Part 43
Mester Knoleis, y heuv har (I have heard) sum neus from Scotland; y send zou the double off them y vreit (wrote) to the quin (queen) my gud Sister, and pres (pray) zou to du the lyk, conforme to that y spak zesternicht vnto zou, and sut hesti ansur y refer all to zour discretion, and wil lipne beter in zour gud delin (dealing) for mi, (me) nor y kan persuad zou, nemli in this langasg (language) excus my ivil vreitin (writing) for y neuver vsed it afor, and am hestit (hasted). Ze schal si my bel (bill) vhuilk (which) is opne, it is sed Seterday my unfrinds wil be vth (with) zou, y sey nething bot trests weil, and ze send oni to zour wiff ze mey asur schu (she) wald a bin weilcom to apur (poor) strenger hua (who) nocht bien (not being) aquentet vth her, wil nocht bi ouuer bald (bold) to vreit bot for the aquentans betuix ous (us: _i_. _e_. herself and Sir Francis Knolles). Y wil send zou letle tokne (token) to rember (remember) zou off the gud hop y heuu (have) in zou guef (gif--if) ze fend (find) a mit (meet) mesager y wald wish ze bestouded (bestowed) it reder (rather) apon her non (than) ani vder; thus effter my commendations y prey God heuu zou in his kipin.
"Zour asured gud frind.
"MARIE R.
"Excus my ivel vreitin thes furst tym."
PHILOSOPHY OF THE BRAMINS.
The order of creation, which is described in the Institutes of Menu (c. 1, pp. 75-8), is remarkable. "First emerges the subtle ether, to which philosophers ascribe the quality of conveying sound: from ether, effecting a transmutation in form, springs the pure and potent air, a vehicle of all scents; and air is held endued with the quality of touch: then from air, operating a change, rises light, or fire, making objects visible, dispelling gloom, spreading bright rays; and it is declared to have the quality of figure: but from light, a change being effected, comes water, with the quality of taste: and from water is deposited earth, with the quality of smell; such were they created in the beginning." This passage bears at least as strong a resemblance to the chemical philosophy of our days, as certain parts of the Hindoo fables bear to the mysteries of the Christian religion. But it is more difficult to account for the philosophy, (if, indeed, it be any thing more than mere theory,) than to explain how the distorted traces of Christianity found their way into the fables of Hindostan.
FOREIGNERS IN LONDON IN 1567.
"We learn from the Bishop of London's certificate, that, in December, 1567, there were then in London and its immediate vicinity, or places which are now included in the word 'London,' 3838 Dutchmen; 720 Frenchmen; 137 Italians; 14 Venetians; 56 Spaniards; 25 Portuguese; 2 Grecians; 2 Blackamores; 1 Dane; and but 58 Scots! making a total of 4851 foreigners."
CHANGES OF FORTUNE.
In 1454, Sir Stephen Forster was Lord Mayor of London. He had been long in prison and penury, on account of his inordinate profuseness. It chanced that a most fantastical widow, who knew not how to get rid of her immense wealth, saw him begging at the gate; she admired his fine person, learnt his history, paid his debts, and married him; asking of him only this one favour, that he would lavish away her fortune as fast as he could. Forster, probably from perverseness, became a sober husband and a prudent manager, and only expended large sums in adding a chapel and other advantageous appendages to Ludgate, where he had suffered so many hardships.
ROMAN VASES IN BLACK WARE.
The principal subjects represented on vases of ancient Roman pottery of black ware are hunting scenes--such as dogs chasing stags, deer, hares,--also, dolphins, ivy wreaths, and engrailed lines; and engine-turned patterns. In a few instances men with spears are represented, but in a rude and debased style of art. The principal form is the cup of a jar shape, sometimes with deep oval flutings, as on one found at Castor; but dishes, cups, plates, and mortars are not found in this ware.
Some of the vases of this ware have ornaments, and sometimes letters painted on them in white slip upon their black ground, as represented in our engraving. They are generally of a small size, and of the nature of bottles or cups, with inscriptions, such as AVE, hail! VIVAS, may you live! IMPLE, fill; BIBE, drink; VINVM, wine; VIVA, life; VIVE BIBE MVLTIS; showing that they were used for purposes purely convivial. Such are the vases found at Etaples, near Boulogne, the ancient Gessoriacum, and at Mesnil.
