Part 5

Article "1862. COMMON PRAYER. Forms of Prayer, an extensive collection of, issued by authority, on public occasions; such as War and Peace, Plague and Pestilence, Earthquakes, Treason and Rebellion, Accession of Kings, Birth of Princes, &c. &c., from A.D. 1550 to A.D. 1847, consisting of 45 in manuscript and 181 printed, together 226; many of which are of the greatest scarcity, with a detailed catalogue of the collection, 8l. 8s. 1550-1840 [_sic_].

"The late J. W. Niblock, D.D., F.S.A., was actively engaged for upwards of _thirty years_, (with {406} great trouble and expense) in forming this exceedingly interesting and valuable collection for his projected work, to be entitled 'FORMAE PRECUM, or National State Prayers, issued by Authority, on Fast and Thanksgiving Days, and other public Occasions, from the Reformation to the present Time,' those in manuscript are copied with great care from the originals in public libraries and private collections."

This important collection may possibly be unknown to some of your readers who take an interest in matters liturgical.

W. SPARROW SIMPSON.

Having made it a point, for some years past, to preserve at least one copy of each Occasional Form of Prayer, and wishing to comply with MR. LATHBURY'S request, I send a list of those in my own possession.

Form and Thanksgiving for Delivery of the Queen, and Birth of a Prince. 1841.

Form and Thanksgiving for Preservation of the Queen "from the atrocious and treasonable Attempt against her sacred Person." 1842.

Form and Thanksgiving for abundant Harvest. 1842.

Form and Thanksgiving for Delivery of the Queen, and Birth of a Princess. 1843.

Form and Thanksgiving for Delivery of the Queen, and Birth of Prince. 1844.

Form and Thanksgiving for Victories in the Sutledge. 1846.

Form and Thanksgiving, for Delivery of the Queen, and Birth of a Princess. 1846.

Form for Relief from Dearth and Scarcity. 1846.

Form for Removal of Dearth and Scarcity. Fast. 1847.

Form and Thanksgiving for abundant Harvest. 1847.

Form and Thanksgiving for Delivery of the Queen, and Birth of a Princess. 1848.

Form for Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity. 1848.

Form for Removal of Disease. 1849.

Form and Thanksgiving for Removal of Disease. 1849.

Form and Thanksgiving for Delivery of the Queen, and Birth of a Prince. 1850.

ABHBA.

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PHOTOGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE.

_Photographic Query._--Given the diameter and focal length of a simple achromatic lens; at what distance from it must a diaphragm of given diameter be placed to give the best possible image?

O.

_Improvement in Collodion._--As there are many photographers who are not members of the Photographic Society, and who do not see the journal published by that body, a statement of what I think will be found a very material improvement in the manufacture of collodion may not be unacceptable to the readers of "N. & Q." To five drachms of pure _washed_ ether, add one drachm alcohol 60deg over proof, and dissolve therein sufficient soluble cotton to make it of the consistence of oil (the exact quantity must depend rather upon the dexterity of the operator, as the thicker it is the more difficult to use) then add twenty minims of chloroform, dropping in the latter, which will fall to the bottom, but is readily dissolved on shaking the mixture for a few minutes.

To two drachms of the same alcohol add the iodizing material preferred, and mix with the other ingredients.

The above will be found to flow very evenly smoothly over the plate; is tough, intense, and _structureless_ in appearance. I have not yet determined what is the best iodizing mixture, but at present I prefer iodide of potassium _alone_, if pure, and twenty grains to the ounce of alcohol is the proportion I generally adopt; thus having five grains in each ounce of collodion.

Lastly, as regards the soluble cotton, I cannot find any better material than that produced according to the formula published by Mr. Hadow, in the March Number of the _Photographic Journal_, thus: "Take of nit. potash, five parts; sulphuric acid, ten parts; water, one part; _all by weight_. Add the water to the nitrate of potash, and then the acid, and immediately immerse as much cotton wool as can be thoroughly saturated by the mixture, leaving it in for _at least_ ten minutes, and wash with a great abundance of water. The object of adding the cotton immediately that the acid has been mixed with the nitrate of potash, is to expose it to the action of the chemicals while they are at a temperature of from 120deg to 130deg. For farther particulars on this head, I must refer to Mr. Hadow's paper.

GEO. SHADBOLT.

