Chapter 4

The following were lines much used when I was at school, and I believe are still so now:

"This book is mine By right divine; And if it go astray, I'll call you kind My desk to find And put it safe away."

Another inscription of a menacing kind was,--

"This book is one thing, My fist is another; Touch this one thing, You'll sure feel the other."

A friend was telling me of one of these morsels, which, considering the circumstances, might be said to have been "insult added to injury;" for happening one day in church to have a book alight on his head from the gallery above, on opening it to discover its owner, he found the following positive sentence:

"This book doant blong to you, So puttem doon."

RUSSELL GOLE.

The following salutary advice to book-borrowers might suitably take its position in the collection already alluded to in "N. & Q.":

"Neither blemish this book, or the leaves double down, Nor lend it to each idle friend in the town; Return it when read; or if lost, please supply Another as good, to the mind and the eye. With right and with reason you need but be friends, And each book in my study your pleasure attends."

O. P.

Birmingham.

Is not this curious warning worthy of preservation in your columns? It is copied from a black-letter label pasted to the inside of an old book cover:

"Steal not this booke, my honest friende, For fear ye gallows be ye ende; For if you doe, the Lord will say, 'Where is that booke you stole away?'"

J. C.

To the collection of inscriptions in books commenced by BALLIOLENSIS, allow me to add the following:

"Hic liber est meus, Testis et est Deus; Si quis me quærit, Hic nomen erit."

In French books I have seen more than once,--

"Ne me prend pas; On te pendra."

An on the fly-leaf of a Bible,--

"Could we with ink the ocean fill, Were ev'ry stalk on earth a quill, And were the skies of parchment made, And ev'ry man a scribe by trade, To tell the love of God alone Would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretch'd from sky to sky."

GEORGE S. MASTER.

Welsh-Hampton, Salop.

I beg to subjoin a few I have met with. Some monastic library had the following in or over its books:

"Tolle, aperi, recita, ne lædas, claude, repone."

The learned Grotius put in all his books,--

"Hugonis Grotii et amicorum."

{338} In an old volume I found the following:

"Hujus si quæris dominum cognoscere libri, Nomen subscriptum perlege quæso meum."

PHILOBIBLION.

* * * * *

PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES AND QUERIES.

_Head-rests._--The difficulty I have experienced in getting my children to sit for their portraits in a steady position, with the ordinary head-rests, has led me to design one which I think may serve others as well as myself; and I therefore will describe it as well as I can without diagrams, for the benefit of the readers of "N. & Q." It is fixed to the ordinary shifting upright piece of wood which in the ordinary rest carries the semicircular brass against which the head rests. It is simply a large oval ring of brass, about an inch and a half broad, and sloping inwards, which of the following size I find fits the back of the head of all persons from young children upwards:--five inches in the highest part in front, and about four inches at the back. It must be lined with velvet, or thin vulcanised India rubber, which is much better, repelling grease, and fitting quite close to the ring. This is carried forward by a piece of semicircular brass, like the usual rest, and fixes with a screw as usual. About half the height of the ring is a steel clip at each side, like those on spectacles, but much stronger, about half an inch broad, which moving on a screw or rivet, after the sitter's head is placed in the ring, are drawn down, so as to clip the head just above the ears. A diagram would explain the whole, which has, at any rate, simplicity in its favour. I find it admirable. Ladies' hair passing through the ring does not prevent steadiness, and with children the steel clips are perfect. I shall be happy to send a rough diagram to any one, manufacturers or amateurs.

J. L. SISSON.

Edingthorpe Rectory.

_Sir W. Newton's Explanations of his Process._--In reply to MR. JOHN STEWART'S Queries, I beg to state,

First, That I have hitherto used a paper made by Whatman in 1847, of which I have a large quantity; it is not, however, to be procured now, so that I do not know what paper to recommend; but I get a very good paper at Woolley's, Holborn, opposite to Southampton Street, for positives, at two shillings a quire, and, indeed, it might do for negatives.

Secondly, I prefer making the iodide of silver in the way which I have described.

Thirdly, Soft water is better for washing the iodized paper; if, however, spring water be made use of, _warm_ water should be added, to raise it to a temperature of sixty degrees. I think that sulphate or bicarbonate of lime would be injurious, but I cannot speak with any certainty in this respect, or to muriate of soda.

