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 NOTES 
 
 BOOKWORM; 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE PORTFOLIO 
 
 Hiterarg Gentleman. 
 
 " He hath strange places, cramm'd 
 With observation, the which he vents 
 In mangled forms."-~SHAKSPEARE. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 J. E. FLUTTER, 1, BIRCHIN LINE, CORNHILL. 
 
 1828,
 
 PflGClOR, WINE-OFFICE COURT, FLEET-STREET.
 
 ^vtutotv! ^mvcm. 
 
 The scraps of information and amusement 
 which wiH constitute the Eight Numbers of 
 which this httle Work will consist, are ac- 
 tually, as stated in the title-page, Selections 
 from the Portfolio of a Literary Gentleman, 
 the Editor of the Work, by whom most of 
 the articles have been culled from produc- 
 tions which he has, from tii. to time, for 
 some years past, either peeped into, or pored 
 through ; while for some he is indebted to 
 the kindness of friends, and for others, — 
 perhaps those of the most value, — to the in- 
 dustry of his hite father, from v/hom he may 
 probably have inherited the propensity of 
 gleaning from whatever he might read, such 
 passages as might be deemed by him worthy 
 of preservation ; — a propensity, by the way, 
 which he hesitates not to recommend to 
 others, as the certain means of storing up 
 much knowledge for future reference, which 
 would otherwise be forgotten and lost. These 
 notes, scraps, or whatever else they may 
 be appropriately denominated, he has now 
 
 2086770
 
 11 PREFATORY ADDRESS. 
 
 arranged to meet the public eye ; and if it 
 be true that no works are perused with more 
 satisfaction than collections of anecdotes, 
 and those performances which generally go 
 under the name of Ajia,he knows no rea- 
 son why he should despair of that encou- 
 ragement which has been extended to other 
 works of a similar description. 
 
 In the execution of this — to him agree- 
 able — task, he has laid it down as a rule, 
 to give the authority, where possible, for 
 every quotation he has made ; in order that 
 no importance may be attached to any 
 statement beyond what the merits of its au- 
 thor may induce the reader to affix to it. 
 
 " Men's opinions," says an old author, 
 " are as various as their tastes. Some are 
 for fried olives ; some don't love salt, even 
 so much as in their eggs. This neighbour 
 of mine is for the brains of a hare ; and that 
 thinks nothing so delicate as the feet of a 
 partridge burnt in the candle." He, there- 
 fore, who would piovide a feast to tickle all 
 palates, should, probably, have a scrap of 
 every thing, — by the due arrangement of 
 which he may entertain a reasonable hope, 
 that if one dish do not please, recourse will 
 not be had to others without better success. 
 Variety is said to be the greatest charm in
 
 PREFATORY ADDRESS. Ill 
 
 all things : where that is to be found, there- 
 fore, surely each man may take what he likes 
 best, without expecting that he, exclusively, 
 should be treated according to his particu- 
 lar fancy ! 
 
 Thus impressed, it will be the Editor's 
 endeavour to make each number of his 
 work as diversified as possible ; so that 
 while, from the brevity of the various ar- 
 ticles, the Reader will be enabled to open 
 and shut the book at will, without fear of 
 destroying the connection either of argu- 
 ment or narrative ; so, from their miscel- 
 laneous nature, it is his anxious hope, that 
 where instruction may be sought in vain, 
 amlisement will at least be found, from the 
 fact of their requiring but little attention, 
 and being adapted and resorted to, for the 
 dissipation of those intervals of leisure or 
 ennui, which could not, in any other way, 
 be more agreeably or proiitably employed. 
 
 For such as expect all the world to agree 
 with them in what they like or dislike, and 
 who think nothing good or bad, but what 
 they approve or disapprove, v*'ithout reflect- 
 ing that men's sentiments are as different 
 from one another, as their humours or faces ; 
 the Editor translates the apology of a Spa- 
 r>2
 
 IV PREFATORY ADDRESS. 
 
 nish Author* for pleasing himself chiefly 
 in his style of writing, as the surest means 
 of pleasing others also. 
 
 " It will be with me and my history," 
 says he, " as it was with the Author and 
 his Play. The poet went the first night 
 into the pit, wrapped up in his cloak, that 
 he might not be known, w^here he listened 
 with great attention to learn the fate of his 
 comedy. No sooner was the play begun, 
 than those who stood behind him cried 
 out, — '' Hold your head a little more to 
 the left there, you hvider people from 
 seeing.' While those on the left accosted 
 him thus : ' You, sir, loith the cloak at 
 midsummer, stand more to the right, if 
 you please' Thus addressed on both sides, 
 the poor poet knew not which way to stir ; 
 but at length to avoid offending both right 
 and left, he stood sideling — a very uneasy 
 posture, it must be confessed, for a man 
 who wished to attend to what was passing ; 
 ' but what could he do ? There was no other 
 way to keep friends with every body, and 
 
 * Mateo Aleman's Guzman d'Alfarache, a work 
 pronounced by Mr. Jeffrey, of the Edinburgh 
 Review, as one of "great genius, in which the 
 satire, the wit, the eloquence, and reasoning, are 
 of the most powerful kind."
 
 PREFATORY ADDRESS. V 
 
 he would have thought himself very happy 
 if the people around had been so satisfied ; 
 vv^hich it seemed, hov;ever, they were resolved 
 not to be. Presently his hat was found to 
 be in their light. Off it went ; but not 
 enough even yet ; for now one complained 
 that his hair was rather troublesome, and 
 hindered his sight. The poet very obligingly 
 put it behind his ears, saying to himself, 
 ' sure this will do, or nothing ; for they 
 cannot well have more of me.' And yet 
 Monsieur Author was mistaken, for a mi- 
 nute had not elapsed, ere a merry wight 
 sung out from behind : ' What a nose that 
 fellow has; it may well hang in his own 
 light, when it hangs in ours ! ' The Poet, 
 now somewhat nettled, had a great mind to 
 be revenged by blowing it upon him as he 
 passed by; but reflecting that his unfor- 
 tunate nose really did bear some resemblance 
 to the gnomon of a dial, and that, in the 
 posture in which he stood, sometimes look- 
 ing on the actors, sometimes on the audi- 
 ence, it probably might cast too much 
 shadow, and displease such as are annoyed 
 even by a fly's coming in their way ; the 
 complaisant Author, unwilling to disoblige 
 even this satirical rogue, turning about to 
 him, said : ' Sir, if my nose is troublesome
 
 VI PREFATORY ADDRESS. 
 
 to you, I will turn it to the other side ;' 
 and accordingly, he turned it over his right 
 shoulder, vrith his face towards the actors. 
 Now it was worse than ever ; for it looked 
 like a sort of promontory, and from its 
 protruding beyond the rest of his body, 
 like a figure out of its place, it cast a 
 greater shade than before, which an arch 
 wag observing, bawled out, * What a nose, 
 good gods, what a nose the man has! 
 Upon this the attention of all the specta- 
 tors was directed tow^ards him, and several 
 of them exclaimed, ' What a nose the man 
 has got r The cry lasted a quarter of an 
 hour, and the whole play-house rung with 
 ' What a nose is there !' The Poet, as you 
 may well imagine, would have been very 
 glad if he had been out of their way ; but 
 all he could do to put an end to the hurly- 
 burly, which now highly enraged him, was 
 to wrap his nose up in his cloak, and turn 
 about, and stand like the rest in a natural 
 posture. He, accordingly, took his hair 
 from behind his ears, clapped his hat on his 
 head again, and cared not a jot whether 
 his hair, his hat, or his nose, offended or 
 not offended, nor who would have him 
 stand sideways, who to the right, nor who 
 to the left ; but said he, ' Let every man 
 see as well as he can.^
 
 PREFATORY ADDRESS. Ml 
 
 '' Our Author's nose being now under 
 his cloak, he changed his situation, and 
 stood in his new place, where nobody knew 
 him, in such a position as suited his own 
 convenience, totally disregarding what 
 others thought of him. By these means he 
 not only became free from all annoyance, 
 but had the satisfaction of hearing those 
 about him argue differently upon the me- 
 rits of his play, and of observing how men 
 liked or disliked it, according to their seve- 
 ral humours or interests. If he had at- 
 tempted to please all the world as to the 
 position in which he stood, he could neither 
 have seen nor heard any thing ; and if he 
 h^d endeavoured so to have altered his 
 comedy as to have contented every one, he 
 found that he must have written as many 
 plays as there are different characters of 
 men. 
 
 " This tale," says the Spanish Author, 
 " is somewhat long ; but it is original, and 
 the application is easily made." 
 
 The Editor. 
 
 Loudon, 1827.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM, 
 
 KNIVES AND FORKS. 
 
 " In all ancient pictures of Eating, &:c. Knives 
 are seen in the hands of the Guests, but no Forks. — 
 Turner's Saxons. 
 
 " Here I wil mention a thing," says Coryat in 
 his * Crudities,' " that migiit haue been spoken of 
 before in the discourse of the first Italian toun. 
 [ obserued a custome in all those Italian cities and 
 townes through the which 1 passed, that is not vsed 
 in any other country that I saw in ray trauels, neither 
 doe I think that any other nation of Christendome 
 doth vse it, but only Italy. The Italians, and also 
 most strangers that are commorant in Italy, doe 
 alwaies at their meales vse a Little fork when they 
 cut their meate. For while with their knife, which 
 they hold in one hand, they cut their meate out of 
 the dish, they fasten their forke, which they hold 
 in their other hand, upon the same dish, so that 
 whatsoever he be that sitting in the company of 
 others at meate, should vnaduisedly touch the dish 
 of meate Avithhis lingers from which all at the table 
 doe cut, he will give occasion of offence unto the 
 company, as hauing transgressed the laws of good 
 manners, in so much that for his error he shall be 
 at the least brow-beaten, if not reprehended in 
 wordes. 
 
 This form of feeding, I vnderstand, is generally 
 vsed in all places of Italy, their forkes being for
 
 10 NOTES OF A BOOKWOUM. 
 
 the most part made of yron or Steele, and some of 
 siluer ; but those are used only by gentlemen. The 
 reason of this their curiosity is, because the Italian 
 cannot by any means indure to have his dish touched 
 with fingers, seeing all men's fingers are not alike 
 clean. Hereupon I myself thought good to imi- 
 tate the Italian fashion by this forked cutting of 
 meate, not only while I was in Italy, but also in 
 Germany, and oftentimes in England, since I came 
 home : being once quipped for that fiequent vsin g 
 of my forke, by a certain gentleman, a familiar 
 friend of mine, one Mr. Laurence Whitaker, who 
 in his men-y humour doubted not to call me at 
 table, f lire if er, only for vsing a forke at feeding, but 
 for no other cause." — Coryut's Crudities, 1611. 
 
 Even when Heylin published his Cosmography, 
 (1652,) Forks were still a novelty. See his Third 
 Book, where having spoken of the ivory sticks 
 used by the Chinese, he adds, "The use of silver 
 forks, which is by some of our spruce gallants 
 taken up of late, came from thence into Italy, and 
 from thence into England." — Antiquarian Repertory. 
 
 The Editor has been informed, that the common 
 or lower order of the Italians, do not now use 
 forks; if so, we have refined upon the refiners, 
 as the poorest person in England would be ashamed 
 to put his finger in the dish. 
 
 THE LEPROSY. — LAZARS. — LAZAR- 
 HOUSES. 
 
 That loathsome disorder, leprosy, was intro- 
 duced into England in the reign of Henry I., and 
 was supposed to have been brought out of Egypt, 
 or perhaps the East, by means of the crusaders. 
 To add to the horror, it was contagious, which
 
 XOTJ--S OF A BOOKWORM. 11 
 
 enlianced the charity of a provision for such miser- 
 ables, who were not only naturally shunned, but 
 even chased, by royal edict, from the society of their 
 fellow-creatures.* 
 
 Lepers, or Lazars, were sick persons removed 
 out of monasteries to cells or hospitals, always 
 built out of cities and towns. Their usual main- 
 tainence was, from liberty allowed them to go upon 
 every market-day, to the market, where with a dish, 
 called a clap dish, they would beg corn. 
 
 Their sickness and loathsome appearance giving 
 great disgust, many withheld their charity, upon 
 which account they were afterwards restrained 
 from begging at large, but permitted to send the 
 proctor of the hospital, who came with his box 
 one day in every month to the churches, and other 
 religious houses, at time of service ; and there re- 
 ceived the voluntary charity of the congregations. 
 This custom is said to be the origin of the present 
 practice of collecting briefs. — FhUlipssShreushiiry. 
 
 The leprosy was much more common formerly, 
 in this part of the globle, than at present. It is 
 said, that there were in Europe fifteen thousand 
 hospitals foimded for them. Perhaps near half the 
 hospitals that were in England were built for 
 lepers. 
 
 Lepers were so numerous in the twelfth century, 
 that by a decree of the Lateran Council under pope 
 Alexander III, A. D. 1179, they were empowered to 
 erect churches for themselves, and to have their 
 
 * Edward III. drove from London all the lepers, except 
 fourteen, who claimed admittance into St. Giles's Hospital. 
 All the lesser lazar houses in England were subject to the 
 sick-house at Burton, in Leicestershire; which, again, was 
 subject to that at Jerusalem. They were usually dedicated 
 to St Lazarus, from whom they derived their name. — Pen- 
 nant's Chester to London.
 
 12 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 0-wTi ministers to officiate in them. Tliis shows at 
 once how infectious and offensive their distemper 
 was. 
 
 And on this account, " In England where a man 
 was a leper, and was dwelling in a town, and 
 would come into the churches, or among his neigh- 
 hours when they were assembled, to talk to them 
 to their annoyance or disturbance, a writ lay De 
 Leproso amovendo." — What follows is remarkable. 
 The writ is for those lepers " who appear to the 
 sight of all men, they are lepers, by their voice 
 and their sores, the putrefaction of their flesh, and 
 by the smell of them." 
 
 And so late as the reign of Edward VI. multi- 
 tudes of lepers seem to have been in England ; for 
 in 1 Edw. 6. c.3. in which directions are given for 
 carrying the poor to the places where ther were born, 
 &c. we read the following clause : "Provided alwaj'S, 
 that all leprous and poor bed-red creatures may, at 
 their liberty, remain and continue in such houses 
 appointed for lepers, or bed-red people, as they now 
 be in." — History of Winchester. 
 
 1184- to 1191. — The leprosy was at this period, 
 and long after, a cniel epidemic in our country, 
 possibly brought by the crusaders from the Holy 
 Land, and spread here by lilth and bad diet. It was- 
 supposed to be infectious, and was shunned as the 
 plague ; so that, had it not been for these pious in- 
 stitutions, multitudes must have perished under this 
 loathsome disorder. — Peinumt. 
 
 Among other wild fancies of the age, it was ima- 
 gined that the persons afflicted with leprosy, a 
 disease at that time (1327, Edward II.) very com- 
 mon, probably from bad diet, had conspired with 
 the Saracens to poison all springs and fountains ; 
 and men being glad of any pretence to get rid of 
 those who were a burthen to them, many of those
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 13 
 
 unhappy people were burnt alive on the cliimerical 
 imputation. — Hume, vol. 11. p. 370. 
 
 Every one of the lazar-houses had a person, called 
 a fore-goer, who used to beg daily for them. — Par- 
 ker's Norwich. 
 
 ST. PAUL AND THE VIPER.— THE 
 CHURCH AT MALTA. 
 
 Not far from the old city of Valetta, in the 
 island of Malta, there is a small church dedicated 
 to St. Paul, and just by the church, a miraculous 
 statue of the Saint with a viper on his hand ; sup- 
 posed to be placed on the very spot on which the 
 house stood, where he was received after his ship- 
 wreck on this island, and where he shook the viper 
 off his hand into the fire, without being hurt by it. 
 At which time the Maltese assure us, the Saint 
 cursed all the venomous animals of the island, and 
 banished them for ever ; just as St. Patrick treated 
 those of his favourite isle.. Whether this be the 
 cause of it or not, we shall leave to divines to de- 
 termine, though if it had, I think St. Luke would 
 have mentioned it in the Acts of the Apostles ; but 
 the fact is certain, that there are no venomous 
 animals in jMalta. They assured us that vipers 
 had been brought from Sicily, and died almost im- 
 mediately on their arrival. — Page 32-4, 1st Vol. 
 Brydoue's Sicily and Malta, 1773. 
 
 TOMB OF RICHARD IL— DRESS OF THE 
 
 ENGLISH IN HIS REIGN, &c. 
 
 The Tomb of Richard II. is in Westminster 
 
 Abbey ; and his robe on it, says Dart,, is covered 
 
 with pea-shells open, with the peas out ; but this 
 
 c
 
 14 NOirS OF A BOUKUOIIM. 
 
 is a mistaken conjecture, as they are intended to 
 represent broom pods, alludiug to the king's name 
 of Plantagenet. Voltaire says that Jeffery, who 
 was the first of the name of Plantagenet, and fa- 
 ther to Henry II, was so calkd from his being fond 
 of wearing a sprig of broom in his bonnet. The 
 Plantagenets were generally tall, and the Stewarts 
 low of stature ; all of both names were bad kings. 
 The Stewart's derived their name from one Walter, 
 who was steward to King Malcolm. In the reign 
 of Richard II., the fashionable folks wore shoes 
 of such a length, that they could not walk in them 
 without fastening the toes to their knees, which 
 they did either with silver chains, ribbons, or lace. 
 The ladies also, in this reigii, wore two pyramids 
 on their heads, on each side. Parodin describes 
 them as rising an ell above the head, in form of a 
 spire temple, having sharp tops, to which were 
 fastened pieces of crape, which floated loosely 
 down their backs. — Note to History of Stamfoi-d, 
 Anon. 
 
 WOMEN OF AXTIQUITY — HOW EM- 
 PLOYED. 
 
 In the earlier ages of antiquity, it was not in- 
 consistent with the highest dignity, to act in what 
 we should now reckon the lowest of menial em- 
 ployments. Gideon and Arunah assisted in the 
 various labours of husbandry. Abraham went and 
 brought a calf from the flock, skinned it, and gave 
 it to his wife who dressed it ; a custom to this 
 day continued among many of the Eastern nations, 
 where nothing is more common than to see their 
 Princes fetch home from their flocks, and kill 
 whatever has been selected for the use of their
 
 NOTES OP A BOOKWORM. 13 
 
 families ; while the Princesses, their wives, or 
 daughters, prepare a fire, and perform the office 
 of an European cook-maid. 
 
 Another part of female employment in the 
 earlier ages, was grinding corn ; the ancients had 
 not, and in many countries they have not even now, 
 mills so constructed as to go hy wind or water ; 
 there were only two small stones used for the pur- 
 pose, the uppermost of which was turned by the 
 hand, a task generally performed by two women. 
 Such were used in the time of Pharaoh ; for Moses, 
 in the relation of the plagues which infested that 
 country, says that " the first born throughout the 
 land died, from the first born of Pharaoh who was 
 upon the throne, to the firstborn of the maidser- 
 vants who were behind the mill." They were used 
 in the time of our Saviour, who says, " Two women 
 shall be grinding at the mill ; the one shall be taken, 
 and the other left." They are used to this day all 
 ovei- the Levant, and in the North of Scotland, 
 where the women who turn them have a particular 
 song, which they sing, intended perhaps to divert 
 them from tliinking on the severity of their labour. 
 When the women had grinded their corn into meal, 
 it was likewise their province to make it into bread. 
 Sarah was ordered by her husband, when he en- 
 tertained the angels, to make cakes for them. 
 Cakes, among many of the ancients, were oflered 
 at the altars of their gods, from which custom even 
 the Israelites did not altogether abstain, as the 
 Scriptures frequently inform us that their women 
 baked cakes to the Queen of Heaven. 
 
 Pasturage was almost the only method of sub- 
 sistence in the times we are speaking of ; and the 
 women of every rank and condition, as well as the 
 men, were not exempted from attending on the 
 flocks, drawing water for them to drink, and doing 
 c2
 
 16 NOTES OF A EOOkWORM. 
 
 all the other oflBces which the nature of such an 
 employment required. Pasturage obliged the 
 Israelites, and other inhabitants of the East, to 
 embrace a -wandering life, that they might procure 
 fresh food for their flocks. Instead, therefore, of 
 dwelling in houses, as we do, they erected tents 
 for the convenience of frequent removals. These 
 tents were made of camel hair and wool, the spin- 
 ning or weaving of which was a part of the occu- 
 pation of the women ; and, from the time that cloth 
 was substituted for the skin of animals as a covering 
 for the body, the whole operation of making it de- 
 volved also on women, who weaved it in the most 
 simple manner, by conducting the wool with their 
 fingers instead of a shuttle. 
 
 In all counti-ies where the arts are only in their 
 infancy, every man is generally his own artificer. 
 The men make the various instruments which they 
 employ in tbeir work, and the women make the 
 cloth for covering themselves and their family ; but 
 in the days of jMoses, the Israelites seem to have 
 advanced a few degrees beyond this. Metallurgy 
 seems to have made a considerable progress. Even 
 in the time of Abraham they had instruments, pro- 
 bably of steel, for shearing their sheep ; Abraham 
 had a sword, with which he was preparing to sa- 
 crifice his son Isaac ; and they had even arrived to 
 works of taste in gold and silver. They must, 
 therefore, have been more advanced in the arts at 
 this period, than the Greeks at the siege of Troy, 
 whose arms and shields were made of copper ; or 
 than many savage nations at this time, whose arms 
 are only wood, sometimes pointed with flints, or 
 bones of animals. — MS. Aiwni/mous,
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 17 
 
 TREATMENT AND CONDITION OF WO- 
 MEN IN FORMER TIMES. 
 
 From the subversion of the Roman Empire, to 
 the fourteenth or fifteenth century, women spent 
 most of their time alone, almost entire strangers 
 to the joys of social life ; they seldom went abroad, 
 but to be spectators of such public diversions and 
 amusements as the fashions of the times counte- 
 nanced. Francis I. was the first who introduced 
 women on public days to Court: before his time 
 nothing was to be seen at any of the Courts of 
 Europe, but grey-bearded politicians, plotting the 
 destruction of the rights and hberties of mankind, 
 and warriors clad in complete armour, ready to put 
 their plots in execution. In the thirteenth and 
 fourteenth centuries elegance had scarcely any 
 existence, aiid even cleanliness was hardly consi- 
 dered as laudable. The use of linen was not 
 known ; aud the most delicate of the fair sex wore 
 v.'oollen shifts. In Paris they had meat only three 
 times a week ; and one hundred livres, (about five 
 pounds sterhng,) was a large portion for a young 
 lady. The better sort of citizens used splinters of 
 wood and rags dipped in oil, instead of candles, 
 which, in those days, were a rarity hardly to be met 
 with. Wine was only to be had at the shops of the 
 Apothecaries, where it was sold as a cordial : and to 
 ride in a two-wheeled cart, along the dirty rugged 
 streets, was reckoned a grandeur of so enviable a 
 nature, that Philip the Fair prohibited the wive» 
 of citizens from enjoying it. In the time of Henry 
 VIII. of England, the peers of the realm carried 
 their wives behind them on horseback, when they 
 went to London ; and in the same manner took 
 thera back to their country seats, witli hoods oi
 
 18 NOTES OF A HOOKWOaai. 
 
 waxed linen over their heads, and wrapped in man- 
 tles of cloth to secure them from the cold. — Dr, 
 Alexander's History of Women. 
 
 MAGXIFICE^XE OF FORMER TIMES. 
 
 Account how the Earl of Worcester lived at Rngland 
 Castle in Monmouthshire, before the Civil Wars, uhich 
 began in 1641. 
 
 At eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the Castle 
 gates were shut, and the tables laid ; two in the 
 dining-room ; three in the hall ; one in Mrs. Wat- 
 son's apartment, where the chaplains are, (Sir 
 Toby Mathews being the first ;) and two in the 
 houskeeper's room for the lady's women. 
 
 The Earl came into the dining-room attended 
 by his gentlemen. As soon as he was seated. Sir 
 Ralph Blackstone, steward of the house, retired. 
 The Comptroller, ■Mr. Holland, attended with his 
 staff, as did the Sewer, Mr. Blackburne ; the daily 
 waiters, Mr. Clougli, JNIr. Selby, and Mr. Scuda- 
 more ; with many gentlemen's sons, from two to 
 seven hundred pounds a year, bred up in the Castle ; 
 my Lady's Gentleman Usher, ^Mr. Harcourt ; my 
 Lord's Gentlemen of the Chamber, Mr. Morgan 
 and Mr. Fox. 
 
 At the first table sat the noble family, and such 
 of the nobility as came. 
 
 At the second table, in the dining-room, sat 
 Knights and Honourable Gentlemen, attended by 
 footmen. 
 
 In the hall, at the first table sat Sir Ralph Black- 
 stone, Steward ; the Comptroller, jMr. Holland ; 
 the Secretary ; the JMaster of the Horse, JNIr. De- 
 lewar ; the Master of the Fish Ponds, i\Ir. Andrews :
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM, 19 
 
 my Lord Herbert's Preceptor, Mr. Adams ; with 
 such Gentlemeu as came there under the degree of 
 a Knight, attended br footmen, and plentifully 
 sensed with wine. 
 
 At the second table in the hall, (served from my 
 Lord's table, and with other hot meats,) sat the 
 Sewer, Ti-ith the Gentlemen Waiters and Pages, to 
 the number of twenty-four. 
 
 At the third table in the hall, sat the Clerk of the 
 Kitchen, with the Yeomen Ofl&cers of the House, 
 two Grooms of the Chamber, &c. 
 
 Other Officers of the Household were, Cliief 
 Auditor, INIr. Smith ; Clerk of the Accounts, Mr. 
 George Wharton ; Purveyor of the Castle, Mr. 
 Salsbury ; Ushers of tlie Hall, ]Mr. INIoyle and IMr. 
 Croke ; Closet Keeper ; Gentleman of the Chapel, 
 Mr. Davies ; Keeper of the Records ; JNIaster of 
 the Wardrobe ; blaster of the Armoury ; blaster 
 Groom of the Stable for the War-horses ; INIaster of 
 the Hounds ; Master Falconer ; Porter and his man. 
 
 Two Butchers ; two Keepers of the Home Park ; 
 two Keepers of the red deer Park. 
 
 Footmen, Grooms, and other menial Servants, to 
 the nimiber of 150. Some of the footmen were 
 brewers and bakers. 
 
 Out Officers. — Steward of Ragland, William 
 Jones, Esq. ; the Governor of Chepstow Castle, Sir 
 Nicholas Kemys, Bart. ; Housekeeper of Worcester 
 House, in London, James Redman, Esq. 
 
 Thirteen Bailiffs. 
 
 Two Counsel for the Bailifis to have recourse to. 
 
 Solicitor, Mr. John Smith.
 
 20 NOTES OP A EOOKWOH^I. 
 
 THE EARL OF ESSEX. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Earl of Eisex, to the 
 Lord Keeper Egerton, in ansicer to one the Lord 
 Keeper had sent him, after the Earl had received a box 
 on the ear from Queen Elizabeth, advising him to 
 patience and subynission.* 
 
 What! caunot Princes err? cannot subjects 
 receive wrong 1 Is an eartlily power or authority 
 infinite 1 Pardon me, pardon me, my good lord, 
 I can never subscribe to these principles. Let 
 Solomon's fool laugh when he is stricken ; let those 
 that mean to make their profit of Princes, shew to 
 have no sense of Princes' injuries; let them ac- 
 knowledge an infinite absoluteness on earth, that do 
 not believe in an absolute infiniteness in heaven ; 
 as for me, I have received wrong, and I feel it. 
 My cause is good, I know it ; and whatsoever come, 
 all the powers on earth can never shew more strength 
 and constancy in oppressing, than I can shew in suf- 
 fering whatsoever can or shall be imposed upon me. 
 Your Lordsliip, in the beginning of your letter, 
 maketh yourself a looker-on, and me a player of 
 my ovra game ; so you can see more than I can : 
 yet must you give me leave to tell you in the end 
 of my answer, that since you do but see, and I 
 suffer, I must of necessity feel more than you do. 
 I must crave your Lordship's patience to give him 
 that hath a crabbed fortune, license to use a crab- 
 
 * This letter may, probablj^ be well known already to 
 persons of historical research ; on the other hand, there may 
 be many who may never have seen it : it is hoped, therefore, 
 that its insertion will be tolerated by the former, out of con- 
 sideration for the latter ; and that, even though it be hack- 
 neyed (which the Editor believes not to be the case), the little 
 space it occupies will ba willingly conceded to its intrinsic 
 value.
 
 NOTES or A BOOKWOKM 2J 
 
 bed style ; yet whatsoever vay style is, there is no 
 heart more humble to its superiors, nor any more 
 aliected towards your Lordship, than that of 
 Yoar Honour's poor Friend, 
 
 KSSEX. 
 