[This application is not a novelty to us: DR. DIAMOND has for some time added a small portion of his amber varnish (which is prepared from chloroform) to his collodion, and with satisfactory results. It is a pity that so admirable a varnish is not to be procured at the generality of photographic warehouses. We have never yet been able to procure any which will bear comparison with some which DR. DIAMOND was good enough to prepare for us.--ED. "N. & Q."]

_Printing Positives._--I will venture to assure AMATEUR that,--if he will follow DR. DIAMOND'S formula for albumenizing Canson paper, either positive or negative, viz.,

Chloride of sodium (salt) 5 grs. Chloride of ammonium 5 grs. Water 1 oz. Albumen, or the white of one egg, which is near enough for the purpose 1 oz.

and will excite this paper by floating it for about two minutes on a solution of nitrate of silver twenty grains to the ounce, distilled water,--provided his chemicals are good, he will obtain perfectly satisfactory results.

Let his fixing bath be a saturated solution of hypo. soda, and if newly made let him, as recommended by DR. DIAMOND, add 40 grains of chloride of silver to every 8 ounces of the solution. The addition of a grain of sel d'or to every 8 ounces of solution will greatly improve the tones of colour; and if, after some {407} time, the positives become more of a brown tint than he likes, let him add a small quantity of sel d'or, half a grain to a bath of from 12 to 16 ounces, and he will find the dark tints restored.

I inclose a copy of the print of "Horse-shoeing," obtained precisely by the method described. It is rather overprinted; but if AMATEUR will give you his address, and you will forward it to him, it will show him what tones of colour and depth may be procured by following the foregoing directions.

C. E. F.

_Photographic Excursions._--A few Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries have formed themselves into a Photographic Club for the purpose of making periodical excursions into the country, and so securing accurate views of the objects of antiquarian interest in the different localities they may visit. As it is intended that a copy of every photograph so taken shall be deposited in the portfolios of the Society, the advantages likely to result from this little reunion, both to the Society of Antiquaries and to Archaeology generally, are very obvious.

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Replies to Minor Queries.

"_To Garble_" (Vol. ix., pp. 243. 359.).--I venture, with deference, to express a doubt as to whether E. S. T. T. has correctly defined either the former or the present meaning of the verb _to garble_, when he says "it meant a selection of the good and the discarding of the bad parts of anything: its present meaning is exactly the reverse of this." The statutes referred to by your correspondent, the first enacting that no bow staves shall be sold ungarbled, and the second imposing a penalty on the sale of spices and drugs not garbled, appear to me to indicate the former meaning of the word to have been the selection (picking out) of the _bad_ and the discarding of it. Experience shows that in all operations, involving the separation of objects worthless and of value, such as weeding, sifting, and winnowing, the former is removed from the latter and discarded. This view of the case seems to be supported by the fact of the dust and dross sifted from spices being called "garbles." The weeder removes weeds from flowers or plants, the garbler removes garbles from spices and bad bow staves from amongst good ones. Richardson's _Dictionary_ contains the following notes under the head _Garble_:

"Fr. _Grabeler_; It. _Garbellare_. Cotgrave says, Grabeller, to garble spices, &c., (and hence) also to examine precisely, sift nearly, look narrowly, search curiously into."

After giving some examples of its use, Richardson says:

"As usually applied in England, to garble is to pick out, sift out what may serve a particular purpose, and thus destroy or mutilate the fair character of the whole."

To go no farther, the reports of the parliamentary debates, when a "Blue Book" happens to furnish matter for discussion, amply confirm Richardson's definition, that _to garble_ is to pick out what may serve a purpose. In this sense, however, E. S. T. T. must admit that it would be as much garbling to quote all the _good_ passages of a work as to quote all the bad ones. May we not then assume the present meaning of the word _garble_ to be this--to quote passages with the view of conveying an impression of the ability or intention of a writer, which is not warranted by the general scope of the work?

C. ROSS.

_"Lyra Apostolica_" (Vol. ix., p. 304.).--There is, I believe, a slight inaccuracy in the rotation of the names given at the above page as the writers in the _Lyra Apostolica_. They go in alphabetical order, thus [alpha], Bowden; [beta], Froude; [gamma], Keble; [delta], Newman; [epsilon], Wilberforce; [zeta], Williams.

B. R. A. Y.

The poems signed [zeta]. were written by _Williams_, not by _Wilberforce_.

