Volume 3 — Queries.

QUERIES ON TENNYSON.

I should be much obliged to any of your correspondents who would explain the following passages of Tennyson:

1. Vision of Sin (Poems, p. 361.):

2. Vision of Sin (Poems, p. 367.):

3. In Memoriam, p. 127.:

(Coleridge, Introduction to Second Lay Sermon, p. xxvi., says:

"Whose ample foreheads, with the weighty bar, ridge-like, above the eye-brows, bespoke observation followed by meditative thought:"

but why the allusion to Michael Angelo?)

[Is our correspondent aware that the "Bar of Michael Angelo" has already formed the subject of a Query from MR. SINGER. See our 2nd Vol., p. 166.]

4. The Princess, p. 66.:

"Heir of all the ages." Is this traceable to the following lines of Goethe?

Is the poem "The Lord of Burleigh" founded on fact or not? In an old review of Tennyson in the Westminster and Foreign Quarterly, it is stated to refer to the "mesalliance of the Marquis of Westminster;" but any such notion is denied in the article on "Ballad Poetry" in the last number of that journal.

ERYX.

ANCIENT MODES OF HANGING BELLS.

In the Churchwardens' accounts of Ecclesfield parish, the following entries occur:—

"1527. It. paid to James Frodsam for makyng of iiij bell collers, xiiijd.

"——. It. paid to Robert Dawyre mẽdyng a bell wheyll, iijd.

"1530. It. for festnynge a gogon in ye belle yocke, jd."

The foregoing extracts are quoted with a view to ascertaining at how early a period the framework, now employed for suspending bells inchurches, was in use. It would appear that in 1527 the bell-wheel was known, and the bell swung on gudgeons ("gogon"), as it does now; but it may be doubted whether it was the same full wheel which we have. In a paper on Bells, read before the Bristol and West of England Architectural Society, Dec. 10, 1849, by the Rev. H. T. Ellacombe, and which has since been published in that Society's Report, I observe that two interesting plates of the bell-wheels are given: one being the old half-wheel, as still to be seen at Dunchideock in Devonshire; and the other the present whole wheel, which Mr. Ellacombe considers was a new thing in 1677.

Supposing that only the half-wheel was known in 1725, still the leverage which it afforded in raising the bell was the same as is given by its modern substitute. What then was the still earlier way of obtaining the momentum necessary to peal-ringing? A drawing of an ancient campanile turret which I have, exhibits a short piece of wood stuck at right angles into the beam to which the bell is fastened; and from the end of this, the rope depends, and would, of course, when pulled, easily swing the bell on its axle.

Observation in old belfries, or illustrations in old books, would possibly throw light upon my Query, which is, What were the modes of hanging church bells for ringing, prior to the invention of the bell-wheel?

ALFRED GATTY.

Minor Queries.

English Sapphics.

—Can any of your readers furnish a list of the best specimens of the English sapphic metre in the English language?—Every one is familiar with Canning's Needy Knife Grinder, in the poetry of the Anti-Jacobin, but I do not believe Dr. Watts's beautiful sapphic lines are as well known as they deserve. I have not a copy of them by me, but I give the first stanza from memory:

FM.

Equestrian Statues.

—I have heard it remarked that, with the solitary exception of the Duke of Wellington, there is no instance of an equestrian statue being erected to a subject, in Her Majesty's dominions. Is this so?

FM.

Plays in Churches.

—In Cooke's Leicestershire the following is given as an extract from the church register of Syston:

"1602, paid to Lord Morden's players because they should not play in the church, 12d."

Who was this Lord Morden; and did the chartered players claim the right of their predecessors, the "moralitie men," to use the church for their representations? Was the 12d. given as a bribe to the players to induce them to forego their claim, or expended in the hire of a place more in accordance with the parish authorities' ideas of propriety?

EMUN.

"The Right Divine of Kings to govern wrong."

—Where is this oft-quoted line to be found, and who is the author of it? It is marked as a quotation in Pope's Dunciad, book iv.

S. WMSON.

Serius, where situated?