Fourthly, The iodized paper should keep good for a year, or longer; but it is always safer not to make more than is likely to be used during the season.

Fifthly, If I am going out for a day, I generally excite the paper either the last thing the night before, or early the following morning, and develope them the same night; but with care the paper will keep for two or three days (if the weather is not hot) before exposure, but of course it is always better to use it during the same day.

WM. J. NEWTON.

6. Argyle Street.

_Talc for Collodion Pictures._--Should any of your photographic friends wish to transmit collodion pictures through the post, I would suggest that thin plates of talc be used instead of glass for supporting the film; I find this substance well suited to the purpose. One of the many advantages of its use (though I fear not to be appreciated by your archæological and antiquarian section) is, that portraits, &c., taken upon talc can be cut to any shape with the greatest ease, shall I say suitable for a locket or brooch?

W. P.

Headingley, Leeds.

* * * * *

REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES.

_Portrait of the Duke of Gloucester_ (Vol. vii., p. 258.).--I beg to inform MR. WAY that he will find an engraving of "The most hopefull and highborn Prince, Henry Duke of Gloucester, who was borne at Oatlandes the eight of July, anno 1640: sould by Thos. Jenner at the South entry of the Exchange," in a very rare pamphlet, entitled:

"The Trve Effigies of our most Illustrious Soveraigne Lord, King Charles, Queene Mary, with the rest of the Royall Progenie: also a Compendium or Abstract of their most famous Genealogies and Pedegrees expressed in Prose and Verse: with the Times and Places of their Births. Printed at London for John Sweeting, at the Signe of the Angell, in Pope's Head Alley, 1641, 4to."

For Henry Duke of Gloucester, see p. 16.:

"What doth Kingdomes happifie But a blesst Posteritie? This, this Realme, Earth's Goshen faire, Europe's Garden, makes most rare, Whose most royall Princely stemme (To adorne theire Diadem) Two sweet May-flowers did produce, Sprung from Rose and Flower-de-Luce."

[Greek: Phi].

Richmond, Surrey.

_Key to Dibdin's "Bibliomania_" (Vol. vii., p. 151.).--There are some inaccuracies in the list of names {339} furnished by W. P., which may be corrected on the best authority, namely, that of Dr. Dibdin himself, as put forth in his "new and improved edition" of the _Bibliomania_, with a supplement, "including a key to the assumed characters in the drama," 8vo., 1842. According to this supplement we are to interpret as follows:

Alfonso Mr. Morell. Gonzalo Mr. Jessop. Narcottus William Templeman, Esq., of Hare Hatch, Berkshire. Nicas Mr. Shaclewell. Philemon Mr. Jacobs? Pontevallo John Dent, Esq.

A complete "key" is not furnished; but there is reason, I think, to doubt a few of the other names in W. P.'s list. Moreover, in the edition of 1842, several other pseudonymes are introduced, which do not appear in the list; namely, that of Florizel, for Joseph Haslewood; Antigonus; Baptista; Camillo; Dion; Ferdinand; Gonsalvo; Marcus; and Philander; respecting whom some of your readers may possibly enlighten us further. As to the more obvious characters of Atticus, Prospero, &c., see the _Literary Reminiscences_, vol. i. p. 294.

[Greek: Mu].

_High Spirits a Presage of Evil_ ("N. & Q." _passim_).--In a case lately detailed in the newspapers, a circumstance is mentioned which appears to me to come under the above heading.

In the inquiry at the coroner's inquest, on Feb. 10, 1853, concerning the death of Eliza Lee, who was supposed to have been murdered by being thrown into the Regent's Canal, on the evening of the 31st of January, by her paramour, Thomas Mackett,--one of the witnesses, Sarah Hermitage, having deposed that the deceased left her house in company with the accused at a quarter-past ten o'clock in the evening of the 31st, said as follows:

"Deceased appeared in particularly good spirits, and wanted to sing. Witness's husband objected; but she would insist upon having her way, and she sang 'I've wander'd by the Brook-side.'"

The deceased met with her death within half an hour after this.

CUTHBERT BEDE.