 THE STAGE. 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter wj-itten to 
 Mr. Spranger Barry, previous to his Jirst attempt on 
 the 
 
 In the time of Athenian elegance, w'hen learn- 
 ing was in taste ; when liberty was the blessing of 
 the public, and parent of the arts ; when excellence 
 alone found honour, capacity emplo\Tnent, and me- 
 rit rewards ; the stage grew suddenly from its in- 
 liincy to maturity, and, from being encouraged, 
 became itself the encourager of those talents and 
 geniuses with which it was supplied. It was there 
 that each spectator was taught his particular conduct, 
 by seeing his own representation in the general pic- 
 ture of life, where the lights were thrown only upon 
 virtue, and the shades upon vice ; where the great 
 and eminent of every age were set up for imitation ; 
 where every noble, tender, and exalted sentiment 
 was recorded, and daily inculcated ; where purity 
 was invited, obscenity exiled, and where the heart 
 was attached to virtue, by aliectingly walking- 
 through all its scenes of misfortune ; and, lastly, 
 exulting in its final reward. Ko institution, less 
 than divine, could ever be of equal efficacy or ad- 
 vantage ; for -when instruction becomes our enter- 
 tainment, then it is that vice grows detestable, and 
 virtue delightfvd from the pleasure it brings ; and 
 hence w-ere the sentiments of the Grecian \ndsar so
 
 22 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 exalted, that an immoral expression, tliougli naturally 
 introduced in an immoral character, has been hissed 
 off the stage. Can we think, then, that where the 
 doctrine was so glorious, the preaching was disho- 
 nourable ? No! sure. To be an actor then, was 
 not to be a mere mimic; no trick of gesture, or tone 
 of voice, could avail ; those of distinction were to 
 be, by nature, the very persons they represented ; 
 they were to have the same elevation of soul, the 
 same delicacy of thought, the same morality of life, 
 the same humanity of hearts, and sweetness of af- 
 fections, as could, at once, constitute the patriot, 
 the hero, the lover, and the friend. The words 
 only belonged to the author — the sentiments were, 
 by nature, their ovni; and lience flowed that aptness 
 of attitude, that ease in elocution, that expressive 
 look, that eloquent silence, that freedom of action, 
 and that harmony of the whole, which at once ex- 
 alted, melted, and subdued a mighty nation to ele- 
 gance and virtue. Where such an actor was found, 
 he was justly esteemed a blessing to the commu- 
 nity. As his talents were the admiration, so his 
 person was the delight of all people. In his life he 
 was honoured, and his posterity were provided for, 
 • — Chetuood's Historii of the Stage. 
 
 THE FIRST ENGLISH XUX— PROFLIGACY 
 OF NUNS. 
 
 Face, widow of Edwin, kin^- of Northumberland, 
 is said to have been the first English nun ; and the 
 first nunnery- in England appears to have been at 
 Barking, in Sussex, which was founded by Erken- 
 wald, Bishop of London, wherein he placed a num- 
 ber of benedictine or black nuns. The most rigid 
 nuns are those of St. Clara, of the order of St. Fran-
 
 XOrtS OF A BOOKWORM. 23 
 
 cis, both of which individuals were born and lived 
 in the same town : the nuns are called poor Clares, 
 and both they and the monks wear gTey clothes. 
 Abbesses had formerly seats in parliament. In one, 
 held in 694, says Spelman, the}' sat and deliberated, 
 and several of them subscribed the decrees made in 
 it. They sat, sa^-s Ingulphus, in a parliament lield 
 in the year 8.55. In the reigns of Henry III. and 
 Edward I. four of them were summoned to a na- 
 tional council, viz. those of Shaftsbur^', Barking, 
 Winchester, and Wilton. (Tit. Hon. p. 729, and 
 Whitlock's Notes, vol. I. p. 479.) Of the number 
 of reports circulated respecting the lewd and vicious 
 lives of nuns, the following single instance may 
 suffice : Wilson, an historian, writes, that when he 
 was with the English army in Cleveland, in 1626, 
 the soldiers, in casting* up their intrenchments, near 
 a nimnery, dug up many large boxes that had a 
 child in each, some newly dead, and others con- 
 sumed to the bones ! 
 
 THOMAS A BECKET., 
 
 Thomas a Becket was bom in London, in 1119, 
 and assassinated in the Cathedral Church, at Can- 
 terbury, on the 9th of December, 1171. Matliew 
 Paris saj^s, Tuesday was ever a remarkable day to 
 him : on that day he was made an archbishop, was 
 banished, returned from banishment, was murdered, 
 gained the palm of martyrdom, and, on that day 
 fifty years after his death, his body received the 
 honour of translation. The miracles said to be 
 wrought at his tomb were so numerous, that we are 
 told two large volumes of them were kept in the 
 church at Canterbury. His shrine was visited from
 
 24 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 all parts, and enriched with the most costl}- g-ifts 
 and otFerings. Chause'r saj's, 
 
 fro' every shire's end 
 Of England to Canterbury they wend. 
 
 Though canonized, hoAvever, he was, in truth, me- 
 morable only for his pride, insolence, and ingrati- 
 tude to his sovereign, Henry II. In an antique 
 illumination, in the Cottonian Library, he is depicted 
 as disputing with that prince : and in another, he 
 is seen warding off the blow of the sword raised to 
 murder him. Both of the.<*e are engTaved by Strutt, 
 in his Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities. 
 
 BELLS. 
 
 Bells, says Weever, were formerly baptized, 
 anointed, exorcised, and blessed by the bishop, and 
 were then imagined to have the power of calming 
 storms, causing fair weather, re-creating the dead ; 
 and driving devils out of the air. The great beUs of 
 Lincoln and Oxford were baptized by the name of 
 Thomas, in honour of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury ; hence they are called the great or 
 mighty Tom. Croyland Abbe}- had the first ring 
 of bells in England ; they v>'ere six in number, and 
 put up in Edgar's reign. The Jews made use of 
 trumpets to assemble the people to worship ; and 
 soimding-boards are used for the same purpose at 
 the present day by the monks in EgA-pt, and also in 
 Greece, where they strike upon them with a mal- 
 let. The following are the largest bells extant : 
 
 lbs. 
 One in Philadelphia, in America, with this 
 inscription, " Proclaim liberty throughout 
 all the land to the inhabitants' thereof." . .- £,080 
 The great bell of St. Paul's, London 9,408
 
 NOTES OF A E00K\V0R3I. 25 
 
 Great Tom of Lincoln, which holds four lbs. 
 hundred and twenty-four gallons, ale mea- 
 sure ; 9 394 
 
 One in the Cathedral at Antwerp, founded 
 
 ill 1440 ... 16^000 
 
 Christ-Church bell, Oxford 17 ggQ 
 
 The bell of St. Ambrose, in Milan, seven 
 
 feet in diameter 30 qqq 
 
 One at Rouen, in Normandy, called 
 George D'Am-boise, thirteen feet high . . 40,000 
 
 The great beU at Pekin, in Chiua 120^000 
 
 The great bell at Moscow, in Russia, which 
 measures nineteen feet higji, seventy feet 
 in circumference, and two feet in thickness •/ 
 and which requires one hundred men to 
 
 ^aise it 366,000 
 
 Drakard's History of Stamford. 
 Bei-ls of the Axciexts. — Bells were known in 
 the earliest ages of which we have any certain ac- 
 count. But the bells of the ancients were very 
 small in comparison with those of modem times, 
 since, according to Polydore Virgil, the invention 
 of such as are hung in the towers, or steeples of 
 Christian churches, did not occur till the latter end 
 of the fourth, or beginning of the fifth century; 
 when they were introduced by Paulinus, Bishop of 
 iSola. The Jews certainly employed bells, since 
 they are spoken of in the Scriptures ; and the men- 
 tion of them by Thucydides, Diodorus Siculus, Sui- 
 das, Aristophanes, and other ancient writers, proves 
 that they were used in Greece; while Plautus, 
 Ovia, TibuUus, Statins, and a variety of Latin 
 authors, speak of bells as in use among the Romans. 
 But these bells of the ancients were all made for 
 the hand ; or were of a size to be affixed to other 
 musical instruments, like those wliich were occa- 
 
 D
 
 26 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 sionally appended to the drum. Whether, when 
 detached from other instruments, they were used 
 on general occasions, or only in particular ceremo- 
 nies, or as signals, is not known j nor have we any 
 clew by which to guess whether they w^ere tuned 
 in concordance with any scale, or whether they 
 were unisons to each other, or not formed to any 
 particular pitch, but merelj^ used as sonorous auxi- 
 liaries to other instruments, without any regard to 
 their agreement of tone either with one another, or 
 with the instruments they accompanied. — Ano- 
 7iymous. 
 
 PROXY. 
 
 Why Peers can give their votes in the passing of 
 Bills by Proxy, and why Members of the House of 
 Commons cannot, S^c. ' 
 
 To the passing of a Bill, the assent of the 
 Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, must be in per- 
 son ; but the Lords may give their votes by proxy, 
 and the reason hereof is, that the Barons did always 
 sit in Parliament in their own right, as part of the 
 Pares Curtis of the King ; and, therefore, as they 
 were allowed to serve by proxy in the wars, so had 
 they leave to make proxies in Parliament ; but the 
 Commons coming only as representing the Barones 
 Minoi'es, and the Socage Tenants in the country, 
 and as representing the men of the cities, &c. they 
 could not constitute proxies, because they them- 
 selves are but proxies, or re|iresentatives of others, 
 according to that maxim of law, Delegata ■pntestas 
 non potest delegari. — Bacon s Abridgment, 1768. 
 
 The election of Commons to be immediate Trus- 
 tees and apt Representatives of the People in 
 Parliament, is the hereditary and indefeasible pri-
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. ?7 
 
 vilege of the people. It is the privilege which 
 they accepted, aud which they retain, in exchange 
 of their original, inherent, and hereditary right of 
 sitting with the King and Peers, in person, for the 
 guardianship of their oAvn liberties, and the insti- 
 tution of their o^^^l laws. Such representatives, 
 therefore, can never have it in their power to give, 
 delegate, or &c., nor can they impart the same, &:c. 
 — Anoivjmoua. 
 
 FRENCH DRESS. 
 
 SiGEBERT was huricd in St. IMedrad's church, at 
 Soissons, w^here his statue is still seen in long 
 clothes, with the mantle, which the Romans- called 
 chlamys. This was the dress of Colvil's children, 
 whether as more noble and majestic, or that they 
 looked on th6 title of Augustus as hereditary in 
 their family. However it be, long clothes were, 
 for several ages, the dress of persons of distinction, 
 with a border of sable, ermine, or miniver. Under 
 Charles V. it was emblazoned with all the pieces of 
 the coat of arms. At that time, neither ruffs, col- 
 lars, nor bands were known, being introduced by 
 Henry 11. 'Till this time the neck of the French 
 king was always quite bare, except Charles the 
 Wise, who is every where represented wdth an 
 ermin collar. The short dress anciently worn only 
 in the country and the camp, came to be the gene- 
 ral fashion under Louis XI. but was laid aside under 
 Louis XII. Francis I. revived it, with the im- 
 provement of flashes. The favourite dress of 
 Henry II. and his children, was a tight, close 
 doublet, with ti'unk hose, and a cloak scarce reach- 
 ing to the waist. The dress of the French ladies, 
 it may be supposed, had likewise its revolutions.
 
 ZO NOTES OF A BOOKUORSt. 
 
 They seem, for near nine hundred years, not to 
 have been much taken up with ornament. Nothing 
 could require less time or nicety than their head- 
 dress, and the disposition of their hair. Every part 
 of their linen was quite plain, but at the same time 
 extremely fine. Laces were long unknown. Their 
 gowns, on the right side of which was embroidered 
 their husband's coat of arms, and on the left that of 
 their own family, were so close as to shew all the 
 delicacy of their shape, and came up so high as to 
 cover their whole breast, up to their neck. The 
 habit of widow^s was very much like that of the 
 nuns. It was not till uuder Charles \1. that they 
 began to expose their shoulders. The gallantry of 
 Charles the Vllth's court brought in the use of 
 bracelets, necklaces, and ear-rings. Queen Anne 
 deBretag-ne despised those trinkets; and Catherine 
 de Medicis made it her whole business to invent 
 
 CARRONADES. 
 
 This species of great gun, so much used on board 
 of ships, is generally accounted a r/ dern invention, 
 taking its name from the Carron foundry where 
 they were made. In the patent office, however, 
 will be found a notice, dated September, 1727, to 
 the foUoAving. effect: "That His ^Majesty was 
 pleased to grant to Henry Brown, Esquire, a patent 
 for the sole use and benetit of his new invention of 
 making cannon and great guns, both in iron and 
 brass, which will be much shorter and lighter, and 
 with, less powder will cairy farther than those of 
 equal bore now in use, and which, it is said, will 
 save great expense to the public."
 
 NOTES 01 A BOOKWORM^ 29 
 
 
 "Nay, nay; no paltering^, Maister Wiseman; tell us 
 the etymon, the ori'jo, — let us hear the origin o't." — Old 
 Play. 
 
 WAITS, — WHY SO CALLED — HOW THEY 
 ORIGINATED. 
 
 Waits are not so called from waiting on the ma- 
 gistrate, but from their witching in the night. 
 Cleland says, that the summons to the festival of 
 Yule, or Christmas, was formerly given by music 
 going the rounds the night before, to awaken 
 persons from their sleep, and that the Waits origi- 
 nated from this custom. — Cleland' s Way to Things 
 by Words, and to Words by Things. 
 
 NOSEGAY.— THE JUDGES' NOSEGAY 
 
 THE FRENCH BOUQUET. 
 
 As for the latter part of the word nosegay, it is so 
 transformed, both in sight and signification, that 
 only such a judicious writer and etymologist as 
 Cleland, coidd have traced it to its original ; in his 
 Celtic Voc. p. 2., he says, " Gay, applied to nose- 
 gay, comes from the Erse tongue, in which geach 
 signifies a bough, ovbu)ich of Jiowsrs, to be held to 
 the nose." There is likewise so curious an account 
 of the Judges' nosegay, given by the same gentle- 
 man in the same annotations, as will not fail of being 
 agreeable to all true lovers of British antiquities.
 
 so NOTES OF A BOOKWORMr 
 
 "Every Judge," says he, " everj^ Counsellor, every 
 Sheriff, had his wand, bough, stafl", or rod of office ; 
 which varied in their form according to the differ- 
 ence of functions : the nosegay now affected hy tlie 
 Judges, is not, as is vulgarly imagined, a mere 
 preservative against the closeness and ill effects of 
 a crowded court ; it is the relic of that primitive 
 and ancient custom of the Judge's holding the bough, 
 or sceptre of justice, in his hand; it Avas formerly 
 called, a bovghet, or little hough ; whence the French 
 took their vroid bouqiiet, for a nosegay." — Lemons 
 Dicty. 
 
 THE FIRST HERMITS — ^VHY SO CALLED. 
 
 Hermits, or Eremites, (from the Greek ip7]fxos, 
 a desert place,) were men who retired to desert 
 places to avoid persecution ; they lodged in caves 
 and cells : 
 
 " U'here from the mountain's grnssy side, 
 Their guiltless feast they bring ; 
 A scrip with hei'bs and fruits supply'd, 
 And water from the spring." 
 
 The first hermit was Paul, of Thebes, in Egypt, 
 who lived about the year 260 ; the second, was St. 
 Anthony, also of Egypt, who died in 345, at the 
 age of 105. 
 
 THE CURFEW — WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 The utensil called a Curfew, is so named from its 
 use (quasi Couvrefeu) which is that of suddenly' 
 putting out afire. The method of applying it was 
 thus : — The wood and embers were raked as close as 
 possible to the back of the hearth, and then the
 
 NOTES OF A KOOKWORM. 51 
 
 curfew was put over them, the open part placed 
 close to the back of the chimney, l^y this con- 
 trivance, the air being almost totally excluded, the 
 fire was of course exting-uished. 
 
 Probably curfews were first used in the time 
 of William the Conqueror, for the more ready obe- 
 dience to the laws of that kiug.who in the first year 
 of his reign, directed that on the ringing of a certain 
 hell, thence called the curfew bell, all persons should 
 put out their fires and candles. Whether a bell was 
 ordered to be rung for this purpose ; or whether the 
 signal was to be taken from the Vespers Bell of the 
 Convents, is a matter on which antiquarians are not 
 entirely agreed. The curfew bell is still rung in 
 many of our country to\ms. — Antiquarian Reper- 
 iory, 1775. 
 
 PARLIAIMENT, — WHEN FIRST SO 
 CALLED, 
 
 1205 — The word Parliament was first used ; and 
 the Commons admitted at this time, though not 
 regularly represented. 
 
 1283. — The English Parliament consisted of 
 Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, as well as of 
 Lords, spiritual and temporal. But the Represen- 
 tatives of cities and towns sat in a chamber separate 
 from the Barons and Knights. Yet several coun- 
 ties had no Parliament tax. 
 
 In all old papers, and even so late as by Pennant 
 in his History of London, the word Parliament is 
 invariably spelt Parlement,
 
 32 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 THE FIRST TARLIAMENT— WHERE HELD 
 
 —WHEN MADE TRIENNIAL— WHEN 
 
 SEPTENNIAL. 
 
 The first writ of summons to Parliament was in 
 1204, when these national assemblages were held 
 in an open field, and they so continued for some 
 years afterwards, as witness the parliament of king 
 John at Runnimede, near Staines. They became 
 triennial from the reign of Edward III. but not 
 until 1694 had any act passed to render such dura- 
 tion legal. In 1716, owing to the somewhat unset- 
 tled state of the nation on account of tlie Rebellion 
 tlie preceding year, a plea was offered to thf admin- 
 istration to repeal this act, and substitute another to 
 make them endure seven 3'ears ; " and very thank- 
 ful we ought to be, " observes Mr. Low, in his 
 History of Stamford, " that they did not extend the 
 period to twenty years, since they had the same 
 right so to do. " 
 
 PAYMENT TO MEMBERS OF PARLIA- 
 MENT. 
 
 Though the Representatives in Parliament were, 
 at an early period,, allowed their fees and wages 
 for attendance, yet the allowance was made on a 
 plan so strictly economical, that the Knights for 
 Berkshire were allowed for only six da3'S, and those 
 for Bedfordshire for only five days, and those for 
 Cornwall for only eleven days, when called to a 
 Parliament at York. — Wiilis's Notitia Parliamen- 
 taria.
 
 NOTES 0> A BOOKWOK-M. 33 
 
 RAIN ON ST. SWITHIN'S DAY: 
 The monks give some show of reason why rain 
 should happen about the time of St. Swithin, for 
 about the time of this feast, there are two rainy 
 -constellations, Fro'sepe and AseJlus, which arise 
 cosmically, and generally produce rain. — Bourn's 
 Antiquituies Vidgares. 
 
 FONT OF A CHURCH,— WHY SO CALLED. 
 Font {Fans,) a Fountain or Water-spring. What 
 the font of a church is, every one knows •, but not 
 why so called. The rites of baptism in the primi- 
 tive times were performed in fountains and rivers, 
 both because the converts were so many, and those 
 ages unprovided with other baptisteries ; and in this 
 rite we still retain the name ; for hence it is we call 
 our baptisteries fonts, which when religion found 
 peace, were built and consecrated for the more re- 
 verence and respect of the sacrament. — Blount's 
 Dicty. 1681. 
 
 AMBASSADORS — WHY HELD BY THE 
 ARMS AT THE OTTOMAN COURT. 
 
 A dervise addressed Bajazet, emperor of the 
 Turks, 1495, for alms, and while the charitable sul- 
 tan searched for his money, the treacherous beggar 
 wounded him with a dagger, and was instantly slain 
 by the royal attendants. This incident is rendered 
 memorable by its having occasioned the ungracious 
 restraint under which even the ambassadors of 
 Christian powers are subject to, when they receive 
 an audience from the Ottoman emperor. 
 
 They are held by the arms by two attendants, 
 when they approach the throne, nor are their arms 
 loosed till they have quitted the presence --- /4/i- 
 drew't History of England, vol, 2.
 
 34 NOTES or A BOOKU'OnM. 
 
 To palliate dulness, and give Time a shove." 
 
 Conper. 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF ARISTOTLE'S RULES. 
 
 M. L'Abb6 Daubignae, in his dedication of Zeno- 
 hia to one of the Princes of the Blood, piqued him- 
 self upon having given a perfect model of the ancient 
 tragedy, and critically followed the rules oi Aristotle. 
 The prince returned for answer, that he was highly 
 pleased that JM. L'Abbe Daubignae should have so 
 strictly followed the rules of Aristotle, but at the 
 same time he could not help expressing liis extreme 
 mortification, that the said rules of Aristotle should 
 have compelled M. L'Abbe Daubignae to write so 
 bad a tragedy. 
 
 THE DANGER OF A WORD. 
 
 Richelieu one day vaunted among his courtiers, 
 that out of any four indifferent words, he could ex- 
 tract matter to send any man to a dungeon. One of 
 his attendants immediately •^^Tote upon a card • 
 '* One and Tico make Three." " Three make only 
 One," exclaimed the Cardinal, " it is blasphemy 
 against our Holy Trinity: to the Bastille with him.'* 
 — Andrew's Anecdotes.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 35 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 Cardinal Richelieu one day said (o 31. 
 de Lort, a celebrated physician, "I am gveii-headed, 
 yet my beard is black. Your head is black, and 
 your beard grey; can you account for these ap- 
 pearances, Doctor 1 " Easily," replied De Lort ; 
 " they proceed from exercise — from labour of the 
 parts. Your Eminence's brains haA-e laboured hard, 
 and so have my jaus. — French Anas. 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 The persecuting arcbishop Laud vras a man of 
 short stature. Charles the first and the archbishop 
 were one day about to sit down to dinner together, 
 when it was agreed that Archee, the king's jester, 
 should say grace for them, which he did in the fol- 
 lowing Avords :—-'* Great praise be giyen to God, 
 but Utile Laud to the devil !" 
 
 THE RULING PASSION STRONG IN 
 DEATH. 
 
 The foUoAA-ing may be added to the numerous 
 instances already related, in which the ruling passion 
 will exhibit itself even in the liour of death. 
 
 Mens. A , Avas a French Teacher in London, 
 
 and piqued himself exceedingly on grammatical 
 precision and idiomatic accuracy. This passion, it 
 seems, was not to be restrained even b}' the terrors 
 of approaching dissolution ; for the physician having 
 announced that he could not long survive, he fel 
 back on his pilloAv, exclaiming to a lit erarj' frien 
 who stood near him : " Je vais mciirir---Je maun--' 
 Ouje me maurs- —all are good."
 
 ^ NOTES OF A BOOKAVOKM. 
 
 IN MICKLEHURST CHURCII-YARD. 
 
 Life is an Inn, where all men bait. 
 The waiter Time, the landlord Fate ; 
 Death is the score by all men due, 
 I've paid my shot— and so must you. 
 
 ON A MARINE OFFICER. 
 
 Here lies retir'd from busy scenes, 
 A first lieutenant of marines; 
 Who lately lived in peace and plenty. 
 On board the ship the Atalanta ; 
 Now stripp'd of all his warlike show. 
 And laid in box of elm below, 
 Confined to earth in narrow borders. 
 He rises not till further orders. 
 
 ON A MR. PECK. 
 
 Here lies a Peck, which some men say, 
 Was first of all a Peck of clay ; 
 This wrought with skill divine, while fresh, 
 Became a curious Peck of flesh ; 
 Through various forms its maker ran. 
 Then adding breath, made Peck a man ; 
 Full fifty years Peck felt life's bubbles, 
 'Till death relieved a Peck of troubles : 
 Then fell poor Peck, as all things must. 
 And here he lies, a Peck of dust.
 
 NOTES or A BOOKAVORJl. o7 
 
 " We may read, and read, and read a2;ain; and still s;leaa 
 something new, something to please, and something to 
 instruct." — Hiirdis. 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION OF MACHINES INTO 
 MANUFACTURES. 
 
 The following Essaii, upon a subject which has been 
 much canoussed by different writers and pnliticians, is 
 extracted from a large work on Political (Economy, by 
 Sir James Stewart, published in 1780. It teas writ- 
 ten, pnfessedly , for the use of the statesman and poli- 
 tician alone. 
 
 The use of machines in manufactures I find has 
 been made a question in modem times. The anci- 
 ents held in great veneration the inventors of the 
 saw, of the lathe, of the wimble, of the potters 
 wheel ; but some moderns find an abuse in bringing 
 mechanism to perfection : (see Les Interets de la 
 France mal entendus, p. 272. 313.) The great Mon- 
 tesquieu finds fault with water mills, though I do 
 not find tliat he has made any objection against the 
 use of the plough. 
 
 Did people understand one another, it would be 
 impossible that such points could suffer a dispute 
 among men of sense ; but the circumstances referred 
 to, or presupposed, which authors almost always 
 keep in their eye, though they seldom express 
 them, render the most evident truths susceptible of 
 opposition. 
 
 It is hardly possible suddenly to introduce the 
 smallest innovation into the political oeconomy of a 
 
 E
 
 38 KOTES or A BOOKWORM. 
 
 State, let it be ever so reasonable, nay ever so pro- 
 fitable, ^-itbout incurring some inconveniences. A 
 room cannot be swept without raising dust ; one 
 cannot walk abroad without dirtying one's shoes ; 
 neither can a machine, which abridges the labour 
 of men, be introduced all at once into an extensive 
 manufacture, without throwing many people into 
 idleness. 
 
 In treating every question of political (Economy, 
 I constantly suppose a statesman at the bead of 
 government, systematically conducting every part 
 of it, so as to prevent the vicissitudes of manners 
 and innovations, from hurting any interest within 
 the commonwealth, by their natural and immediate 
 effects or consequences. When a house within a 
 city becomes crazy, it is taken down ; this I call 
 systematical ruin : were it allowed to fall, the con- 
 sequences might be fatal in many respects. In like 
 manner, if a number of machines are all at once in- 
 troduced into the manufactures of an industrious 
 nation, (in consequence of that freedom which must 
 ne(!essarily be indulged to all sorts of improvements 
 and without which a state cannot thrive) it becomes 
 the business of the statesman to interest himself so 
 far in the consequences, as to provide a remedy for 
 the inconveniences resulting from the sudden al- 
 teration. It is further his duty to make every 
 exercise even of liberty or refinement an object of 
 government and administration ; not so as to dis- 
 courage or to check them, but to prevent the revo- 
 lution from affecting the interests of the different 
 classes of the people, whose welfare he is particu- 
 larly bound to take care of. 
 
 The introduction of machines, can, I think, in no 
 other way prove hurtful by making people idle, 
 than by the suddenness of it : and I have frequently 
 observed, that all sudden revolutions, let them be
 
 NOTES OF A EOOKUORM 39 
 
 ever so advantageous, must be accompanied with 
 inconveniences. A safe, honourable, and lasting 
 peace, after a long, dangerous, and expensive war, 
 forces a number of hands to be idle, and deprives 
 them of bread. Peace then may be considered as 
 a machine for defending a nation, at the political 
 loss of making an army idle ; yet no body, I believe, 
 will allege, that in order to give bread to soldiers, 
 sutlers, and undertakers, the war should be conti- 
 nued. But here I must observe, that it seems to 
 be a palpable defect in policy, if a statesman shall 
 neglect to find out a proper expedient (at whatever 
 first expense it may be procured) for giving bread 
 to those who, at the risk of their lives, have gone 
 through so many fatigues for the service of their 
 country. This expense should be charged to the 
 account of the war, and a state ought to consider, 
 that as their safety required that numbers should 
 be taken out of the way of securing to themselves 
 a lasting fund of subsistence, which would have 
 rendered them independent of every body, (sup- 
 posing that to have been the case) she becomes 
 bound by the contract of society, which ties all 
 together, to find them emplojTnent. Let me seek 
 for another illustration concerning this matter. 
 
 I want to make a rampart cross a river, in order 
 to establish a bridge, a mill, a sluice, dec. For 
 this purpose I must turn off the water, that is, stop 
 the river ; would it be a good objection against my 
 improvement to say, that the water would overflow 
 the neighbouring lands, as if I could be supposed 
 so improvident as not to have prepared a new chan- 
 nel for it ? Machines stop the river ; it is the 
 business of the state to make the new channel, as it 
 is the public which is to reap the benefit of the 
 sluice : I imagine what I have said will naturally 
 suggest an answer to all possible objections against 
 E 2
 
 ^•O NOTtS OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 the introduction of machines ; as for the advantages 
 of them, they are so palpahle that 1 need not insist 
 upon them. There is, however, one case in which 
 I think they may he disapproved of: hut it seems a 
 chimerical supposition, and is brought in here for 
 no other purpose than to point out and ilhistrate 
 the principle which influences this branch of our 
 subject. 
 
