ILLUSTRATIONS OF BISHOP PERCY'S FOLIO MANUSCRIPT.-No. II.

"THE FARMER AND THE KING."

(4th S. ii, 152, 206.)

MR. SHELLY's friend has been evidently perpetrating a joke. The oral version of "The Farmer and the King" (a new name, by the bye) is nothing more than a clumsy attempt to put into the Dorsetshire or East Devon dialect the well-known song of "The King and the Countryman." If MR. SHELLY and MR. F. J. FURNIVALL will turn to p. 210 of my Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England (Lond., 1857 ), they will not only find the song in question, but some information respecting it. It is no version of "The King and Northern Man," but an abridgment and alteration. The original is no "rarity"; it is in the Bagford and Roxburgh collections. It has been reprinted in Edinburgh; by the Percy Society, with remarks by Mr. Payne Collier; by Mr. J. S. Moore in his valuable ballad-book, and by Richardson of Newcastle-on-Tyne in his Border Table-Book, and there is a common chap-book edition.

It would appear also that we have it in the bishop's "folio MS." When the last edition of my collection was published I was unable to state by whom the abridgment was made. I can now supply the deficiency. The song was made up' out of the old materials by Mr. Knight, a popular low comedian, at the commencement of the present century. This is what I am assured by a competent authority, and I shall consider the information to be correct unless MR. FURNIVALL can state that he has the song in the Folio MS. which he is editing. Mr. Knight was an actor, and I believe either proprietor or stage-manager at the Windsor Theatre, where the song was first introduced, and sung 66 with unbounded applause." There is a traditional anecdote about the song which is worth recording, although I do not vouch for its truth. Mr. Knight, on singing the lines "I seed an old chap at Bartlemy Fair,

Look'd more like a king than that chap there," used to point at the royal box-a process which of course added to the point of the stanza. On one occasion the song was sung in the royal presence, but there was no pointed allusion. The song was encored as usual, but his majesty George III., instead of joining in the call, said "Very bad! very bad!-didn't point to the box!" Thus encouraged, Mr. Knight repeated the strain, with the proper point, amidst a roar of laughter, in which the good-natured monarch heartily joined. My informant said that his grandfather, a native of Slough, was at the theatre when this occurred. Of Mr. Knight I can give no informa* Now published by Griffin & Co., London, price 2s. 6d.

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tion, but probably his biography may be found in Oxberry's Dramatic Biography, or some similar work. All I can say of him is, that he was a very respectable comic poet. He wrote "The Lad with a Carroty Poll, Oh! cruel were my Parents," "The Old Commodore," and many other wellknown ditties, the wit and humour of which form a striking contrast to the Cockney rubbish that now-a-days is called and esteemed "comic" by the patronisers of café chantants and music-halls. The East Devon version is easily accounted for. Comic songs to suit the "order sublime" — the "Dii" of our country theatres, are often transferred into county dialects, and there is no reason why "The King and the Countryman" may not have undergone such a process. The song has given rise to a much more interesting theme than the dialect versions in "N. & Q." During the Hampden controversy and litigation, Punch published a new version of an old song, and called it The "" the bero was the late Dean and the Bishop; Dean Merewether of Hereford, who complained in propria personá thus —

"I know an old priest, but I won't say where, More fit for a bishop than that chap there,

Tooral, looral, rural, plural, too ra loo ra loo." The dean was, I believe, neither a rural dean nor a pluralist, but the introduction in the chorus of the above italicised words, and putting them into the mouth of a church dignitary, had a truly ludicrous effect. I regret that I have not Punch at hand, or I should certainly have copied the witty satire. I am glad to find that the folio of Percy has proved to be no myth, and that it has met with a competent editor. I hope that it will be printed verbatim, and that even its orthographical blunders will be carefully preserved; and that the editor will not adopt for a motto Virginibus puerisque canto," and so give us a school edition. I trust also that the mystery attending it will be cleared up.. Who wrote it? When and where did the scribe or scribes live? What are the poems and ballads that are not found elsewhere? Does the paper bear any watermarks? Mr. W. H. Black of Mill Yard, Goodman's Fields, has an astonishing knowledge of paper, and at a glance can name the fabric of ancient makers, and I hope that we may have his valuable opinion. The age of paper does not

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[* Edward Knight was not only a respectable comic poet, but his powers as a comic actor were very considerable; there was an odd quickness, and a certain droll play of the muscles of his face that prepared the audience for the jest that was to follow. His Sim in Wild Oats has been esteemed the most chaste and natural of stage exhibitions. Among his other best parts may be reckoned Frank Oatland; Tom, in Intrigue; Jerry Blossom; Joey, in Modern Antiques, and Zekiel Homespun. For a selection of his other characters, see Genest's History of the Stage, ix. 341. He died at his house in Great Queen Street, London, on February 21, 1826.-ED.]