_Hogarth's Works._--Observing an inquiry made in Vol. vii., p. 181. of "N. & Q." about a picture described in Mrs. Hogarth's sale catalogue of her husband's effects in 1790, made by Mr. Haggard, I am induced to ask whether a copy of the catalogue, as far as it relates to the pictures, would not be a valuable article for your curious miscellany? It appears from all the lives of Hogarth, that he early in life painted small family portraits, which were then well esteemed. Are any of them known, and where are they to be seen? Were they mere portraits, or full-length? Are any of them engraved? I had once a picture, of about that date, which represented a large house with a court-yard, and a long garden wall, with a road and iron gate, something like the old wall and road of Kensington Gardens, with the master, mistress, and dog walking in front of the house, and evidently portraits. I always suspected it might be by Hogarth; but I am very sorry to say I parted with it at auction for a few shillings. It was (say) two feet square: the figures were about four inches in height, and dressed in the then fashion. I would further ask if any oil painting or sketches are known of the minor engravings, such as "The Laughing Audience," "The Lecture," "The Doctors," &c.?

AN AMATEUR.

_Town Plough_ (Vol. vi., p. 462.; Vol. vii., p. 129.).--In Vol vi., p. 462., GASTRON notices the Town Plough; and it is again noticed by S. S. S. (Vol. vii., p. 129.) as never having been seen by him mentioned in ancient churchwardens' accounts.

Not ten years since there was in the belfry of Caston Church, Northamptonshire, a large clumsy-looking instrument, the use of which was not apparent at first sight, being a number of rough pieces of timber, put together as roughly. On nearer inspection, however, it turned out to be a plough, worm-eaten and decayed, I should think at least three times as large and heavy as the common ploughs of the time when I saw the one in question. I have often wondered at the rudeness and apparent antiquity of that plough, and whether on "Plough Monday" it had ever made the circuit of the village to assist in levying contributions.

I have only for a week or two been in the possession of "N. & Q." when having accidentally, and for the first time, met with the Number for that week, I could not resist the temptation of becoming the owner of the complete series. Under these circumstances, you will excuse me if I am asking a question which may have been answered long since. What is the origin of Plough Monday? May there not be some connexion with the Town Plough? and that the custom, which was common when I was a boy, of going round for contributions on that day, may not have originated in collecting funds for the keeping in order, and purchasing, if necessary, the Town Plough?

BRICK.

_Shoreditch Cross and the painted Window in Shoreditch Church_ (Vol. vii., p. 38.).--I beg to acquaint your correspondent J. W. B. that although I had long searched for an engraving of Shoreditch Cross, my labour was lost. The nearest approach to it will be found in a modern copy of a plan of London, taken in the time of Elizabeth, in which its position is denoted to be on the west side of Kingsland Road; but, from records to {340} which I have access, I believe that the cross stood on the opposite side, between the pump and the house of Dr. Burchell. Most likely its remains were demolished when the two redoubts were erected at the London ends of Kingsland and Hackney Roads, to fortify the entrance to the City, in the year 1642.

The best accounts that I have seen of the painted window are in Dr. Denne's _Register of Benefactions_ to the parish, compiled in 1745, and printed in 1778; and Dr. Hughson's _History of London_, vol. iv. pp. 436, 437.

HENRY EDWARDS.

_Race for Canterbury_ (Vol. vii., pp. 219. 268.).--It is probable that the lines

"The man whose place they thought to take, Is still alive, and still _a Wake_,"

are erroneously _written_ on the print referred to; but I have no doubt of having seen a print of which (with the variation of "ye think" for "they thought") is the genuine engraved motto.

B. C.

_Lady High Sheriff_ (Vol. vii., p. 236.).--There is a passage in Warton's _History of English Poetry_ (Vol. i. p. 194., Tegg's edition) which will in part answer the Query of your correspondent W. M. It is in the form of a note, appended to the following lines from the metrical romance of _Ipomydon_:

"They come to the castelle yate The porter was redy there at, The porter to theyme they gan calle, And prayd hym go in to the halle, And say thy lady gent and fre, That comen ar men of ferre contrè, And if it plese hyr, we wolle hyr pray, That we myght ete with hyr to-day."

On this passage Warton remarks:

"She was lady, by inheritance, of the signory. The female feudatories exercised all the duties and honours of their feudal jurisdiction in person. In Spenser, where we read of the _Lady of the Castle_, we are to understand such a character. See a story of a _Comtesse_, who entertains a knight in her castle with much gallantry. (_Mém. sur l'Anc. Chev._, ii. 69.) It is well known that anciently in England ladies were sheriffs of counties."