—In requesting the information upon a point in geography with which this note concludes, I shall not, I trust, incur censure for introducing it by quoting a few of the lines in which the poet Vida conveys to parents his advice upon the choice of a master for their sons:

I cannot pass unnoticed his counsel to masters:

Vida exemplifies the consequences of the furious character and raging conduct of a master, in the harsh treatment of his defenceless flock (turba invalida), in the instance of a lovely boy, who, forgetful of fear,

The terror excited by the savage pedagogue throws the poor little fellow into a fatal illness:

My inquiry is after Serius Seriadesque Nymphæ. Where is the Serius? What is the Italian name for this (I presume) tributary of the Po?

F. W. F.

Hollander's Austerity, &c.

—Will you, or some one of your readers, kindly explain the allusions in the following passage?—

"Mr. Secretary Winwood is dead, whereby you see Death expects no Complement, otherwise he would certainly have kept it at the Staff's End, with a kind of Hollander's austerity." [Sir Th. Wentworth to Sir H. Wotton, Nov. 8. 1617, Strafford's Letters and Despatches, vol. i. p. 5.]

C. P. PH***.

Brother Jonathan.

—Why is, and when first was, this fraternal cognomen bestowed upon the United States of America? Is it strictly applicable to the whole of the Union, or only to those states which were settled and peopled by the Puritan fathers?

HENRY CAMPKIN.

Authorship of the "Groves of Blarney."

—Can any one inform me when, and by whom, the ludicrous ballad, entitled the Groves of Blarney, was composed, and where it may be found. Everybody knows the lines which describe "Cupid and Venus and old Nicodemus, all standing out in the open air."

E. V.

Carnaby.

—What is the derivation and meaning of this word, as the name of a square or street?

ARUN.

Death of Death's Painter.

—Most persons have heard of the story of an Italian painter who embodied the idea of Death on the canvass so truthfully, that the contemplation of it caused his own death. I always thought it was fabulous, till I met with it in the translation of Vasari's Lives of the Painters, vol. ii. p. 305., now being published in Bohn's Standard Library. The name of Fivizzano is there given to the painter, and the following epigram is said to have been inscribed beneath the picture:—

Which may be thus translated:—

Can you refer me to any authority for the story?

J. C. H.

Finsbury.

Book Plates.

—I have been some years collecting book plates with a view latterly of writing A History of Book Plates, if I can find time to do so. Several years ago, in a paper which was printed in the Oxford Heraldic Society's Report, I suggested 1700 as their earliest known date. I am glad to have an opportunity of mentioning that paper for the sake of saying, that I made some mistakes in it. Mr. Burgon on seeing it said, in a following report, that he had seen a book plate dated 1698. I have since obtained one or two dated in that year. I am anxious to know from any of your readers whether they have seen any English book plate dated before 1698. I am inclined to think that foreign book plates are to be found of an earlier date. I have some, unfortunately not dated, which I think are earlier. There is no doubt, however, that in this country at least they did not become general till after that date. If I live to publish the little work which I meditate, I will give all the information which I can produce on the subject.

DANIEL PARSONS.

Querelle d'Allemand.

—The phrase, "faire une querelle d'Allemand," means, as your readers are aware, to pick a quarrel with a person for the mere pleasure of quarrelling: and the earliest instance of its application, that occurs to me, will be found in one of Du Vair's essays, where speaking of the virtues of some of his predecessors in the office of "chancelier", he says:

"Après avoir longuement et fidèlement servi la patrie, on leur dresse des querelles d'Allemand, et de fausses accusations pour les bannir des affaires."

Is the origin of this expression connected with any particular occurrence in history; or has it arisen from any proneness to quarrel, which might be said to be inherent in the national character of the Germans?

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia, May, 1851.

Bassenet of Eaton.

—Edward Bassenet, the first married Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin, and who in the words of Swift, "surrendered the deanery to that beast Hen. VIII.," was of a family seated at Eaton, in Denbighshire. He had four sons, Richard, William, John, and George; on whom he settled the Irish property which he acquired at the surrender, and probably what he held at Eaton. (See Mason's St. Patrick's, p. 151.)

Can any of your correspondents inform me if this family be still in existence, and in possession? or if not, how soon it failed? From the notices given by Mason, it seems probable that the eldest son died without issue; but even this is not certain, and beyond this I have no clue.

D. X.

Dumore Castle, or the Petrified Fort.