 If you can imagine a country peopled to the ut- 
 most extent of the fertility of the soil, and abso- 
 lutely cut off" from any communication with other 
 nations ; all the inhabitants fully employed in 
 supplying the wants of one another, the circulation 
 of money going forward regularly, proportionally, 
 and uniformly through every vein, as I may call it, 
 of the political body ; no sudden or extraordinary 
 demand at any time for any branch of industry ; no 
 redundancy of any employment ; no possibility' of 
 increasing either circulation, industry, or consump- 
 tion. In such a situation as that, I should dis- 
 approve of the introduction of machines, as I 
 disapprove of taking physic in an established state 
 of perfect health. I disapprove of a machine only 
 because it is an innovation in a state absolutely 
 perfect in these branches of its political oeconomy ; 
 and where there is perfection there can be no im- 
 provement. I farther disapprove of it because it 
 might force a man to be idle, who would be found 
 thereby in a physical impossibility of getting his 
 "bread, in any other way than that in which he is 
 supposed to be actually employed. 
 
 The present situation of every country in Europe 
 is so infinitely distant from this degree of perfec- 
 tion, that I must consider the introduction of 
 machines, and of every method of augmenting the 
 produce or facilitating tlie labour and ingenuity of 
 man, as of the greatest utility. Why do people
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 41 
 
 wish to augment population, but in order to compass 
 these ends ? Wherein does the etfect of a machine 
 differ from that of new inhabitants 1 
 
 As agriculture, exercised as a trade, purges the 
 land of idle mouths, and pushes them to a new in- 
 dustry which the state may turn to her own advan- 
 tage ; so does a machine, introduced into a 
 manufacture, purge off hands which then become 
 superfluous in that branch, and which may quickly 
 be employed in another. 
 
 If, therefore, the machine proves hurtful, it can 
 only be because it presents the state with an addi- 
 tional number of hands bred to labour ; consequently, 
 if these are afterwards found without bread, it must 
 proceed from a want of attention in the statesman : 
 for an industrious man made idle, may constantly 
 be employed to advantage, and with profit to him 
 who employs him. What could an act of naturaliz- 
 ation do more, than furnish industrious hands forced 
 to he-idle, and demanding employment? ^lachines, 
 thei-efore, I consider as a method of augmenting 
 (virtually) the number of the industrious, without 
 the expence of feeding an additional number : this 
 by no means obstructs natural and useful population, 
 for the most obvious reasons. 
 
 We have shewn how population must go on, in 
 proportion to subsistence ; and in proportion to 
 industry ; now the machine eats nothing, so does 
 not diminish subsistence, and industry (in our age 
 at least) is in no danger of being over-stocked in 
 any well-governed stale ; for let the world copy 
 your improvements, they still will be the scholars. 
 And if, on the contrary, in the introduction of ma- 
 chines you are found to be the scholars of other 
 nations, in that case you are brought to the dilemma 
 of accepting the invention with all its inconvenien- 
 ces, or of renouncing every foreign communication.
 
 42 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 In speculations of this kind, one ought not, I 
 think, to conclude, that experience must of neces- 
 sity prove what we imagine our reasoning has 
 pointed out. 
 
 The consequences of innovations in political 
 oeconomy, admit of an infinite variety, because of 
 the infinite variety of circumstances which attend 
 them: no reasoning, therefore, however refined, 
 can point out a pnori, what upon such occasions 
 must indispensably follow. The experiment must 
 be made, circumstances must be allowed to operate ; 
 inconveniences must be prevented or rectified as 
 far as possible ; and when these prove too many, or 
 too great to be removed, the most rational, the best 
 concerted scheme in theory must be laid aside, until 
 preparatory steps are taken for rendering it practi- 
 cable. 
 
 Upon the whole, daily experience shews the ad- 
 vantage and improvement acquired by the intro- 
 duction of machines. Let the inconveniences 
 complained of be ever so sensibly felt ; let a states- 
 man be ever so careless in relieving those who are 
 forced to be idle, all these inconveniences are only 
 temporary ; the advantage is permanent, and the 
 necessity of introducing every method of abridging 
 labour and expence, in order to supply the wants of 
 luxurious mankind, is absolutely indispensable ac- 
 cording to modem policy, according to experience, 
 and according to reason. 
 
 ANCIENT CHURCHES — READING DESKS 
 IN CHURCHES. 
 
 The form of churches at first, as well as now, 
 says Wheatley, was oblong, to resemble a ship, as 
 emblematical of our being tossed up and down in
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 43 
 
 this world, like that vessel by the sea ; but it may 
 be presumed that utility had more weight with both 
 our ancient and modem architects than such an 
 idea. They were also always divided into two parts, 
 as at present, viz. the nave and the chancel, the 
 latter standing at the eastern, and divided from the 
 nave by neat rails, called cancelU, from whence it 
 had its name. The priest alone entered this part 
 of the church, where he was accustomed to perform 
 the whole of the service, reading-desks not being 
 established till the beginning of the reign of 
 James I. At this period, also, he had begun to 
 read in English instead of Latin. 
 
 Stavely says, that the Saxons generally made 
 their churches with descents into them, but the 
 Normans with ascents ; hence, when we meet with 
 the former, we may conclude that they are the 
 more ancient buildings. 
 
 THE IMPOSITIONS OF THE MONKS. 
 
 Amongst the sacred repositories of the monks 
 and mendicants turned out at the dissolution of 
 their establishments, were found the parings of St. 
 Edmund's toes ; some of the coals that roasted St. 
 LawTence ; the girdle of the Virgin shewn in eleven 
 several places ; the blood of Christ brought from 
 Jerusalem, &c. — Clavis Calendaria. 
 
 Respecting the last, says the learned Hume, 
 it is easy to imagine the veneration with which 
 such a relique was regarded. A miraculous cir- 
 cumstance also attended this miraculous relique ; 
 the sacred blood was not visible to any one in mor- 
 tal sin, even when set before him ; and until he 
 had performed good works sufficient for his absolu- 
 tion, it would not deign to discover itself to him .
 
 44 
 
 NOTES OF A KOOKWOliM. 
 
 At the dissolution of the monastery the whole con- 
 trivance was detected. Two of the monks who 
 were let into the secret had taken the hlood of a 
 duck, which they renewed every week : they put 
 it in a phial, one side of which consisted oi thin 
 and transparent crystal, the other of thick and 
 opaque. When any rich pilgiira arrived, they were 
 sure to show him the dark side of the phial, until 
 masses and offerings had ezpiated his oflences •, and 
 then finding his money or patience, or faith nearly 
 exhausted, they made him happy by turning tlie 
 phial. — Hume's England, 
 
 A DISSERTATION ON BULLS. 
 
 Bulls sometimes proceed from a person's atten- 
 tion being so thoroughly ingrossed by one object 
 that he can think of nothing else ; nor, conse- 
 quently, perceive even the simplest and most ob- 
 vious relations of that object to others : but more 
 frequently, 1 apprehend, they proceed from the 
 opposite circumstances ; too Little attention, too 
 quick thought, and an imperfect and confused ap- 
 prehension of many things together ; which, with- 
 out more time and stricter attention, can neither 
 be properly distinguished, nor rightly compre- 
 hended, in point of thought ; nor, consequently, can 
 they be expressed in words wdth sufficient clear- 
 ness and precision. 
 
 If it be true, as from its being very generally 
 asserted and believed, I presume it is in some mea- 
 sure, that the Irish nation excels in this kind of 
 composition, (for to my certain knowledge it has 
 not acquired an absolute monopoly of the commo- 
 dity,) I conceive that it is to be explained and 
 accounted for on the simple principle which I am 
 here considering.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 45 
 
 To attribute it to any natural defect in the intel- 
 lectual powers of a great people, would, in the first 
 place, he illiberal in the hig'heist degree ; and, in 
 the second place, would be absurd. But I think it 
 may reasonably be attributed to that peculiar ra- 
 pidity of thought, and that eagerness and impe- 
 tuosity of character and conduct, which I presume 
 the Irish themselves will acknowledge to be justly 
 their national character. 
 
 Such a peculiarity, whatever may have been its 
 origin, whether moral and political circumstances 
 in distant ages, affecting whole tribes of men, or 
 the accidental, but natural singularity of character, 
 of one individual, or of one family, of great influ- 
 ence and extensive connections, may have become 
 general and permanent, in consequence of the 
 powerful influence of instinctive invohmtary imi- 
 tation in early life, and of long habit in more ad- 
 vanced years ; which are two of the strongest and 
 most. general principles in human nature. It may 
 therefore be considered as an instance strictly 
 analogous to all other peculiarities of manner, and 
 in some measure even of character, which are often 
 characteristic, not only of individuals and of fami- 
 lies, but of whole nations ; as, for example, sedate- 
 ness or levity, taciturnity or loquacity, slow or 
 quick speaking, provincial or national accents ; all 
 of which are in a great measure acquired, and often 
 firmly rivetted, by the tendency to involuntary 
 imitation, and the force of established habit. 
 
 The bull, in whatever nation or language it may 
 occur, I consider as the extreme case, or ne plus 
 ultra, of inaccurate and imperfect thinking ; on 
 which very account it affords the best illustration 
 of the nature and causes of such inaccuracies and 
 imperfections of thought, and of the means of coin 
 recting them.
 
 46 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 If the train of thought were made so slow in any 
 person, that there should be time to attend to every 
 object, and every circumstance of relation involved 
 in any common and complex operation of thought, 
 (for most common operations of thought are com- 
 plex) and if, by any expedient whatever, the per- 
 son were made to attend duly to every one of them, 
 either in simultaneous combination, or in very quick 
 succession, according to the circumstances of dif- 
 ferent cases, I think it would be as impossible for 
 him to make a bull, as to deny an axiom of geome- 
 try, or tlie conclusion of a good syllogism. 
 
 We hear and read of many wonderful bulls of 
 the truly practical kind, altogether independent of 
 language, and plainly founded in thought alone ; 
 such as, sending express for a physician to come 
 without delay to a patient who was in the utmost 
 danger, and telling the doctor, in a postscript of 
 the letter addressed and actually sent to him, not 
 to come, as the patient was already almost well 
 again ; or observing gravely, when this story was 
 told, that it was right to add such a postscript, as 
 it saved the sending another express to countermand 
 the doctor ; or inclosing a thin sixpence in a snuft- 
 box, that it might not be again to seek when it was 
 wanted to open the box, the lid of which was stiff'; 
 or realising Hogarth's ingenious emblem, in one of 
 his election-prints, by cutting away close to the tree 
 the bough on which the person who cut it sat himself; 
 which I once saw successfully performed ; and, for the 
 honour of my own country, 1 must say that it was 
 in Scotland, and by a Scotchman, who narrowly 
 escaped breaking his neck by ,so doing ; or what 
 may fairly be reckoned the maximum of bulls, and 
 instar omnium, a gentleman, when his old nurse came 
 begging to him, harshly refusing her any relief, and 
 driving her away from his door with reproaches, as
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 47 
 
 having been his greatest enem}', telling her that he 
 was assured he had been a fine healthy child till she 
 got him to nurse, when she had changed him for a 
 puny sickly child of her own. If I am rightly in- 
 formed Fiance has the honour of having produced 
 this immenseand unparalleled bull, which is indeed 
 perfectum expletumque omnibus suis numeris etpartibus, 
 and perfect of its kind. 
 
 At first view, it might be thought that men who 
 could fall into such absurdities in their speech or 
 conduct had not the ordinary faculties of mankind ; 
 but this would be a great mistake. There was 
 probably no natural defect in their intellectual 
 powers ; nor any imperfection in their mode of 
 using them, either habitually, or on the occasions 
 specified, but what it was in their owm power to 
 correct almost in an instant. No laborious effort, 
 or what could be called patient thinking, would be 
 requisite for that pui-pose ; nor any thing more than 
 an eaSy degree of attention to those circumstances 
 which should have been considered. This simple 
 expedient would instantly enable them to perceive, 
 nay, would make it impossible for them not to per- 
 ceive, not only the impropriety of their w^ords and 
 actions, but the incongruity and absurdity of their 
 first hasty thoughts, as clearly as mathematicians 
 perceive that a part is less than the whole. Surely 
 a man who could not by such means be made in 
 half a minute to perceive the bull he made, would 
 be as much a monster, and as great a curiosity, as 
 one who could not see that the whole is greater than 
 its part. — Dr, Gregory's Philosophical and Literary 
 Essays.
 
 48 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY REPARTEES IN 
 CHARLES THE FIRST'S TIME. 
 
 About this time (i. e. 6th Charles I. anno 1640- 
 41,) in some debates in the Commons relating to 
 Episcopacy, there passed smart repartees among 
 the Members. When the IMinister's remon- 
 strance about Ecclesiastical government was read, 
 Mr. Grimston proposed this subtle argument against 
 the Bishop's authority : That Bishops are jure divino, 
 is a question ; that Archbisliops are not jure divino, 
 is out of question ; now that Bishops which are ques- 
 tioned ichether jure divino, or Archbishops which out 
 of question are uot jure divino, should suspend Minis- 
 ters that are jure divino, I leave to your considera 
 tion. Upon vi^hich the learned Mr. Selden, -nith 
 great quickness, thus retorted his argument : That 
 the Convocation is jure divino, is a question, ; that 
 Parliaments are not jure divino, w owt of question ; 
 that Religion is jure divino, there is no question: 
 Now that the Con Location which is questionable whether 
 jure divino, aiid Parliaments which out of question are 
 not jtire divino, should meddle with Religion ivhich 
 questionless is jure divino, I leave to yiur consideratioyi 
 Mr. Speaker. To which INIr. Grimston replied, but 
 Archbishops are not Bishops, Mr. Speaker ; and to that 
 Mr. Selden briskly rejoined, that Mr. Speaker, is no 
 otherwise true, than that Judges are no Lawyers, and 
 Aldermen no Citizens. — Echard's History of England, 
 1718. 
 
 JANE SHORE. 
 
 The name and liiston^ of this woman are universally 
 knovm. The following curious account of her, however, 
 written by Sir Thomas More during her life-time, 
 cannot fail to be interesting, as containing her real
 
 NOTKS OF A BOOKWORM. 49 
 
 character, divested of poetical fiction, and differing 
 from the situations in which she Jtas been placed for 
 stage -effect, &;c. 
 
 Ncwv then, by and by, as it were for anger, not 
 for courtesy, the Protector sent into the house of 
 Shore's wife, (for her husband dwelled not with 
 her,) and spoiled her of all that ever she had, above 
 the value of two or three M. marks, and sent her 
 body to prison. And when he had for a while laid 
 unto her, for the manner sake, that she went about 
 to bewitch him, and that she was of counsel with 
 the Lord Chamberlain to destroy him ; in conclusion, 
 when that no colour could fasten upon these mat- 
 ters, then he laid heinously to her charge the thing 
 that herself could not deny, that all the world wist 
 was true, and that nevertheless every man laughed 
 at to hear it then suddenly so highly taken, that 
 she was "nought of her body." And for this cause, 
 as a goodly, continent Prince, clean and faultless 
 of himself, sent out of heaven, into this vicious 
 world, for the amendment of men's manners, he 
 caused the Bishop of London to put her to open 
 penance, going before the cross in procession upon 
 a Sunday, with a taper in her hand. In which she 
 went with countenance and pace demure so wo- 
 manly, and albeit she were out of all array, save her 
 kyrtle only, yet went she so fair and lovely, 
 namely, while the wondering of the people cast a 
 comely red in her cheeks (of which she before had 
 most miss,) that her great shame won her much 
 praise among those that were more amorous of her 
 body, than curious of her soul. And many good 
 folks also, that hated her living, and glad were to 
 see sin corrected, yet pitied they more her penance 
 than rejoiced therein, when they considered, that 
 the Protector procured it, more of a corrupt intent 
 than any virtuous affection.
 
 50 NOTES OF A BOOKWOnM. 
 
 This Avoman was bom in London, worshipfully 
 friended, honestly brought up, and very well mar- 
 ried, saving somewhat too soon ; her husband, an 
 honest citizen, young and goodly, and of a good 
 substance. But forasmuch as they were coupled 
 ere she were well ripe, she notverj^ fervently loved 
 for whom she never longed. Which Avas baply the 
 thing that the more easily made her incline unto 
 the King's appetite, when he required her: How- 
 beit the respect of his royalty, the hope of gay- 
 apparel, ease, pleasure, and other wanton wealth, 
 was able soon to pierce a soft, tender heart. But 
 when the King had abused her, anon her husband 
 (as he was an honest man and one that could liis 
 good) not presuming to touch a King's concubine, 
 left her up to him altogether. When the King 
 died, the Lord Chamberlain took her. Which in 
 the King's days, albeit he was sore enamoured upon 
 her, yet he forebare her, either for reverence, or for 
 a certain friendly faithfulness. Proper she was, 
 and fair ; nothing in her body you would have 
 changed, but if you would have wished her a little 
 higher. Thus say they that knew her in her 
 youth. Albeit some that now see her (for yet she 
 liveth) deem her never to have been well visaged. 
 Whose judgment seemeth to me somewhat like, as 
 though men should guess the beauty of one long 
 before departed, by her scalp taken out of the 
 charnel-house : for now she is old, lean, withered 
 and dried up, nothing left but shrivelled skin and 
 hard bone. And yet, being even such, whoso will 
 advise her visage, might guess which parts, how 
 filled, would make it a fair face. Yet delighted 
 not men so much in her beauty, as in her pleasant 
 behaviour. For a proper wit had she, and could 
 both read well and write ; merry in company, ready 
 and quick of answer, neither mute nor full of bab-
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 31 
 
 ble, sometime taunting without displeasure, and 
 not without disport. The King woiild say, that he 
 had three concubines, which, in three divers pro- 
 perties, diversely excelled : one the merriest, ano- 
 ther the wiliest, the third the holiest harlot in his 
 realm ; as one whom no man could get out of the 
 church lightly to any place, but it were to his bed. 
 The other two were somewhat greater personages, 
 and nevertheless of their humility content to be 
 nameless, and to forbear the praise of these proper- 
 ties. But the merriest was this Sliore's wife, in 
 whom the King therefore took special pleasure. 
 For many he had, but her he loved ; whose favour 
 (to say the truth, for sin it were to belie the devil) 
 she never abused to any man's hurt, but to many a 
 man's comfort and relief. When the King took 
 displeasure, she would mitigate and appease his 
 mind ; when men were out of favour, she would 
 bring them in his grace. For many that had highly 
 oftebded, she obtained pardon ; of great forfeitures, 
 she got men remission ; and, finally, in many great 
 suits she stood many men in great stead, either 
 for none or very small rewards, and those rather 
 gay than rich : either for that she was content with 
 the deed's self well done, or for that she delighted 
 to be sued unto, and to shew what she was able to 
 do with the King, or for that wanton women and 
 wealthy, be not always covetous. 
 
 I doubt not some shall think this woman too slight 
 a thing to be written of, and set among the re- 
 membrances of great matters; which they shall 
 specially think, that haply shall esteem her only by 
 what they now see her. But methinks the chance 
 so much the more to be remembered, in how much 
 she is now in the more beggarly condition, un- 
 friended and worn out of acquaintance, after good 
 substance, after as great favour with the Prince, 
 f2
 
 5t SOTV» or k POt^KWORM. 
 
 after as givat suit and seekiuij to, >vith nil that in 
 tJuvso davs had busJnos* to speed, as n\any ^n>at 
 luou wox-o in their tiiuos. which ho now iniuous only 
 bv the iutamv ot" their ill deeds. Her doiui;s nro 
 uot much less, albeit thev he luueh less remem- 
 bered, because they wert^ not so evil. For n\eu 
 use. it" thev have ax\ evil turn, to write it in marble, 
 and whosoever doth us a i^ood turn, we write it in 
 dust : which is iiot worst proved by her. for at this 
 day she beggeih of many at this day living, that at 
 this day had boiibivd if she had uot been. 
 
 sr. PAri. ANP Tin: miuun thkci.a. 
 
 'rn»H-i A was a -native of Icor.iuni, a city of Asia ; 
 she was born in an elevated rank oi' life, and pos- 
 sessed, with the advantage of birth, the superior 
 attraction of beauty. Her mother Iheoclia was 
 preparing for the delight of marrying her daughtei 
 to a jioble and comelv youth, whose name was 
 Thamirus, when St. Paul arriving in their citv, 
 happened to lodge in the house adjoining to that in 
 which Thecla resided. The virgin was so t'as- 
 cinated with the eloquence of the apostle, that no 
 entreaties could prevail on her to quit the window 
 where she had placed herself to hear him. and 
 where she had sat for three days without tasting 
 any food. Theoclia lamented to the destined hus- 
 band of her daughter this wondertul fascination. 
 lUit the lover and the parent Avere equally uiisuc- 
 cessful in their attempts to divert the maiden from 
 her attachment to the preacher. The mortified 
 Thamirus departed in anger to inquire into the 
 character and doctrine of this new projdiet, whose 
 discourse had produced »o marvellous an etlect on
 
 KOII.M OP A Hr)()K WOIIM. .',)3 
 
 hin uli»M)iit,»Ml iiiiHireHH. Having l(!!irncd tliat ho 
 waH H (lliriMtiuii, who, hy liiw (txliortatioxi.s, dctorred 
 virj^iiiH from w<'«llor.k, tlio i/i(li^nan(. lover ^uvn full 
 M(;o|((' to hirt r<'K<'riijru;iil, and dclivored the pn-aclicr 
 in hon<lH to llic nia;^iH(.rat,<' Scxiiliiis, hy wIiohc order 
 h(! was coinniided fo prison. The devoiil 'riiecia, 
 huvin)< hiihed the, j^aoler, contrived Ktill (o (east on 
 lh(! elr)()iienc(! of th(! inipriHoned ajxjHlle. Jiein^ 
 detected in her Bocret visitH hIic was carried heforo 
 the I'ro-consul, where heing Holieited to fulfil her 
 en^^agenient with 'Ihaniirus, whe disdained to rej)ly. 
 'J'he enra^;ed rro-eonsnl orditred Ihe a|ioHtl(! to he, 
 Mcourj^ed and driven from the city ; and coiuh'jnned 
 the ohslinate, virgin to jxrish in the (lames. Jiut 
 'I'hecla, hiiinj^ alrc^ady fortified l)y the instructions of 
 I'uiil, and arniinf,' herself with tin; sii^n of the cross, 
 escaped unhurt and triiini|)hant from the fire into 
 which she was thrown, and <|niltinj4 her native city, 
 W(riit with I'aul to Antioch. J'iie J'refect of Anlioch 
 Ix'canie enamoured of her heauty, and atlem])t,(!d to 
 violal*! her (hastily ; hut the resolute, virgin so vi- 
 j^orously resisted the princely ravisher, that she heat 
 his crown from his lu-ad, tore his man th; asun(h*r, and 
 threw him into a state of idiotism or piircaisy. Slio 
 was now accused o( sorc(rry, and condtanned to be 
 ilevoured hy wihl heasts. Slu! marched, however, 
 undaunted to her punishment ; and happily fcmnd, 
 in her purity, a siirtr preservative a^^aiust hears 
 and lions. The heart of the I'ro-cousul was 
 Hoftened hy her miraculous ])reservation, and she 
 ohtained her freedom. After these adventures, she 
 had n joyful meeting with lu^r preceptor Paul at 
 Smyrna; and haviuj^ receivc^d from him ev(!ry in- 
 Htruction that could render luu- innocciuce more 
 fterfect, she retinal to Seleucia, where liavinp^ com- 
 municated lier own virtues to many virf^in compa- 
 nions, she closed n life of sanctity, illustrated hy
 
 54 NOTF!* OF A nooKvvoniM. 
 
 many miracles, in tlio (iUtli year of our Lord. — 
 i'roin the 1 ,alin of Jucnhus I'lulippus liergomensis, a 
 writer of the firsl century. 
 
 LUDICROUS ACCOUNT OF TIIK OIUCIN 
 
 OF "TIIK GREY MARK'S BKIN(J J'lIE 
 
 BKTTKll IIORSK." 
 
 A Gknti.i.man of a ccrltiln county in l''n^;lancl 
 married a youn^ lady of conKiderable fortune, and 
 W'illi many otlier charms; hut findinf^, in a very 
 short lime, that slie was of a high domineering 
 8j)irit, and always contending to be mistress of him 
 and liis family, he was resolved to part with Ikt. 
 Accordingly, lie. went to lier father, and told him, 
 ho found liis daughter of such a temper, and wa« 
 so heartily tired of her, tliat if ho would taluf her 
 honu? again, he would return every penii}' of lu^r 
 fortune. 
 
 The old gentleman having iiKpiired into the 
 caus<' <)f his conijduint, asked him, "why heshouhl 
 be more discpiieted at it than any other mairicd 
 man, since; it was tlu; common case with them all, 
 and conse(juently no more than he ought to have 
 t;xj)Octed when lie entctred into tlie marri<:d state '!" 
 The young g<-ntleman desired to be excusf^d, if Ik? 
 Baid he was so far from giving his assent to this as- 
 sertion, that he tliought himself more unhappy than 
 any other man, as his wif*; had a spirit no way to 
 be (juelled ; and as most certainly no man, who had 
 a sense of right and wrong, could ever suhmit to 
 be governed by his wife. " Son," said tli(; <dd man, 
 " you arc but litlh; ac(|uainted witli the worhl, if 
 you do not know ihat all women govern their hus- 
 bands, though not all, indeed, by thf; same method : 
 however, to end all digputes* between us, 1 will put
 
 NOTKS OF A liOOKWOriM. 55 
 
 what I have said on this to proof, if you are willing 
 to try it : I have five horses in my stable ; you shall 
 hanics.-i these to a cart, in which 1 shall put a basket 
 containinpj one hundred eggs ; and if, in passing 
 through the country, and making a strict inquiry 
 into the truth or falsehood of my assertion, leaving 
 a horse at the house of every man who is master of 
 liis family himself, and an egg only where the wife 
 governs, you should find your eggs gone before 
 your horses ; I hope you will then think your own 
 case not uncommon, but will be contented to go 
 home, and look upon your own wife as no worse 
 than her neighbours. If, on the other hand, your 
 horses are gone first, I will take my daughter home 
 again, and you shall keep her fortune." 
 
 'J"his i)r()p()sal was loo advantageous to be rejected ; 
 our young married man, therefore, set out with great 
 eagerness to get rid, as he thought, of his horses 
 ond his wife. 
 
 At the first house he came to, he heard a woman, 
 with a shrill and angry voice, call to her husband 
 to go to the door. Jhre lu- left an egg, as you may 
 be sure, wilhout any furlher'uupiiry ; at the next 
 he met with something of the same kind ; and at 
 every house, in short, until his eggs were almost 
 gone, when he at lenglh arrived at the seat of a 
 gentleman of family and iigure in the county ; he 
 knocked at the door, and inquiring for the master 
 of the house, was told by the servant that his 
 master was not yet stirring, but, if he pleased to 
 walk in, his lady was in the parlour. The lady, 
 with great complaisance, desired him to seat him- 
 self, and said " if his business was very urgent, 
 she would wake her husband to let him know it, 
 but had much rather not disturb him." *' Why. 
 really, madam," said he, " my business is only to 
 ask n question, which you can resolve as well a»
 
 56 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 your husband, if you will be ingenuous with me : 
 you will doubtless think it odd ; and it may be 
 deemed impolite for any one, much more a stranger, 
 to ask such a question ; but as a very considerable 
 wager depends upon it, and it may be some advantage 
 to yourself to declare the truth to me, 1 hoj)? these 
 considerations Avill plead my excuse. — It is, 
 madam, to desire to he infomed, whether you 
 govern your husband, or he rules over you V " In- 
 deed, sir," replied the lady, " thisquestion is some- 
 what odd : but, as I think no one ought to be 
 ashamed of doing their duty, I shall make no scruple 
 to say, that 1 have always been jiroud to obey my 
 husband in all things ; hut, if a woman's own word 
 is to he suspected in such a case, let him. answer 
 for me ; for here he comes." 
 
 The gentleman at that moment entering the 
 room, and after some apologies, being made ac- 
 (juainted with the business, confirmed every word 
 his obedient wife had reported in her own favour ; 
 upon which he was invited to choose which horse 
 in the team he liked best, and to accept of it as a 
 present. 
 
 A black gelding struck the fancy of the gentle- 
 man most ; but the lady desired he would choose 
 the grey mare, which, slic thought, would be very 
 fit for her side-saddle ; her husband gave substan- 
 tial reasons why the black horse would be most 
 useful to them ; but madam still persisted in her 
 claim to the grey mare. " What," said she, " and 
 will you not take her then ? But I say you shall ; 
 for I am sure the greif mare is rmich the better 
 horse." " Well, my dear," replied the husband, 
 " if it must be so" — " You must take an egg," re- 
 plied the gentleman carter ; " and 1 must take all 
 my horses back again, and endeavour to live happy 
 with my wife."
 
 N0TE5 or A BOOKWORM. 57 
 
 '•NE SUTOR ULTRA CREPIDAM." 
 
 The observation, " Ne sutor ultra crepidam," is 
 Baid to owe its origin to the following incident in 
 the life of Apelles : — A shoe-maker having found 
 fault with a slipper, Apelles corrected the fault ; 
 which the shoe-maker observing next time he saw 
 the picture, proceeded to remark upon the leg, 
 when Apelles, springing from behind the canvass, 
 desired him in wrath, to " at ick to his last." The 
 story which follows will be found to be isorrobora- 
 tive of the soundness of the advice contained in the 
 adage. 
 