Lausanne.

JAMES HENRY DIXON.

PERPETUAL YOUTH. (4th S. ii. 202.)

The story of the "remedy against old age,' exchanged by the ass with a serpent for a draught of water, is given by Elian (Nat. Animal. vi. 51), on the authority of Sophocles, Dinolochus, Ibycus Reginus, Aristeas, and Apollophanes; not, however, to be found in Smith or Pauly: nor is it mentioned by Schütz. There are many classical errors in Bacon's Prometheus, as his "bundle of twigs" to get the fire: Jupiter in merry mood granting it and perpetual youth also. Bacon's mistaking Prometheus for divine providence, when he is specially set forth as the representative of human prudence or providence (forethought). His notion of Pandora as a goodly woman, when she was made the special representative of all evils, &c. &c. Voltaire has also made strange blunders in the story of Prometheus, when he

*

"Quand Prométhée eut formé son image

D'un marbre blanc façonné par ses mains,
Il épousa, comme on sait, son ouvrage;
Pandore fut la mère des humains."

Voltaire has confounded the story of Pygmalion (Ovid, Met. x. 243-315) with that of Prometheus: the statue was not made of "marbre blanc," but

of ivory. Pandora was neither the work of Pygmalion nor of Prometheus, but of Vulcan, at the command of Jupiter, with the assistance of other gods and goddesses: hence her name, meaning "gifted, endowed, by all."

With a view to the correct interpretation of mythology, it is necessary to keep each story distinct, with the name of the poet who recites or invents it.

Eschylus, in the Prometheus Bound, with which, as appears by his essay, Bacon was probably unacquainted, is the best authority; and he is confirmed by Hesiod, Apollonius, and the ancient Scholiasts. Prometheus is distinctly pointed out to the Athenians by Eschylus as the inventor of all the useful arts and sciences; whilst, on the contrary, Jupiter, with the other Grecian gods, is represented as the cause of all natural evil. On the ground of prescience, Jupiter is made inferior to Prometheus in this play; for Jupiter sends Mercury to ascertain from Prometheus the time when he shall be superseded

By a misprint he is called "an ever-fading youth," instead of "a never-fading youth" (Montagu's ed. iii. 75, Pickering, 1825.) The φάρμακον γήρως ἀμυντήριον οἱ Elian is evidently a medicine and no youth at all.

The story of Io is also introduced to show the wickedness and evil, in her case, caused by the gods of Greece. Prometheus, not living in Greece, had gods of his own country. Probably the story of his making men meant that he was a god-manufacturer, like Abraham's father, according to Christian and Mahometan tradition. The myth of the "eagle" and the "liver" is 1252), who finds an authority (Agroitas) for the cleared up by the Scholiast on Apollonius (ii. "eagle" being the name of a river, and the "liver" (rap obeap) being fertile land which the river inundated. The rescue by Hercules (the impersonation of human labour or civil-engineering) meant, therefore, either the draining of the lands or the embanking of the river. The ancient Scholiast A. (Prom. Bound, 120) also explains the "stealing of fire" as "acquiring knowledge.” τοῦτο δε μυθῶδες· τὸ δ ̓ ἀληθὲς οὕτως ἔχει· πῦρ καλεῖται ἡ γνῶσις, διὰ τὸ δραστήριον.

=

Such an attack as Eschylus made on the Grecian gods awoke the vigilance of the court of Areopagus, which condemned him to be stoned to death, a calamity only prevented by his younger brother Amynias, who, with one arm round his neck, in supplication held up the stump of the other, having lost that hand at the battle of Salamis. (Ælian, Var. Hist. v. 19, Diod. Sicul. xi. 27.) Such a position at Athens accounts for the No other play of Eschylus, or fragments that long-continued residence of Eschylus in Sicily. have come down to us, contain any such severe the received gods of Greece as the Prometheus sarcasm, irreverence, infidelity, or atheism against

Bound.

