Macaulay's third and fourth volumes of his. protest.......An enormous proportion of it consists activity of an extraordinarily powerful of denunciations of the Papists, and announcements mind." of the approach of the end of the world. It is not too much to say that he is principally occupied in disseminating, as widely as possible, mutual dis-History' are the subject of three articles, trust and indignation between two great religious communities, and in unsettling the minds of his own immediate flock in the pursuit of all their ordinary duties." Spurgeon was also severely dealt with; but in many ways he quietly took advantage of criticism. He had criticisms and caricatures bound into volumes, and they were preserved by him at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Bellew and Cumming are almost forgotten, but the name of Spurgeon will for long years yet to come kindle a glow in many hearts. The Saturday Review took the same course in regard to the literature of the day as it did to foreign and home politics: it attempted no complete record, but merely reviewed such books as were considered to be of special interest. From the first two volumes I have made the following notes. On November 10th, 1855, Longfellow is congratulated on his new poem, The Song of Hiawatha,' and "on the success which has attended his labour." The reviewer recog nizes him as a scholar and a poet......In him we shall find, if not always masculine vigour and terseness, yet always freshness, tenderness, simplicity the thoughtful brain of a scholar, and the loving heart of a man. In the same number Christopher North's 'Noctes' are noticed, "with all their faults, which are palpable enough, ......a valuable contribution to our literature. They are the effusions of a powerful mind-wide and various in their subject, embracing the current topics of their time, and throwing no small light on its history......The pervading spirit is noble and generous. There is no smallness or soreness, no petty personal jealousy, no flippant disparagement, no malignity. Christopher North is eager acknowledge merit in a political opponent. Even while he is holding up some unhappy wight to the derision of all mankind, his own temper is one of thorough kindliness and good humour." to On the 24th of November Browning's Men and Women' is subjected to a furious attack. It is described as "a book of madness and mysticism......power wantonly wasted, and talent deliberately perverted......We can find nothing but a set purpose to be obscure, and an idiot captivity to the jingle of Hudibrastic rhyme. This idle weakness really appears to be at the bottom of half the daring nonsense in this most daringly nonsensical book." Goethe's 'Life and Works,' edited by Lewes, is reviewed on the 8th of December, and in the same number Brougham's contributions to The Edinburgh Review are described as " most interesting record of the manifold a the first appearing on the 29th of December. The historian's style is thus described : 66 He seldom substitutes in the second clause of a sentence a pronoun or an equivalent expression for a word which has been used in the first. The antithesis is completed and pointed by the repetition of the same subject in relation to predicates contradictory. Almost every page of the History which are always various, and often studiously furnishes instances of this verbal peculiarity...... Mr. Macaulay may justly boast, notwithstanding the objections which critics may urge against his composition, that he has taught thousands to read study-and that one of the most obscure portions history who had never before attempted so dry a of English annals is now more familiar to the great mass of educated persons than the struggles of the Commonwealth, the wars of Marlborough, or the loss of America." On January 19th, 1856, George Meredith's "The Shaving of Shagpat' receives the highest praise :— "A quaint title ushers in an original and charming book, the work of a poet and a story-teller East, who have produced, in the Arabian Nights,' worthy to rank with the rare story-tellers of the the Iliad of romance......Although written in prose, liberally sprinkled with verses, the work is a poem throughout. In every page we are aware of the poet......The charm [of the book] has surpassed that of any Eastern work we ever read since the Arabian tales; and George Meredith, hitherto known to us as a writer of graceful, but not very remarkable verse, now becomes the name of a man. of genius-of one who can create." In the same number an affectionate tribute is paid to Humboldt in a review of his 'Kleine Schriften,' dedicated by him to "the greatest geologist of the present day, the most acute observer of nature," Leopold von Buch, "in memory of a sixty years' untroubled friendship." Rogers's Table Talk' brings forth a light, chatty article on the 16th of FebruaryRogers, who 'had known all, or nearly all, the celebrities of Eng-land. His first poem was published in 1786, beforeDarwin, now long forgotten, was heard of-before Crabbe had written his best poems-while Cowper was gaining a little celebrity-and while Johnson still reigned in Bolt Court." He saw Lady Hamilton, at a party given to the Prince of Wales, go through all those "attitudes" which have often been engraved. He saw Nelson spin a teetotum with his onehand during a whole evening for the amusement of some children. Of Wellington it is related that he was once in danger of being drowned at sea. It was bedtime, and thecaptain told him, "It will soon be all over with us.' Very well," answered the Duke ;. .6 be." On the 15th Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass' receives summary treatment: "If the Leaves of Grass' should come into anybody's