Some rarer and finer specimens from Bredene, in the department of Lis, have a moulding round the foot. Great quantities are found in England, Holland, Belgium, and France. It is found on the right bank of the Rhine. A variety of this ware has been lately found at a spot called Crockhill, in the New Forest, together with the kilns in which it was made, and a heap of potter's sherds, or pieces spoilt in the baking. The paste was made of the blue clay of the neighbourhood, covered with an alkaline glaze of a maroon colour, perhaps the result of imperfect baking; for the pieces when submitted again to the action of the fire, decrepitated and split. They were so much vitrified as to resemble modern stone ware, yet as all of them have proofs of having been rejected by the potters, it is probable that this was not the proper colour of the ware. Almost all were of the pinched up fluted shape, and had no bas-reliefs, having been ornamented with patterns laid on in white colour. The kilns are supposed to be of the third century of our era, and the ware was in local use, for some of it was found at Bittern.
FRENCH BIBLE.
There was a French Bible, printed at Paris in 1538, by Anthony Bonnemere, wherein is related "that the ashes of the golden calf which Moses caused to be burnt, and mixed with the water that was drank by the Israelites, stuck to the beards of such as has had fallen down before it; by which they appeared with gilt beards, as a peculiar mark to distinguish those which had worshipped the calf." This idle story is actually interwoven with the 32nd chapter of Exodus. And Bonnemere says, in his preface, this French Bible was printed in 1495, at the request of his most Christian Majesty Charles VIII.; and declares further that the French translator "has added nothing but the genuine truths, according to the express terms of the Latin Bible; nor omitted anything but what was improper to be translated!" So that we are to look upon this fiction of the gilded beards as matter of fact; and another of the same stamp, inserted in the chapter above mentioned, viz., that, "Upon Aaron's refusing to make gods for the Israelites, they spat upon him with so much fury and violence that they quite suffocated him."
SARDONYX RING WITH CAMEO HEAD OF QUEEN ELIZABETH, IN THE POSSESSION OF REV. LORD THYNNE.
This is said to be the identical ring given by Queen Elizabeth to Essex, and so fatally retained by Lady Nottingham. It has descended from Lady Frances Devereux, Essex's daughter, in unbroken succession from mother and daughter to the present possessor. The ring is gold, the sides engraved, and the inside of blue enamel; the execution of the head of Elizabeth is of a high order, and whether this be _the_ ring or not, it is valuable as a work of art.
CURIOUS WAGERS.
There have been travelling wagers, and none of the least singular of such was that of Mr. Whalley, an Irish gentleman (and who we believe edited Ben Johnson's works), who, for a very considerable wager (twenty thousand pounds, it was said,) set out on Monday the 22nd of September, 1788, to walk to Constantinople and back again in one year. This wager, however whimsical, is not without a precedent. Some years ago a baronet of good fortune (Sir Henry Liddel) laid a considerable wager that he would go to Lapland, bring home two females of that country, and two rein-deer, in a given time. He performed the journey, and effected his purpose in every respect. The Lapland women lived with him about a year, but desiring to go back to their own country, the baronet furnished them with means and money.
CONFECTIONERY ART IN 1660.
The following is extracted from a work on Cookery, by Robert May, published in 1660. It is entitled the "_Accomplisht Cook, &c., &c._
"Triumphs and Trophies in Cookery, to be used in Festival Times, as Twelfth Day, &c.:--Make the likeness of a ship in pasteboard with flags and streamers, the guns belonging to it of kickses, bind them about with pack-thread and cover them with paste proportionable to the fashion of a cannon with carriages; lay them in places convenient, as you see them in ships of war, with such holes and trains of powder that they may all take fire. Place your ships firm in a great charger; then make a salt round about it, and stick therein egg-shells full of sweet water; you may by a great pin take out all the meat out of the egg by blowing, and then fill it with rose-water. Then in another charger have the proportion of a stag made of coarse paste, with a broad arrow in the side of him, and his body filled up with claret wine. In another charger at the end of the stag have the proportion of a castle with battlements, percullices, gates, and drawbridges, made of pasteboard, the guns of kickses, and covered with coarse paste as the former; place it at a distance from the ship to fire at each other. The stag being placed betwixt them, with egg-shells full of sweet water (as before) placed in salt. At each side of the charger wherein is the stag, place a pie made of coarse paste, in one of which let there be some live frogs, in the other live birds; make these pies of coarse paste, filled with bran, and yellowed over saffron, or yolks of eggs: gild them over in spots, as also the stag, the ship and castle; bake them, and place them with gilt bay leaves on the turrets and tunnels of the castle and pies; being baked make a hole in the bottom of your pies, take out the bran, put in your frogs and birds, and close up the holes with the same coarse paste; then cut the lids neatly up to be taken off by the tunnels. Being all placed in order upon the table, before you fire the trains of powder, order it so that some of the ladies may be persuaded to pluck the arrow out of the stag; then will the claret wine follow, as blood running out of a wound. This being done with admiration to the beholders, after some short pause, fire the train of the castle, that the pieces all of one side may go off; then fire the trains of one side of the ship as in a battle; next turn the chargers, and by degrees fire the trains of each other side, as before. This done, to sweeten the stink of the powder, the ladies take the egg-shells full of sweet waters, and throw them at each other, all dangers being seemed over, and by this time you may suppose they will desire to see what is in the pies; when lifting first the lid off one pie, out skip some frogs, which makes the ladies to skip and shriek; next after the other pie, whence comes out the birds; who by a natural instinct flying at the light, will put out the candles; so that what with the flying birds and skipping frogs, the one above, the other beneath, will cause much delight and pleasure to the whole company: at length the candles are lighted and a banquet brought in, the music sounds, and every one with much delight and content rehearses their actions in the former passages. These were formerly the delights of the nobility, before good house-keeping had left England, and the sword really acted that which was only counterfeited in such honest and laudable exercises as these."
