Of Sir Kenelm Digby we are told in his Epitaph, composed by Farrar : "Born on the day he died the 11th of June, On which he bravely fought at Scanderoon, 'Tis rare that one and self same day should be His day of birth, of death, of victory." Tuesday was a most eventful day with Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Upon Tuesday the Peers sat against him at Northampton, on Tuesday he was banished, on Tuesday received at Pontiniac a forewarning of his fate, on Tuesday returned from exile, on Tuesday was murdered before the altar at Canterbury, and on Tuesday was canonized. Saturday was a lucky day to Henry VII. Upon that day he achieved the victory over Richard III., on that day he entered the city; and he himself always acknowledged he had experienced it fortunate. See his Life by Bacon. Wednesday is said to have been the fortunate day of Pope Sixtus V. On Wednesday he was born, on that day was made monk, on the same day was made General of his Order, on that day also was successively created Cardinal, elected Pope, and also inaugurated. There is an old proverb that "When Easter falls on our Lady's lap, Then let England beware a rap." Easter fell on March 25, the day alluded to, in 1459, when King Henry VI. was deposed and murdered; in 1638, when the Scottish troubles began, on which ensued the Great Rebellion in 1648-9, when Charles the first was beheaded. quæ Trihapennina vulgo dicitur.- Præterea, alius cere- COINS OF CROMWELL, &c.-Being a collector of coins, Our author adds, that it will not happen again till the year 1991, so I fear we shall have no opportunity of testing the correctness of this wonderful prophecy. Aubrey remarks that on May 29 King Charles II. was born and restored to the throne; that Raphael d'Urbino, the famous painter, was born and died on Good Friday, and that Charles V. was born, crowned Emperor, and won the battle of Pavia on the 24th of February. And so as Edmund moralises in King Lear-"This is the excellent foppery of the world! that when we are sick in fortune (often the surfeit of our own behaviour), we make guilty of our disasters, the sun, the moon, and stars: as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion, knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical predominance, drunkards, liars, by an enforced obedience of planetary influence, and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on!" British Museum. A BOOKWORM. AN. DOM. MDLXXXIX. date The other has the bust of Gre gory XII.; inscription, GREGORIVS XII. PONT. MAX. Reverse, two keys crossed; inscription, vI HAEC CUSTODIAS, no date. Perhaps some of your antiquarian Correspondents could inform me if the above Coins and medals are rare, and if so what might be their value. TRIHAPENNINA-(Three-halfpenny beer)-Brudus, a Lusitanian physician, in his treatise De ratione victus in febribus, as quoted by M. Schookius, De Cervisia, Groninga, 1660, cap. 37, p. 347, says Potus, quo Angli utuntur, multiplex est; nempe vehemens, medius, et imbecillior," he then proceeds to describe the different kinds of beer, viz. "Simplex cervisia.Potens cervisia, quam duplicem, vulgo vocant.-Media, A COLLECTOR OF COINS AND MEDALS. Glaphough St, Monaghan, 31st December, 1852. IRISH COPPER TOKENS.-Can any of your readers enlighten me as to the meaning of a copper coin in my collection of the size of a shilling, which has on one side, the figure of King David playing on a harp, over which is a crown, the whole surrounded by the words "Floreat Rex;" on the reverse is a Bishop, habited and mitred, right hand extended, and in the left holding his crozier, to the right in the back ground is a church, and to the left, what I believe to be birds, reptiles and beasts, but it is much defaced and has unfortunately a hole pierced in it. Surrounding this side of the coin are the words QVIESCAT PLEBS." From the source from which I obtained it, I believe it came from Ireland. I enclose it for you to engrave if you should think it of sufficient interest; no date appears on the coin. 66 and proof sixpence, exquisitely cut as they were, only produced £5. 7s 6d. AN OLD COIN-HUNTER. STAR CHAMBER PROSECUTIONS.-Among the Birch MSS. in the British Museum, is the transcript of a letter dated 1628, which states that Alexander Gill, Batchelor of Divinity, Oxford, and Usher in Paul's School, under his own father, was censured in the Star Chamber for saying in Trinity College cellar at Oxford, that the King was fitter to stand in a Cheapside shop with an apron before him, and say, What lack ye? than to govern a kingdom. 2nd. That the Duke of Buckingham (who had been lately murdered by Felton), had gone down to hell to meet King James there. 