Can you explain the meaning of the motto on the title-page--

"[Greek: Gnoien d', hos de deron ego polemoio pepaumai]"?

M. D.

[This motto is from Homer, _Iliad_, xviii. 125. Its literal translation is, They (the enemy) shall know that it was I who have long kept away from the war," and, by implication, that I have now returned to it; even I, the great hero Achilles; for he is the taunting speaker. Had it not been for my absence, he intimates, the Trojans had not gained so many and great victories. We must leave our correspondent to apply this Homeric verse to the Protestant dark ages of the Georgian era, and to the theological movement of 1833.]

_John Bale, Bishop of Ossory_ (Vol. ix., p. 324.).--A catalogue, professing to be a complete one, of this over-ardent reformer's voluminous works, with a portrait, may be seen in Holland's _Herooelogia Anglica_, fol. 165-7. There are some curious notices concerning him in Blomefield's _History of Norwich_ (fol. 1741), pp. 154, 155, 794., where reference is also made to his brother Robert as a learned man and great writer.

WILLIAM MATTHEWS.

Cowgill.

_Burial in an erect Posture_ (Vol. viii., pp. 5. 59. 233. 455. 630.; Vol. ix., p. 279.).--How strange it is that all of us should have forgotten Charlemagne. When his tomb at Aix-la-Chapelle was opened by the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa in 1165, "he found the body of Charlemagne, not reclining in his coffin, as is the usual fashion of the dead, but seated in his throne, as one alive, clothed in the imperial robes, bearing the sceptre in his hand, and on his knees a copy of the gospels." (See Murray's {408} _Handbook to Belgium_.) The throne in which the body was seated, the sarcophagus (of Parian marble, the work of Roman or Greek artists, ornamented with a fine bas-relief of the Rape of Proserpine) in which the feet of the dead king were placed, are still preserved in the cathedral, where I saw them last year, together with some portions of the robes, and some curious ancient embroidery: these last are not usually exhibited to strangers.

W. SPARROW SIMPSON.

"_Carronade_" (Vol. ix., p. 246.).--"The folk story," as to the derivation of this word (if such a comparatively modern invention deserves such an epithet, for the Carron works, I believe, did not exist a hundred years ago) is quite correct. This gun is said to have been invented in Ireland by General Melville; but having been perfected at Carron, it thence took its name.

Landmann (no mean authority at the beginning of this century), in his _Questions and Answers on Artillery_, says: "The carronade takes its name from being first made at Carron."

H. T. ELLACOMBE.

"_Largesse_" (Vol. v., p. 557.; Vol. ix., p. 209.).--The use of this word is not confined to Essex and Northamptonshire, but extends also to Norfolk. It is met with in many parishes in the western division of Norfolk: where, at the time of harvest, after accompanying the last load of corn home with the procession of the "Harvest Lady," it is customary that the labourers on the several farms should go round their respective parishes, and collect various sums of money, under the name of _largesse_, at the houses of the chief inhabitants, whether lay or clerical. Few were to be met with who refused this species of "black mail" thus levied on them; doubtless regarding it as one out of many means of testifying their thankfulness to the "Lord of the Harvest" for "filling their mouth with good things," and giving them an abundance of "corn and wine and oil."

[Sigma].

This word is of common occurrence in Suffolk during the shooting season, where sportsmen are affrays greeted with it, for a donation, by the labourers on the land where game is sought for.

N. L. J.

_Precious Stones_ (Vol. viii., p. 539.; Vol. ix., pp. 37. 88. 284.).--As the titles of so many works on this subject have been already given in your pages, perhaps I may be of some service to your correspondents in farther completing the list, and referring them to the following in my own collection:

On the Origin of Gems, by the Hon. Robert Boyle: London, 12mo.

The Mirror of Stones, in which the Nature, Generation, &c., of more than 200 Jewels, &c., are distinctly described by Camillus Leonardus, 12mo.: London, 1750.

A Treatise on Diamonds and Pearls, by David Jeffries, 2nd edit., 8vo.: London, 1751. [This work, which was very scarce, has been recently reprinted by E. Lumley for 6s.]

Traite des Pierres precieuses et des Pierres fines, par L. Dutens, 12mo.: London, Paris, and Florence. [Reprinted, with additions, in "Les Oeuvres Meles de Dutens:" Geneve, 8vo., 1784.]