SUSPENDED ANIMATION.
David Beck, the celebrated portrait painter, and pupil of Vandyke, travelling through Germany, was suddenly taken ill, and to all appearance died, and was laid out as a corpse. His servants, sitting round the bed, grieved heartily for the loss of so good a master; and, as grief is thirsty, drank as heartily at the same time. One of them, becoming more fuddled than the rest, then addressed his companions thus: "Our master when alive was fond of his glass, let us now, out of gratitude, then give him one now he is dead." Assent was given, the head of the dead painter was raised up, and some wine poured down or spilt about, the fragrance or spirit of which caused Beck to open his eyes; upon which the servant, who, being drunk, half forgetting his master was dead, forced down the remainder of the glass. The painter gradually revived, and thus escaped a living interment.
FUNERAL OF MARAT.
The funeral of Marat was celebrated at Paris, July 17th, 1793, with the greatest pomp and solemnity. All the sections joined the procession. An immense crowd of people attended it. Four women bore the bathing machine in which Marat was standing when he was assassinated; his shirt, stained with blood, was carried by a fury, in the shape of a woman, at the top of a pike. After this followed a wooden bedstead, on which the corpse of Marat was carried by citizens. His head was uncovered, and the gash he had received could be easily distinguished. The procession was paraded through several streets, and was saluted on its march by several discharges of artillery.
EXECUTION OF ANNE BOLEYN.
In Houssaie's "Memoirs," Vol. I. p. 435, a little circumstance is recorded concerning the decapitation of the unfortunate Anne Boleyn, which illustrates an observation of Hume. Our historian notices that her executioner was a Frenchman of Calais, who was supposed to have uncommon skill; it is probable that the following incident might have been preserved by tradition in France, from the account of the executioner himself. Anne Boleyn being on the scaffold, would not consent to have her eyes covered with a bandage, saying that she had no fear of death. All that the divine who assisted at her execution could obtain from her was, that she would shut her eyes. But as she was opening them at every moment, the executioner could not bear their tender and mild glances. Fearful of missing his aim, he was obliged to invent an expedient to behead the queen. He drew off his shoes, and approached her silently; while he was at her left hand, another person advanced at her right, who made a great noise in walking, so that this circumstance drawing the attention of Anne, she turned, her face from the executioner, who was enabled by this artifice to strike the fatal blow without being disarmed by that pride of affecting resignation which shone in the eyes of the lovely Anne Boleyn.
MEXICAN TENNIS.
The Mexicans had one singular law in their play with the ball. In the walls of the court where they played certain stones, like mill-stones were fixed, with a hole in the middle, just large enough to let the ball pass through; and whoever drove it through, which required great skill, and was, of course, rarely effected, won the cloaks of the lookers-on. They, therefore, took to their heels to save their cloaks, and others pursued to catch them, which was a new source of amusement.
CURIOUSLY-SHAPED VESSEL.
There is a singular class of Northern relics, of the Christian Period, of which analogous types have been found in Scotland, which well deserve our attention. The relics of which we speak consist of a curious variety of vessels, presumed to have been designed for holding liquors, but invariably made in the form of some animal or monstrous hybrid. The annexed figure represents one of these, in the collection of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharp, Esq., and found by him among a hoard of long-forgotten family heirlooms, in a vault of his paternal mansion of Hoddam Castle, Dumfriesshire. Of its previous history nothing is known. It is made of bronze. The principal figure is a lion, without a tail, measuring fourteen inches in length, and nearly fourteen inches in greatest height. On the back is perched a nondescript animal, half greyhound, half fish, apparently intended for a handle to the whole, while from the breast projects a stag's head with large antlers. This has a perforation in the back of the neck, as if for the insertion of a stop-cock, and it appears probable was designed for running off the liquid contained within the singular vessel to which it is attached. A small square lid on the top of the lion's head, opening with a hinge, supplies the requisite aperture for whatever liquor it was designed to hold. A similar relic, possessed by Sir John Maxwell, Bart., was dug up a few years since on the Pollock estate; and another, in the collection of the late E. W. A. Drummond Hay, Esq., was also in the form of a lion.