 The History of an Unfortunate Clergyman. 
 
 Meeting an old friend at a coffee-house one even- 
 ing last week, he sufficiently apologized for the 
 rustiness of liis coat, by the following narrative : — 
 
 " My father," said he, after some preliminary 
 conversation, " was a shoe-maker of tolerable busi- 
 ness in London ; a very honest man, and very much 
 given to reading godly books, whenever he could 
 steal a moment from the lapstone and the last. As 
 I was the only child, he took great delight in me, 
 and used frequently to say, that he hoped in time 
 to see me Archbishop of Canterbury, and no such 
 great matters neither ; for as to my parentage, I 
 was as good as many a one that had worn a mitre ; 
 and he would make me as good a scholar too, or it 
 should go hard with him. 
 
 " iNly destination to the church, was thus unalte- 
 rably fixed before I was five years old ; and in con- 
 sequence of it, I was put to a grammar-scliool in 
 the city, whence, after a thousand perils of cane 
 and rod, I went to the University on an exhibition 
 of fifteen pounds a year, which my father obtained
 
 58 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 from one of the city companies, with no small diffi- 
 culty. So scanty an allowance would by no means 
 defray the enormous expenses of university edu- 
 cation ; and my father, whose pride would not let 
 me appear meaner than my companions, very readily 
 agreed to pay me forty pounds out of the yearly 
 profits of his trade, and to debar himself many in- 
 nocent gratifications, in order to accomplish in me 
 the grand object of his ambition. 
 
 "In consequence of my father's desire, that I 
 should complete the full term of academical educa- 
 tion, I did not go into orders till I was of seven 
 years standing, and had taken the degree of jNIaster 
 of Arts. I was, therefore, incapable of receiving 
 any pecuniary emoluments from my studies, till I 
 was six and twenty. Then, however, I resolved to 
 make a bold push, and to free my father from the 
 burthen of supporting me with half the profits of 
 his labours. The old man was eager for me to at- 
 tempt to get some kind of preferment ; not, as he 
 would generously sa}', that he wanted to withdraw 
 his assistance, but that he thought it was high time 
 to begin to look up to the bishopric. 
 
 " 1 hastened to London as the most ample field for 
 the display of my abilities, and the acquisition of 
 money and fame. Soon after my arrival, I heard 
 of a vacant lectureship, and though I was an entire 
 stranger to everyone of the parishioners, 1 resolved 
 to trust my cause to honest endeavours, and a se- 
 dulous canvass. I shall not trouble you with an 
 enumeration of tlie several indignities I suffered 
 (for I had not lost my university pride) from being 
 under the necessity to address, with the most abject 
 supplication, chandlers, barbers, and green-grocers. 
 Suffice it to acquaint you, that myself and another 
 young clergjTnan of regular education, appeared, 
 on the day of election, to have but seventeen votes
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 59 
 
 between us ; and that a methodistical enthusiast, 
 who had once been a carpenter, bore away the 
 prize, with a majority of a hundred and twenty. 
 
 " Though disappointed, I was not dejected ; and I 
 applied to a certain rector for his curacy, the duty 
 of which consisted in no more than prayers twice a 
 day, a sermon on Sundays, and innumerable burials, 
 christenings, and weddings. I thought myself 
 happy, however, in being offered forty guineas a 
 year, without surplice or surplice fees ; but how was 
 I chargined, on being told by the rector, on the 
 very first Sunday I went to oflBciate, that I need 
 not trouble myself, as another gentleman had under- 
 taken the whole duty at forty pounds .' 
 
 " I waited now a considerable time in expectation 
 of something to fall, but heard of nothing in which 
 there was the least probability of success, unsup- 
 ported, as I was, by friends, and unknown to fame. 
 At last I was informed by an acquaintance, that a 
 certain clergyman, in the city, was about to resign 
 his lectureship, and that he would probably resign 
 in my favour, if I were only early enough in my 
 application. I made all the haste I possibly could 
 to reach this gentleman before his resignation ; and 
 found very httle difficulty in persuading him to 
 intercede in my favour. In short, his endeavours 
 joined to my own, secured the lectureship, and I 
 w^as unanimously chosen. The electors, however, 
 expressed a desire that I would quit my place of 
 residence, which was a long way off, and live in the 
 parish. To this request 1 consented, and imme- 
 diately fixed myself in a decent family, where I 
 lodged and boarded for fifty pounds a year ; and as 
 I was not so ambitious as my father, I congra- 
 tulated myself on the happy event, and sat down 
 contented and satisfied. But, alas ! how was I con- 
 founded, when ray collectors brought the annual
 
 60 KOTES OF A BOaKWORM. 
 
 contribution, to find it amount to no more than an 
 exact sum of twenty-one pounds, two shillings, 
 and three-peace, three-farthings ! I was under an 
 immediate necessity of discharging my lodging, 
 resigning my preferment, and quietly decamping 
 with the loss of a considerable number of soHd 
 pieces. 
 
 " Thus, sir," said he, " have I now for these last 
 twenty years been tossed about in the world, with- 
 out any fixed residence, and without any certain 
 prospect of my bread. I must not, however, com- 
 plain, as I am well assured there are hundreds in 
 the metropolis in situations exactly similar to mine. 
 Sometimes, however, I cannot help being foolish 
 enough to imagine, that I might, perhaps, have been 
 happier, and I am sure I could have been richer, 
 had I been brought up to my paternal awl and last. 
 My poor father died about two years ago, and I have 
 reason to think, his disappointment and sorrow for 
 my ill-success, hastened his dissolution. 
 
 *' I now support myself tolerably well in the capa- 
 city of, what the world ludicrously calls a Hackney 
 Parson. And though T do not get so much as a 
 journeyman shoe-maker, I make shift to keep soul 
 and body together ; and I thank God for that. If, 
 sir, you could recommend me to a half crown job, 
 here is my address, up four pair of stairs." 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY SLEEPER. 
 
 In the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences 
 at Berlin, published in 1777, is an account of an 
 extraordinary sleeping disorder, which aflfected a 
 lady at Nismes, in regular and periodical paroxysms 
 tvv'ice a day, at sun-rise and at noon ; the first con- 
 tinued almost always until near the time that the
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 61 
 
 second began, and the second ceased about seven 
 or eight o'clock in the evening. It is remarkable 
 that the paroxysm of the morning alwa3's came on 
 at the break of day, in the different seasons of the 
 year, and thus began sooner or later according to 
 the length or shortness of the days ; that the other 
 commenced a little after noon ; and that the former 
 ceased in part during a short interval before twelve 
 o'clock, during which the patient had only time to 
 take a little broth before its return. The paroxysm 
 ceased entirely between seven and eight o'clock in 
 the evening ; so that the patient recovered the use 
 of her members until the dawn of the next morn- 
 ing, when her sleep returned with all the character 
 of the most complete insensibility, except a feeble 
 but free respiration, and a weak but regular motion 
 of the pulse. Few lethargies, as we apprehend, 
 have been recorded in the annals of physiology, 
 that have been attended with such singular sj^Tnp- 
 torias. What is very surprising, when the disorder 
 had lasted six months, and then ceased, the patient 
 had an interval of perfect health during the same 
 space of time ; when it lasted a year, the interval 
 was in the same proportion. At length the disor- 
 der ceased entirely, without the least appearance 
 of return. The woman lived many years after this ; 
 was always lively and active, though restless and 
 ill-humoured ; and died in the eighty-first year of 
 her age, of a dropsy, which did not seem to have 
 any connection with the preceding disorder. — Me- 
 moirs of Arts and Sciences of Berlin, 1777.
 
 62 NOTES OF A liOOhWORSI. 
 
 mtlt^ of mononVf ^c. 
 
 DUKE 
 
 Implies a title of honour or nobility next below 
 a Prince. It is a Roman dignity ; and the first 
 Dukes (duces, leaders) were commanders of armies. 
 Under the latter Emperors, the governors of pro- 
 vinces were styled Duces. When the Goths and 
 ~\"andals overran the provinces of the Western Em- 
 pire, they abolished the Roman dignities ; but the 
 Franks and others divided all Gaul into Dutchies 
 and Counties, and gave the names of Dukes (duces) 
 or Counts (comtto), as the case might be, to them 
 respectively. 
 
 In England, during tke time of the Saxons, the 
 officers and commanders of armies were called 
 Dukes, after the manner of the Romans. After the 
 Conqueror's time, the title lay dormant till the 
 reign of Edward IIL, who created his son Edward, 
 MYst called the Black Prince, Duke of Cornwall. 
 
 MARQUIS. 
 
 [Marquk, Fr. ; Marques, Span. ; Marchese, Ital. ; 
 Marggraff, Sax. ; Markgrave, Belg.] A title of 
 honour next below that of a Duke, and said to be 
 derived from the Harcomanni, an ancient people 
 who inhabited the marches of Brandenburg. It 
 was introduced into England by Richard II., W'lio 
 created Robert Vere, Earl of Oxford, JMarqxiis of 
 Dublin. The title is originally French ; the Ro- 
 mans having been unacquainted with it.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 63 
 
 Marquises were formerly governors of frontier 
 towns, or provinces, called marches. 
 
 EARL, 
 
 Is an English title of nobility, next below a 
 Marquis, and above a Viscount. Earls were an- 
 ciently attendants or associates of the King in his 
 councils, and warlike expeditions ; as comites 
 (Counts) were of the magistrates of Rome. Hence 
 Earls are called in Latin Comites, and in French 
 Comtes, The Germans call them Grave, as Mar- 
 grave, &c. ; the Saxons, Eotdermen ; the Danes, 
 Eorlas ; and the English, Earls. William the 
 Norman first made the title herediiarv. 
 
 LORD. 
 
 A GENERAL name for a Peer of England, which 
 is also applied to several offices, as Lord ChancHllor, 
 Lord Mayor, &c. It is a Saxon word, but abbre- 
 viated from two syllables into one ; for it was ori- 
 ginally Hlaford, which by dropping the aspiration 
 became Laford, and afterwards by contraction Lord. 
 " The et3Tnology of this word," says J. Coates, " is 
 worth observing, for it was composed of Hlaf, a 
 loaf of bread, and Ford, to give or afford ; so that 
 Hlaford, now Lord, implies a giver of bread ; be- 
 cause in those ages such great men kept extraordi- 
 nary houses, and fed the poor ; for which reason 
 they were called givers of bread, a thing now much 
 out of date ; great men being fond of retaining the 
 title, but few regarding the practice for which it 
 was first given." 
 
 G 2
 
 64 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 LAD^Y. 
 
 In former days, when men of large fortune lived 
 constantly at their mansion, or manor-houses, the 
 good ladies, their wives, as constantly served out 
 to the poor,* weekly, with their own hands, a cer- 
 tain quantity of bread, and were therefore called 
 the Lef-days — two Saxon words, signifying Bread- 
 givers. As the practice became less frequent, the 
 words were soon corrupted ; and the mistress of the 
 manor continues to be called to this day, the Lady 
 of it ; i. e. the Lef-day. 
 
 As a title of honour, it properly belongs only to 
 the daughters of Earls, and all of higher rank ; but 
 custom has made it a term of complaisance for the 
 wives of Knights, and all women of eminence or 
 gentility. 
 
 BARON, 
 
 Is derived from the Latin Baro, which was used 
 in the pure age of that language for vir, a valiant 
 man. Hence those placed next the king in battle 
 were called Barones, as being the bravest of the 
 army ; and as princes frequently rewarded the bra- 
 very and fidelity of those about them, the word was 
 used for any noble person, who held a fee immedi- 
 ately of the king. Baron signifies in England, a 
 Lord or Peer of the lowest class ; or a degree of 
 nobility, next below that of a Viscount, and above 
 that of a Baronet. Barons are Lords of Parliament, 
 and Peers of the Realm. 
 
 * It IS considered to be from thu hospitable custom, that 
 rnany ladies m this hinydom only, serve the meat, &c. at 
 their own tables to this day. — Ed.
 
 NOTES or A BOOKWOIIM. 65 
 
 VISCOUNT 
 
 Is used for an order or dignity next below an 
 Earl; it was an ancient title as an office, but is a 
 modern one as a dignity, being never mentioned as 
 such before the reign of Henry VI. It is supposed 
 to have brought hither by the Normans. 
 
 BARONET 
 
 Signifies a little baron, and accordingly is a de- 
 gree of honour next below a Baron and above a 
 Knight. The order was founded by James 1. 1611, 
 it is the lowest degree of hereditary honour. 
 
 ESQUIRE. 
 
 Now the word Scuti, comes from the old French 
 word Escu, which signifies a croicn, or gold motiey ; 
 as, jin escu, anciently signified 7iurnmus aureus ; and 
 the French phrase, an ptre aux escus signifies one 
 who is a moneyed man, bene nummatus. Escu also 
 signified a shield, or target, and sometimes stood for 
 the coat of arms blazoned on such shields ; as, I'esca 
 de France, is the arms of France. From escu, comes 
 the French word escuyer, from thence our English 
 Esquire. This, says Xicot, is the first degree among 
 the titles of the noblesse in France, and is called in 
 Latin scutifer, as one who bears a shield, and has 
 a right to coat armour ; for an escuyer, says he, is 
 properly one who has a right to bear a coat of arms 
 on his shields ; so that every escuyer in France is a 
 gentleman, for none is there esteemed a gentleman, 
 who has not a right to a coat of arms. From hence
 
 C6 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 comes the word escusson in French, and from thence 
 onr-woriesciitcheon in English. Escu originally comes 
 from the Latin word scutum, a shield, and that 
 omes from the Greek, ctkutos which signifies a hide, 
 or leather, of which shields were, among the Greeks, 
 anciently made, and'SN'ith which sometimes covered ; 
 and indeed, in the time of the Saxons, our shields 
 were covered with leather, as appears by a law of 
 king Athelstan, whereby it is proliibited, that 
 shields should be covered with so thin a leather as 
 sheep skin. — Fortesque's Monarchy, 1719. 
 
 An Esquire was originally the person who at- 
 tended a Knight in the time of war, and carried his 
 shield ; whence he was called escuyer in French, 
 and scutifer, or armiger, i. e. armour-bearer, in Latin. 
 Those called esquires by the French were military 
 vassals, havingj»s scuti, liberty to wear a shield, on 
 which were painted the ensigns of their family, in 
 token of their gentihty. In this country, it is a 
 dignity, next in degree to a Knight. 
 
 The word Esquire is in letters but little altered 
 from the French escuyer, i. e. in Latin scutifer, or 
 shield-bearer. Sir Thomas Smith is of opinion, 
 that at first an esquire was a bearer of arms to lords 
 and Knights, and from that service had his name 
 and dignity. — Camden's Britannia. 
 
 In our old Saxon, an esquire was called scyld- 
 knapa, or according to our modern orthography, 
 shieldknave, i. e. he that in war did bear the shield 
 of arms of his chief or superior. — Verstegan's 
 Decayed Intelligences.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 67" 
 
 " Nay, nay ; Maister Wiseman ; tell m the eiymon,~-ths 
 origo — let us hear the origin o't." — Old Play. 
 
 GALLOWAYS— WHY PARTICULAR 
 HORSES SO CALLED. 
 
 Galloway, is a county in Scotland, that lies the 
 most to the south, and the nearest to Ireland. This 
 county gives name to a particular breed of horses, 
 of a middling size, that are strong, active, hardy, 
 and serviceable. — Mimtejiore's Classical Diet., 1803. 
 
 Tradition reports, that this kind of horses sprung 
 from some Spanish stallions, which swam on shore 
 from some of the ships of the famous Spanish Ar- 
 mada, wrecked on the coast, which coupling with 
 the mares of the country, furnished the kingdom 
 with their posterity. — Ed. 
 
 BELL— THE CRY OF THE DEER SO 
 CALLED. 
 
 I AM glad of an opportimity to describe the cry 
 of the deer by another word than Braying, although 
 the latter has been sanctioned by the use of the 
 Scottish metrical translation of the psalms. Bell 
 seems to be an abbreviation of bellow. This 
 sylvan sound conveyed great delight to our ances- 
 tors, chiefly, I suppose, from association. A gentle 
 knight in the reign of Henry VIII., Sir Thomas 
 Wortley, built Wantley Lodge, Wancliffe Forest, 
 for the pleasure (as an ancient inscription testifies,) 
 of " Listening to the Hart's bell." — Note to Marmion.
 
 68 XOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 INFANTS OF SPAIN— WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 Bl't an occurrence calls us to Spain, where 
 Lems had lately taken Gibraltar from the Moors 
 (from 1300 to 1350), and was considering himself 
 as happy in that event, when his eldest son sud- 
 denly accused two of the younger ones, positively 
 swearing that he knew the time and place, and 
 could prove they had imagined and contrived their 
 Sovereign's death by sorcery. The Princes sum- 
 moned Ferdinand to appear before what was then 
 called the Tribunal of Christ, and challenged him 
 to judgment by the Cross. Ferdinand accepted it, 
 and went in good spirits to rest at his usual hour, 
 but rose no more, being found dead in his bed, 
 though without marks of violence, next morning. 
 The accused brothers went into a monastery, and 
 the good King died in ten days of grief and terror ; 
 appointing, as his successor, an infant in the cra- 
 dle, Alphonso the Eleventh, who reigned forty 
 years. The royal children have in Spain been 
 knownby the name of /n/a»f»- ever since. — Piozzi's 
 Retrospection, 1809. 
 
 MORTARS. 
 
 The first cannon were very clumsy and [ill- 
 contrived, wider at the mouth than at the chamber, 
 and so like a mortar, that it is probable the idea of 
 them was suggested by that in which Schwartz 
 pounded his materials, when he discovered gun- 
 powder. — Henry's Ilistmy of England,
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 69 
 
 COCKFIGHTING. 
 
 The diversion of Cockfighting originated with 
 the Greeks, from whom the Romans borrowed it, 
 and it is probable that the latter first introduced it 
 into England. Fitzstephen is the first of our writers 
 that mentions Cocking, describing it as the sport 
 of schoolboys on Shrove Tuesday. Henry VIII. 
 and James I. were both fond of it : the former 
 built the Cockpit at Whitehall. The Asiatics, like 
 the English, arm the birds for the fight with cut- 
 ting-gas's, like lancets, which soon determine their 
 controversies ; but the Welsh Main is a cruelty 
 peculiar to Britain. Coke is the soimd they utter 
 when beaten ; hence Skynner thinks that the ani- 
 mal received the name of Cock. 
 
 DERIVATION OF THE TITLE OF MAYOR. 
 
 Some authors derive this word from the Hebrew 
 noun mar, a lord ; others, from the British word 
 mirer, to keep; and some, again, from major, a 
 chief person: but the author of " The Way to 
 Things by Words, and to Words by Things," says, 
 that both it and the Mace are deduced from May, 
 because in this month our ancestors used to hold 
 an anniversary judicial assembly, in which they 
 punished delinquents ; and that in this assembly 
 they erected a column, or standard, called the Co- 
 lumn of May, or May Pole. — Cleland. 
 
 The derivation from major is generally esteemed 
 the correct one. — Ed.
 
 70 NOTES OF A BOOKWOTIM. 
 
 " To palliate dulness, and give time a shove." 
 
 C'owper. 
 
 ANCIENT GRANTS— CURIOUS TITLE- 
 DEEDS. 
 
 Formerly, the wax was bitten by the grantee, 
 instead of sealing. In a rhyming grant of William 
 the Conqueror, are these two lines : — 
 
 " In wituesse that this thing is soothe, 
 I byte the wax with iny wang tootht." 
 
 One of the oldest, as well as the shortest, char- 
 ters in this kingdom, is that of Beverley, in York- 
 sliire, granted by King Athelstan, who died in tlie 
 year 941. It consists of the following couplet 
 only : — 
 
 " Al free mak I thee, 
 
 As heart can wish, or een can see." 
 
 The following curious poetical Title-Deed, 
 granted by William the Conqueror, is copied lite- 
 ratim from the original grant : — 
 
 Concessiim ad Paulum Roydon. 
 
 I William, King, the thurd yere of my reign. 
 
 Give to thee, Paulyn Roydon, Hope and Hopetowne, 
 
 With all the bounds both up and downe. 
 
 From heaven to yerthe, from yerthe to he!, 
 
 For thee and thyn, thereinne to dwel. 
 
 As truly as this King right is myn. 
 
 For a cross bowe and a harrow. 
 
 When I sal cum to hunt on Yarrow ; 
 
 And in token that this thing is soothe, 
 
 I byte the whyt wax with my wang toothe. 
 
 Before Meg, Maud, and Margery, 
 
 And ray thurd sonue Henry.
 
 NOTES Of A BOOKWORM. 7"! 
 
 A CURIOUS DISPLAY OF THE NOMINAL 
 PROWESS OF THE NAVY OF GREAT 
 BRITAIN, 1790. 
 
 Whatever, says tlie writer, may be said of the 
 default of the Minister in not having realized until 
 very lately the 20,000 paper seamen ; yet the names 
 of the newest ships destined to contain them, are 
 still, like the measures of the Premier, as specious, 
 if not as effectual as ever. To prove that this nmni- 
 nal alliance is of the utmost importance, we need 
 only to mention, that we have still at our naval com- 
 mand the most powerful of the gods and goddesses : 
 for instance, Bellona, Minerva, Jupiter, Eolus, Venus, 
 Pallas; who, with many others, may any day be 
 spoken with off Portsmouth point. Of the lower 
 sphere of these agents we have Pluto, the judge of 
 hell, Cerfeenrs, the keeper, and Charon, the Stygian 
 boatman. We regret, however, to find that Provi- 
 dence is out of commission. And if the heroes of 
 modem times were not sufficient, we have at our 
 call the most renowned of antiquity. We have 
 Ajar, Hector, Romulus, Alfred, &c. always ready to 
 fight cur battles. Then we have all the virtues on 
 our side, viz. the Formidable, Resolution, Intrepid, 
 hijiexihle, 6cc. 6cc., and these affording us defence, 
 we can have no doubt that the Valiant will still en- 
 sure us Fame, Victory, and Triumph. Assurance is 
 likewise a powerful assistant ; and we have a Re- 
 source that no enemy could yet deprive us of. Fur- 
 ther we have a very precious assemblage of wild 
 beasts, which we can let loose at pleasure against 
 our rivals. There are the Lion, the Centaur, Hyena, 
 ^Volf, &c. and even the Leviathan himself is always 
 armed for our protection. And lastly, the ladies in
 
 75 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 this case seem to forget the delicacy of their sex ; 
 for though the Frince of Wale^ is out of commission, 
 it is ■well known that Admiral Barrington was never 
 able to do any thing without the Frincess Royal ; 
 that Lord Howe would never trust himself a league 
 from shore without the Queen Charlotte, and Cap- 
 tain Macartney can testify that the Princess Amelia 
 was never behind in her efforts. We have an 
 Amazon too in the service ; and that the Windsor 
 Castle may still prove an impregnable bulwark to 
 the Eoyal George, is our hearty praver. — News- 
 paper, 1790. 
 
 EPIGRAM BY E. WALSH, M.D. 
 
 John sobbed and whimpered when he saw. 
 His wife lie squalling in the straw ; 
 " I suffer much," quoth she, " 'tis true ; 
 But don't weep, John, — I don't blame you.' 
 
 A DEVILISH OPINION. 
 
 The Playhouse is the temple of the devil ; where 
 all who go [y-ield to the devil ; where all the laughter 
 is a laughter among devils : and all who are there, 
 are hearing music in the very porch of the devil's 
 house. — Law on the Stage.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOnM. 
 
 " We may read, and read, and read again ; and still glean 
 something new, something to please, and something to 
 JDgtruct." — Hurdis. 
 
 THE GAME OF CHESS. > 
 
 "This game the Persian magi did invent. 
 
 The force of Eastern wisdom to express; 
 From thence to busy Europeans sent. 
 And styl'd by modern Lombards pensive Chess." 
 
 Dunham. 
 
 The game of Chesa has been held in such universal 
 esteem, that it has engaged the thoughts of the 
 learned to trace its origin. One has maintained 
 that it originated from Ascoches, famous rob- 
 bers among the Turks. Father Surmoud seems to 
 give some countenance to this opinion, when he 
 asserts that its name is derived from the German 
 scache, which signifies theft. Fabricius is of opinion, 
 that the name is derived from the Hehiew scfiach , 
 which signifies to draw lines of circumvallation, or 
 to fortify. Fabricius says, that it was invented 
 by one Schatrensca, a celebrated Persian astrono- 
 mer, who gave it his own name, which it still bears 
 in Persia. Nicot derives it from scheque, or xeqtie, 
 a Moorish word, which signifies lord, king, and 
 prince. Bochart judiciously observes, that schach 
 is originally a Persian term, and that schuchsmii in 
 that language, signifies that the king is dead. The 
 opinion of Nicot and Bochart appears most proba- 
 ble, and has met with no small support from the 
 posthumous works of the learned Hyde, published 
 by Ur. Gregory Sharp, &c.
 
 74 NOTtS OF A E00K-\V0R3I. 
 
 Its antiquity is not more venerable, than its 
 practice is universal. Scarce a nation on the con- 
 tinent is a stranger to it. But it should be added, . 
 that in this respect it has the advantage of most 
 other games, viz. to be thought of great utility to 
 those who have excelled in it. 
 
 Fyrrhus, the greatest general of his age, is said 
 to have made use of his chess-men as an assistance 
 to him in ranging a battle ; and not only to form 
 his manoeuvres, but likewise to explain them to 
 others. 
 
 Vopiscus, in his life of Procnlus, informs us that 
 one of the Roman emperors had the title of 
 Augustus given him, because he gained ten games 
 at chess successively. 
 
 Tamerlane is represented as a great master in 
 this game. 
 
 In China it makes a considerable part of the 
 education of the fair sex ; and seems to be in the 
 same degree of polished behaviour, as dancing is 
 among us. 
 
 In a battle between the French and English in 
 the year 1117, an English knight seizing the bridle 
 of Louis le Gros, and crying to his comrades, the 
 King is taken, the prince struck him to the ground 
 with his sword, saying, " Ne s^ais tu pas quaux 
 echecs on ne prend ^pas le royV " Dost thou not 
 know that at chess the king is never taken V The 
 meaning of which is this : at the game of chess, 
 when the king is reduced to that pass that there is 
 no way for him to escape, the game ends ; because 
 the royal piece is not to be exposed even to an 
 imaginary affront. 
 
 in Spain whole cities challenge each other to this 
 game. — Old Magazine.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 75 
 
 ANOTHER ACCOUNT. 
 
 In the beginning of the fifth century of the 
 Christian .^ra, there was in the Indies a very pow- 
 erful prince, whose kingdom was situated towards 
 where the Ganges discharges itself into the sea. 
 He took to himself the proud title of king of the 
 Indies ; his father had forced a great number of 
 sovereign princes to pay tribute to him, and sub- 
 mit themselves under his empire. The young 
 monarch soon forgot, that kings ought to be the 
 fathers of their people ; that the subjects' love of 
 their king is the only solid support of his throne ; 
 that that love alone can truly attach the people to 
 the prince who governs them, and that in them con- 
 sists all his strength and power ; and that a king 
 without subjects would only be an empty title, and 
 would have no real advantage above other men. 
 
 The Brahmins and Kajuhs, i. e. the priests and 
 nobility, represented all these things to the king of 
 the Indies ; but he, intoxicated with the idea of his 
 grandeur, which he thought was not to be shaken, 
 despised their wise remonstrances. Their com- 
 plaints and representations continued ; he was of- 
 fended, and to revenge his authority, Avhich he 
 thought despised by those who dared to disapprove 
 his conduct, he caused them to be put to death in 
 torments. 
 
 This example affrighted others. The}' were 
 silent, and the prince abandoned to himself, and, 
 what was more dangerous for him, and more terri- 
 ble to his people, given up to the pernicious coun- 
 sels of flatterers, who liurried him to the last ex- 
 cesses. The people were oppressed under the 
 weight of Insupportable tyranny, ar.d the tributary 
 princes, persuaded that the king of the Indies, in 
 losing the love of his people, had lost the very 
 H e
 
 76 NOTES OF A BOORWOK.1l. 
 
 essence of liis power and strength, were preparing 
 to throw oft" the yoke, and to carry the war into 
 his estates. Then a Brahmin, or Indian philosopher, 
 named Sissa, the son of Daher, touched witli the 
 misfortunes of his country, undertook to make the 
 prince open his eyes upon the fatal effects which 
 his conduct was likely to produce. But, instructed 
 by the example of those who had gone before him, 
 he was sensible his lesson would not prove of any 
 service, until the prince should make the application 
 of it to himself, and not think it was done by ano- 
 ther. With this view he invented the Game of 
 Chess, where the hing, although the most consi- 
 derable of all the pieces, is both impotent to attack,, 
 as well as defend himself against his enemies, with- 
 out tlie assistance of his subjects and soldiers. 
 