Ωγύγιος δ' ἄρα μῦθος ἐν αἰζηοῖσι φορεῖται, κ. τ. λ. "Prisca inter juvenes narratur fabula, cœlum Cum major natu pulso genitore teneret Jupiter, et fratres regnorum in parte locasset, Munere magnifico viridis donasse juventæ Mortales, jam tum damnantes furta Promethei. Nec tamen hoc unquam stolidos potuisse potiri, Imposuere gravi tam præstans munus asello Defessi; ille sitim sicco, dum vadit onustus, Gutture collegit, stantemque ad lustra ferocem Anguem oravit, opem quo rebus ferret egenis. Cumque hic mercedem pandi gestamina dorsi Posceret, oppressus casu non abnuit amens.

I do not know what becomes of depositions and other documents connected with coroners' inquests in other places, but I do know that in this town, where the coroner (Clarke Aspinall, Esq.) has a regular court, like any other of the borough magistrates, the records of the court are preserved in a fire-proof safe, in a granite-stone chamber attached to the court, and are and have been kept under the special care of Mr. James Blake, the intelligent officer of the court, for many years. These records are made up in annual parcels, dating back for several years, and contain many most interesting cases. These are arranged and marked in monthly order, and in themselves form a complete index, so that Mr. Blake can at any moment lay his hand on any document that may be required for the last half century and more. I could wish all public records were so accurately kept, and with such facility of reference as these are. S. REDMOND.

Liverpool.

taken by them. That such documents ought to be preserved no one can doubt, as they are public property, and often contain interesting and valuable matter. My father was for some years coroner for the division of a midland county, and in the course of his tenure of office some sacksful of papers connected with it accumulated, which, after being duly seasoned by damp and dust, were used by our servants for the lighting of fires!

S. R. T. M.

By the Registration Act (England) of August, 1836, 6 & 7 William IV. provision has been made for the permanent preservation of the particulars of each inquest held by a coroner or magistrate. Section 25 says: "The coroner shall inform the registrar [of births and deaths] of the finding of the jury, and the registrar shall make the entry accordingly." The certificate which the coroner furnishes to the registrar gives the date and place of death, name, age, condition, occupation, cause of death, and duration of illness. These particulars are duly entered in the register-book of deaths, certified copies of which are sent quarterly to the General Register Office, London, and there indexed. Similar measures have been adopted in Ireland since 1864. See sec. 38 of 26 Vic. cap. 11. WILLIAM J. BAYLY, Librarian.

THE FAIRFORD WINDOWS: "ST. CHRISTOPHER OF 1423."

(4th S. ii. 265.)

Whilst the "Fairford Windows" continue to deservedly attract so much attention, it may be interesting to preserve a note of a letter written in the early part of 1704 by the then Vicar of Fairford, as the subject of the damage sustained by the west windows of the church consequent upon the storm of almost unparalleled violence, from which Fairford and the surrounding country suffered in 1703. With that view, I enclose you a copy of the letter I refer to.

6, King's Road, Clapham Park. "HONOURED Sir,

HENRY F. HOLT.

"In obedience to your request, I have here sent you parish by the late violent storm; and, because that of a particular account of the damages sustain'd in our Church is the most material which I have to impart to you, I shall therefore begin with it. It is the fineness of our Church which magnifies our present loss; for in the whole it is a large and noble structure, compos'd within and without of ashler curiously wrought, and consisting of a stately roof in the middle, and two isles running a considerable length from one end of it to the other, makes a very beautiful figure. It is also adorn'd with 28 admir'd and celebrated windows, which, for the variety and fineness of the painted glass that was in them, do justly attract the eyes of all curious travellers to inspect and behold them; nor is it more famous for its glass than newly renown'd for the beauty of its seats and paving; both being chiefly the noble gift of that pious and worthy gen

tleman, Andrew Barker, Esq., the late deceas'd Lord of the Manor; so that, all things consider'd, it does equal at least, if not exceed, any parochial Church in England. "Now, that part of it which most of all felt the fury of the winds was a large middle west window, in dimension about 15 foot wide, and 25 foot high; it represents the general judgment, and is so fine a piece of art that 15007. has formerly been bidden for it-a price, though very tempting, yet were the parishioners so just and honest as to refuse it. The upper part of this window-just above the place where our Saviour's picture is drawn sitting on a rainbow, and the earth His footstool-is entirely ruin'd, and both sides are so shatter'd and torn-especially the left-that, upon a general computation, a fourth part at least is blown down and destroy'd.