A Treatise on Diamonds and Precious Stones, by John Mawe, 2nd edit.: London, 8vo., 1823.

A Memoir of the Diamond, by John Murray, F.S.A., &c., 12mo.: London, 1831.

Besides these may be consulted, the treatise of Gemma, _Delle Gemme pretiose_, 2 vols. 4to., a ponderous map of obsolete puerilities; the _Mineralogie_ of M. de Bomare; the _Crystallographie_ of M. Rome Delisle; the essay of Wallerius, _De Lapidum Origine_; the learned researches of Bergman, _Sur les Pierres precieuses_, &c.

I may add, that a practical work on the nature and value of precious stones, comprehending the opinions and superstitions of the ancients respecting them, together with an essay upon engraved gems, an account of celebrated collections and specimens, &c., is much wanted, and would probably be well received.

WILLIAM BATES.

Birmingham.

"_A Pinch of Snuff_" (Vol. vi., p. 431.; Vol. vii., p. 268.).--This work is correctly attributed to Benson E. Hill, Esq. The companion volume, _A Paper of Tobacco_, of which F. R. A. speaks in just terms of commendation, was the production of Mr. W. A. Chatto, the ingenious author of a _History of Playing Cards_, &c. His son, Mr. Thomas Chatto, from whom I received this information, is a bookseller, at No. 25. Museum Street, Bloomsbury: where I hope his civility, and anxiety to serve his visitors, will ensure the success he merits.

WILLIAM BATES.

Birmingham.

_Darwin on Steam_ (Vol. ix., p. 271.).--The lines in question are not cited quite correctly by UNEDA. They run as follows:

"Soon shall thy arm, unconquer'd Steam, afar Drag the slow barge, or drive the rapid car; Or on wide-waving wings expanded bear, The flying-chariot through the fields of air."

They occur in the First Part of the _Botanic Garden_, p. 29., 2nd edit., 4to., London, 1791.

L. (1)

[We are also indebted to J. K. R. W. and other correspondents for similar replies.]

_Gale of Rent_ (Vol. viii., pp. 563. 655.).--The word _gale_ is used in the west of Philadelphia in the sense of an instalment. Thus, if land is {409} bought to be paid for in annual sums, one of these is called a yearly gale. I have supposed, I cannot now say why, that this was an Irish expression.

UNEDA.

_Cobb Family_ (Vol. ix., p. 272).--I have much reason to believe that MR. ARTHUR PAGET will find a clue to his inquiries in the following particulars extracted from documents in my possession. The estate of St. Katharine's Hall, or St. Kattern's, near Bath, belonged to the family of Blanchard; and in 1748 the property passed to the family of Parry of St. Kattern's by marriage with the heiress of the Blanchards, who is thus described:

"Thomas Parry, and Querinah his wife, niece and heiress-at-law of William Blanchard, who was only son and heir of Henry Blanchard, and Querinah his wife," [only child of John Curle, Esq.].

In 1795 Thomas Parry devised the estate to his son John Parry, who was the rector of Sturmer, co. Essex; and by his will [May, 1797] his property went to his sisters, Elizabeth Knight, Querinah Cobb, and Hannah Parry. Elizabeth married, Aug. 1781, Henry Knight of Lansdown, near Bath. Querinah married, Nov. 1781, William Milles Cobb, of Ringwood, gentleman, third son of Christopher Cobb, merchant, and Sarah his wife.

I have in my possession some portraits of the Blanchard, Curle, and Parry families; two by Sir Peter Lely, which may afford MR. PAGET farther evidence of the consanguinity of Richard Cobb, Esq., and the Cobbs of Ringwood.

J. KNIGHT.

Aylestone.

On the principle that every little helps, and out of gratitude for CRANMORE'S assistance in the Milton-Minshull controversy, I would offer the following suggestions, which may haply serve as finger-posts to direct him on his way. William Cobb, Esq., of Adderbury, Oxon, immediate ancestor of the baronets of that name and place, derived from the Cobbs of Sandringham, in the hundred of Freebridge, Norfolk. Blomefield's _History_ of the latter county might be consulted with advantage. The Cobbs of Adderbury bore "Sable, a chevron argent between three dolphins naiant embowed or, a chief of the last." Randle Holme, in his _Academy of Armory_, 1688, gives the following as the arms of Cobb,--"Per chevron sable and gules, two swans respecting each other and a herring cobb argent." Thomas Cobb, of Otterington, Yorkshire, a loyal subject of King Charles I., compounded for his estates in the sum of 472l. There is a brass in Sharnbrook Church, Bedfordshire, commemorating William Cobbe, who died in 1522, Alice his wife, a son Thomas, and other children.