3rd. For drinking a health to Felton, saying, he was sorry Felton had deprived him of the honour of doing that brave act. His censure was to be degraded both from his ministry and degree taken in the University; to lose one ear at London, and the other at Oxford, and to be fined £2000. Was this sentence ever carried into effect? Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square. H. B. H. B. would also feel obliged if any of the readers of the "Current Notes" could inform him of the degree of relationship between Felton the murderer of the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl and Countess of Arundel, as a letter in the same collection states that on the day before his execution they visited him in prison, and brought him money to give away, and a winding sheet he being of their blood." །“ LITERARY FORGERY. Mr. Surtees gave a copy of a border ballad, "on the feud between the Ridleys and Featherstones," from the recitation of an old woman on Alston Moor, accompanied with glossarial explanations and learned historical notes to identify the personages alluded to, and to determine the date of the transaction. Scott was delighted with this accession to his collection, and did not doubt the genuineness of the piece. It accordingly was introduced as a valuable gem of antiquity into the 12th note to the first canto of Marmion, published in the beginning of 1808, as furnished by his friend and correspondent, R. Surtees, Esq. of Mainsforth. Now all this was a mere figment, à sport, a frolic of an antiquary's brain!! It is proved by more than one copy being found among his papers, corrected and interlined. The imposition was never acknowledged. In the Minstrelsy published in 1831, the ballad of Featherstonhaugh still retains its place, with all its borrowed plumes and fictitious air, undetected.!!! Life of Surtees by Taylor. HAVE THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD MYTHOLOGIZED THE NEW TESTAMENT? Current Notes ;" I hope you will excuse me, if even against your rewith a few lines on the controversy of the "Arms of the spectful intimation, I take the liberty of troubling you Isle of Man :" not truly on the controversy itself, bebut on one of the suppositions put forward by Dr. F. cause I do not know anything concerning those arms; Snaith in the last number of your which is, "that the Catholic Priesthood added mithos to the simple and beautiful religion of Jesus. Now, in the name of truth, I would ask the Dr., whence he did learn, that the Catholic Priesthood invented, or altered, the fact related by the Evangelists (Matt. xxi., Mark xi. and Luke xix.); that is, of the two asses, which our Saviour ordered to be untied and brought to him, and of his entry into the city of Jerusalem; whereas every one, who is conversant with the New Testament, knows that the fact alluded to, is to be found editions of it. If there should be any mythological cirin ancient and modern, in Catholic, and Protestant cumstance mixed with it, (which of course I think not ancient Christians, or to Christians of all denominato be the case), it ought to be attributed either to the tions; and not to the Roman Catholic system only, as he is pleased to assert. F. S. DONATO. Bristol, 5, Lcdge Street, January 7th, 1853. of the new moon? THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.-What is a myth? Are we all myths? Is the "Price Current" only an allegory and the "Current Notes" an astronomical myth subject to the planetary influer.ce In that good old fashioned book the Bible which for eighteen centuries the millions of Christians existing throughout the world have believed to be divinely inspired, which the Church of England holds as her sole rule of faith, and which every man but an infidel or a pagan reverences and respects, we read a simple and beautiful story of our Lord's humility that he entered Jerusalem riding upon an ass, and that the people strewed branches on the way-side to welcome his approach. Now pray let me ask in sober candour your correspondent, Mr. Snaith, what can this have to do with any mystical trash you have had the good nature to insert about the legs and arms of the Isle of Man. He tells us some stars are called little asses, yea verily, and so are some men it would be invidious to name. The priesthood he informs us foisted this myth into the holy narrative. Will this disciple of the puny Volney school give me some authority for so astounding an assertion, and inform me when it was done, where it was done, and why? On a similar principle we might blot out the page of history altogether, resolve all historical facts into astronomical myths, and gravely metamorphise fat George IV. into the Georgium Sidus, and Virgin Bess Queen of England into one of the signs of the Zodiac. VERITAS. ARREST OF THE FIVE MEMBERS.