"The like fate has another west window, on the left side of the former, in dimension about 10 foot broad and 15 foot high, sustain'd, the upper half of which is totally broke, except one stone munnel. Now, if this were but ordinary glass, we might quickly compute what our repairs would cost; but we the more lament our misfortune herein because the paint of these two, as of all the other

windows in our Church, is stain'd thro' the body of the glass; so that, if that be true which is generally said, that this art is lost, then have we an irretrievable loss.

"There are other damages about our Church which, tho' not so great as the former, do yet as much testify how strong and boisterous the winds were, for they unbedded 3 sheets of lead upon the uppermost roof, and roll'd them up like so much paper. Over the Churchporch a large pinnacle and two battlements were blown down upon the leads of it; but resting there, and their fall being short, these will be repair'd with little cost.

"This is all I have to say concerning our Church. Our houses come next to be considered, and here I may tell you that (thanks be to God) the effects of the storm were not so great as they have been in many other places; several chimneys, and tiles, and slats [slates] were thrown down, but no body kill'd or wounded. Some of the poor, because their houses were thatch'd, were the greatest sufferers; but to be particular herein would be very frivolous, as well as vexatious. One instance of note ought not to be omitted. On Saturday, the 26th, being the day after the storm, about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, without any previous warning, a sudden flash of lightning, with a short but violent clap of thunder immediately following it like the discharge of ordnance, fell upon a new and strong-built house in the middle of our town, and at the same time disjointed two chimneys, melted some of the lead of an upper window, and struck the mistress of the house into a swoon; but this, as appear'd afterwards, prov'd the effect more of fear than of any real

considerable hurt to be found about her.

"I have nothing more to add, unless it be the fall of several trees and ricks of hay amongst us; but these being so common everywhere, and not very many in number here, I shall conclude this tedious scribble, and subscribe myself, Sir, &c.,

"EDW. SHIPTON, Vic."

When I ventured to suggest the advisability of inviting the attention of the learned correspondents of "N. & Q." to MR. HOLT's novel views on the subject of the Fairford windows, "The St. Christopher of 1423," and the relative precedence in point of discovery between printing and engraving, I never anticipated that my suggestion would be followed almost immediately by such a series of communications as those from MR. HOLT himself, MR. SCHARF, and

But if "1423" does not refer to the date of the engraving, to what does it refer? May I venture to suggest to those who have the necessary leisure and opportunity of referring to the early German chronicles, the propriety of seeing whether anything occurred in the year 1423 to direct public attention to St. Christopher, of which the engraving may be a posthumous memorial? Was any great church dedicated to St. Christopher in that year? Was any remarkable figure of that saint erected at that time? Or was there in 1423 any special commemoration of St. Christophersuch as we have seen in our time of the Holy Coat of Treves? If this suggestion proves as fruitful of results as the one which has led to MR. HOLT's remarkable communication, the space which I have occupied will not, I think, be considered by your readers as wasted by

F. S. A.

"THE VICTIM" (4th S. ii. 172, 261.) - Your correspondent, MR. DAVIES, who mentions my little poem in such flattering terms, may like to know that it was suggested by the passage in Mrs. Hemans's notes to which he alludes. The The same notes subject is a Norwegian legend. furnished me with a subject for another poem, "The Mother's Lesson," which also may be found in German Ballads and Songs in the "Fireside Library."

Now that Tennyson's magic touch has resuscitated my forgotten rhymes, I purpose including them in a volume of poems which I am about to publish. MENELLA B. SMEDLEY,

Author of Odin's Sacrifice.

MAINE MANY (4th S. ii. 199, 287.)-G. W. M.'s instances do not well bear out his rendering of maine as meaning many. We could not say a many lot, or a many deal. In those instances it has its ordinary sense of great.

But it has been colloquially used as an adverb for mainly, or very. In a diary of my father's, about 1835, is the expression "A large party, main

dull."

Hagley, Stourbridge.

LYTTELTON.

