an anodyne, comb'd out his head, But did his complaint little good.
Doctor Pope to incision at once did proceed, And the Bard for the simples he cut; For his regular practice was always to bleed, Ere the fees in his pocket he put.
Next Theobald advanced, who at best was a quack, And dealt but in old women's stuff; Yet he caused the physician of Twick'nam to pack, And the patient grew cheerful enough.
Next Hanmer, who fees ne'er descended to crave, In gloves lily-white did advance; To the Poet the gentlest of purges he gave, And, for exercise, taught him to dance.
One Warburton, then, tho' allied to the Church,
Produced his alterative stores;
But his med'cines the case so oft left in the lurch
Next Johnson arrived to the patient's relief, And ten years he had him in hand; But, tired of his task, 'tis the gen'ral belief, He left him before he could stand.
Now Capel drew near, not a Quaker more prim, And number'd each hair in his pate; By styptics, call'd stops, he contracted each limb, And crippled for ever his gait.
From Gopsal then strutted a formal old goose, And he'd cure him by inches, he swore; But when the poor Poet had taken one dose, He vow'd he would swallow no more.
But Johnson, determined to save him or kill, A second prescription display'd; And, that none might find fault with his drop or his pill, Fresh doctors he call'd to his aid.
First, Steevens came loaded with black-letter books, Of fame more desirous than pelf; Such reading, observers might read in his looks, As no one e'er read but himself.
Then Warner, by Plautus and Glossary known,
Then Warton and Collins together came on,
For Greek and potatoes renown'd.
With songs on his pontificalibus pinn'd, Next, Percy the Great did appear; And Farmer, who twice in a pamphlet had sinn'd, Brought up the empirical rear.
"The cooks the more num'rous the worse is the broth," Says a proverb I well can believe; And yet to condemn them untried I am loth, So at present shall laugh in my sleeve. Rigdum Funnidos.
James Cornish.
Falmouth.
[This ballad originally appeared in the Gentleman's Mag. for 1797, p. 912.; and at p. 1108. of the same volume will be found the following reply:
"Answer to Shakspeare's Bed-side; or, the Doctors Enumerated.
How could you assert, when the Poet was sick, None hit off a method of cure; When Montagu's pen, like a magical stick, His health did for ever ensure?"]
FOLK LORE.
Cures for the Hooping Cough (Rubus fruticosus).—The following is said to prevail in the counties of Warwick, Worcester, and Stafford, as a remedy for this harrowing disorder in children: that if a child is put to walk beneath a common bramble (Rubus fruticosus), having rooted in the ground at both extremities (which may be very commonly met with where they grow luxuriantly), a certain number of times, a perfect cure would be the result.
Gryphea incurva.—In the course of conversation with an old man in the county of Warwick, relative to ancient customs, he related to me as a fact within his own knowledge, that the pretty round stone shell, as he termed it (picking one up at the same time), a specimen of the Gryphea incurva, or Devil's Thumb, as it is frequently called, which is found in considerable quantities in the gravel beds of that county, when prepared in a certain manner—calcined, I believe—is a certain specific for this complaint in its most obstinate form. Indeed, he related to me some very extraordinary cures which he had himself witnessed.
Donkey.—A certain number of hairs taken from the black cross on the shoulders of a donkey, and put into a small bag made of black silk, and worn round a child's neck afflicted with the complaint, is a never-failing remedy.
T. B. Whitborne.