-Whitelocke and ROSETTA STONE.-After a search of some few years Warwick affirm, that when King Charles I. went to the for a copy of the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone; I, a house to arrest the five members, timely notice was few days since, had the pleasure of obtaining the three given of his approach by that busy intriguante in state sheets. May I ask the favour of your inserting a drawpolitics, the Countess of Carlisle. Montreuil, the French ing of a very small portion of the hieroglyphic text of ambassador, says he was himself the first to warn them line 6, and the Egyptian cursive translation correspondof the danger. Others give the credit to a Captain ing therewith, part of lines 22, 23; as also my interpreLangrish, who it appears had passed the royal party in tation of both. The parts of my translation between the street as they were advancing towards Westminster crotchets, are not in the original, but appear to be Hall. Did they all do so? It would be well if history necessary for the purpose of filling up the ellipses. had no greater contradictions. H. L. Read the hieroglyphs and Egyptian translation from Temple, January 15th, 1853. right to left; and the Coptic from left to right. Queen of Scots. The writer would feel particularly obliged if any of your Numismatic friends could favour. him with the reverse of that coin, or say whether there is one in the British Museum? Miss Strickland seems to think that the Scottish term, bawbee, originated with the baby coin. It would be very gratifying if any Scottish antiquary can say for certain, whether the term did originate with the coin in question. New York, 15th Dec. 1852. R. B. THE TUCKER FAMILY.-I refer your Correspondent, "Friar Tuck," in No. xxiv. p. 103, Current Notes, to the Harleian MS. No. 1162, compiled by the Heralds, St. George and Lennard, in which he will find, at folio 68, the entry thus designated by them, with their com ments thereon: "Copie of a Warrant of K. Henry VIII., whereby he gave licence to Stephen Tucker, of Lamartyn, in co. Devon, gentleman, to wear his bonnet upon his head as well in his presence as elsewhere; i. e. at Divine Service, and this in respect of certayne diseases and infirmities (perhaps a scald head or leprosie,) attending the said Mr. Tucker: dated 2nd July, anno regni 10. "It seems as if the descendants of this Mr. Tucker thought the warrant above mentioned to be a glorious mark of the King's favor to their ancestor and family which really was only a liberty procured for him, that in such places where he (as well as his superiors,) must otherwise have been uncovered, he might by wearing a bonnet or cap hide a loathsome sight." An instance may be seen in the Harleian MS. No. 1856, of a like warrant to Bartholomew Hasketh, "because of divers infirmities in his hede." As to the family of Tucker, so numerous in Devonshire, several branches of them claim to have descended from the Tookers of Exeter, by pedigrees which cannot be detailed in the pages of the "Current Notes." J. D. S. The Coptic words corresponding to those of the Egyp tian cursive are as follows: Ptlomius ke Pht pouruh nida pi-erouo Yhudim matoou ahe pimisi. (T. R. B.) The Greek professing to be a translation of the Egyptian cursive is as follows, 1. 37. 64 • Πτολεμαίω ηταπημένω υπο τε φθα ΘΕΩ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΕΙ ευχαρισω ομοίως δε και τα των συνέων αυτό Θεων." Translation of the Greek by Weston. "Of King Ptolemy, living for ever, beloved of Phtha, the God Epiphanes most gracious, and those of his parents." Translation of hieroglyphs. (T. R. B.) Ptolemy [believes] also that after 4000 years, life eternal [will come through] Neith, Phtha's beloved. The God Horus shall have the dominion at the end of 4000 years (4 periods). There shall be given to him a dominion that is spiritual, over the face of the whole earth, to give [the knowledge of] the Serpent (Agathodemon, the Messiah) [born] of THE woman. Translation of Egyptian cursive and Coptic. (T. R.B.) Plotemy [believes] also that Phtha's Horus [will come] after 4000 years to rule the Jews [and] to teach the reception of the Serpent. I will not leave my memoir incomplete, but will give the origin, derivation, authorities, &c. of the hieroglyphs and Egyptian “running-hand" letters in a subsequent number, (D. V.) I have translated, here and there, little pieces of the Egyptian cursive, and have now made a regular beginning, and am going on with line 2. T. R. BROWN. Southwick, near Oundle, Jan. 1853. BURTON'S ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY.-What authority is there for the statement that Burton, the author of the Anatomy of Melancholy, committed suicide. J. MILLER. 