To this note of Warton's, Park adds another, which I also give as being more conclusive on the subject. It is as follow:

["Margaret, Countess of Richmond, was a justice of peace. Sir W. Dugdale tells us that Ela, widow of William, Earl of Salisbury, executed the sheriff's office for the county of Wilts, in different parts of the reign of Henry III. (See _Baronage_, vol. i. p. 177.) From Fuller's _Worthies_ we find that Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Lord Clifford, was sheriffess of Westmoreland for many years; and from Pennant's _Scottish Tour_ we learn that for the same county Anne, the celebrated Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, often sat in person as sheriffess. Yet Riston doubted of facts to substantiate Mr. Warton's assertion. See his Obs. p. 10., and reply in the _Gent. Mag. 1782_, p. 573.--PARK."]

T. C. S.

I can answer part of W. M.'s Query, by a reference to a personage who could not have been very far from being the first instance of the kind (Query, was she?).

"About this time (1202) Gerard de Camville, his old and faithful adherent, was restored by John to the possession of the honours of which he had been deprived by King Richard; and it is a remarkable circumstance that, on the death of the said Gerard, in the eighteenth year of the king's reign, his widow, Nichola Camville (who is described by an ancient historian as being 'a martial woman of great courage and address') had the sheriffalty of the county of Lincoln committed to her; which honourable and important trust was continued to her by a grant of Henry III.," &c.

The above quotation is taken from Bailey's _Annals of Nottinghamshire_, now publishing in Numbers (Part III. p. 107.). Should I be wrong in asking correspondents to contribute towards a list of ladies holding the above honorable post?

FURVUS.

St. James's.

_Burial of an unclaimed Corpse_ (Vol. vii., p. 262.).--E. G. R.'s question is easily answered. The parish of Keswick proved that some years before they had buried a body found on a piece of land. This was evidence of reputation that at the time of the burial the land was in Keswick, otherwise the parishioners would not have taken on themselves this work of uncalled-for benevolence. The fact of their having incurred an expense, which, unless the land was in their parish, would have been the burden of Markshall, satisfied the commissioner that the land must have belonged to Keswick. I have no doubt this was the reason, though I never heard of the question in connexion with Keswick and Markshall. Battersea Rise, I heard when a boy, had formerly belonged to Clapham, and been given to Battersea for the same reason as E. G. R. states to have been the cause of Markshall losing its territory to Keswick.

J. H. L.

_Surname of Allan_ (Vol. vii., p. 205.).--I think A. S. A. will find that this name was introduced into Britain from Normandy. It occurs in early Norman times as a personal name, and afterwards as a patronymic. Thus Alan, the son of Flathald, who had the castle of Oswestry granted him by the Conqueror, had a son, William Fitz-Alan, ancestor of the great baronial house of Arundel. In the _Hundred Rolls_, temp. Edward I., it is very common under the orthographies of _fil. Alan_, {341} _fil. Alain_, _Alayn_, _Aleyn_, _Aleyne_, _Aleynes_, _Aleynys_, &c. Allen has always remained a baptismal name, and hence it is probable that there is no more affinity between the numerous families now bearing it as a surname, than between the various Thompsons, Williamses, and others of this class. The MacAllans of Scotland may have a separate Celtic source, though it is far likelier that this name (like MacEdward, MacGeorge, and numerous others) is the English appellative with the patronymic Mac prefixed.

MARK ANTONY LOWER.

Lewes.

_The Patronymic Mac_ (Vol. vii., p. 202.).--The present Earl of Stair has collected and printed, under the title of _Almacks Extraordinary_, a list of seven hundred Scotch and Irish surnames with the prefix "Mac;" and a highly esteemed correspondent promises me a _supplementary_ list of "a few hundreds" of such appellatives, which must therefore be in the aggregate upwards of a thousand in number. I hope to include all these in my forthcoming _Dictionary of British Surnames_.

MARK ANTONY LOWER.

Lewes.