A SENSIBLE DOG.
Professor Owen was walking with a friend, the master of the dog, by the side of a river, near its mouth, on the coast of Cornwall, and picked up a small piece of seaweed. It was covered with minute animals, and Mr. Owen observed to his companion, throwing the weed into the water,--"If this small piece afforded so many treasures, how microscopically rich the whole plant would be! I should much like to have one!" The gentleman walked on; but hearing a splashing in the water, turned round and saw it violently agitated. "It is Lion!" both exclaimed. "What can he be about? He was walking quietly enough by our side a minute ago." At one moment they saw his tail above the water, then his head raised for a breath of air, then the surrounding element shook again, and at last he came ashore, panting from his exertions, and laid a whole plant of the identical weed at Mr. Owen's feet. After this proof of intelligence, it will not be wondered at, that when Lion was joyfully expecting to accompany his master and his guest on an excursion, and was told to go and take care of and comfort Mrs. Owen, who was ill, that he should immediately return to the drawing-room, and lay himself by her side, which he never left during the absence of his owner; his countenance alone betraying his disappointment, and that only for a few minutes.
THE CROWN OF CHARLEMAGNE.
As the emblem of sovereignty which once adorned the brows of one of earth's mightiest men, and as a unique specimen of the state at which the goldsmith's art had arrived as early as the ninth century, we here present our readers with an engraving of the crown of Charlemagne.
This great man was the eldest son of Pepin the Short, and grandson of Charles Martel, and was born at the castle of Ingelheim, near Metz, in the year 742. His father dying in 768 he succeeded to the crown in conjunction with his brother Carloman, whose death in 771 left him sole monarch of the Franks. By his alliances, negociations, and principally by his numerous and glorious wars, he so enlarged his dominions, that at length they extended from the Ebro to the mouth of the Elbe, from the Atlantic to the mountains of Bohemia and the Saal, and from the British Channel to the Volturno. In the year 800 he was crowned at Rome, as Emperor of the West, by Pope Leo III., and died of a pleurisy in 814, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in the cathedral of which city he was buried with extraordinary magnificence. Equally illustrious in the cabinet and in the field, a wise legislator, and a great warrior, the patron of men of letters, and the restorer of learning, Charlemagne has united in his favour the suffrages of statesmen and soldiers, and of ecclesiastics, lawyers, and men of letters, who have all vied with one another in bestowing the homage of their praise on the celebrated founder of the Western Empire.
The crown of this illustrious man, of which our engraving is a correct representation, is now preserved at Vienna in the Imperial Treasury. It is composed of eight plates of gold, four large and four small, connected by hinges. The large ones, studded with precious stones, form the front, the back, and the intermediate points of the crown; the small ones, placed alternately with these, are ornamented with enamels representing Solomon, David, King Hezekiah seated on his throne, and Christ seated between two flaming seraphim, such as the Greeks usually represent them. The costume of the figures resembles that of the Emperors of the Lower Empire, and although the inscriptions which accompany the figures are in Latin, the whole bears the impress of Greek workmanship. The ground of the figures is formed by the metal itself, which has been hollowed out to receive the enamel; but all the details of the design are traced out with fine fillets of gold. The flesh-tints are in rose-coloured enamel; the colours employed in the draperies and accessories are deep and light blue, red, and white. The crown has unquestionably been retouched at various periods, but yet there is nothing to invalidate the tradition which assigns the more ancient portions to the time of Charlemagne. The enamels must belong to the same early period.
SPENT BY THE CORPORATION OF COVENTRY AT THE ENTERTAINMENT OF KING JAMES II. IN HIS PROGRESS THROUGH COVENTRY, 1687.
(Mr. Richard Haywood, Treasurer.)
L s. d. Gave a gold cup 171 17 6 Mr. Septimus Butt, mayor, for sweetmeats 27 17 0 Meat 13 14 0 Wine 21 12 6 Homage fee 41 6 8 King's cook 10 0 0 City cook 9 8 6 Steward Fielding, for making a speech to his Majesty 5 7 6 For linen spoiled, borrowed of Mrs. Smith, Spon-street 2 12 6 The aldermen that went to Worcester to invite him 3 18 9 Several companies for waiting on the King 27 9 4 Alderman Webster, for meat 3 6 0 Alderman Bradney for corn 3 5 6 His Majesty's clerk of the market 1 1 6 The King's trumpeters 2 0 0 Richard Howcott, for carrying the city streamer 0 7 0 The city bailiff's bill for fish, fowl, and wine 88 18 2 ------------- L434 2 9
TRAVELLING EXPENSES IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.