 The new game soon became famous, the king of 
 the Indies heard of it, and would learn it. The 
 Brahmin Sissa, was pitched upon to teach it him, 
 and, under the pretext of es])laining the rules of 
 the game, and shewing him the skill required to 
 make use of the other jneces, lor the king's defence, 
 he made him perceive and relish important truths, 
 which he had hitherto refused to hear. The king, 
 endued naturally with understanding and virtuous 
 sentiments, which the pernicious maxims of his 
 flatterers and courtiers could not wholly extinguish, 
 made an ajiplication himself of the Brahmin's les- 
 sons, and now convinced that in the people's love of 
 their king consisted all his strength, he altered his 
 conduct, and prevented the misfortunes tliat threat- 
 ened him. 
 
 The prince was sensibly touched, and gratefully 
 left to the Brahmin the choice of his reward ; he 
 desired that the number of grains of com, which 
 the number of the squares of the chess board should 
 produce, might be given him, one for the first, two
 
 XOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 77 
 
 foi* the second, foUrfor the third, and so on, doubling 
 always, to the sixty-fourth. 
 
 The king astonished at the seeming modesty and 
 reasonableness of the demand, granted it immedi- 
 ately, and without examination ; but when his 
 treasurers had made the calculation, they found that 
 the king had engaged himself in a grant, for the 
 performance whereof, neither all his treasures, nor 
 his vast dominions, were sufficient. Then the 
 Brahmin laid hold of this opportunity, to give him 
 to understand, of what importance it was to kings 
 to be upon tlieir guord against those, who are 
 always about tliem, and how much they ought to 
 be afraid of tlieir ministers abusing their best in- 
 tentions. 
 
 The game of chess was not long confined to India ; 
 it passed into Persia, during the reign of Cosroes. 
 'I'he Persians looked upon it, as a game to be made 
 use of in all countries, to instruct kings at the same 
 time that it amused them, as the name which they 
 gave it, signifies ; Schertrengi, or Schatrack, the 
 game of the Schah, or King. 
 
 The names of many of the pieces of this game, 
 which have no reasonable signification, but in the 
 eastern languages, confirm the opinion, we propose, 
 of its eastern origin. The second piece of chess, 
 after the king, is now called the queen. The old 
 French authors call it fierce, Jierche, and fierge, or 
 Jiercir, corruptions of the hatinjiercia, derived from 
 the Persian ferz or firzin, the name of that piece in 
 Persic ; and signifies a minister or vizir. Of the 
 word Jierge they have made vierge, virgo, and after- 
 wards lady or queen. The resemblance of the words 
 made this change very easy, and it seemed so much 
 the more reasonable, because that piece is placed 
 next to the king, and at its first moves, like the 
 paicns, could only move two steps, which made it
 
 78 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 one of the least considerable of the board, as the 
 authors of two ancient treatises of the game of chess 
 acknowledge. 
 
 The constraint upon the lady of chess was dis- 
 pleasing to our forefathers. They looked upon it 
 as a soi-t of slaverj^ more suitable to the jealousy 
 of the eastern people, than to the liberty, Avhich 
 ladies have always enjoyed amongst us. They ex- 
 pended, therefore, the steps and prerogatives of 
 that piece, and in consequence of the gallantry so 
 natural to the western people, the ludu became the 
 most considerable piece of all the game. 
 
 There was still an absurdity in this metamor- 
 phosis o{ the Jirzim or vizir into queen, and this 
 incongruity remains to this day, without our taking 
 notice of it. 
 
 When a pawn, or a simple soldier, has traversed 
 through the enemy's battalions, and penetrated so 
 far as the last line of the board, he is not allowed 
 to return back, but is honoured with the step and 
 prerogatives of the queen. 
 
 I{ the ferzin or the /z'ero-6 be a vizir, njirst minister, 
 or a general of an army, we can easily comprehend 
 how a pawn or a simple soldier may be elevated 
 to their rank, in recompense of his valour, with 
 which he has pierced through the enemy's batta- 
 lions. But if the^V/-o-e be a lady, a queen, or the 
 king's wife, by what odd metamorphosis does the 
 pawn change his sex, and become aAvoman that was 
 a soldier before 1 And how do they make him 
 marry the king, in recompense of that valour, of 
 which he has given such proofs 1 This absurdity 
 proves that the second piece of chess has been mul 
 apropos called lady or queen, for what king ever be- 
 came so enamoured of his, first ^niiiisier, as to marry 
 him, and take him for better for worse, until death 
 do them part 1
 
 NOIES OF A liOOKWOiiM. VV 
 
 I'he third piece of chess which we call the bishop, 
 tlie Spaniards, alfeiez, and tlie Italians, alflere, a 
 Serjeant, in the east was of the figure of an ele- 
 }»haut, whose name it hore. The knight, which is 
 the fointli piece, has the same name and figure 
 every Avliere. The fifth piece, which we call the 
 rook, and the French tour, is called hy the eastern 
 people, the rokh, and tlie Indians make it of the figure 
 of a camel, mounted hy a liorseman with a bow and 
 arrow in liis hand. 
 
 The name o^ rokh, which is common both to tlie 
 Persians and Indians, signifies in the language of 
 tlie last, a sort of camel used in war, and placed 
 upon the wings of their armies by way of light 
 horse. The rapid motion of this piece, which 
 jumjis from one end of the board to the other, agrees 
 so much the better with this idea of it, as atf;rst it 
 was the only piece that had that motion. 
 
 The /v'/(^', queen, or paun, made but one step, the 
 bishop but two, as well as the knigltt, neither of them 
 going farther than the third square, including that 
 which they ([uitted. The rook alone was unbounded 
 in his course, which may agree to the lightness of 
 the dromedary, but in no ways to the immobility of 
 towers, or fortresses, the figures of which we gene- 
 rally give to those pieces. The sixth and last piece 
 is the pawn or common soldier, which has never 
 been suflered to change. 
 
 The Chinese have made some alterations in this 
 game. They have introduced new pieces under 
 the name of cannons or mortars, the use of artillery 
 and powder having been long known to them, be- 
 fore it was discovered by the Europeans. Tamerlain 
 made yet greater changes in this game, and by the 
 new pieces which he invented, and the motions he 
 gave them, he increased the difficulty of the game, 
 Already too much complicated, to be looked upon
 
 80 NOTES OF A BOOKMORM. 
 
 as an amusement ; but these additions have, not 
 been approved of, and the ancient manner of playing, 
 each with siiteen pieces only, and upon a board of 
 sixty-four squares, has taken place again. ^ From 
 the French of M. Frevet, 1742. 
 
 ARCHBISHOP TILLOTSON. 
 
 Letter written by Archbishop, then Dean, Tillotson, 
 to Lady Henrietta Berkeley, after her seduction by 
 Lord Grey, in the year 1682. 
 
 Though I have found by experience that good 
 counsel is for the most part cast away upon those 
 Avho have plunged themselves so deep into a bad 
 course, as to my grief and amazement, 1 understand 
 your ladyship has done; yet the concernment I 
 have always had for the honour and welfare of your 
 noble family, and the compassion I have for you, 
 whom I look upon as one of the greatest objects of 
 pity in this world, will not suffer me to leave any 
 means untried that may conduce to your recovery 
 out of that wicked and wretched condition in which 
 you are ; and therefore I beg of you, for God's sake 
 and your own, to give me leave jdainly to represent 
 to you the heinousness of your fault, with the cer- 
 tain and dismal consequences of your continuance 
 in it. And it is of that heinous nature as to be, 
 for aught I know, without example in this, or any 
 other Christian nation, and hath in it all possible 
 aggravations of guilt towards God, of dishonour to 
 yourself, of a most outrageous injury and affront to 
 your sister, of reproach and stain to your family, 
 of' a most cruel ingratitude to as kind parents as 
 any child ever had, of which I am a witness, as I 
 have been since of the deep wound and affliction 
 you have given them, to that degree, as would
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKIVOriM. 81 
 
 grieve the heart of a stranger, and ought surel}'- to 
 make a much deeper impression on you, their 
 child, who have heen the cause of it. Consider of 
 it, as you will answer it at the judgment of the great 
 day ; and now you have done what you can to ruin 
 your reputation, think of saving your soul, and do 
 not, to please 3'ourself or any body else for a little 
 while, venture to be miserable for ever, as you will 
 most certainly be, if you go on in this course ; nay, 
 I doubt not but you will be very miserable in this 
 world ; not only from the severe reflections of your 
 own mind, but from the distress 3-ou will be re- 
 duced to, when after a little while you will in all 
 probability be despised and hated, and forsaken by 
 him for wliose sake you have made yourself odious 
 to all the world. Before this happens, think of 
 reconciling yourself to God, and to your best friends 
 under him, your parents, of whose kindness and 
 tenderness you have had that experience that you 
 have little reason to fear tlieir cruelty or rigour. 
 Despise not this advice, which is now tendered to 
 you out of great charity and good will ; and I pray 
 God it be effectual to bring you to repentance, and 
 a better mind. 
 
 I have but one thing more to beg of you, that 
 you would be pleased, by a line or two, to let me 
 understand, that you have read and considered this 
 letter, from 
 
 Madam, 
 Your Ladyship's most faithful 
 and humble Servant, 
 
 Jo. TiLLOTSON.
 
 82 NOTES OF A EOOKWOUM. 
 
 NEWSPAPERS AMONG THE ROMANS. 
 
 It appears from Suetonius that a species of 
 Journal or Newspaper was first used among the 
 Romans, during the government of Julius Caesar, 
 who ordered that the acts and harangues of the 
 senators should be copied out and published, as our 
 parliamentary debates are printed for the benefit 
 of the public and the members, at the present day. 
 These publications were called in Rome, Diurna 
 acta, (vide Suetoniuin in vita Ccrsuris.) Iliis prac- 
 tice was continued till the time of Augustus, who 
 discontinued it. — Vice Suetonium in vita Augusli. 
 
 The custom was, however, resumed in the reigu 
 of Tiberius, and Tacitus mentions Junius Rusticus 
 as the person appointed by that prince to write out 
 the " acta diurna." 
 
 Fuit in senatu Junius Rusticus, componendis 
 patrum actis delectus a Csesare. — Tacit Annul. 
 b.5. c.4. 
 
 " There was in the senate, one Junius Rusticus, 
 who was appointed by Ciesar to register the pro- 
 ceedings of that body." 
 
 After this period the acta communicated more 
 extensive information, and announced the proceed- 
 ings of the courts of justice, public assemblies, 
 births, maniages, funerals, ice. and were in many 
 respects extremely similar to our newspapers. It 
 is impossible to doubt this from the very clear man- 
 ner in which Tacitus speaks on this subject. — 
 AnnaL b. 13. c. 31 : — 
 
 Neroue secundum, L. Pisone consulibus, pauca 
 memoria digne eveuere, nisi cui libeat, laudandis 
 fundamentis et trabibus, quis molem amphithealri 
 apud campum martis Caisar exstruxerat, volumina 
 implere ; cum ex dignitate PopuliRomani repertum 
 sit res illustres anualibus, talia diurnis vrbis actis 
 viandure.
 
 NOTES OF A EOOKWOn.M. 33 
 
 "In this year (810) in the second cori'sulate of 
 Nero, whose colleague was L. Piso, nothing oc- 
 curred worthy of record, except an author would 
 fill his volumes with a description of the founda- 
 tions and pillars of an amphitheatre which the 
 emperor built in the Campus jMartius ; but things of 
 tliis kind are Jitter to he inserted in the daili) papers (4 the 
 city, than in annals where the dignity of the Ro- 
 man people alloAv nothing to be recorded but events 
 of importance.'' 
 
 Also see Tacitus Annals, b. 13, c. 24. Nox pro 
 fortuna pomterium auctum : et quos turn Claudius 
 terminos posuerit, facile cognitu, et publicis actis 
 perscriptum. 
 
 " Afterwards the size of the citj' increased with 
 its fortunes, and with regard to the boundaries 
 fixed by Claudius, they are easily ascertained, being 
 recorded in the public acta.'" 
 
 Also b. 16. c.'-22. Diurna populi Iloraani per 
 provincias, per exercitus, curatius leguntur, ut 
 noscatur, (juid Thrasea non fecerit. 
 
 " The journals of the Roman people are care- 
 fully collected, 6iC. 6cc. that it may be known what 
 neglect Thrasea has been guilty of." 
 
 CONDUCT OF THE ROMANS ON A 
 REMARKABLE OCCASION. 
 
 The Privernates had been more than once sub- 
 dued by the Romans, and had as often rebelled. 
 Their city was at last taken by Plautius the consul, 
 and their leader Mtruvius, and great numbers of 
 their senate, had been killed. Being reduced to a 
 low condition, they sent ambassadors to Rome to 
 desire peace ; where, when a senator asked them 
 what punishment they deserved, one of them an-
 
 84 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 swered, " The same which they deserve who think 
 themselves worthy of liberty." The consul then 
 demanded what kind of peace might be expected 
 from ihern, if the punishment should be remitted 1 
 The ambassador replied, " If the terms you give to 
 us be good and hunouraUe, the peace will be observed 
 by us faithfullii and perpetually ; if they be had, it 
 will soon he hroken." And though some were of- 
 fended by the boldness of this answer, yet the 
 majority of the senate approved it, as worthy of a 
 man and a freeman ; and confessing that no man or 
 nation would continue under an uneasy obligation 
 longer than they were compelled by force, said, 
 " they were ouly fit to be made Romans who 
 thought nothing valuable but liberty ;" upon whicli, 
 says Livy, the historian, they were all made citizens 
 of Rome, and obtained whatever they desired. — 
 Sidney's Discourses on Government, 
 
 DANIEL LAMBERT. 
 
 In about the centre of the new burial ground of 
 St. Martin's Church at Stamford, is a black skite 
 inscribed with gilt letters, to the memory of that 
 immense mass of mortality, Daniel Lambert. 
 
 It was in the spring of 1806, that this individual 
 first began to exhibit himself. After that period 
 he resided nearly five mouths in the metropolis, 
 and then travelled about the country, gratifying the 
 curiosity of his countrymen till the time of his 
 death. 'On the 20th of June, 1809, he arrived 
 from Huntingdon, at the Waggon and Horses Inn, 
 in St. JMartin's, Stamford, where preparations were 
 made for him to receive company the next day, 
 and during the then ensuing races ; but before nine 
 o'clock in the morning on which he was to have
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 8j 
 
 been exhibited, he had paid the debt of nature ! 
 He had for some lime shewn dropsical s\'TOptoms ; 
 otlierwise he had no previous sickness to indicate 
 his so sudden dissolution. Two suits of INIr. Lam- 
 bert's clothes are still preserved at the above-men- 
 tioned inn, and are frequent objects of attention to 
 the curious visitor. Seven ordinary' -sized men have 
 repeatedly been enclosed within his waistcoat, with- 
 out breaking a stitch or straining a button. His 
 coffin measured six feet four inches long, four feet 
 four inches wide, two feet four inches deep, and 
 contained one hundred and twelve superficial feet 
 of elm. It was built on two axletrees, and four 
 clog wheels, upon which his remains were drawn 
 to the place of iutennent. His grave was dug with 
 a gradual sloping for many yards, and upwards of 
 twenty men were employed for nearly half an hour 
 in getting his massy corpse into its last abode. Mr. 
 Lambert was a great sportsman in his early life, 
 his bulk not having increased much above the 
 ordinary size till he was about 21 or 22 years of 
 age. He ate moderately, never drank any other 
 beverage than water, and slept less than the gene- 
 rality of mankind, being never more than eight 
 hours in bed. He had a pOAverful and melodious 
 tenor voice, which greatly qualified him for pro- 
 moting harmony and conviviality. 
 
 BULL RUNNING. 
 
 At Tutbury, in Staffordshire, was an ancient 
 custom belonging to the castle, where the dukes 
 and earls of Lancaster resided, whose principal di- 
 version being music, all musicians were permitted 
 to come thither. Thus, they at length became so 
 numerous, that frequent quarrels arose among them ;
 
 86 NOTtS OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 on which account it became necessary to form rules 
 to keep them in order. This was done ; and a 
 governor was appointed, who had the title of King, 
 and had several officers under him to put the laws 
 in execution, and to apprehend ixny disorderly mu- 
 sician that did not observe them. John of Gaunt 
 duke of Lancaster, granted a charter to this governor, 
 bearing date 22nd August, in the fourth year of the 
 reign of "Richard the Second, by which he was 
 called King of the Minstrels, 'in the reign of 
 Henry the Sixth, the prior of Sudbury gave these 
 minstrels a bull, on condition they could take him 
 on the side of the river Dove next to Tutbury. 
 This custom is now altered ; for the minstrels come 
 on the 16th August to the bailiffs house of the 
 manor of Tutbury ; where the steward for the 
 court or his deputy, meeting them, they go from 
 thence to the parish church, two and two together, 
 the music playing before them, and the king of the 
 minstrels for the year past walking between, the 
 steward and bailiff. The four under officers of the 
 king of the minstrels have each a white wand, and 
 immediately follow them ; and then the rest of the 
 company in order. Being come to the church, the 
 vicar reads the service, for which every minstrel 
 offers a penny as due to the vicar. The service 
 ended, they proceed in like manner as before to the 
 castle haU, where the king of the minstrels sits 
 between the steward and the bailiff, and there he 
 reviews the minstrels belonging to the honour ; and 
 if any one default, he is to be presented and fined. 
 Then the}^ proceed to several other ceremonies, 
 which are solemn enough. And it seems there are 
 minstrels belonging to the honour of Tutbury, who 
 live in the counties of Stafford, Derby, Nottingham, 
 Leicester, and Warwick, who owe suit and service 
 to his Majesty's court of musick held here. When
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 87 
 
 new officers are chosen, and every thing relating to 
 the meeting performed, they repair to another 
 handsome room in the castle, -where there is a plen- 
 tiful dinner prepared. The minstrels fonnerly went 
 to the abbey gate, but now to a little barn by the 
 town side, in expectation of the bull to be turned 
 out, wliich must hare his horns cut oft", his tail 
 cropped, and his body smeared all over with soap ; 
 likewise his nose must be blown full of pepper, to 
 make him as mad as possible. After this he is 
 turned out, and is to be caught only by the min- 
 strels, witliin the county of Staff"ord, between the^ 
 time of his turning out and the setting of the sun: 
 if they cannot take him, and be gets over the river 
 into Derbyshire, he then remains the property ot 
 the former owner. If the minstrels cut oft" a bit of 
 his hair, the bull is afterwards to be brought to 
 the bull ring in the high street, and there baited 
 with dogs ; after this is done, the minstrels are to 
 have him for their own. This sport is called bull- 
 running, and should be annually performed by the 
 minstrtds only ; but they are now assisted by a 
 promiscuous multitude ; and there being an emula- 
 tion between the Staftbrdshire and Derbyslure men, 
 a great deal of mischief is often done. — Description 
 of England and Wales, 17(59.
 
 dd NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 Citlf0 of Jgonour, ^c. 
 
 THE KING'S CHAMPION. 
 
 Respecting the origin of this splendid ofl&ce, we 
 have no account absolutely authentic : but Sir W . 
 Dugdale, as well in his Baronage of England, as in 
 his History of Warwickshire, asserts, that William 
 tlie Conqueror, to reward the services of those emi- 
 nent commanders who accompanied him in his 
 expedition to England, bestowed on them various 
 grants of divers manors and lands throughout this 
 kingdom. 
 
 Among those highly distinguished persons was 
 Robert de IMarmion ; or whom the Conqueror, 
 amongst other gifts, conferred the castle of Tam- 
 worth, in the county of Warvvick, to hold hy 
 knights' service ; and the manor of Scrivelsby, in 
 the county of Lincoln, to hold per baroiiiam, or 
 barony, with the peculiar service of performing the 
 office of Champion to the kings of England on the 
 days of their coronation. From this period the 
 Marmions became barons of the realm, pei- tenuram, 
 or tenure, and continued to flourish among the 
 nobles, for several generations, with great lustre 
 and renown ; inter- marrying with the heiresses of 
 some of the greatest barons of that age. But 
 about the 20th of King Edward the First, Philip 
 de jMarmion, the fifth in descent from the first 
 Robert, died, leaving female issue only, whereby 
 his great inheritance became divided, and the castle 
 of Tamworth at length fell to the Freville family, 
 and the manor of Scrivelsby to the Ludlows ; by 
 the marriage of whose daughter and heir, Margaret, 
 with Sir John Dymoke, knight, the same came into
 
 KOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 89 
 
 tliat aucient and honourable name : which Sir John 
 Dymoke, at the coronation of Richard II., claimed 
 to execute the said office of King's Champion ; but 
 it was counter-claimed by Baldwin de Freville, 
 who rested his pretensions on the tenure of Tam- 
 worth castle. After great deliberation, it was 
 found, that the said castle was only holden by 
 knight's service, and that this high office was at- 
 tached to the manor of Scrivelsby, which was 
 holden per baroniam, and was the caput baronice, or 
 head of the barony of the Marmion family ; and it 
 moreover appearing that the late king, Edward III., 
 and his son, Edward, Prince of Wales, sumamed 
 the Black Prince, had been often heard to say that 
 the office belonged to Sir John Dymoke, the ques- 
 tion of right was decided in his favour, from which 
 period to the present, a lapse of nearly five hundred 
 years, the office has been executed by the Dymoke 
 family, at the several coronations of the kings and 
 queens of England. At that of Richard II., by 
 Sir John Dymoke before-mentioned ; at that of 
 Henrv IV., by his son Sir Thomas Dymoke, who 
 was one of tlie forty-six esquires created by that 
 king, Knights of the Bath, on the day of his coro- 
 nation, the}'- having watched all the night before, 
 and bathed themselves ; which Sir Thomas also 
 performed the same office at the coronation of 
 Henry V. ; as his son. Sir Philip Djnnoke did at 
 that of Henry VI., and his grandson, Sir Robert 
 Dymoke, knight banneret, did also at the same so- 
 lemnities of Richard III., and Kings Henry VII. 
 and VIII., to which last he was one of those gene- 
 rals who commanded at the siege and capture of 
 Boulogne. Sir Edward, son of Sir Robert Dymoke 
 was champion to Queen Elizabeth ; as was Sir 
 Robert Dymoke, his son, to Kings James I. and 
 Charles I., and his son, Sir Edward, to Charles II.j
 
 90 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 and his son, Sir Charles Dynioke, to King James II., 
 ■whose son, another Charles, was champion to Queen 
 Anne ; and dying without issue was succeeded by 
 his brother, Lewis DjTnoke, who executed this 
 office at the coronations of Kings George the First 
 and Second. On the coronation of his late JNIajesty, 
 George the Third, John Dymoke, Esq., the suc- 
 cessor to Lewis in the manor of Scrivelsby, had 
 the like honour ; and it must be fresh in the recol- 
 lection of the reader, that the office was performed 
 hy one of the same family, at the coronation of our 
 present most gracious Sovereign. 
 
 COUNTS — THE FIRST INSTITUTION OF, 
 AS A DIGNITY, &c. 
 
 CoNSTANTiNE the Great, having a mind to reward 
 the services of some of his officers, was the first 
 emperor we read of that established this honour, 
 which entitled tlie person upon whom it was con- 
 ferred to a certain pre-eminence over all otlier 
 courtiers. For whoever was made Comes Palutii, 
 though he only was so during the emperor's plea- 
 sure, had free access to that prince at all times, 
 even in his most secret apartments : he eat, drank, 
 and conversed familiarly with him ; and he looked 
 upon it, in short, as a kind of earnest and pledge of 
 the highest preferment and posts in his master's 
 disposal. In process of time, this was made a 
 dignity for life, and the governors of conquered 
 countries were no longer styled Pratnrg, Pro- 
 consuls, Qucustors, as formerly ; but assumed the 
 more fashionable name of comites, joined to that of 
 their peculiar provinces ; and hence it is, that in 
 the writers of the Bus Empire, we meet frequently 
 with the Comes Orientis, Comes Africa, Comes Illy- 
 rici, S^c.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 91 
 
 This among other Roman customs, was kept up 
 by tlie kings of the Franks and Germans, after the 
 downfal of the western empire, insomuch that the 
 titles of counts and governors became in a manner 
 synonymous. The Carlovingianmonarchs were the 
 first who made them hereditary, and that the poste- 
 rity of these counts might never forget to whom 
 tlieir ancestors owed that honour, immediately upon 
 the demise of every such person, his next heir was 
 obliged to come and pay his homage with all the 
 solemnity imaginable. As there was something 
 very peculiar in the manner in which the counts of 
 Flanders acquitted themselves of this duty, I shall 
 describe it in a few words. 
 
 The king of France being seated in state upon 
 his throne, the count advanced towards him in his 
 robes, but bare-headed and without a sword, witli 
 one knee bent on the ground ; the king then taking 
 both the count's hands between his, the count 
 swore allegiance to him, and repeated certain words 
 after the chancellor of France ; this done, the king 
 raised u]) the count and gavfe him his right cheek 
 to kiss, and then he took liis seat as peer of France, 
 in virtue of which on the day the kingwas crowned 
 he was to bear the sword of state before him, and 
 to gird it round his middle. All the count's ap- 
 parel when he made his homage, and every thing 
 else he had about him, his very purse not excepted, 
 became the French herald's perquisite. — J.BreoaVs 
 Reniavks on Europe, 1726. 
 
 In the Roman commonwealth, comites was a ge- 
 neral term for all those who accompanied the pro- 
 consuls and propraetors into the provinces. Under 
 the emperors, comites were the officers of the palace, 
 (comites palatii). Some derive their origin from 
 Augustus, who took several senators to accompamj 
 him in his voyages and travels. Hence they were
 
 95 KOTES OF A BOOKWOHM. 
 
 Galled comites, companions ; but Constantine Was 
 the first who converted the title count into a dig- 
 nity. Under the last of the second race of French 
 kings, the dignity was made hereditary. — Various. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 The word Knight, in German knecht, properly 
 signifies a 'servant ; but there is now but one in- 
 stance where the word is used in that sense, viz. 
 in the hught of a shire, who serves in parliament for 
 a particular county. 
 
 The proper signification of Knight now is, a per- 
 son raised by his Majesty from the rank of gentle- 
 man, into a higher class of dignity. 
 
 DOM, OR DON. 
 
 A title of honour, invented and chiefly used by 
 the Spaniards, signifying Sir, or Lord. 
 
 This title, it seems, was first given to Pelayo, 
 in the beginning of the eighth century. In Portu- 
 gal, no person can assume the title of Don without 
 the permission of the King, since it is looked upon 
 as a mark of honour and nobility. In France, it is 
 sometimes used among the religious. It is an 
 abridgment oi donmus, from dominus. 
 
 MON-SIEUR. 
 
 This title, so fondly affected by the French, is 
 only an ungrammatical French distortion of Meus- 
 senior — my elder. — Lemon's Diet. 1783.
 
 NOThS OF A ^OOKWORM. 93 
 
 MYN-HEER. 
 
 This Dutch title may be traced in this manner : 
 mifu-heer, mem-herns — my master, or my eldest son j 
 my heir, my hxres, &c. — Lemon's Diet. 1783. 
 
 BACHELOR. 
 
 M. Voltaire, in his " Account of the Origin 
 of Chivalry," after giving an account of the first 
 association of nobles, to redress the illicit conduct 
 of base and lawless banditti, and describing the 
 instalment of knights, 6i.c. adds — 
 
 " I'he principal Lords wlio entered into the con- 
 fraternity of knights, used to send their sons to 
 <»ach other, to be educated, far from their parents, 
 in the mysteries of chivalry. These youths, before 
 they arrived at the age of twenty-one, were called 
 Bachelirrs, or Bas-Chevaliers, i. e. inferior knights ; 
 and, after that age, were qualified to receive the 
 order." 
 
 YEOMAN. 
 
 Yeoman is contracted for Gemen-mein, from Ge- 
 meiii, signifying common, in old Dutch ; so that a 
 veomun is a commoner , one undignified with any title 
 of gentiUty ; a condition of people almost peculiar 
 to England, and which is, in efiect, the basis of all 
 the nation. — Ray's Proverbs. 
 
 These yeomen were famous in past times for 
 archery and manhood. Our infantry, which so 
 often beat the French and repulsed the Scots, were 
 composed of them. — Manual of Nobility.
 
 94 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 SPINSTER. 
 
 The femalps among the native Welsh employed 
 so much of their time in spinning, that the spindle 
 became the symbol of the sex ; and an estate de- 
 volving to the female line, was formerly said, by 
 law, to descend to the distaff — (hence the origin 
 of the term spinster for an unmarried woman) — and 
 thus engaged, the British virgin was declared mar- 
 riageable at fourteen. — Page 211, lol. 2, Bmgley's 
 N. Wales, 1800. 
 
 CARDINAL. 
 