8th January, 1853. January 10, 1853. INQUIRY.-Where can I find the origin of the comical expression, "brimful of wrath and cabbage," used in Irving's Knickerbocker's History of New York? SCOTT'S "OLD MORTALITY."-The following additional particulars as to the family of Old Mortality are extraordinary and interesting. His son, John Paterson, who is mentioned in the InLITERARY NEWs.-The real name of the authoress troduction by Sir W. Scott as having settled at Baltiof that very popular work, The Wide Wide World, more in America, made a large fortune there. He had which purports to be written by Elizabeth Wetherell, is a son, who married an American lady, Marianne, daughMrs. Waters.-The small work, entitled Little Things, ter of Richard Caton, Esq. of the U. S. of America. She published at Edinburgh, of which 20,000 copies have survived him, and afterwards intermarried with the late been already sold, is the production of Prof. Wilson.-Marquis Wellesley, being his second wife. A daughThat excellent little work, Woman's Mission, is written ter of this son of John Paterson was married to Jerome by Miss Lewis, Schoolmistress of Barnsbury. Bonaparte, and after her separation from him wedded Monsieur Serraier, the French Consul at Baltimore. INQUIRY.-Can any of your numerous readers tell me who is the author of a Tract, now rare, that appeared some twenty years ago, entitled, "Can no good thing come out of Nazareth?' The general opinion of the time ascribed it to the pen of the spirituelle Madame V... ., and it is to confirm or correct this report that I now address you. January 23rd. J. W. MICHAEL WOHLGEMUTH-It is well known that MICHAEL WOHLGEMUTH, who in conjunction with PLEYDENWURFF illustrated the celebrated Nuremburg Chronicle, was the master of ALBERT DURER, and esteemed by his contemporaries a clever artist. Are there any known paintings by his hand in existence? GEORGE LANGDALE. Brunswick Square. SHAKESPEAREAN EMENDATIONS. As considerable interest seems to have been excited by a volume recently published by Mr. Payne Collier, which appears to contain many happy corrections of corrupted passages in Shakespeare, a country customer, who lives at a distance from Public Libraries, and has no means of consulting the Early Editions, would feel much obliged if Mr. Willis, or any of his intelligent friends, could give him some information respecting the volume, and LORD HERBERT OF CHERBURY.-In all the bio- the extent of the corrections. It would appear that graphical Dictionaries I have seen, including Chalmers we now, for the first time, possess the means of restoring and Rose, it is stated that the eccentric Lord Herbert the text of our immortal Bard to its integrity. Do any of Cherbury was born at Montgomery Castle. This is of these emendations appear in the early editions? and evidently a mistake, as in his autobiography he expressly have any been supplied or guessed at by recent comdeclares he was born at Eyton in Shropshire. The mentators? If the former question be answered in the Herbert family were singularly opposite in their career. negative, this is an event in Literary History which Lord Herbert was an avowed Deist, and wrote a book rivals any of D'Israeli's "Curiosities." Q. E. D. expressly to prove it. His brother George was a pious Church of England divine, and author of The Temple and the Country Parson. His brother, Sir Henry, was a gay courtier and Master of the Revels to King Charles, (his autograph is given in the June number of the Current Notes.) His brother Thomas was a sailor; while his brother Richard was a noted duellist, who carried the scars of some four and twenty wounds to his grave. January 5th. EBORACENSIS. Yorkshire Wolds, January 14th. COINED WORDS.-"The liberty of coining words ought to be used with great modesty. Horace, they say, gave but two, and Virgil only one to the Latin tongue, which was squeamish enough not to swallow those, even from such hands, without reluctance." See Sketches or Essays on Various Subjects by Launcelot Temple, Esq. p. 157, in the first volume of " Miscellanies by John Armstrong, M.D. 2 vols. 12mo. Dublin, 1770." 66 CORONATION BY A POPE.