_Cibber's "Lives of the Poets_" (Vol. v., p. 25.).--When MR. CROSSLEY inserted in your pages, at great length, the _original_ prospectus of Cibber's _Lives_, he was not aware that it had been _reprinted_ before. Such, however, is the case, as may be seen by turning to the sixth volume of Sir Egerton Brydges' _Censura Literaria_, ed. 1808, p. 352. It was communicated to the columns of that work by that diligent antiquary in literary matters, Joseph Haslewood. MR. CROSSLEY says, "It is rather extraordinary that none of Dr. Johnson's biographers appear to have been aware that the prospectus of Cibber's _Lives_ was furnished by Johnson." Where is there the slightest _proof_ that Johnson wrote one line of it? Haslewood believed it to have been the production of Messrs. Cibber and Shiels. Does MR. CROSSLEY ground his claim for Johnson merely upon a fancied resemblance in _style_?

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

_Parallel Passages, No. 2.--Stars and Flowers_ (Vol. vii., p. 151.).--Other parallels on this subject are given in "N. & Q." (Vol. iv., p. 22.), to which may be added the following:

"Silently, one by one, on the infinite meadows of heaven, Blossom'd the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels." Longfellow's _Evangeline_, Part I. iii. p. 187. of the Liverpool edition.

ZEUS.

_Schomberg's Epitaph_ (Vol. vii., p. 13.).--I find this entry in my note-book:--The following inscription is written on a black slab of marble, affixed to the wall of the choir of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The remains of the duke were removed to this cathedral immediately after the battle of the Boyne; and on the 10th July, 1690, they were deposited under the altar. The relatives of this great man having neglected to raise any monument to his memory, Dean Swift undertook and caused the above slab to be erected, having first vainly applied to the connexions of the deceased. His sword is in the possession of the society of the "Friendly Brothers," Dublin.

The following is the inscription on the slab:

"Hic infra situm est corpus Frederici Ducis de Schonberg ad Bubindam occisi A.D. 1690. Decanus et Capitulum maximopere etiam atque etiam petierunt, ut hæredes Ducis, monumentum in memoriam parentis erigendum curarent. Sed postquam per epistolas, per amicos, diu ac sæpe orando nil profecere, hunc demum lapidem statuerunt; saltem ut scias hospes ubinam terrarum Schonbergenses cineres delitescunt.

"Plus potuit fama virtutis apud alienos quam sanguinis proximitas apud suos, A.D. 1731."

CLERICUS (D.)

Dublin.

_Pilgrimages to the Holy Land_ (Vol. v., p. 289.).--There is still another book to be added to the curious list of old pilgrimages to the Holy Land, furnished by your correspondent PEREGRINE A. I derive my knowledge of it from Brunet's _Manuel_, sub voce CAPODILISTA (GABRIELE), where it is described as follows:

"Itinerario di Terra Santa, e del Monte Sinai." (Without date or printer) 4to.

It is a journal of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, made in the year 1458 by a Padua nobleman, accompanied by a relative, Antonio Capodilista, a canon of the same place, and several other noble personages. It is one of the earliest productions of the press at Perugia, and the date assigned to it by M. Brunet is 1472, but by Vermiglioli 1473 or 1474. The latter authority, in his _Principi della Stampa in Perugia_, calls it "Veramente un prezioso cimelio di tipografia e bibliografia." I am anxious to know where a copy of this very rare work is deposited, as I have been told that there is none at the British Museum.

W. M. R. E.

_Album_ (Vol. vii., p. 235.).--The origin and the earliest notice of this kind of friendly memorial book is to be traced to the registers of the deceased that were formerly kept in every church and monastery. Such a book was called the _album_, _i. e._ the blank book, in which the names of the friends and benefactors to the church or monastery were recorded, that they might be prayed for at their decease, and on their anniversaries. The earliest writer belonging to this country who uses the word is the Venerable Beda, who in his {342} preface to his prose life of St. Cuthbert, written previous to the year 721, reminds Bishop Eadfrith that his name was registered in the album at Lindisfarne, "in albo vestræ sanctæ congregationis." (_Bedæ Opera Minora_, p. 47., ed. Stevenson.) Elsewhere Beda calls this book "the annal" (_Hist. Eccles._, lib. iv. c. 14.). At a later period it was called, both in England and abroad, the _Liber Vitæ, or Book of Life_, a name borrowed from St. Paul (Philippians, iv. 3.).