T. HUGHES.

Chester.

"_Aches_" (Vol. ix., p. 351.).--I am not aware of any rhyme which fixes the pronunciation of _aches_ in the time of Shakspeare, but I think the following quite as decisive:

"_Of the Fallacie in the Accent or Pronunciation._--The fallacie of the accent is, when a false thing is affirmed under colour of pronouncing it as another thing that is true. For example:

'Where no _ache_ is, there needs no salve; In the gout there is no H, Therefore, in the gout, there needs no salve.'"

_The Elements of Logicke_, by Peter Dumoulin. Translated out of the French copie by Nathanael De-Lawne, with the Author's approbation: London, 1624, 24mo.

"_Anthony._ Thou bleedest apace. _Scarus._ I had a wound here that was like a T; But now 'tis made an H." _Ant. and Cleop._, Act IV. Sc. 7.

See also on the "aitch" question, _Letters of an Irish Student_, vol. i. p. 256., London, 1812; and _The Parlour Window_, by the Rev. Edward Mangin, p. 146., London, 1841.

H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

"_Meols_" (Vol. vii., pp. 208. 298.).--There is an extensive parish called North _Meols_ (the favourite watering-place of Southport being within it) in the sandy district to the south of the estuary of the Ribble, in Lancashire.

PRESTONIENSIS.

_Polygamy_ (Vol. ix., p. 246.).--The practice of monogamy had been established among the Jews before the Christian era, as is shown by various expressions in the New Testament; but their law (like that of other oriental nations) still permitted polygamy, and they were expressly prohibited by an enactment of the Emperor Theodosius, of the year 393, from marrying several wives at the same time (Cod. 1. 9. 7.); so that the practice was not then extinct among them. Monogamy was the law and practice of all the Greek and Italian communities, so far back as our accounts reach. There is no trace of polygamy in Homer. Even in the incestuous marriages supposed by him in the mythical family of Aeolus, the monogamic rule is observed, _Odyssey_, x. 7. The Roman law recognised monogamy alone, and hence polygamy was prohibited in the entire Roman empire. It thus became practically the rule of Christians, and was engrafted into the canon law of the Eastern and Western Churches.

L.

_Wafers_ (Vol. ix., p. 376.).--I have in my possession a volume of original Italian letters, addressed to a Venetian physician (who appears to have been eminent in his profession), Michael Angelo Rota, written during the early part of the seventeenth century. Many of these letters have been sealed with red wafers, still adhering to the {410} paper, and precisely similar to those now in use. The earliest of the letters which I have found sealed is dated April, 1607, which is seventeen years earlier than the earliest known instance, mentioned by Beckmann (_History of Inventions_, Bohn's edit., vol. i. p. 146.), of a letter sealed with a wafer.

WALTER SNEYD.

Denton.

I have before me a reprieve from the Council, dated in 1599, sealed with a wafer, and am certain that I have earlier instances, had I time at this moment to look them up.

L. B. L.

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Miscellaneous.

NOTES ON BOOKS, ETC.

The Northern Antiquaries set their brethren in this country a noble example. Every year sees one or more of them engaged in the production of carefully-edited volumes of early Scandinavian history. We have now to record the publication, by Professor Munch, of the old Norse text of _Kong Olaf Tryggvesoen's Saga_ from a MS. in the Library at Stockholm which has not hitherto been made use of; and also, by the same gentleman, in conjunction with his friend Professor Unger, of an edition of the _Saga Olafs Konungs ens Helga_, from the earliest MS. in the library at Stockholm. Each work is introduced by a preface of great learning, and illustrated by a large body of valuable notes.

Those who have shared our regret, that the brilliant notices of books which occasionally appear in the columns of _The Times_ should be presented in a form which scarcely admits of their being preserved, and also our satisfaction when Mr. Murray put forth his selection from them under the title of _Essays from the Times_, will be glad that the same publisher has issued in his _Railway Reading_ a Second Series of them, comprising fourteen articles.