possession, our advice is to throw them instantly behind the fire." On the 22nd Grote is congratulated on his completion of his history of Greece, "from the days of Homer to the death of Alexander": "Portions of his vast subject will hereafter receive additional inquiry, and be placed in a new and fuller light, and his thoughts will fructify and expand in the minds of other men; but it will be long before the work, as a whole, can be superseded, and his history will remain to many generations as a monument of learning, of wisdom, and of penetration." On the same date a review of Singer's Shakespeare' states : "It is not creditable to English men of letters that a satisfactory edition of England's greatest poet should still be a desideratum; yet every student must admit the mortifying fact......There are many causes of the many failures-the principal cause, however, and that which brings all the others in its train, is the mediocrity of the men who have undertaken the task. Even in the case of Johnson, Pope, and Campbell, this sweeping charge of mediocrity is applicable, for these men, remarkable as they were, were but mediocre in their knowledge of Elizabethan literature and of the dramatic art. No dramatist has ever set himself to the task-no man of special knowledge and great intellectual power has thought it worthy of his labours, or thought himself competent to undertake it. The difficulties we admit to be very great. It is indispensable that whoever engages in the work should be familiar with much more than the Elizabethan literature. He must know the Spanish drama, and the early drama of France and Italy, and he must be a dramatic critic." The subject of Mrs. Fitzherbert and George IV. has been recently revived through the publication of the work by Mr. Wilkins. The Saturday Review of the 29th of March_notices the memoirs of the Hon. Charles Langdale, who had set his heart upon the production of the papers deposited at Coutts's, to which Mr. Wilkins, by permission of King Edward, has had access. Mrs. Fitzherbert's executors, Sir George Seymour and Mr. Forster, objected: They urged that those papers only proved the marriage of Mrs. Fitzherbert with the Prince-a thing which for many years past has never been disputed." In the book appear the letters from the Duke of Wellington to Lord Stourton, refusing his consent to the publication of the papers contained in the packet : "I do protest most solemnly against the measure proposed by your Lordship-that of breaking the seals affixed to the packet of papers belonging to the late Mrs. Fitzherbert, deposited at Messrs. Coutts the bankers, under the several seals of the Earl of Albemarle, your Lordship, and myself." Victor Hugo's Les Contemplations' receives high eulogy in the number for the 26th of June: "We owe a debt of unmixed gratitude to the exile at Guernsey for the rich banquet of poetry of which it has been our privilege to partake. That we are not singular in our opinion as to its worth, may be gathered from the fact that the first edition of the Contemplations' was exhausted on the day of publication." In the review of 'The Angel in the House' on the 11th of October, Coventry Patmore is recognized as "a true poet." The work "deserves to be read and remembered, not because it is exempt from faults, but because it is unmistakably the production of a poet." A book which forms part of the nation's title-deeds to greatness," Capt. M'Clure's Discovery of the North-West Passage,' is noticed on the 8th of November : "The whole story is to the last degree grand and noble, and it suffers nothing in the hand of its narrator......If, during the late war, our navy had few opportunities for performing brilliant achievements, we may console ourselves by the reflection that one exploit, at any rate, was performed by British seamen, which neither Nelson nor Collingwood has excelled." 'Aurora Leigh' is the subject of a long article on the 27th of December, and severely criticized, but, "notwithstanding the defects of the poem, Mrs. Browning has more fully than ever proved that she is a poetess. The fable, the manners, and the diction, are, as it has been said, more than questionable; but after eliminating the story, the eccentricities of the actors, and a great part of the dialogue, there will remain an abundant store of poetical thought, of musical language, and of deep and true reflection." On the same date the reviewer of 'Barry Lyndon' is inclined to place it at the head of Thackeray's books : "It has an immense advantage over his betterknown works in being far shorter for which reason the plot is clearer, simpler, and more connected than it is in Vanity Fair, Pendennis,' or 'The Newcomes.'......We do not think that Mr. Thackeray's extraordinary power of description was ever more strongly illustrated than in the sketches which this volume contains of the wild mad Irish life of Dublin and the provinces in the last century......In some respects it appears to be the most characteristic and best executed of Mr. Thackeray's novels, though it is far less known, and is likely, we think, to be less popular, than the rest." Hee of all others fittest is to write, That entermingleth profit with delight. London, Printed by Adam Islip. 