—Can any of your valued contributors trace the origin of this ancient fortress, which is situated on a peak of the Grampian Hills, seven miles north-east from Crieff, immediately above the romantic glen of Almond, so much spoken of in Wordsworth's poems as the burial-place of Ossian. The fort has the appearance of a large circus ring, around which are scattered the remains of this once remarkable stronghold, and which to every appearance have been burned to an extensive degree. Tradition assigns it to be the spot in which the Caledonians so nobly defended the further progress northward of the Romans; and also that it was the custom in those days, for the purpose of making their places of defence more secure, to build a double wall, in which all manner of combustibles were put, which they kindled, and let burn for the space of a few days. Being peculiarly attached to this romantic spot, and anxious to have any particulars regarding its history, perhaps you would be so kind as give it a corner in your valuable "NOTES AND QUERIES;" whereby it may be the means of gaining an answer to my Query.

JAMES C.

Charles Dodd, the Ecclesiastical Historian.

—The catalogue of the Bodleian Library asserts that this author's real name is Hugh Tootle. I should like to know the authority for this statement?

TYRO.

Dublin.

Ussher's Works, by Dr. Elrington.

—If you, or any of your correspondents, can inform me when the remaining volume of the new edition of Archbishop Ussher's works by Dr. Elrington, is likely to be published, I shall esteem it a favour, as I am unable to learn from the booksellers.

C. PAINE, Jun.

Family of Etty the Artist.

—In the Diary of Ralph Thoresby, F. R. S., 1702, vol. i. p. 366., occurs the following passage:—

"Evening sat up too late with a parcel of artists I had got on my hands; Mr. Gyles, the famousest painter of glass perhaps in the world, and his nephew, Mr. Smith, the bell-founder (from whom I received the ringing or gingling spur, and that most remarkable, with a neck six inches and a half long); Mr. Carpenter the statuary, and Mr. Etty the painter, with whose father, Mr. Etty, senr, the architect, the most celebrated Grinlin Gibbons wrought at York, but whether apprenticed with him or not I remember not well. Sate up full late with them."

Thoresby at this time was at York. Were these Ettys ancestors of the late William Etty? In the "Autobiography" published in the Art Journal, it is stated that his father was a miller at York, but the account goes no farther back. It would be interesting to ascertain how far this was a case of hereditary genius. Is anything known of the "Etty the Painter," and "Etty, Sen., the architect," to whom Thoresby alludes? and are any of their works extant?

G. J. DE WILDE.

St. Hibbald.

—Who was St. Hibbald, and where is some account of him to be found? He is reported to have been buried at Hibbaldstowe, near Kirton, in Lindsey.

K. P. D. E.

Minor Queries Answered.

Unde derivatur "Gooseberry Fool?"

—I have heard some wild guesses on this subject; the most preposterous, perhaps, being that which would connect the term with gooseberry food.

Has not the French word fouler, "to press," or "squeeze," something to do with the matter?

T. J. T.

Cheltenham, May 6. 1851.

[Our correspondent will find ample confirmation of the accuracy of his derivation in Tarver's Phraseological Dictionary, where, under Fouler, he will find the examples, "Fouler des pommes, du raisin, to press, to crush, to squeeze apples, grapes."]

Biography of Bishop Hurd.

—The longest biographical sketch I remember to have seen of the late Bishop Hurd, the friend and biographer of Bishop Warburton, was in a work called the Ecclesiastical Register, or some such name, I suppose of the date of 1809 or thereabouts. Can any correspondent of "NOTES AND QUERIES" direct me to the precise title and date of the work, or point out any better sketch of the Bishop's life?

F. K.

[In the collected Works of Bishop Hurd, 8 vols. 8vo., edit. 1811, will be found an autobiographical sketch of the Bishop, entitled "Some Occurrences in my Life," discovered among his papers after his decease. Nichols' Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, vol. vi. pp. 468-512., contains a long and interesting account of the Bishop. See also the Annual Register, vol. 1. p. 155.]

Friday, why considered unlucky.

—Can any of your readers tell me why Friday is considered an unlucky day?