 A high dignity in the Church of Rome, whereof 
 about 70 in number were instituted by Pope Paschal 
 the first; viz. 50 Cardinal Priests, 1-i Cardinal 
 Deacons, and 6 Cardinal Bishops. MinshuU de- 
 rives the word from cardo has, the hook or hinge of 
 a door; for as the door hangs or depends on its 
 hinges, so the Church on the Cardinals. The word, 
 taken adjectively, signifies pertaining to a hook or 
 or hinge ; also, chief or principal. Hence the Car- 
 dinal virtues are so called, because they are the prin- 
 cipal foundations of a virtuous, well-ordered life, 
 and, as it were, the hinges on which all the other 
 moral virtues depend. — Blount, 1681. 
 
 FRIAR, OR FRIER, 
 
 (From the Latin, f rater, or from the French, 
 frere, ?. e. a brother), an order of religious persons, 
 of which there are reckoned four principal branches. 
 —Blount's Diet. 1681.
 
 NOTES OF A EOOKWOnM. 95 
 
 DOWAGER, 
 
 (From the Latin dotissa, which signifies a widow 
 endowed, or that has a jointure), is a title, or 
 addition, applied to widows of rank, such as of 
 Princes, Dukes, <Scc. — Encyclopedia. 
 
 ADMIRAL. 
 
 It was in opposition to the Venice gallies (that 
 is, those employed in the eleventh century, in pro- 
 tecting the crusades, &c.) that the Turks sent out 
 an Emir, or Emend ; whence Christians from that 
 time called him an Amiral, or Admiral, who headed 
 and commanded any fleet. Milton makes Amiral 
 without the d.—PiozzVs Retrospection, 1809. 
 
 ADJUTANT, 
 
 Formed o( adjutare, to assist ; in the military art, 
 an officer in the army, whose business is to assist 
 the iNIajor ; otherwise called Aid]Major. — Dr. Rees' 
 Cyclopedia. 
 
 COLONEI^EXSIGN. 
 
 Some derive the term Colonel from the French 
 word colonne, or column, ttecause the colonel marches 
 at the head of the column. This officer is by some 
 of our ancient military writers called Coronell, 
 Crownell ; and by Kelly (in his book entitled Pal- 
 las Armata, published 1627), Crowner. The Ensign 
 he calls Landsigne. — Groses English Army.
 
 96 NOTES OF A BOOKAVORV. 
 
 i^otr^ on i^amr0. 
 
 Names are distinguisiied by being proper and ap' 
 pellative. 
 
 Proper names are tliose which represent some in- 
 dividual thing or person, so as to distingiiish it 
 from all other things of the same species ; as 60- 
 crates, which represents a certain philosopher. 
 
 Appellative, or general names, are those which 
 signify common ideas ; or which are common to se- 
 veral individuals of the same species, as horse, ani- 
 mal, man, &c. 
 
 Originally no person had more than one name ; 
 as among the Jews, Adam, &ic. ; among the Egyp- 
 tian, Busiris ; among the Chaldees, Nemis ; the 
 Medes, Astyages ; the Greeks, Diomedes ; the Ro- 
 mans, Romulus; the Gauls, DiLitiacus ; the Ger- 
 man, Ariovistus ; the Britons, Cassihelan ; the Eng- 
 lish, Hengist, &c. : and thus of all other nations, 
 except the savages of ^Nlount Atlas, whom Pliny 
 represents as aiionymi, nameless. 
 
 The Jews gave the name at the circumcision, 
 viz. eight days after the birth ; the Romans, to 
 females the same day — to males, the ninth ; at 
 wliich time they held a feast, called Nominalia. 
 
 The wife never assumes her husband's name in 
 Spain, or loses her own by marriage. The son is 
 at liberty to make use of and be called by either one 
 or the other : he generally chuses that which is of 
 the best family, according to the Spanish proverb — 
 
 " El hijo de ruyn Padre 
 Toina el appelido de la Madre." 
 
 Carter's Gibraltar, 6\c.
 
 NOTES or A BOOKWOUM. 97 
 
 According to tlie following distich, the titles Mac 
 and are not merely what the logicians call acci- 
 dents, but altogether essential to the very being 
 and substance of an Irishman : — 
 
 " Per Mac atque O, tu veros co£;noscis Hibernos, 
 His duobiis demptis, nullus Hibernus adest." 
 
 Translated as follows, by one of our celebrated 
 poets : — 
 
 " By ^rac and O, 
 You'll always know 
 
 True Irishmen, they say; 
 For if they lack 
 Both O and Mac, 
 
 No Irishmen are they." 
 
 The particle de, between the Christian and sur- 
 name, is of French extraction, and came over with 
 William the First. Tt continued tolerably pure for 
 about three centuries, when it in some degree as- 
 sumed an English garb, in the particle of. The 
 A, therefore, is only a contraction of the latter. — 
 Hiitton's liirmiiighani. 
 
 The British or Welsh, as likewise the Scots, had 
 their Ap and Ab, Mab and Mac, in the same man- 
 ner as we had our Fitz ; but in many cases have left 
 them off. 
 
 It is remarkable, that in " Dr. Fiddes's Life of 
 Cardinal Wolsej^" Edmund Bonner, Bishop of Lon- 
 don, is called Dr. Edmunds ; and Stephen Gardiner, 
 Bishop of Winchester, Dr. Stephens. These pre- 
 lates, indeed, had no children ; but these instances 
 may serve to shew, nevertheless, with what faci- 
 lity Christian names would pass into surnames, in 
 cases where there were children.
 
 98 NOTBS OF A EOOKWOIOl. 
 
 A curious incident happened to Mr. Justice Dod- 
 dridge, on one of his Circuits, and it is recorded in 
 the Harleian Miscellany. Judge Doddridge, at the 
 Huntingdon Assizes, 1619, had, it seems, reproved 
 the Sheriff, for having returned persons on the Jury 
 who were not of sufficient respectability. The 
 Sheriff, however, took care against the next Assizes, 
 to present the following singular list, at which the 
 Judge smiled, applauding at the same time his in- 
 dustry : — 
 
 Maximilian King of Tortland. 
 
 Henry Prince of Godmanchester. 
 
 George Duke of Somersham. 
 
 WilHam Marquiss of Stukely. 
 
 Edward Earl of Hartford. 
 
 Robert Lord of Warsley. 
 
 Eichard Baron of Bythorpe. 
 
 Edward Knight of St. Neot's. 
 
 Peter Squire of Easton. 
 
 George Gentleman of Spaldock. 
 
 Robert Yeoman of \^■eston. 
 
 Stephen Fope of Barham. 
 
 Humphrj^ Cardinal of Kimboltou. 
 
 William Bibhop of Bugden. 
 
 John Archdeacon of Paxtou. 
 
 John Abbot of Stukely. 
 
 Henry Friar of Ellington. 
 
 Henry Monk of Stukely. 
 
 Edward Priest of Graffham. And 
 
 Richard Deacon of Gatsworth. 
 
 The Parish Clerk of Langford, near Wellington, 
 was called Red Cock, for many years before his 
 death ; for having one Sunday slept in church, and 
 dreaming that he was at a cock-fighting, he bawled
 
 NOTliS OF A EOOKWOJIM. 99 
 
 out, " A sliilling upon the red cock !" And, behold ! 
 the family are called Red Cock to this day. — Lack- 
 ington's Life. 
 
 The late Lord Orford used to relate, that a dis- 
 pute once arose in his presence, in the way of rail- 
 lery, between the late Earl Temple and the first 
 Jx)rd Lyttleton, on the comparative antiquity of 
 their families. Lord Lyttleton concluded, that the 
 name of Grenville was originally Green-Jield ; Earl 
 Temple insisted that it was derived from Grand- 
 ville. " Well, then," said Lord Lyttleton, " if 
 you will liave it so, my family may boast of the 
 higher antitjuity, for Little Towns were certainly 
 antecedent to Great Cities : but if you will be con- 
 tent with the more humble derivation, I will give 
 up tlie i)oint ; for Green -fields were unquestionably 
 more ancient than either." 
 
 At the Lent Salisbury Assizes, an action was 
 tried, a few years since, in which, on the part of 
 the plaintiff, two witnesses were examined, named 
 Brownjohn and Whitehart ; but neither of them 
 having jiroved to the extent expected ; the former 
 being dressed in black, and the latter having a 
 bnmn coat on, a professional gentleman wrote and 
 handed to the i)laintifl"'s counsel the following im- 
 promptu : — 
 
 In a cause such as this you will surely break down. 
 Since your BroiLujohn looks black, and your WhUeJiart 
 
 looks brown. 
 It I am a prophet, it never can do ; 
 Aii'l shortly the verdict will make you look blue. 
 
 In a few minutes afterwards the prediction v/as 
 fulfilled, by the Jury returning a verdict for the 
 defendant. 
 
 K '^
 
 100 NOTliS or A BOOKWORM. 
 
 The famous Mr. I. Came, Bhoe-maker of 
 Liverpool, wlio realized an immense fortune in that 
 business, the greater part of which he left to cha- 
 rities, having left a situation of servitude in a re- 
 spectable house on the opposite side of the street, 
 and commenced trade for himself, wrote up: "/ 
 Came from over the way. 
 
 In the year 1821, this over-grown city contained 
 gentlemen bearing the following names, than which 
 none could be more appropriate to their trades, 
 professions, and habits, viz. : Dunn, tailor ; Giblett 
 and Bull, butchers ; Truefitt, wigmaker ; Cutmore, 
 eating-house keeper ; Boilit, tishmonger ; Still, 
 Strong, and Rack'em, attornies ; ]\'h)j)py, sadler ; 
 Breadcut, baker; Goldman, undertaker; Bumjit, 
 water-closet maker ; II'icA:*, tallow-chandler ; Bring- 
 low and Pake, apothecaries ; and Messrs. Board and 
 Flank, carpenters. 
 
 In the Langboum Cliambers, Fenchurch-street, 
 at the same time, four several counting-houses were 
 actually occupied by Messrs. Sick, Pain, Death, and 
 Graves. 
 
 The following curious names may also be met 
 with in the metropolis, viz. : Messrs. Pretty, Pet- 
 love, Pickup, Drane, Littlechild, Godsmark, Buckett, 
 Tubh, Kettle, Pott, Tiplady, Drinkall, 6cc. ; and the 
 following firms : 
 
 Messrs. Graves and Churchyard ; 
 Wood and Coles; 
 Burn, Crisp, and Fry.
 
 NOXrS X)F A BOOKWOTl-M. 101 
 
 iTunous Drrit)atioit0, ([^rtgiU0, 
 
 " Nay, nay; Maister Wiseman; tcH ii« the e/ymon, ---lUe 
 /»ryo— Ut us hear the origin o'i."— Old Play. 
 
 DEODAND EXPLAINED. 
 
 DroDAND in our customs is a thing given or for- 
 ■feited, as it were to God, for the pacitication of his 
 wrath ill a case of misadventure, whereby a Christian 
 soul comes to a violent end, witliout the fault of 
 any reasonable creature. If a horse strikes his 
 keeper and kills him. If a man in driving a cart 
 falls so as the cart-wheel runs over him and presses 
 him to death. If one by felling a tree, and giving 
 warning to the standers by to look to themselves, 
 «-et a man is killed by the fall thereof. In the first 
 place the horse ; in the second, the cart-wheel, 
 cart, and horses, and in the third the tree is Deo- 
 dandus, " to be given to God," that is to the king, 
 to be distributed to the poor by his almoner, for 
 expiation of this dreadful event, though effected by 
 irrational, nay, senseless and deadly creatures. 
 
 Omnia qua movent ad mortum sunt deodando. 
 
 " What moves to death, or kills him dead. 
 Is deodand and forfeited." 
 
 This law seems to be an imitation of that in 
 Exodus, chap. xxi. " If an ox gore a man or woman 
 with his horns, so that they die, he shall be stoned 
 fo death, and his flesh not be eat; sn shall his 
 owner be innocent." — Brmon, 1731. Jacobs, Man^
 
 102 >"OTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 GREYHOUND— HARRIER— TERRIER. 
 
 How has the greyhound acquired the name 1 Not 
 by his nose, for he makes no use of it in coursing ; 
 while tall, swift, and quick-sighted, he depends 
 wholly on his eye to obsei*ve, and on his long ner- 
 vous legs to overtake, the flying prey : but being 
 the only dog which without training to it will kill 
 a badger, formerly in old English called a gray, and 
 persecute him even in his retirement, he was called 
 gray-hound ; while harrier and terrier explain their 
 office of themselves, even by the derivation of their 
 names alone. The first follows the hare through all 
 her doublings and deceits ; the other, resolving to 
 kill that fox which his more beautiful companions 
 have pursued but lost, goes after him even in his 
 subterranean retreat — his earth, as sportsmen call 
 it — and fighting him thus under ^?-t>i/H(/ obtains the 
 appellation, terrier, for that desperate brav^ery 
 w^hich remains unintimidated and undiminished 
 even by the consciousness that he is combating in 
 an enemy's country. — Piozzi's Synonymy, 1794. 
 
 IMr. Beckwith seems to consider gray-hound, a 
 corruption of gaze-hound. See also Skinner (in 
 vo. gaze-hound). In confirmarion of which, says 
 Rider, it is a hound which pursues by sight and 
 not by scent. — Ed. 
 
 TO GRASE THE SKIN— WHENCE THE 
 TERM, &c. 
 
 Grass-hearth, the grasing or turning up the 
 earth with a plough ; whence the customary ser- 
 vice for the inferior tenants of the manor of Amers- 
 deu in Oxfordshire, to bring their ploughs, and do
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. lOj 
 
 one day's work for their lord, was called grass- 
 hearth, or grans-hurt ; and we still say the skin is 
 grased, or slightly hurt, and a hullet grases on any 
 place, when it gently turns up the surface of what 
 it strikes upon. — Farochl. Aniiq. 496, 497, 
 
 BOTCHER. 
 
 BoT, a jobber. The same as botcher, and the 
 Dutch boetser, or butser, from boetsen, to patch or 
 mend. Originally, therefore, a botcher was one 
 wlio mended, but did not make new. It is now 
 used to denote one who is not very good at his 
 business. It is pronounced hot, not botch, because 
 the inhabitants here seldom pronounce ch at the 
 end of words, either omiting them, or using them 
 as a k, — Watson's History of Halifax, Yorkshire 
 Hialeci. 
 
 QUATER COUSINS. 
 
 Qi'ATER cosens, or quater cousins, those that 
 are in the last degree of kindred, or fourth cousins : 
 therefore we commonly say, such persons are not 
 quater cousins, when they are not good friends. — 
 Blount's Dicty. 1681. 
 
 GOSSIPS— AVIIY GOD-FATHERS AND 
 GOD-MOTHERS SO CALLED. 
 
 Gossip, from the Saxon godsip. Our Christian 
 ancestors understanding a spiritual affinity to grow 
 between the parents, and such as undertook for the 
 child at baptism, called each other godsip, which is
 
 104 NOTES OF A BOOKUORM. 
 
 as much as to say, they were sib together, that is 
 of kin through God, or a cosen before God ; and 
 the child in like manner called such, his god-father, 
 or god-mother, &.c. — Ventegun's Decayed Intelli- 
 gences. 
 
 BENEFIT OF CLERGY. 
 
 Learning was for many ages confined, almost 
 exclusively, to the clergj^ ; and even among that 
 class, knowledge was so far from being general, 
 that even bishops could not Tsrite. To be able to 
 read in those times was deemed of such importance, 
 that that acquirement alone actually exempted per- 
 sons from punishment ; and hence our legal expres- 
 sion of " Benejit of Clergy.'" 
 
 By an act passed in the reign of Edward the 
 First, it is enacted : " That for the security of the 
 clergy, in the realm of England, to be disposed of 
 in religious houses, or for priests, deacons, or 
 clerks of parishes, there should be a prerogative 
 allowed to the clergy, that if any man who could 
 read as a clerk was to be condemned to death, the 
 bishop of the diocese might claim him," &c. And 
 by statute of William the Third, " this indulgent 
 consideration, long exclusivelj' enjoyed by the man, 
 was extended to females, who might petition for 
 their clergy." 
 
 The test required anciently in our courts of jus- 
 tice, was the reading a verse of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures ; and, by degrees, this test became invariably 
 confined to a certain verse, which consequently ac- 
 quired the significant title of the yteck verse. 
 
 In an old dictionary in the Editor's possession, 
 one of the meanings given fo the word " clergy," 
 is, " the allowance of the booke to a prisoner."
 
 NOTtS OF A BOOKWORM. 105 
 
 ■" To palliate duiness, and give time a shove." 
 
 C'owper. 
 
 SINGULAR WILL. 
 
 Genuine copy of the Will of a Mr. Jackett, 
 whose sudden death was announced in the Oracle 
 Newspaper, about forty years back : — 
 
 I give and bequeath. 
 
 When I'm laid underneath, ' 
 
 To my two loving sisters* most dear. 
 
 The whole of my store. 
 
 Were it twice as much more, 
 
 Whiih God's goodness has granted me here : 
 
 Anrl that none may prevent 
 
 This my If ill and intent. 
 
 Or occasion the least of law racket ; 
 
 With a solonm appeal, t 
 
 I contirm, sign and seal. 
 
 This the true act and deed of Will. Jackett. 
 
 TITLES OF BOOKS. 
 
 The facts which are stated below, and all of 
 which the Editor can vouch for as true, will shew 
 tlie necessity of being particular in giving specific 
 directions to book-binders, how to letter the works 
 entrusted to them to bind. 
 
 Bishop King's excellent Dissertation on the 
 " Origin of Evil," was bound in the most superb 
 style (to use a binder's phrase), and lettered 
 " Kuig's Eoil." 
 
 * Elizabeth and Ann. 
 
 t In the name of God, Amen !
 
 106 NOTES or A BOOKWORM. 
 
 Dr. Trusler's work on Synonyms, shewing the 
 distinctions between words generally esteemed 
 synonymous, was lettered " Trusler's Synonymous 
 Diitinctions." 
 
 And Dr. Hare's Treatise on Affections of the 
 Stomach, may be seen on several old book-stalls 
 lettered " Hare on the Stomach." 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 The chair in which the celebrated Bede, styled 
 by some the " Wise Saxon," and by others " Vene- 
 rable Bede," and " Admirable Bede," wrote his 
 Ecclesiastical History of the Saxons, is said to be 
 still preserved at Jarrow, in the bishopric of Dur- 
 ham, where he was born. Some years ago it was 
 entrusted to the care of a man who had been a 
 sailor, and this son ofXeptune, by a whimsical, 
 but characteristic mistake, used to exhibit the chair 
 as that which formerly belonged to the " great 
 Admiral Bede." 
 
 ANECDOTE OF DR. RICHARD BUSBY. 
 
 Once, in a large company. Dr. Busby sat at 
 table between Mrs. Louth and Mrs. Sherlock, when 
 the conversation turned upon wives. Dr. Busby 
 said that he believed wives in general were good, 
 "though to be sure," added he, looking first to the 
 right, and then to the left, •' there may be a bad one 
 here, and a bad one there." — New Biographia Britaii- 
 nica, 1789.
 
 NOTt£5 OF A BOOKWORM. 107 
 
 LOST, 
 
 Tiinoi'GH Carelessness, Thirty -two good Years of 
 Life. — Whoever can inform the owner how they 
 can be redeemed, shall be most handsomely re- 
 warded. 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 The late Dr. INIonsev, by way of ridiculing fa- 
 mily pride, used to confess, that the first of his an- 
 cestors of any note, was a baker and dealer in hops, 
 of whom he told the following anecdote : — 
 
 To raise a present sum, he had robbed his feather 
 beds of their contents, and supplied the deficiency 
 with unsaleable hops. In a few years, a severe 
 blight universally prevailing, hops became verj 
 scarce, and enormously dear. The hoarded trea- 
 sure was upon this immediately ripped out, and a 
 good sum procured for the hops, which, in a plen- 
 til'ul season, would not have been saleable ; " and 
 thus," the Doctor used to add, " our family hopp'd 
 from obscurity." 
 
 ENGLISH BULL. 
 
 The Irish have been generally considered as a 
 blundering nation ; but, perhaps, they are not 
 more likely to commit errors of this nature than 
 ourselves. No Irishman ever uttered a better bidl 
 than did an honest John ; who being asked by^ a 
 friend, " Has youT sister got a son or a daughter!" 
 replied, " Upon my soul, I don't yet know whether 
 1 am an uncle or an aunt." — Andrew's Anecdotes.
 
 i08 NOTFS OF A BO0KWOR3I. 
 
 HISTORICAL ANEODOTE. 
 
 On the dollars, stivers, &c. coined at the town 
 of Dordrecht in Holland, is the figure of a milkmaid 
 sitting under her cow, which figure is also exhibited 
 in relievo on the water-gate of the place. The 
 occasion was as follows : In the noble struggle of 
 the United Provinces for their liberties, the Spani- 
 ards detached a body of forces from the main army, 
 with the view of surprising Dordrecht. Certain 
 milk-maids, belonging to a rich farmer in the vicinity 
 of the town, perceived as they were going to milk, 
 some soldiers concealed under the hedges. They 
 had the presence of mind to pursue their occupation 
 without any symptoms of alarm. On their return 
 home they informed their master of what they had 
 seen, who gave information to the Burgomaster, and 
 the sluices were let loose, by which great numbers 
 of the Spaniards were drowned, and the expedition 
 defeated. The States ordered the farmer a handsome 
 revenue for the loss he sustained by the overflowing 
 of his lands, rewarded the women, and perpetuated 
 the memory of the event in the manner described. 
 
 EPITAPH 
 
 lie WIGTOWN CHURCH-YARD, GALLOWAY. 
 
 Here lies John Taggart, of honest fame, 
 Though of stature low, and a leg lame ; 
 Content he was with portion small. 
 Kept a shop in ^Vigtown, and tliat's all !
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 109 
 
 ** We may read, and read, and read again; and still glean 
 something new, something to please, and something to 
 instnict." — Hurdis. 
 
 PEACHAINIIAXA. 
 
 True Nobility. 
 
 True nobility hangeth not on the ayry esteem 
 of vulgar opinion, but is indeed of itself essential 
 and absolute. 
 
 Beside, nobility being inberent and natural, can 
 bave (as the diamond) the lustre but onelv from 
 itself. Honours and titles externally conferred, 
 are but attendant upon desert, and serve but as 
 apparel and drapery to a beautiful body. 
 
 Memorable, as making to our purpose, is that 
 speech of Sigismond the emperor, to a doctor of 
 the civil law, who, when he had received knight- 
 hood at the emperor's hands, left forthwith the 
 society of his fellow-doctors, and kept company 
 altogether with the knights ; which the emperor 
 well observing, smiling, before the open assembly, 
 said unto him : " Fool, who preferrest knighthood 
 before learning, and thy degree ; I can make a 
 thousand knights in one day, but cannot make a 
 doctor in a thousand years." 
 
 On Time and Method. 
 
 Husband your time to the best : for the gi-eedy 
 desire of gaining time, is the onely covetousnesse 
 that may rightlr be accounted honest, or praise-
 
 110 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 worthy. And if you follow the advice of Erasmus, 
 and the practice of Plinius Secundus, diem in operas 
 partiri, to divide the day into several tasks of study, 
 you will find a great ease and furtherance thereby : 
 remembering- ever to refer your most serious and 
 important studies unto the morning, which finisheth 
 alone, say the learned, three parts of the day. 
 
 History. 
 
 No subject affecteth us with more delight than 
 history, imprinting a thousand forms upon our ima- 
 ginations, from the circumstances of place, per- 
 son, time, matter, manner, and the like. " What 
 can be more profitable," saith an ancient historian, 
 " than sitting on the stage of human life, to be 
 made wise by their example, who have trod the 
 path of errcur and danger before us 1" 
 
 On Books. 
 
 Affect not, as some do, that bookish ambition, to 
 be stored with books, and have well-furnished 
 libraries, yet keep their heads empty of know- 
 ledge. To desire to have many books, and never 
 to use them, is like a child that will have a candle 
 burning by him all the while he is sleeping. 
 
 To avoid Moths, &^c. 
 
 To avoid the inconveniency of mothes and moul- 
 diness, let your study be placed, and your windows 
 open, if it may be, towards the east. For where it 
 looketh south or west, the air being ever subject to 
 moisture, mothes are bred, and darkishnease en-
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. HI 
 
 creased, whereby your maps and pictures will 
 quickly become pale, loosing their life and colour; 
 or, rotting upon their cloath or paper, decay past 
 all help and recovery. 
 
 Cards to teach Geography , 8)C. 
 I have seen French cards to play withall, the 
 four suites changed into maps of several countries, 
 of the four parts of the world, and exactly coloured ; 
 for their numbers, the figures 1,2,^, and so forth, 
 set over the heads : for the kings, queens, and 
 knaves, the pourtraies of their kings and queens in 
 their countrey habits ; for the knave, their peasants 
 or slaves : which ingenious device, cannot be but 
 a great furtherance to a young capacity, and even 
 some comfort to the unfortunate gamester, when, 
 what he hath lost in money, he shall have dealt 
 him in land or wit. 
 
 Beasts of prey 7iot Gregarious, See. 
 
 It is worthy of consideration how the divine 
 wisdom for the behoof of mankind, hath set an 
 enmity between birds and beasts of prey and ra- 
 pine, who accompany not by beards : as lyons, 
 beares, dogs, woolves, foxes, eagles, kites, and the 
 like ; which if they should do, they would undoe a 
 whole countrey; whereas, on the contrary, those 
 which are necessary and useful for mankind live 
 gregatim, in lieards and flocks, as kine, sheep, deer, 
 pigeons, partridges, geese, inc.
 
 112 NOTte OF A BOOKWORJI. 
 
 Manners of the Day. 
 
 To be drunk, swear, wencL, follow fashions, and 
 to do just nothing, are the attributes and marks 
 now adayes of a great part of our gentry. 
 
 Drinking and Pledging. 
 
 Witliin these fifty or three-score years, it was a 
 rare thing with us in England, to see a drunken 
 man, our nation carrying the name of the most 
 sober and temperate of any other in the world. 
 But since we had to do in the quarrel of the Nether- 
 lands, about the time of Sir John Norrice his first 
 being there, the custom of drinking or pledging 
 healths was brought over into England ; wherein let 
 the Dutch be their own judges, if we equall them 
 not ; yea, I think rather excell them. 
 
 Witticisms, 6^c. in Discourse. 
 
 In your discourse be free and affable, giving en>- 
 tertainment in a sweet and liberairmanner ; and with 
 a cheerfull courtesy, seasoning jomt talk at the 
 table, among grave and serious discourses, with 
 conceits of wit and pleasant invention, as ingenious 
 epigrams, emblems, anagrams, merry tales, witty 
 questions and answers, mistakings, 6cc., as a me- 
 lancholy gentleman sitting one day at table where 
 I was, started up upon the sudden, and meaning to 
 say, I must go buy a dagger, by transposition of the 
 letters, said, I must go dye a begger. 
 
 A plain countrey-man, being called at an assize 
 in Norfolk to be a witness about a piece of land that 
 was in controversy, the judge calling, said unto 
 him, '• Sirrah, how call you that water that runs
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 113 
 
 on the south side of this close'?" " My lord," 
 quoth the fellow, "our water conies icithout calling." 
 A poor soldier in Ereda, came one day in, and 
 set himself down at the nether end of the Prince 
 of Orange his table, as he was at dinner (whither 
 none might be privileged under the degree of a 
 gentleman, at least, to come). The gentleman- 
 usher of the prince demanded of him if he were 
 a gentleman : ** Yes," quoth the soldier, " my 
 father was a goldsmith at AntAverp." " But what 
 •can you do in your father's trade V — Quoth he, "I 
 -c«?i set stones — in mortar:" — for he was a bricklaier, 
 and helped masons in their works." — Henry 
 Peachcuu^s Conipleat Gentleman, 1661. 
 
 THE GHOST OF THE FATHER OF 
 VILLIEIIS, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 Mr. Towse, one night being in bed, and per- 
 fectly awake, with a light by him, as he usually 
 had, there came and stood by the bed-side an old 
 gentleman, in such a habit as was worn in Queen 
 Elizabeth's time, at whose first appearance he was 
 extremely surprised ; but after a little recollection, 
 he demanded of him in the name of God what he 
 was 1 He was answered, " The ghost of Sir George 
 Vilhers, father to the Duke of Buckingham, whom 
 he might well remember, since he went to school 
 
 with him at in Leicestershire." Upon which 
 
 Mr. Towse found that he had the perfect resem- 
 blance of his old friend. Sir George Villiers, and 
 the same habit he had often seen him wear in his 
 life-time. The apparition proceeded to tell him, 
 "that he could not but remember the great kind- 
 ness he had expressed to him, while he was his 
 fellow-scholar in Leiccsteriihire ; upon which con-
 
 114 XOTFS 01' A BOCJfWnUM, 
 
 sideration he believed he loved him ; therefore he 
 had made choice of him to deliver a message to 
 his son, to prevent such mischiefs, as vt'ould other- 
 wise prove his inevitable ruin." Then instructing 
 him in the message he was to deliver, Mr. Towse 
 shewed a great aversion to appear on such an un- 
 grateful errand, by which he should gain nothing 
 but reproach and contempt, and the name of a wild 
 enthusiast ; therefore desired to be excused from 
 the emplo}Tnent, But the apparition earnestly 
 pressed him to undertake it, assuring him, that the 
 circumstances and the discoveries he should make 
 of such passages, as were only known to the duke, 
 would make it appear, that the message was not 
 the fancy of a distempered brain, but a perfect 
 reality : and thus the apparition took his leave for 
 that night, telling him, " he would give him time 
 to consider, till the next night, and then receive 
 his answer, whether he would undertake the mes- 
 sage or no." Mr. Towse spent that day in great 
 trouble and perplexity, earnestly debating with 
 himself, whether he should venture upon this 
 strange undertaking ; but in conclusion, he resolved 
 to perform it ; and the next night he gave his 
 answer to the apparition accordingly, and received 
 his full instructions. 
 