1625. The difference between these two editions is very considerable-the second having a Sixth Book which is not to be found in the first. To collectors the edition of 1625 is consequently the more desirable. Philip was the third son of Joachim Camerarius, a most distinguished man, to whom we owe a Life of Philip Melancthon,' still held in repute by students of the history of that period. Another son, Joachim, called after his father, was a doctor of medicine and a botanist and scientist of the greatest eminence. Philip. the third son, chose law as a profession. His career was a very distinguished one, and he was held in high honour by his contemporaries. He was a Doctor of Basle in 1573, and in 1581 was installed Chancellor of the University of Altorf. He was born in Nuremberg in 1537, and died in the same place on 22 June, 1624. Of the personal history of the translator, John Molle, I regret that I have not been able to learn anything more than what is contained in the Dedication to the Lord Keeper Williams, subscribed "Ryc. Baddeley"; and in the address "To the Reader," presumably from the same pen. A more inflated "The consideration whereof did long since iustly mooue a right learned and religious Gentleman [in the margin Mr. Iohn Molle] (whose solid and knowne worth hath been long approoued at home, but much more abroad, for which cause his memorie shall be in benedictione sempiterna) to vndertake the translation thereof, as before that it had been done into French out of Latine (in which language it was at the first curiously arayed) into our vulgar; whereby the benefit thereof might accrue and be communicated to this Nation also. Accept therefore (ingenious Reader) this his trauell in good part, and make that vsefull profit to thy selfe, in the due perusing thereof, which shall best sort both for the accomplishment of thine owne good, and of his desires, who for thy sake did first attempt and finish this Taske. So may some happie hand hereafter goe on in the finishing of the Remainder of Author, which are had in no small estimation, by these Meditations, and other peeces of the same their iust desert, amongst the learned of these times." Nor does the address To the Reader," explanatory of the appearance of the Sixth Book, and subscribed "H. Molle," afford anything more personal than what is given above. From its language I have no doubt that "H. Molle" was a son of the translator of the former portion of the work, and completed what his father had left undone. The title of the original work was 'Hore Subsecivæ,' and in the address "To the Reader," already referred to, we are told that the author entitled these meditations 'The Employment of Spare Hours.' The change in the title to 'Living Librarie' was probably suggested as one more likely to attract public attention. Of the work itself, I have no hesitation in saying that it is altogether excellent. It is packed full of information of the most curious and varied kind. One of its charms is the personal vein which runs through it. In one place the author tells of a conversation he had with his father, as it were by the fireside, about the extraordinary performances of an ancient Egyptian magician; and in another place he records a marvellous story of a deaf and dumb boy, "which my brother Ioachim the Doctor told me at his returne from a iourney out of the countrey of Hesse." Nor are his own numerous personal reminiscences less interesting. To his profound learning Camerarius added a very keen perception of human character, and his work, in its own way, is not unworthy to take a place on the same shelf with the 'Essays' of Montaigne and Bacon. It may be added that while he draws largely on ancient authors for many of his illustrations, it is noteworthy that he was not indifferent to many of his learned contemporaries. For example, our Scotch countryman George Buchanan-in one place he calls him " an excellent Poet of our time"-seems to have been a great favourite with him, while he shows his appreciation of Du Bartas by quotations from his well-known poem. In a word, this 'Living Librarie' is, in every way, a most delightful, entertaining, and informing book. We have a chapter entitled 'Of Deceiuers and Masters of fond Superstition. Obseruations touching the latter day,' in which there is a humorous story of a certaine Curat of our time," who predicted, as the result of certain arithmetical calculations, which were evidently satisfactory to himself, that the world would shortly come to an end, "pointing out the very day and hower when it should be." The predicted day came round, and truly it was such a day of fearful thunder and lightning that the good people of the place had no doubt but the end had really come. By and by, however, the storm passed away, the sun again shone out with its wonted splendour, and when the prophet found his prediction falsified he took refuge from popular fury by taking "him to his heeles." Hakewill, on the authority of "Philip Camerarius a learned man, and Councellour as one day he talked priuatly with me & some to the state of Noringberg," imports this story others, he entertained vs with very memorable dis- into his 'Apologie' (ed. 1635, p. 24). The courses. And as we fell vpon the speech, Whither illustrious Napier of Merchiston was one of it were true (as the Ancients say, and the moderne those who, like the curate in the above story, beleeue) that England cannot endure wolues," Sir Philip discoursed on this subject to the for the world's ending; but he placed the also from arithmetical calculations, set a time evident satisfaction of the company. Having event so far in the future that it exposed looked over several monographs on Sir Philip him to some very caustic lines in Latin by Sidney, as well as the 'Life' by Dr. Thomas John Owen, the epigrammatist, of which Zouch, published in 1809, I do not see any the following is an English translation (they reference to this incident. Camerarius records the whole discourse, and winds up thus are quoted by Hakewill, from whom I take (p. 99): In 1577 Sir Philip Sidney was appointed ambassador to the Court of the Emperor Rudolph of Germany. Camerarius records that when on that mission he had the pleasure of meeting our illustrious