ANONYMOUS PORTRAIT (4th S. ii. 252.)-Without desiring to have it inferred that this portrait delineates a member of the family of Trafford, allow me to remark that "Now thus," one of

the illustrative mottoes which occur upon MR. WILKINSON's portrait, is also to be found in use at the present day over the crest of the Traffords. In the case of MR. WILKINSON's picture, I take it that the object of "So then " and "Now thus " is to draw a contrast between the past and present condition of the subject of the portrait. An empty bag and a truncheon indicate what his position was at some past period-" So then." The wealth, comfort, and distinction which he had attained, and in which the artist delineated him, are indicated by "Now thus." In the case of the Traffords, the crest is a thresher threshing corn, and over the flail stands the motto "Now thus." The tradition in the family which explains both crest and motto has been related to me as follows:-In some far distant period a battle was raging near the place where a loyal Trafford was wielding his flail in a very peaceful manner. The king's troops were getting the worst of the day, and some of them fled past the barn in which the Trafford was occupied. Seeing what was going on, Trafford instantly mustered his men, put flails into their hands, and rushed out at their head to meet the advancing foe. As they approached he attacked them, and swinging his flail with lusty arm, called upon his men in the words of the motto, "Now thus," to imitate his example. The result may be anticipated. The enemy was soundly thrashed, and the Trafford gained his

crest.

The Athenæum.

DAVID GOODING.

DORE ABBEY (4th S. ii. 178, 237.)-The church of Dore, erroneously printed "Dove," in Herefordshire, is fortunate in an historian in Mathew Gibson, its rector, who lived in the early part of the last century, from whose work it appears that the transepts, tower, and choir were entirely rebuilt by Lord Scudamore, A.D. 1600 or thereabouts; but I think much of the old church must have been left or replaced at that period. It is some time since I have seen this remarkable building, but recollect the cathedral-like effect of the aisles surrounding the choir. There is an account of a diminutive effigy of a bishop interred here, in the Archæological Journal, vol. xix. This abbey stands in the Golden Valley, so called from the river Dore or Door, a word meaning water, but which has been misinterpreted as if it was in the French language-gold.

THOMAS E. WINNINGTON.

Dore Abbey, instanced by ALPHA, and Manchester Cathedral, and Christ Church, Oxford, given by THOMAS E. WINNINGTON, scarcely come, I think, within the category of churches with four aisles, as the so-called aisles are simply chapels attached to chancels. The church at Great Yarmouth has only two aisles.

P. E. MASEY,

"Died prematurely in a day of horrors," but the whole of the verse quoted by your correspondent is omitted. R. F. W. S.

LISTS OF M.P.S (4th S. ii. 204.)—In addition to the sources of information which you have pointed out in reply to the query of W. H. S., allow me to direct his attention to a rather rare volume, the title of which is " Angliæ Notitia; or, the present State of England. By Edward Chamberlayne, Doctor of Laws and Fellow of the Royal Society. Printed in 1672." The book abounds with curious information. In Part II. p. 75 there is "A List of all the Knights, Citizens, Burgesses, and Barons of the Cinque Ports, that at present serve in the Parliament of England." Deer, Aberdeenshire.

A. R.

QUOTATION: "GLASGERION" (4th S. ii. 220.) See Chaucer's House of Fame, book iii. 1. 117: : "And other harpers many oon,

And the grete Glascurion."

Cf. Percy's Folio MS., ed. Hales and Furnivall, vol. i. p. 246. WALTER W. SKEAT.

1, Cintra Terrace, Cambridge.

SOILED HORSE (4th S. ii. 30, 91.)- This word is commonly used in the north-east of Ireland for the practice of feeding animals on food cut green for them: "to grow oats for soiling" is to grow it to cut green. To leave part of a grass field for soiling is to leave it to be cut green for this purpose. Thus, "to grow a crop for soil or soiling," to soil a horse with clover or vetches," are common agricultural phrases. M. C.

PRINCE RUPERT (4th S. ii. 224.)-He was the third, but not the youngest, son of the Queen of Bohemia. Frederick, the eldest, died young; Charles Louis, the second, became Elector Palatine; Rupert was born December 18, 1619; and Maurice, his attached younger brother, on December 25, 1620. Of the personal appearance of Prince Rupert, Eliot Warburton says, in opposition to the portrait drawn by Count Hamilton:

"His portraits present to us the ideal of a gallant cavalier. His figure, tall, vigorous, and symmetrical, would have been somewhat stately, but for its graceful bearing and noble ease. A vehement, yet firm, character predominates in the countenance, combined with a certain gentleness, apparent only in the thoughtful, but not pensive, eyes. Large, dark, and well-formed eyebrows overarch a high-bred Norman nose: the upper lip is finely cut, but somewhat supercilious* in expression; the lower part of the mouth and chin have a very different meaning, and impart a tone of iron resolution to the whole countenance. Long flowing hair flowed over the wide embroidered collar, or the scarlet cloak: he wore neither beard nor moustaches, then almost universal; and his

* Supercilious is a curious expression to apply to the lip.-J. J. B. W.