 After which, Mr. Towse repaired to the court, 
 and found out Sir Thomas Bludder and Sir Ralph 
 Freeman, by whom he was brought to the Duke of 
 Buckingham, and he had several private and long 
 audiences with him. And Mr. Windham, the 
 relator, by tlie favour of his friend. Sir Edward 
 Savage, was once admitted to see him in a private 
 conference with the duke ; when, though he heard 
 not their very words, he observed great earnestness 
 in their actions and gestures. After which con- 
 ference, Mr. Towse told him, that the duke would
 
 NOTLS OF A EOOKWOnM. 115 
 
 not follow the advice that was given him, which 
 intimated, " the casting ofl", and the rejecting of 
 some men who had great interest in him, and his 
 performing some popular acts in the ensuing par- 
 liament ; for which parliament the duke desired 
 him to stand burgess ; but he utterly refused it, 
 aUedging, that unless his grace would follow his 
 directions, he must do him hurt if he sat in the 
 house." The duke confessed indeed, that he told 
 him those things which no creature knew but him- 
 self, and which none but God or the devil could 
 reveal to him ; and offered to have the king knight 
 him, and give him preferment. But he still refused 
 all offers, declaring, that unless he followed his 
 advice, he would receive nothing from him. Mr. 
 Towse having finished his relation, freely told Mr. 
 Windham, that the Duke would inevitably be 
 destroyed before the end of August. He likewise 
 informed liim, that he had written down the several 
 discourses he had with the apparition, whose coming 
 was now as familiar to him as the visits of a friend, 
 and particularly declared to him these strange pro- 
 phetic words, " That should by his counsels 
 
 be the author of great troubles to the kingdom, by 
 which it should be reduced to the very extremity 
 of disorder and confusion ; and that it should seem 
 past the hope of recover)', without a miracle : but 
 when all people were in despair of seeing happy 
 days, the kingdom should suddenly be restored and 
 resettled again in a most happy condition. Among 
 other particidars, sufficiently remarkable, Mr. Towse 
 also foretold the very time of his own death, which 
 happened not long after that of the duke, as his 
 wife afterwards assured the aforesaid Mr. Wind- 
 ham. — History of England, by Lawrence Echard, 
 Archdeacon of St owe, 1718.
 
 116 NOTKS OF A 1500KW0KW. 
 
 FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF THE ARABS, 
 
 The Arabs, who set little value on the lives of 
 mankind, respect their remains, and take the ut- 
 most care of their interment ; the want of it they 
 consider one of the greatest misfortunes that can 
 happen, and they die with composure when they 
 are certain of leaving some one behind them to 
 bury them. The severest punishment, therefore, 
 among them is to be cut to pieces, and throwTi to 
 the dogs. Their funeral ceremonies, as far as I 
 have had an opportunity to observe them, are as 
 follow: Scarcely has the Arab breathed his last, 
 when his body is carefully washed ; after which it 
 is wrapt up in a winding-sheet of white cloth, re- 
 served by the Arabs for that purpose. This cloth 
 is manufactured in the to"\vn of Arabia; but they 
 set a much higher value upon that which is 
 brought them by pilgrims from Mecca, and which 
 has been blessed by the principal Iman. This 
 benediction is expensive, it is true ; but the singu- 
 lar favours annexed to it, make them forget what 
 it costs. As soon as the dead body is purified, it 
 it laid upon a kind of litter, and is carried to the 
 place of interment, either on horseback, or by the 
 friends and relations of the deceased. While the 
 men are employed in digging the grave, the women 
 squat down in a circle around the body, which they 
 feel and uncover, and afterwards converse together 
 with much indifference ; but every now and then 
 they break off their discourse, to give vent to their 
 lamentations, to ask the body questions, to beseech 
 it, in the most earnest manner, to return again and 
 take up its abode amongst them, " Why," say they, 
 " has thou quitted us 1 Did we not prepare thy 
 coiircouson well 1 Alas ! shall thy children behold 
 thee no more ? At present, since thou has plunged
 
 NOTES OF A liOOKAVOhW. 117 
 
 them into sadness and woe, nothing remains for 
 them but to sigh and to weep. Ah ! return again 
 with us ; nothing shall he wanting to thee. But 
 ihou hearest us no more ; thou no longer givest us 
 an answer to our words ; thou hearest only our 
 sighs," (Sec. and other expressions of the same kind, 
 which I have often made the Arabs translate to me, 
 whilst I was assisting at these mournful ceremonies. 
 These dismal lamentations, which display a natural 
 and pathetic eloquence, would have a powerful 
 effect in moving the hearts of the spectators, did 
 they not see these very women a moment after, 
 throw aside that external appearance of the deepest 
 grief, talk and laugh together, and aftei-wards re- 
 turn to their former wailings. During these tender 
 complaints they tear their hair, and open the veins 
 of their temples with their nails, while the blood 
 trickles down, mingled with their tears^ and exhi- 
 bits' an appearance of the deepest despair. When 
 the gxave is finished, the body is deposited in it on 
 its side, and with the face turned towards the east. 
 One of their Papas puts into its hand a letter of 
 recommendation to ^lahomet ; after which a kind 
 of arch is formed over it with branches of trees, in 
 order that the earth may not touch it. When the 
 grave is covered with earth, other branches of trees 
 are laid over it, with a quantity of large stones, to 
 prevent savage animals from devouring the body in 
 the night time. In the middle of the stones an 
 opening is left, where they deposit earthen vessels, 
 and other family utensils ; but this is only done to 
 Arabs of a certiiin rank. Before they quit the grave, 
 they erect in the middle of it a kind of funeral iiag, 
 which is generally a piece of the clothes of the 
 deceased, fixed to the end of a stick. When the 
 ceremony is finished, each returns home ^\dth the 
 greatest tranquillity, and without showing in their
 
 118 NOTES OF A BOOKAVOHM. 
 
 exterior appearance, any signs of the melancholy 
 duty they had heen discharging. The nearest re- 
 lations and friends of the deceased go, from time to 
 time, and visit his tomb. They remove some stones 
 from it, and in part uncover the body, to see that 
 the person has not returned to life ; and when the 
 smell convinces them of the contrary, they renew 
 their wailings and lamentations as above described. 
 Some scatter a little lime over the stones, to make 
 this rude tomb look somewhat brighter. On every 
 holiday, the Arabs go in crowds to visit the tombs 
 of their dead, and to bedew them with their tears.. 
 — Poiret's Travels, 1773. 
 
 THE WOMEN OF ENGLAND. 
 
 The women here are generally more handsome 
 than in other places, sufficiently endowed with 
 naturall beauties, without the addition of adulter- 
 ate sophistications. In an absolute woman,^ say 
 the Italians, are required the parts of a Dutch- 
 w^oman, from the girdle downwards; of a French-' 
 woman, from the girdle to tlie shoulders : over 
 which must be placed an English face. As their 
 beauties, so also their prerogatives are greater than 
 any nation ; neither so servilely submissive as the 
 French, nor so jealously guarded as the Italian : 
 but keeping so true a decorum, that as England is 
 termed the Purgatorie of Servants, and the Hell of 
 Horses, so is it acknowledged the Paradise of Women, 
 And it is a common by-word amongst the Italians, 
 that if there were a bridge built across the tiarrow seas, 
 all the women in Europe would run into England, 
 Tor here they have the upper hand in the streets, 
 rhe upper place at the table, the thirds of their 
 husbands' estates, and their eqnall share of all lands ;
 
 NOTES OV A BOOKWOUM. 119 
 
 priviledges with which other women are not ac- 
 quainted. In high esteem in former times amongst 
 foreign nations, for the modestie and gravitie of 
 their conversation ; but of late so much addicted to 
 the light garb of the French, that they have lost 
 much of their antient honour and reputation amongst 
 knowing and more sober men of foreign countries 
 who before admired them. — Peter Heylms Cosmo- 
 graphie, 1652. 
 
 ENGLISH ALE AND BEER. 
 
 The usuall and naturall drink of the country is 
 Beer, so called from the French word boire, (for 
 wines they have not of their own groviTing ;) which, 
 without controversie, is a most wholesome and 
 nourishing beverage ; and being transported into 
 France, Belgium and Germany, by the work- 
 ing of the sea is so purged, that it is amongst 
 them in highest estimation, and celebrated by the 
 name of la bonneBeere d'Aiigleterre. And as for the 
 old drink of England, Ale, which cometh from the 
 Danish word oela, it is questionless in itself, (and 
 without that commixture which some are accustomed 
 to use with it,) a very wholesome drink : howsoever 
 it pleased a poet, in the reign of Henry III, thus 
 to descant on it : — 
 
 " Nescio quid monstrum Stygiae conforme paludi, 
 Cervisiam pleriq. vocant, nil spissius ilia, 
 Dnm tubitur, nil clarius est dum mingitur, ergo 
 Constat quod multas feces in ventre relinquit." 
 
 In English thus: 
 Of this strange drink, so like the Stygian lake. 
 Which men call Ale, I know not what to make. 
 Folk drink it thick and void it very thin. 
 Therefore much dregs must needs remain within-. 
 
 Heylin's Cosmoyraphie.
 
 120 NOTES OF A BOOEAVORM. 
 
 PRICES FOR SEATS AT CORONATIONS. 
 
 On consulting Stowe, Speed, and other antiqua- 
 ries, it appears that the price of a good place at the 
 coronation of William the Conqueror was a blank; 
 and probably the same at that of his son "William 
 Rufus. At that of Henry I. it was a crocard, and 
 at King Stephen's and Henry the second's a pollard. 
 At King Richard's and King John's, it was afuskin ; 
 and rose at Henry the Third's to a dodkin. In the 
 reign of Edward I. tne coins began to be more 
 intelligible ; and we find that for seeing his corona- 
 tion a Q was given, or the half of a ferling, or 
 farthing, which was, as now, the fourth part of a 
 sterling, or penny. At the coronation of Edward 
 II. it was a farthing ; and at that of Edward III. a 
 halfpenny, which was very generally given. In the 
 reign of Richard II. it was a penny, and continued 
 the same at that of Henry IV. But at that of 
 Henrj'- V.it was two pennies, or half of a o->wsi/s, or 
 groat; and the same at that of Henry VI. and of 
 Edward IV. ; nor do we find it raised at the coro- 
 nation of Richard III. or that of Henry VII. 
 
 At that of Henry VIII. it was the whole grossus, 
 or groat, nor was the price altered at those of 
 Edward VI. and Queen J^.Iary ; but at Queen Eliza- 
 beth's it was a teston, tester, or sixpence. At those 
 of James I. and Charles I. a shilling was given; 
 which sum was advanced to half a crown at the 
 coronations of Charles and James II. At King 
 "William's and Queen Anne's, it was a crown ; and 
 at George the First's the show was seen by many 
 at the same price. 
 
 At the coronation of George II. some gave half a 
 goiinea ; but at that of George III. and Queen 
 Charlotte, anno 1761, curiosity seems to have risen 
 to au amazing height. On this occasion tlie prices
 
 NOTF.S OF A BOOKWOUSI, 1^1 
 
 given for single seats were almost incredible ; in 
 some houses ten guineas, and in ordinary houses five 
 guineas. Great aud universal anxiety prevailed to 
 see this grand spectacle, from the reflection how 
 improbable it was that many who were tliere could 
 ever have an opportunity of witnessing the like 
 again. As an instance of this extreme anxiety, it 
 is confidently related, that a gentleman was pre- 
 vailed on to take a room for his lady, at the price 
 of one hundred and forty guineas ; but the appoint- 
 ment of the solemnity of the coronation falling 
 unluckily at the exact time when she expected to 
 be delivered, she actually further prevailed on her 
 husband to let a skilful man-midwife, nurse, 6cc. 
 attend her, and to hire another room, lest the hurry 
 of the day should bring on her labour, when it 
 miglit be impossible for her to be removed without 
 eudangering her life. — Manual of NobUitu. 
 
 CURIOUS CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 1077 — A blazing star on Palm Sunday, nere the 
 
 sun. 
 1100 — The yard (measure) made hy Henry I. 
 1116 — The moone seemed turned into bloud. 
 1128 — Men wore haire like women. 
 1180 — Paris in France, and London in Englande, 
 
 paued, and thatching in both left, because 
 
 all Luberick was spoiled thereby with fire. 
 liQ9 — Robin Hood, and Little John lived. This 
 
 yeare London obtained to be gouemed by- 
 
 sheriffes and maiors. 
 1205 — By reason of a frost from January to March, 
 
 wheat was sold for a marke the quarter, 
 
 which before was at 12 pence. Anno Regni 
 
 6. John.
 
 Jgg NOTES Of A BOnKWORM. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 1209 — London bridge builded with stone; and 
 this yeare the citizens of London had a grant 
 to choose them a maior. 
 1227 — The citizens of London had libertie to hunt 
 a certain distance about the citie, and to 
 passe toll-free through England. 
 1231 — Thunder lasted fifteen dales ; beginning 
 
 the morrow after St. Martin's day. 
 1233 — Four sunnes appeared, beside the true sunne, 
 
 of a red colour. 
 1235 — The Jews of Norwich stole a boy, and cir- 
 cumcised him, minding to have crucified 
 him at Easter. 
 1247 — The king farmed Queene-hiue for fifty 
 
 pounds per annum, to the citizens. 
 1252 — Great tempests upon the sea, and fearfull : 
 and this year the king (Henry III.) granted, 
 that where tofo re the citizensof London were 
 to present the maior before the king, where - 
 soeuer he were, that now barons of the 
 exchequer should serue. 
 1291 — The Jewes corrupting England with vsury, 
 had first a badge giuen them to weare, that 
 they might be knowne, and after were ba- 
 nished to the number of 150,000 persons. 
 1313' — This 3-eare the king of France burned all 
 his leporous and pocky people, as well men 
 as women : for that he supposed they had 
 poysoned the waters, which caused his le- 
 prosie. About this time, also, the Jews 
 had a purpose to poyson all the Christians, 
 by poysoning their springs. 
 1361 — Men and beasts perished in diners places 
 with thunder and lightning, and fiends were 
 seene speake unto men as they trauelled. 
 1372 —The first bailiffes, in Shrewsbury.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOfiM. 123 
 
 A.Z). 
 
 1386 — The making of gunnes found; and rebels 
 in Kent and Essex, who entred London, 
 beheaded all lawyers, and burnt houses and 
 all bookes of law. 
 
 1383 — Picked shooes, tyed to their knees with 
 siluer chaines, were vsed. And women with 
 long gownes rode on side-saddles, like the 
 queene, that brought side-saddles first to 
 England ; for before they rode astrid. 
 
 1401 — Pride exceeding in monstrous apparrell. 
 
 1411 — Guildhall in London begun. 
 
 1417 — A decree for lantherne and candle-light in 
 London. 
 
 1427 — Rain from the 1st of Aprill to HoUontide. 
 
 1510 — St. John's College in Cambridge being an 
 ancient hostell, was conuerted to a college 
 by the excecutors of the Countesse of Rich- 
 mond and Derby, and mother of Henry VII. 
 in this yeare, as her will was. 
 
 1552 — The new service book in English. 
 
 1555 — The first use of coaches in England. 
 
 1606 — The cawsies about London taken down. 
 
 1610 — Britaines Bursse builded. Hix Hallbuilded, 
 Algate builded new. Sutton's Hospitall 
 founded. Moore fields new railed and 
 planted with trees. Westminster palace 
 paued. — A Concordancie of Years, by Arthur 
 Hopton, 1615. 
 
 THE SILK-WORM 
 
 The Silk-worm is supposed to be a native of 
 
 China, at least the Chinese were the first people in 
 
 the world acquainted with the manufacture of silk. 
 
 It was little known in Europe before the time of 
 
 M *
 
 124 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 Augustus. Galen, -who lived about the year 160, 
 mentions silk as in use no where but at Rome, and 
 only among the rich. The emperor Heliogabalus, 
 who died in the year 220, is said to have been the 
 first mau that wore a holosericum, or dress made 
 wholly of silk : princes, as well as subjects of the 
 greatest quality, wearing only a stuff made of silk 
 mixed with other materials. In the time of Aure- 
 lian, silk was sold in Rome for its weight in gold, 
 and long continued to bear a great value, from the 
 expense attending the mode in which it was pro- 
 cured. The culture was afterwards established by 
 Justinian, from whence the Greeks derived it, who 
 prized it very highly ; as, about the year 790, 
 Charlemagne sent two vests as a present to Offa, 
 king of Mercia. About the year 1130, the silk 
 manufacture had made such progress in the island 
 of Sicily, as to excite the jealousy of the Venetians, 
 from its interfering with their importations of silks 
 from Greece. From Venice and Sicily the silk 
 manufacture spread through Italy, from whence it 
 was introduced into the southeni provinces of 
 France. The use of silk was introduced into this 
 country gradually, being at first confined to small 
 ornamental articles. In the year 1455, there ap- 
 pears to have been of a number silk women in Eng- 
 land, who most probably only used silk in em- 
 broidering and other kinds of needle-work. It 
 was not, however, introduced more generally till 
 about the year 1561, when Queen Elizabeth was 
 presented with a pair of black silk knit stockings, 
 with which she is said to have been so pleased, 
 that she never wore cloth hose afterwards.
 
 KOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 125 
 
 ?]gam^0 tie I^Uct^. 
 
 Oh ! trust me, there is not a glade, 
 A hill, a vale, a woodland shade. 
 Or nook round which the waters wind. 
 With which a tale is not entwined." 
 
 Gillet's Woodland Minstrel. 
 
 MARYLAND— PROVINCE OF, IN NORTH 
 AMERICA. 
 
 Lord Baltimore, In tlie reign of Charles L, 
 applied for a patent for part of Virginia, and in 
 1652 obtained a grant of a tract of land upon Che- 
 sapeak Bay, to which he gave the name of Mary- 
 land, in honour of the queen. 
 
 This nobleman was a Roman Catholic, and at- 
 tempted this settlement in America, with a view of 
 enjo;ying liberty of conscience for himself and for 
 some of his friends, to whom the severity of the 
 laws were obnoxious, which made them prefer an 
 easy banishment with freedom, to the conveniences 
 of England, embittered as they were by the sharp- 
 ness of the laws, and the popular odium that hung 
 over them. 
 
 VIRGIN ISLANDS, WEST INDIES. 
 
 The author (Mr. Suckling), is even misinformed 
 as to the origin of their present name, for he sup- 
 poses it was bestowed upon them by Sir F. Drake 
 in honour of Queen Elizabeth. But the fact is 
 that these islands were named Las Vivginesy by
 
 126 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 Columbus himself, who discovered them in 1493) 
 and gave them this appellation, in allusion to the 
 well known legend in the Romish Ritual, of the 
 11,000 virgins. — B. Edwards's West Indies, 1793. 
 
 COPENHAGEN — HAGUE. 
 
 Europe meantime f 13th century) polished apace. 
 Hafferia in Denmark was built, since called Copen- 
 hagen, or the town of trade. Copen means cheap- 
 ening, I have heard, and Hagen, a small aggre- 
 gate of houses, and hence the Hague in Holland, 
 the first village of the world. Quere, notwith- 
 standing, if it was not Copen-haven, a nearer 
 etymology, and 1 suppose it was. — Piozzi's Retro- 
 spection, 1809. 
 
 FANO, (ITALY.) 
 
 From Pesaro we proceeded to Fano, a little 
 town. It derives its name from a Temple of For- 
 tune (faniim fortunai), which stood here in the 
 time of the Romans. All the towns of Italy, 
 however religious they may be, are proud of their 
 connection with those celebrated heathens. An 
 image of the goddess Fortune is erected on the 
 fountain in the market-place, and the inhabitants 
 show some ruins which they pretend belong to the 
 ancient Temple of Fortune — Moore's Italy. 
 
 VENICE— WHENCE THE NAME. 
 
 About the middle of the 5th century, when 
 Europe formed one continued scene of violence and 
 bloodshed ; a hatred of tyranny, a love of liberty, 
 and a dread of the cruelty of barbarism, prompted
 
 KOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 127 
 
 the Veneti, a people inhabiting a small district of 
 Italy, a few of the inhabitants of Padua, and some 
 peasants who lived on the fertile banks of the Po, 
 to seek an asylum from the fury of Attla, amongst 
 the little islands and marshes at the bottom of the 
 Adriatic Gxilph. Before this time, some fishermen 
 had built small houses, or huts, on one of these 
 islands called Rialto. The city of Padua, with a 
 view to draw commercial advantages from this es- 
 tablishment, encouraged some of her inhabitants 
 to settle there, and sent every year three or four 
 citizens to act as magistrates.^ When Attla had taken 
 and destroyed Aquileia, great numbers from all the 
 neighbouring countries fled to Rialto, whose size 
 being augmented by new houses, took the name of 
 Venice, from the district from which the greater 
 number of the earliest refugees had fled, &c. — 
 Moore s Italy. 
 
 PADUA— WHENCE THE NAME. 
 
 Is derived from the river Padus (as some think), 
 which is not far from it, and it is likewise called 
 Patavium quasi Padavium. — Coryat's Crudities, 
 1611. 
 
 RICE BANK, CALAIS. 
 
 About the year 1540, Calais being in the hands 
 of the English, it happened that an English sea- 
 captain being at sea, took a barke offe Dunkirke 
 laden with rice ; which when he brought into 
 Calais haven, he acquainted the governor of the 
 town with it, who to reward him for his prize, took 
 but half the barke's lading to himself, and bestowed 
 the other half upon the sea-captain, and granted 
 him tliis favour besides, that for the better utterance
 
 128 NOTES OF A BOORWOKM. 
 
 of it, he should receive the ordinary pay of the 
 ordinary soldiers, which guarded a little fort stand- 
 ing in the sea between Calais haven, and instead of 
 the money v/hich was allowed them for their 
 victuals, he should find them with rice as long as 
 his bark's lading lasted ; Vv-hereupon the said little 
 fort has ever since been called the Rice Bank, of 
 the abundance of rice, buttered and boiled in pot- 
 tage, which at that lime was eaten in it. — Coryafs 
 Crudities, 1611. 
 
 BOIS-LE-DUC. 
 
 This city is situated in Dutch Brabant, on the 
 Dommel, which there receives the waters of the 
 Aa. Its name in the language of the country is 
 Hertogenbosh, the same meaning with Bois-le-duc, 
 i. e. the Duke wood, and was so called from its 
 being built in a woody country, where the Duke of 
 Brabant was accustomed to take the diversion of 
 hunting. Godfrey, Duke of Brabant, to put a stop 
 to the incursions of the Gueldrians into that coun- 
 try, commanded the wood to be cut down in the 
 year 1184, and laid the foundation of a city, which 
 was finished 1196, by his son Duke Henry, and 
 considerably enlarged in 1453. 
 
 MONMOUTH CLOSE. 
 Anecdote of the Duke of Monmouth. 
 
 On a large heath, called Shag's Heath, about a 
 mile and a half from Woodlands, in Horton parish, 
 Dorsetshire, is an ash tree, under which the un- 
 fortunate duke was apprehended. 
 
 The tradition of the neighbourhood is, that after 
 the defeat at Sedgemoor, the duke and Lord L\un-
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 129 
 
 ley quitted their horses at Woodyeats ; when the 
 former, disguised as a peasant, wandered hither. 
 He dropped his gold suufF-box in a pea-field, which 
 was afterwards found, full of gold pieces, and 
 brought to Mrs. Uredale of Horton. One of the 
 finders had fifteen pounds for half the contents or 
 value of it. The duke went on the island as it is 
 called, a cluster of small farms in the middle of 
 the heath, and there concealed himself in a deep 
 ditch, under the ash. 
 
 When the pursuers came up, a woman, who lived 
 in a neighbouring cot, gave information of his being 
 somewhere in the island, which was immediately 
 surrounded by soldiers, who passed the night there, 
 and tbreatened to fire the neighbouring cots. As 
 they were going away next morning, one of them 
 espied tlie brown skirt of the duke's coat, and 
 seized him. The soldier no sooner knew him, than 
 he burst into tears, and reproached himself for the 
 unhappy discovery. 
 
 The family of the woman who first gave the in- 
 formation, is said to have fallen into decay, and 
 never thriven afterwards. 
 
 The duke was carried before Anthony Ettrick, 
 of Holt, a justice of peace, who ordered him to 
 London. Being asked what he would do if set at 
 liberty 1 he answered, if his horse and arms were 
 restored, he only desired to ride through the army 
 and he defied them all to take him again. Farmer 
 Kearley's grand-mother, lately dead, saw him, and 
 described him as a black, genteel, tall man, with a 
 dejected countenance. 
 
 The close where he concealed himself is called 
 Monmouth Close, and is the extremest N. E. field 
 of the island. The tree stands in a hedge, on a 
 steep bank, and is covered with initials of the names 
 of persons who have been to visit it. — Addison's 
 Anecdotes, 1796.
 
 130 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 
 " Nay, nay ; Maister Wiseman ; tell us the etymon,---ihe 
 arigo~let us hear the ori(jin o't."— Old Play. 
 
 DOGE'S MARRYING THE SEA. 
 
 Mr. Hone iu his instructive and interesting 
 miscellany, the " Table Book," No. 15, p. 452, 
 says, 
 
 " The Doge of Venice, accompanied by the se- 
 nators, in the greatest pomp, marries the sea every 
 year. 
 
 ** Those v.'ho judge of institutions by their ap- 
 pearance only, think this ceremony an indecent and 
 extravagant vanity ; they imagine the Venetians 
 annually solemnize this festival, because they 
 heiieie themselves to he masters of the sea. But the 
 wedding of the sea is performed with the most 
 noble intentions. 
 
 " The sea is the symbol of the republic ; of 
 which the Doge is the first magistrate, but not the 
 master ; nor do the Venetians wish that he should 
 become so. Among the barriers to his domination, 
 they rank this custom, which reminds him that he 
 has no more authority over the republic, which he 
 governs with the senate, than he has over the sea, 
 notwithstanding the marriage he is obliged to cele- 
 brate with her. The ceremony symbolizes the 
 limits of his power, and the nature of his obliga- 
 tions !" 
 
 It is with a view of contrasting this statement 
 with the story that has more generally obtained
 
 KOTES OF A BOOKWORM* 1-31 
 
 belief, that we extract the following account of the 
 origin of this custom, from " Moore's Italy." 
 
 " On the 7th of May, 11/3, during the govern- 
 ment of Sebastiano Ziani, one of the doges, the 
 singular ceremony of espousing the sea was first 
 instituted. 
 
 " Pope Alexander the Third, to avoid the re- 
 sentment of the Emperor Frederic Barharossa, had 
 taken refuge at Venice and was protected by that 
 state. The haughty emperor was so indignant at 
 the safety afforded to his enemy, that the republic 
 deemed it politic to send ambassadors to reconcile 
 him to the pope ; but he would not listen to their 
 mediation. ' Go,' said he, ' and tell your prince 
 and people, that Frederic demands his adversary. 
 If they send him not, without delay, bound hand 
 and foot, he will accomplish his revenge, even 
 though he overturn all laws, human and divine : 
 hi$ arm}' shall be marched against your city, and he 
 will fix his victorious standards in your market-place, 
 which shall stream with the blood of its citizens.' 
 To repel this menaced attack, the gallant Ziani 
 ordered a fleet to be equipped ; but ere the arma- 
 ment was complete. Otho, the em-peror's son, ap- 
 peared before the city with a fleet of seventy-five 
 galleys. The doge, faithful to his honour, still 
 refused to resign the pope to the fury of the em- 
 peror ; and sailing with the few vessels that were 
 in readiness, he attacked, and after a very obstinate 
 engagement, completely defeated the invading 
 force ; Otho being taken prisoner, and forty-eight 
 of his vessels totally destroyed. The victorious 
 doge, returning in triumph, was met on the beach 
 by Pope Alexander, surrounded by the senate and 
 the citizens, who made the shores resound with 
 their joyful greetings. The pope embraced his pro- 
 tector, and, when silence was obtained, thus ad-
 
 132 NOTES OF A HOOKWORM. 
 
 dressed him : * Take this,' said he, presenting hint 
 with a ring, * use it as a chain, and restrain the sea 
 henceforth in subjection to the Venetian empire. 
 Espouse the sea with this ring, and let the mar- 
 riage be solemnized annually, by you and your 
 successors, to the end of time, that the latest pos- 
 terity may know that Venice has acquired tlie 
 empire of the waves, and that the sea is subjected 
 to you, even as a wife is unto her husband.' 
 