countryman. He goes on to say that "This discourse of Sydneis, accompanied with other memorable speeches touching Ireland, where his father gouerned; and of Saint Patricks hole, much esteemed when time was (at this day little set by) was very pleasing to the companie that sate at table with him, and no man would make any question thereof, especially when he saw it approoued by Hubert Languet, a man of most exqusit iudgment, and exceeding well trauelled in the knowledge of things, and in the affairs of the world. For my part I began a while after to consider of it more diligently, and viewed the Maps of England and of Scotland, and withall the Historiographers, especially Camden and Buchanan, who are had in more esteeme than the rest: and then I found that euery thing answered and agreed with Sidneys discourse." There is a chapter devoted to The Industrie and Fidelitie of Dogs: their Elogie, or memorable Praise,' in which the following passage occurs. As Camerarius does not give his authority for this incident, as he usually does, the probability is he was himself a witness to the performances of this horse (p. 84): them): Ninetie two yeares the World as yet shall stand, The authorship of the 'Imitation of Christ' is a controverted point. Dr. Dibdin, in his very interesting preface to the edition of that work published by Pickering in 1828, discusses the question at length. This is what Camerarius says, and the quotation may be taken for what it is worth (p. 61): "Therefore Thomas de Kempis, who liued about two hundred yeares agoe, saith well in his booke of the Imitation of Christ.' I may mention that there is in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, a copy of this work in Latin, published in small 4to at Frankfort in 1606, which bears on the title-page_the autograph of Ben Jonson, thus: "Su Ben: Jonsonij." This title-page also bears the autograph of "R. Bayllie," and looking to the place whence the volume originally came, I am almost certain that it is that of the celebrated Robert Baillie (1602-62), at LADY one time Principal of the University of Glasgow. A. S. "And of late dayes a Scottish-mans horse gaue occasion of great sifting and wonderment to many persons that saw him at Paris and other places." [* For anecdotes about Morocco, Banks's bay horse, celebrated in Tudor times, see RUSSELL'S article, 10th S. ii. 281.] RICHARD BOWES. (See 5th S. vi. 208.)- the fact that churl, in the sense of a countryHaving just accidentally noticed this inquiry, man or clown, is no longer used in the I can give your correspondent the following neighbourhood. By way of punishment the particulars, if he has not already obtained bed-churl was swept with a broom. them. HIGH PEAK WORDS. (See 10th S. ii. 201, 282, 384.) I have picked up the following words at Little Hucklow, near Tideswell : Aftering-can, a vessel into which the last drops from the udders of a cow were pressed. After the cows had been milked in the ordinary way a man went round with an aftering-can, and what he got was regarded as the best milk. Bawl, to roar as a bull does; to bellow. Bed-churi, the person who remains longest in bed on the morning of Shrove Tuesday. People have been known to stay up all night rather than be made bed-churls. The word usually occurs as bed-churn, and in that form I have often heard it. But one day I happened to mention the custom of making bed-churns to a farmer, when he said, "You mean bed-churl," and his wife and daughter agreed with him. If churl is the right form, as I think it is, we may account for churn by Burn-can, a vessel for carrying water, with a ring on the top and a handle on the side. This vessel rested on a cushion by which the head was padded. The can is no longer used, and the people have ceased to carry water on their heads, Cate, a cade lamb. A small farmer who had bought a few lambs was said to have 'got 'em from Hadfield's cates." This form does not occur in the 'N.E.D.,' and it may throw light on the etymology. The feminine name Kate appears to be identical with it. Eager on, to incite. Two dogs were fighting in the village, and the boys kept word in the 'N.E.D.' is dated 1581, and the The latest instance of the eagering them on.” E.D.D.' can give only one dialectal reference, without a quotation. Look, to partake of, as "I'm just looking my tea." In my 'Sheffield Glossary' the word occurs in the sense of prepare. or rock. The artificial holes made in the Self-hole, a natural cavity in the ground fields to hold water for the cattle are called domes or meres. Shrog, a natural cavity in the ground. This is another name for a self-hole. There is yet a third name, and that is loff-hole. The E.D.D.' has lough-hole from North Lancashire. 66 Thumb and thimble, a phrase used to express intimacy, as They're all thumb and thimble up the village." S. O. ADDY. CLERKENWELL.' PINKS'S HISTORY OF · The editor of this work, Edward J. Wood, acknowledges in the preface his indebted. ness to so many contributors that it would be of some interest to ascertain what portion of the text was actually written by Pinks before his death in 1860. This is brought to mind by my recently hearing of a copy of the work annotated by T. Edlyne Tomlins (author of 'Yseldon, a Perambulation of Islington,' 1844-58). A former owner informs me that Tomlins in his marginalia claimed the authorship of a large amount of the matter, most explicitly stating "This is my article,” "I made this research," &c. There is nothing improbable in this claim, but a more careful examination of these notes is necessary before it can be accepted. Perhaps this will come before the notice of the present owner of the annotated copy, who will afford us the opportunity. 39, Hillmarton Road, N. ALECK ABRAHAMS. |