-I very much doubt the truth of the story related by Rimius, and quoted by Query-The words coined by Horace and Virgil. your correspondent Y. S. N. that Pope Innocent crowned In the preface, p. iv. the author says, 'He has the troubadour King of Arragon with a crown of un-always most heartily despised the opinion of the Mobileavened bread. Rimius does not give any authority lity" and again at p. 156, "It is the easiest thing for his statement. Hurter, in his admirable life of imaginable to coin words. The most ignorant of the Innocent III. makes no mention of the occurrence. Mobility are apt to do it every day, and are laughed at for it."Who coined Mobility? Ashby de la Zouch. HISTORICUS. A. S. It would be impossible to enumerate all the ballads and broadsides which were the first fruits of the Restoration. King Charles arrived in London, 29th May, 1660, the anniversary of his birthday. The people vied with each other in their demonstrations of joy. Charles's sarcasm on their weathercock enthusiasm is well known. "It must have been his own fault he had been so long absent, since every one was so unanimous in welcoming his return." Perhaps the most curious ballad on the subject is in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. It is entitled "Win at first, Lose at last, or a New Game at Cards, wherein the King recovered his Crown and Traitors lost their heads. To the tune of, Ye gallants that delight to play." "Ye merry hearts that love to play The Knave of Clubs hath won the King, When three crowns as the stake was laid; And clubs were better cards than hearts". And after comparing the whole of the civil disturbances that ensued to the mysteries of a game at cards in which the Presbyterians had the deal; the army swearing they would cut, Cromwell's unlucky son "poor silly Dick, Played awhile but lost the trick." Then the King's party resolved to save the stakes or lose their lives, and when General Monk, who was accused of foul play "did understand The Rump were peeping in his hand, Which put the Rump into a fright, He saw how many were betrayed, That shewed their cards before they played." Till at the close of the game they turned the "King of Hearts," which made "all loyal subjects sing, Farewell Knaves and welcome King." OLD COOKERY BOOKS.-Who was W. M the author of The Queen's Closet opened, 12mo. London, 1668 ? This curious production is divided into three parts. The first contains The Pearl of Practice, being accurate, physical, and chyrurgical receipts. The second is The Queen's Delight, or the Art of Preserving, Candying, &c. The third is The Complete Cook, “which," says the author, W. M. "hath had a general reception travelling up and down the kingdom, and, like the good Samaritan, giving comfort to all it met." Some of the quaint receipts of our ancestors will excite a smile. We are gravely informed that the tooth of a dead man carried about with one, presently suppresses the tooth ache. "For redness and shining of the nose, take a fair linen cloth, and in the morning lay it over the grass, and draw it over till it be wet with dew, then wring it out into a dish, and wet the face therewith as often as you please. As you wet, let it dry in. May dew is the best." Lady Goring's water for an ague, &c. was thus delectably compounded: "Take the dung of a horse when it is new made, mingle it well with beer, and a little ginger, and a good quantity of treacle, and distil in an ordinary still; give of this a pretty draught to drink." A medicine for the plague that the Lord Mayor had of the Queen. "Take of sage elder and red bramble leaves a little handful, stamp and bruise them together through a cloth, with a quart of white wine, then take a quantity of white wine vinegar and mingle all together. Drink thereof, morning and night, a spoonful nine days together, and you shall be whole. There is no medicine more excellent than this, when the sore doth appear, then to take a cock chick and pull it, and hold it to the sore, and it will gape and labour for life, and in the end die. Then take another, and so long as any one do die, for when the poison is quite drawn out, the chick will live, the sore presently will assuage, and the party recover. Mr. Winlour proved this upon one of his own children, the thirteenth chick died, the fourteenth lived, and the party cured.” We do not know the wonderful virtues and properties of the "Oil of Swallows," however, it seems to be composed of as many ingredients as the witches' cauldron in Macbeth. Take swallows as many as you can get (ten or twelve at the least). [This almost rivals Mrs. Glasse's directions about catching your hare ;] put them quick into a mortar, and put to them lavendar, cotton, spike, camomile, knot grass, ribwort, balm, valerian, rosemary tops, woodbine tops, strings of viaes, French mallows, plaintain, walnut leaves, violet leaves, brook lime, mother of time, &c. &c. &c. put a quart of neat's foot oil, beat with cloves, and put them all together in an earthern pot, stopt so close with a piece of dough that no air can escape, set them nine days in a cellar, boil them six or eight hours on the fire, but first put in half a pound of wax, and a pint of salad oil, and strain them through a linen cloth." |