E. N. W.

[There is no doubt the belief of Friday being an unlucky day originated in its being the day of the Crucifixion. A very early allusion to this superstition, and which has not we believe been recorded by Brande, will be found in Geoffrey de Vinsauf's "Lament for Richard Cœur de Lion," who was killed on a Friday:

It is to this passage Chaucer refers in his Nonnes Preeste's Tale, v. 15, 353., et seq., when he says:

The Lord Mayor a Privy Councillor.

—Can any of your contributors inform me whether the prefix "Right Honourable" is accorded to the title of the Lord Mayor of London as a mere matter of courtesy, or whether our Chief Magistrate is for the time being ex officio a Privy Councillor, and consequently "Right Honourable?"

If any authority for either position can be cited, so much the more satisfactory.

LEGALIS.

[The Lord Mayor is never sworn as a Privy Councillor; but on the demise of the Crown attends the meeting, of the Privy Council held on such occasion, and signs the proclamation of the new Sovereign. On the accession of William IV., some objection was, we believe, made to the admission of the Lord Mayor into the Council Chamber, which was, however, abandoned on an intimation that if the Lord Mayor was not admitted, he would retire, accompanied by his officers and the aldermen who were present.]

Alterius Orbis Papa.

—In the Bishop of Exeter's celebrated Pastoral Letter, p. 44., the Archbishop of Canterbury is styled—

"The second spiritual chief of Christendom, alterius orbis Papa."

In conversation a few days since I heard these expressions objected to, when a gentleman present observed that the title "Alterius orbis Papa" was conferred by the Bishop of Rome, or Pope of Christendom, on his confrère of Canterbury, at a very early period. His memory did not furnish him with the precise date, but he was convinced that such was the fact as reported in Collier's Ecclesiastical History, and seemed inclined to refer it to a period not long subsequent to the mission of Augustine.

Is such the fact? or, if not, to whom may the words be ascribed?

A. B.

Redland, June 5.

[Carwithen, in his History of the Church of England, vol. i. p. 40., speaking of Wolsey's attempt to gain the popedom, says, "His aim was the chair of St. Peter, and to the attainment of his wishes he rendered subservient both the alliances and the enmities of his own country. At home, even the papacy could confer on him no accession of power: he was indeed papa alterius orbis."]

Mrs. Elstob.

—Mrs. Elstob, the Anglo-Saxon scholar, is stated by a recent reviewer to have passed the period of her seclusion in a village in Wiltshire, until taken notice of by a neighbouring clergyman. What village was this, and who was the clergyman? for other authorities place her at Evesham in Worcestershire.

J. W.

[We are inclined to think that Wiltshire must be a misprint for Worcestershire in the Review, as the notices of Miss Elstob in Kippis' Biographia Britannica, and Nichols' Anecdotes of Bowyer, only speak of her retirement in distressed circumstances to Evesham, where she attracted the notice of Mr. Ballard, author of Memoirs of British Ladies, and of Mrs. Capon, wife of the Rev. Mr. Capon, of Stanton, in Gloucestershire.]

Cardinal Bellarmin.

—I find the following passage in D'Israeli's Curiosities of Literature:—

"Bellarmin was made a Cardinal for his efforts and devotion to the Papal cause, and maintaining this monstrous paradox—that if the Pope forbid the exercise of virtue and command that of vice, the Roman Church, under pain of sin, was obliged to abandon virtue for vice, if it would not sin against conscience."

Can any of your readers favour me with the text in Bellarmin, which contains this "monstrous paradox?"

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia, May, 1851.

[The passage will be found in Disputationum Roberti Bellarmini, de Controversiis Christianæ Fidei: De Summo Pontifice, lib. iv. cap. v. sect. 8.: Pragæ, 1721, fol., vol. i. p. 456.:

"8. Secundò, quia tune necessariò erraret, etiam circa fidem. Nam fides Catholica docet, omnem virtutem esse bonam, omne vitium esse malum: si autem Papa erraret præcipiendo vitia, vel prohibendo virtutes, teneretur Ecclesia credere, vitia esse bona, et virtutes malas, nisi vellet contra conscientiam peccare. Tenetur enim in rebus dubiis Ecclesia acquiescere judicio summi Pontificis, et facere quod ille præcipit; non facere, quod ille prohibet; ac nè fortè contra conscientiam agat, tenetur credere bonum esse, quod ille præcipit: malum, quod ille prohibet."]