 " As this speech came from the head of 
 the church, people were not surprised to find 
 it a little mysterious; and the multitude, with- 
 out considering whether it contained much reason 
 or common sense, received it with the greatest 
 applause. The marriage has been regularly cele- 
 brated every year since." — Moore's Italy. 
 
 HARLOTS— WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 Falaise, upon the river Ante, once of strength 
 and note, was the dwelling place of Arlette, or 
 Arlotte, a skinner's daughter, and the mother of 
 William the Conqueror : whom Duke Robert, pas- 
 sing through the toyra, took such notice of, (as he 
 beheld her in a dance amongst other damosells,) that 
 he sent for her to accompany him that night in bed, 
 and begot on her William the Bastard, Duke of 
 Normandy, and King of England. Her immodesty 
 that night was said to be so great, that either in 
 regard thereof, or in spite of her sonne, the English 
 called all strumpets by the name of Harlets, or Hav' 
 lots, the word continuing to this day. — Heylins 
 Cosmographie, 1652.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 133 
 
 ORIGIN OF MACARONISM. 
 
 The following is said to be the origin of that 
 once popular folly, macaronism. 
 
 Folengio Theophilus, of JVIantua, known also by 
 the title of jNIerlin Coocaye, an Italian poet, wrote 
 a poem, the name of which was long after adopted 
 for all trifling performances of the same species. 
 It consisted of buflfoonery, puns, anagrams, wit 
 without wisdom, and humour without good grace, 
 and was called, " The JMacaroni," from the Italian 
 cakes of the same name, which are &weet to the 
 taste, but have not the smallest degree of alimen- 
 tary virtue : on the contrary, they pall the appetite 
 and cloy the stomach. These idle poems soon 
 became the reigning taste in Italy and in France. 
 They gave birth to Macaroni Academies, and reach- 
 ing England, to IMacaroni Clubs, till at last, every 
 thing insipid, contemptible, or rediculous, in the 
 character, dress, or behaviour, of both men and 
 women, was summed up in the despicable appel- 
 lation of a " Macaroni," which was long, in parti- 
 cular, the common appellation of that most insipid, 
 contemptible, and ridiculous character, an effemi- 
 nate coxcomb. — The Collector, 1793. 
 
 A WILD GOOSE CHASE. 
 The origin of the proverbial expression, a Wild 
 Goose Chase, appears to be this : At one period in 
 the history of the turf, whichever of two horses 
 after running twelve score yards, could take the 
 lead, had liberty to ride what ground the lockey 
 pleased, the hidermost horse being bound to fol- 
 low him, wnthin a certain distance previously agreed 
 on ; and he that could distance the other won the
 
 134 NOTES or A BOOKWORM. 
 
 race. This was called a wild goose chase, but the 
 practice soon stopped, for when two good horses 
 were matched, neither was able to distance the 
 other, till both were ready to sink under their 
 riders ; both horses were often spoiled, and the 
 wager forced to be drawn at last. It is easy then 
 to see, why a pursuit in which great fatigue is 
 incurred, and no object obtained, should be called 
 a Wild Goose Chase. — Pocket Encyclopedia, 1802. 
 
 CRONE, OR CRONEY. 
 
 Cronie (from cronus), a contemporary disciple, 
 or intimate companion, between a servant and a 
 friend, a confident; and perhaps may have this 
 ancient etymology : Diodorus the philosopher was 
 schollar to Apollonius Cronus, after whom he was 
 called Cronus, the name of the master being trans- 
 mitted to the disciple. — Blount's Dicty. 1681. 
 
 DRUID — WHENCE THE NAME. 
 
 The Druids, who were the priests and philoso- 
 phers of the Celts, had their name from the word 
 Druidh, which in their language signifies wise men ; 
 and is still the Gaelic term for natural philosophers 
 or magicians. 
 
 The common derivation given to Druid has been 
 from dpvs an oak. This was perhaps a natural 
 thought to such as were better acquainted with the 
 Greek than the Celtic tongue, but they should con- 
 sider, that the Druids had probably their name 
 before the Greek language, (of which a part is de- 
 rived from the Celtic), had existed. — Gaelic An- 
 tiquities, by J. Smith, 1780.
 
 KOTKS OF A bookwohm. 135 
 
 ARSENAL — WHENCE THE TERM. 
 
 I was at the Arsenall, which is so called quasi 
 ars navalis, because there is ex^cised the art of 
 making tackling, and all other necessary things for 
 shipping. — Coryat's Crudities, 1611. 
 
 BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. 
 
 The dish so called ought to be made of boiled 
 beef and cabbage, and both afterwards /ried ; and 
 is supposed to have acqmred that name from the 
 ingredients in the first instance bubbling in the pot, 
 and afterwards squeaking in the pan. 
 
 KILL DEVIL— WHY RUM PUNCH SO 
 CALLED. 
 
 Rum punch is not improperly called kill devil, 
 for thousands lose their lives by its means. — His' 
 tory of Jamaica, 1740. 
 
 COWARD — WHENCE THE TERM. 
 
 Agillarius, in ancient law books, signifies a 
 Hey ward, or keeper of a herd of cattle in a common 
 field. 
 
 The Agillarious, or Heyward of a town, or vil- 
 lage, was to supervise the greater cattle, or common 
 herd of beasts, and keep them within due bounds, 
 and was otherwise called Bubulcus, q. d. Cow-ward, 
 whence the reproachful term Coward, — Br. Rees's 
 Cyclopedia,
 
 136 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 DOIT, HE IS NOT WORTH A DOIT, &c. 
 
 DoiTKix, or doit, was a base coin of small value* 
 proliibited by the Stat. 3. Henry V. c. 1. We still 
 retain the phrase, in saying, when we would under- 
 value a man, "that he is not worth a doit." — 
 Jacob's Law Diet. 
 
 FILBERT. 
 
 Mr. Marshall in his ingenious work, entitled 
 " The Rural Economy of the Southern Counties, 
 1798," has the following note, viz. 
 
 Filbert. This is merely of the hazel. In some 
 provincial dialects I have heard it called " full 
 beard," and the fruit " full beards." Is not this 
 the etymon 1 
 
 ROOKING — AVHY THAT EXPRESSION 
 rOR CHEATING. 
 
 Whex rooks make their nests, one of the pair 
 alwaj-s sits by to watch it, while the other goes to 
 fetch materials to build it. Else, if both go, and 
 leave it unfinished, their fellow-rooks, before they 
 return again, will have carried away, toward their 
 several nests, all the sticks and materials they had 
 got together. Hence perhaps Rooking for cheating 
 and abusing. — Ray's Proverbs.
 
 NOTES OF A KOOKWORM. 137 
 
 SPIT — AS TWO SPIT DEEP, &c. 
 
 Spade-bit, the quantity of soil raised by one 
 effort of the spade ; is perhaps the etymon of Spit, 
 — Provincialisms of the Midland Counties. Mar- 
 ihaWs Rural Economy. 
 
 THIMBLE. 
 
 Mi>fSHEw supposes thimble to be a corruption of 
 thumb-bell. 
 
 TRIDENT 
 
 Is the sceptre which poets and painters put into 
 the hands of Neptune. It is in the form of a spade 
 or fork, with three prongs or teeth ; hence the name. 
 The poets inform us that Neptune by striking the 
 ground with this trident, could throw the globe into 
 convulsions, and produce an earthquake. It was 
 an emblem of his power over the sea, the fresh 
 waters, and the sub teraneous waters. — Archceolo- 
 gical Diet. 
 
 TURNPIKES. 
 
 Were originally formed with a cross of two 
 bars, armed at the end with pikes, turning on a pin, 
 and fixed to prevent the passage of horses, &c. 
 Hence the term. — Rider.
 
 138 NOTES OF A BOOXWORM. 
 
 Bou^ on Bsitat^. 
 
 In a humorous " Dissertation on the Names of 
 Persons," published in 1822, it is remarked, how 
 common it is to find names, among the English, 
 expressive of the very reverse of the character or 
 qualities of those whom they are intended to 
 designate. 
 
 The following list of names of this description ia 
 then given. 
 
 " We have a iNIr. Light, whose weight is only 
 one stone less than that of the memorable Lambert ; 
 a Miss Ewe, who is the tenderest and most innocent 
 lamb in the universe ; a ]\Ir. Plot, whenever thought 
 in his life; and a Madame L'Eitrange, who is the 
 commonest woman upon the town. One of the 
 fairest ladies in the world ia Mrs. Blackmore ; and 
 one of the fattest men ;Mr. Lean. Mr. Wiseman is, 
 without exception, the greotest fool in the neigh- 
 bourhood in which he resides ; and Price is noto- 
 riously the name of a man of no price or value 
 whatever. 
 
 " This populous city has been known to afford a 
 very honest parson Hell, and Mr. Death a very 
 ingenious apothecary. 
 
 " We never yet knew a JMr. Short who was much 
 under six feet in height ; and the friends of the two 
 families swear that INIr. Goodchild broke the hearts 
 of his father and mother, and drove another of his 
 nearest relations to distraction, by his wicked and 
 undutiful behaviour ; wliileMr. Thoroughgood turned 
 out a complete rogue and vagabond at fifteen years 
 of age, and was transported at the expence of 
 govemment at five and twenty. Mr. Gotobed
 
 KOTES or A BOOKWORM. 139 
 
 is never so happy as when he can sit up all 
 night smoking and drinking. Mr. Hogg is so par- 
 ticularly cleanly and neat in his person as to be the 
 admiration of all his acquaintance. Mr. Armstrong 
 has scarcely physical power in either of his arms to 
 dance his own baby for five minutes ; and ^Ir. 
 Ptaiffair is a notorious sharper. Mrs. Small is 
 reported to be the lustiest woman in the three king- 
 doms. The only jNIr. Halfpenny the world is at 
 present acquainted with, is not worth a farthing. 
 Many years have not elapsed since Horace drew 
 beer at an ale-house in Wapping, and Homer was 
 particularly famous for curing sore legs. JNlrs. Fury 
 is, perhaps, the quietest woman in Europe; Mrs. 
 Prate, as is well known, has been always deaf 
 and d-umb ; j\Ir. Nightingale has a worse voice than 
 a raven; Mr. Lightfoot has lost one of his legs, and 
 got the gout in the other ; and poor Mrs. Ogle was 
 born blind. 
 
 It is with sincere regret that we find ourselves 
 able to add to this list, that we know a Dean, who 
 is a common prostitute — a Bishop, who is little bet- 
 ter than a knight of the post — and an Abbot, that 
 loves blasphemy even better than venison. 
 
 One of the most miserable females we ever knew 
 was JMiss Felicity Bliss ; and one of the most happy, 
 because successful in her every pursuit, was Miss 
 Perdita Luckless. It is not more true, that the ge- 
 neral acceptation of the term •' a sad dog," is a 
 merry fellow, than that jMr. Dismal is as pleasant 
 and jovial an individual as any in his Britannic Ma- 
 jesty's dominions. We do not know so poor and 
 mean-spirited a wight in the world, nor one more 
 fond of French kickshaws, than Mr. John Bull ; 
 Mr. Bloodworth is so pitiful a fellow, as to be worth 
 uo man's resentment ; and Mr. Keicbegin, we fear, 
 will never leave oflf his old courses.
 
 140 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 To palliate duluess, and give time a shove." 
 
 Cowper. 
 
 MICHAELMAS EVE; OR, THE ANSERINE 
 MASSACRE. 
 
 Gander Soltjs. 
 
 *' The welkin low'rs, and clouds obscure the day, 
 Portentous sights announce disasters rife, 
 A culinary host in dread array 
 
 Appears, with napkin'd head, and uplift knife. 
 
 " O'er stubbles, commons, fens, hills, dales, we fly. 
 In bams and stables seek for aid in vain ; 
 Our arts and tricks these murderous cooks defy. 
 And destin'd hecatombs are yearly slain. 
 
 " At Plutus'* fanes the altars soon will smoke, 
 To him they oflFer up our very soals,j 
 His future blessings merrily invoke. 
 
 In sparkling goblete and fuU-flowing bowls. 
 
 " Hard fate ! that we, whose sacred tonguej decreed 
 Safety to Rome, to enemies consigned. 
 Should by such hands profane untimely bleed. 
 And leave no traces of our fame behind ! 
 
 * Geese are eaten by some at Michaelmas, " that they 
 may not want money through the year." 
 
 t The greatest delicacy of a goose. 
 
 t The sacred geese, kept in the capitol of Rome, by their 
 cackling alarmed the scntries'in the moment of imminent 
 danger, and thereby the capitol was saved.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 141 
 
 Where are ye, Romans ! erst so famed in arms. 
 Whose force repelled these natives from their 
 coast ? 
 No legions now protect us from alarms. 
 
 They come — they conquer — and they rule the 
 roast !" 
 
 Thus sung the prophesying hird of Jove, 
 
 When o'er his neck appeared the bloody knife ; 
 
 The Parcocs' shears to shun in vain he strove. 
 So gave to sage and apple sauce his life. 
 
 Newspaper, 28th Sept. 1780. 
 
 DIALOGUE BETWEEN ECHO AND A 
 GLUTTON. 
 
 The following lines, written in the year 1609, 
 are said to have induced Butler to pursue the same 
 idea in his Hudibras. 
 
 Dialogue. 
 
 Glutton. — My belly I do deify. 
 
 Echo. — Fie ! ^ 
 
 CI. — Who curbs his appetite's a fool. 
 
 Ecfto. — Ah! fool! 
 
 G/. — I do not like this abstinence. 
 
 Eeho. — Hence ! 
 
 Gl. — JNIy joy's a feast, my %Aash is wine. 
 
 Echo. — Swine ! 
 
 GL — We epicures are happy truly. 
 
 Echo. — You lie. 
 
 Gl. — May I not, Echo, eat my fill ! 
 
 Echo. — m. 
 
 Gl. — Will it hurt me if I drink too much ? 
 
 Echo. — Much.
 
 14S NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 Gi.— Thou mock'st me njnnph, I'll not be- 
 lieve it. 
 
 Echo. — Believe it. 
 
 Gl. — Do'st thou condemn, then, what I do! 
 Echo. — I do. 
 
 GL — Is it that which brings infirmities'! 
 Echo. — It is. 
 
 GL — Then, sweetest temperance, I'll love 
 thee. 
 
 Echo, — I love thee. 
 
 GL — If all be true which thou do'st tell. 
 
 To gluttony I bid farewell. 
 Echo. — Farewell. 
 
 ANCIENT CUSTOM. 
 
 Among the ancient customs of this country, one 
 of matchless absurdity was continued even to so 
 late a period as the reign of George the First. 
 During lent, an ancient officer of the crown, styled 
 the King's Cock Croiver, crowed the hour each night, 
 within the precincts of the palace. On the Ash 
 Wednesday after the accession of the House of 
 Hanover, as the Prince of Wales, afterwards George 
 the Second, sat down to supper, this officer abruptly 
 entered the apartment, and in a voice resembling 
 the shrill pipe of a cock, crowed *' past ten o'clock." 
 The astonished prince, at first conceiving it to be 
 a premeditated insult, rose to resent the affront ; 
 but upon the nature of the ceremony being ex- 
 plained to him, he was satisfied. Since that period, 
 this silly custom, which was introduced to remind 
 the court of their errors, by that clarion which 
 called back Peter to repentance, has been discoD^ 
 tinued.
 
 VOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 143 
 
 ANECDOTE OF MR. PITT. 
 
 A CERTAIN lady of quality is said to have applied 
 to Mr. Pitt, to know if her dear little Pompey and 
 Chloe, came under the meaning of the dog tax, they 
 being both females, and, like herself, two far ad- 
 vanced in life to increase the breed. The minister's 
 answer was extremely neat : " Madam," said he, 
 '• as times are, there is no trusting to age, especially 
 in females^'' 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 Lord Commissioner JMajTiard was a very old 
 man when he waited on the Prince of Orange (Wil- 
 liam the Third), to congratulate him on his safe ar- 
 rival in England. " Sir," said the Prince, " you 
 must have survived all the great lawyers of your 
 time." — " I should. Sir," replied he, " have out- 
 lived the law too, had not your Royal Highness 
 visited these kingdoms." 
 
 JEW PRINCIPLES. 
 
 Jacob Lyons, a jew, on his cross-examination 
 some years back, in the Court of King's Bench, 
 being asked if it was not against his religion to 
 traffic on the Sabbath 1 replied, " he had not fol- 
 lowed his religion a great while, having got nothing 
 by it."
 
 144 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 THE MISER'S PRAYER. 
 
 Oh ! Lord, thou knowest that I have nine 
 houses in the city of London, and likewise that I 
 have lately purchased an estate in fee-simple, in 
 the county of Essex ; I beseech thee to preserve the 
 two counties of Middlesex and Essex from fire and 
 earthquakes : and as I have a mortgage in Hertford* 
 shire, I beg of thee likewise to have an eye of com- 
 passion on that county j and for the rest of the 
 counties in England, thou may'st deal with them 
 as thou art pleased. 
 
 Oh ! Lord, enable the banks to answer all their 
 bills, and make all ray debtors good men. Give a 
 prosperous voyage and return to the INIermaid 
 sloop, which I have insured ; and as thou hast said 
 that the days of the wicked shall be but short, I 
 trust in thee that thou wilt not forget thy promise, 
 as I have purchased an estate in reversion, which 
 will be mine on the death of that most wicked and 
 profligate young man. Sir J. L. Keep our friends 
 from sinking, and grant that there may be no sink- 
 ing funds. Keep my son Caleb out of evil com- 
 pany, and gaming-houses ; and preserve me from 
 thieves and housebreakers, and make all my ser- 
 vants so honest and faithful, that they may attend 
 to my interest only, and never cheat me out of my 
 property, night nor day. Amen. 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 James the Second said, one day, to Mr. Clifton, 
 " I do not know how it is, but a modest man never 
 makes his way at Court." — " Please your Majesty, 
 whose fault is that?" replied Mr. Clifton.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 145 
 
 " We may read, and read, and read again ; and still glean 
 something new, something to please, and something to 
 instruct." — Hurdis. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF NELL GWYNN. 
 
 Ellen Gwynn or Gijyn, had little or no edu- 
 cation. It appears from the "State Poems" that 
 slie was horn in a night-cellar, sold fish about the 
 streets, rambled from tavern to tavern, entertaining- 
 tlie company after dinner and supper witli songs, 
 Iier voice being very agreeable ; was next taken 
 into the house of Madam Ross, a noted courtesan ; 
 admitted afterwards into the Theatre Royal, as 
 early as the year 1667, (see the drama of the 
 Maiden Queen, and others of Drj^den's pla^-s for 
 ten years successively) ; was mistress botla to Hart 
 and Lacey, two famous actors, and kept by one 
 Buckhurst, whom Charles II. sent on a sleeveless 
 errand to France, in order to favour his approach to 
 lier. From that period she began to be pretty well 
 known, and is mentioned by Burnet and other his- 
 torians. 
 
 There is nothing by which it appears that Lord 
 Rochester was ever enamoured of her. Mrs. 
 Barry was his passion, and jNIrs. Botel antecedently 
 to lier, at the time when Gwynn trod the stage. 
 
 The king is said to have fallen in love with her 
 on her speaking the epilogue of Tyrannical Love, 
 which seems to have been written by Dryden on 
 purpose. Nelly was highly favoured by Dryden. 
 For many years' he gave her the most showy and 
 fantastic parts in his comedies. It looked as if he 
 o
 
 146 XOTES OF A EOOKWOKM. 
 
 played her at the monarch for a considerable time ; 
 since, not to mention the epilogue last spoken of, 
 he wrote on purpose for her an equally whimsical 
 and spirited prologue, prefixed, as is thought, to 
 Aurengzehe. At the other house, (viz. the duke's, 
 under Killigrew's patent), Nokes had appeared in 
 a hat larger than Pistol's, which gave the town 
 wonderful delight, and by its effect alone, actually 
 supported a bad play (perhaps Mamamouchi, or the 
 Citizen turned Gentleman, a comedy by Ravens- 
 croft). Dry den, much piqued at this, caused a 
 hat to be made of the circumference of a hinder 
 coach-wheel ; and as Nelly was low of stature, and 
 what the French call mignonne et piqiiante, he made 
 her speak under the umbrella of this hat, the brims 
 thereof being spread out horizontally to their full 
 extension. The whole theatre was in convulsions ; 
 and the very actors giggled. Judge, therefore, 
 what a condition the merriest "prince alive was in at 
 such a conjuncture. It was far beyond odso ! and 
 odsfish ! for lie wanted but little of being suffocated 
 with laughter. 
 
 Madam Ellen (as she was styled in the drama, 
 after she was declared the king's mistress), does 
 not appear to have had any great turn for tragedy, 
 one of her biographers stating, that he does not 
 recollect her in any part of moment, but that of 
 Valeria in Tyrannic Love, to which Dryden raised 
 her, partly through partiality, and partly from its 
 being necessary for her to die in that play, in order 
 afterwards to rise and speak the epilogue. In 
 comedy she was more excellent ; nevertheless she 
 must not be ranked as an actress with the Quins, 
 Davenports, Marshalls, Botels, Bettertons, and 
 Lees, diL sitcle d'or de Charles Ih which was in its 
 highest lustre from 1665 to 1678. But of what the 
 French call enjotie, she was a complete mistress, —
 
 NOIES OF A COOEWORM. 147 
 
 airy, fantastic, coquettish, 8prightlj, singing, 
 daucing ; mode for slight showy parts, and filling 
 them up, Hs far as possible, with great effect : as 
 witness Florimel, in the Maiden Queen (to which 
 she spoke the epilogue), Jacinta, in the Mock As- 
 trologer, &c. 
 
 It is highly probable that INIadam Ellen might 
 have made a much more decent figure in life, had 
 her birth and education been more fortunate ; for 
 ishe possessed, naturally, many good qualities, which 
 no human disadvantages could quite destroy. She 
 had no avarice ; when her power increased, she 
 served all her theatrical friends ; she shewed par- 
 ticular gratitude to Dryden ; and valued eminent 
 writers, as Lee, Otway, &o. She was almost the 
 only mistress of tho king who was guilty of no 
 infidelity towards him ; nor did she relapse after 
 his decease. Endowed with natural sagacity and 
 wit, she made no ill use of them at court, 
 j>aid no attention to ministers, nor ever acted as 
 their creature. Her charities were remarkable ; 
 and, what was singular, she pi<iued herself on her 
 regard for the Church of England, contrary to the 
 genius of tlie court. 
 
 Once as she was driving up Ludgate Hill in a 
 superb coach, some bailiffs were hurrying a clergy- 
 man to prison : she stopped, and having sent for 
 the persons whom the clergyman named as being 
 competent to speak to his character, and found from 
 their account that he was an object of compassion ; 
 she discharged hLs debt instantly, and afterwards 
 obtained him preferment. 
 
 She was by far the most popular of all the king's 
 mistresses. ' An eminent goldsmith related, that 
 when he was an apprentice he well recollected 
 that his master had to make a most expensive ser- 
 vice of plato, as a present from the king to the 
 o 2
 
 1-18 NOTES OF A EOOKWORSI. 
 
 Duchess of Portsmouth. He remembered per- 
 fectly that an inlinite number of people crowded 
 to the shop out of mere curiosity ; that they threw 
 out a thousand ill wishes against the duchess, and 
 wished the silver was melted and poured down her 
 throat ; but added, that it was ten thousand pities 
 his majesty had not bestowed this bounty on Madam 
 Ellen. 
 
 Her picture, painted by Lely and others, pro- 
 nounced her to be very beautiful, though low in 
 stature and red-haired. A bust of her was for- 
 mermerly to be seen at Bagnigge Wells, which, 
 though coarsely executed, proved her to have been 
 what the French call emhmpoint. This place was 
 formerly one of her country houses, where the king 
 and Duke of York frequently visited, and where 
 she often entertained them with concerts, &c. 
 
 THE REQUISITES OF A BUFFOON. 
 
 The office of buftbon is not the easiest in the 
 world, nor is every body capable of acting in that 
 capacity. No man can be a buflfoon at his own 
 pleasure ; he must be qualified for that avocation 
 by nature, and be born with the talents necessary for 
 it : and as there is nothing so fooUsli and ridiculous, 
 and which one would more avoid, than a sorry buf- 
 foon, so, to make a good one, tbe most lively and 
 brilliant wit and humour are requisite, accompanied 
 by a natural impudence, and wisdom and judgment 
 sufficient to tell a tale, or crack a jest apropos. It 
 is also indispensable that the man who acts the 
 buffoon should be thoroughly acquainted with the 
 humour and character of the person whom he en- 
 deavours to divert, as well as with the peculiarities 
 of him at whose expense he diverts him j time and
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 119 
 
 Vlace must be always considered ; he should be 
 acquainted with the most secret alFairs, have a good 
 memory, with boldness, even to impudence to attack 
 that particular class of men whom every body else 
 worships, and who are never named but with 
 reverence. Added to all this must be a certain 
 peculiarity of air and gesture ; he must be able to 
 writhe himself into a thousand diiFereut postures, 
 if necessary ; and have so great a freedom of speech, 
 that his tongue and words must never fail him. 
 These indispensable accomplishments are not to 
 be learned by art in a man's lifetime, if nature have 
 not given him a genius for buffoonery'. In short, 
 all tlie qualities of an excellent comedian are 
 requisite for a good bufl'oon ; and even these will 
 not suffice, if he have not besides a ready and a 
 dexterous hand. The venting of extempore jests 
 is the most difficult task of any ; and the sure:5t 
 wa}' to put a jester by trade out of countenance, be 
 his address what it may, is to bid him say some- 
 ting presently and off-hand that shall make you 
 laugh. Thus Cisneros, a famous comedian, con- 
 ferring with his companion Moncancs on the sub- 
 ject of the king's having sent specially for them 
 as the two most excellent buffoons of their times, 
 said to him : " I believe, friend, it will not be amiss 
 if we furnish ourselves with some pretty repartees 
 and jests, that we may not be at a nonplus, and so 
 lose our reputation, when we get to court ; for as 
 soon as we arrive there, the king will certainly ask 
 us whether we are INIoncanos and Cisneros, to 
 which, as I shall give you the honour of speaking 
 first, as being the elder, you will of course answer 
 yes ; if his majesty should then have a mind to try 
 us by commanding us to say or do something on 
 tlie spot to make him laugh, what shall we say to 
 him ?" — " Say to him 1 Why, what should we say 1"
 
 150 NOTiS OF A EOOKWORM. 
 
 quoth Monconos, " but that our paiicaJie i$ not yet 
 fried ?" And Moncanos was in the right on't, and 
 talked like one who understood his business, and 
 knew well that a man cannot at all times make a 
 jest in the twinkling of an eye : it must be the ef- 
 fect of wit or chance ^ and though a man be actually 
 bom a buffoon, he will find it a hard matter to be 
 so much a master of his mirth, as to be able at any 
 time on demand to make another laugh. Some- 
 times the more he may desire to accomplish this, 
 the less able he shall find himself. — Mateo Aleman's 
 Guzman d'Alfarache, 1701. 
 
 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONSTI- 
 TUTION AND GOVERNMENT. 
 
 There is nothing more common than for the gene- 
 rality of people to confound the distinction between 
 Constitution and Government, under one and the 
 same signification, and to look upon them as syno- 
 nymous terms ; whereas, in realit}'-, there is a very 
 wide diflference between them. By Constitution 
 we mean, whenever we speak with propriety, that 
 assemblage of laws, institutions, and customs, de- 
 rived from certain fixed principles of reason, and 
 directed to certain fixed objects of public good, that 
 compose the general system, according to which 
 the community hav^e agreed to be governed. By 
 Government is meant, that particular tenor of con- 
 duct which a chief magistrate, and those under his 
 direction and influence, hold in the administration 
 of public affairs. We call that a good government, 
 when the execution of the laws, the observation 
 of the institutions and customs, in short, the whole 
 administration of public affairs, is wisely pursued, 
 and in strict conformity with the principles and
 
 NOXtS Ol' A lUJOKWOUM. 151 
 
 objecia of the constitution. We cdl that, on the 
 contrary, a bad government, when it is administered 
 on other principles, and directed to other objects, 
 either wickedly or weakl}^ ; either by obtaining new 
 laws which want this conformity, or by perverting- 
 old ones which had it. And when this is done 
 without law, or in open violation of the law, we 
 term it a tj^rannical government. 
 
 In a word, constitution is the rule by which our 
 ministers ought to govern at all times. Govern- 
 ment is that by which they actually Jo govern at 
 any particular time. The one may remain immu- 
 table ; the other may, and, as human nature is con- 
 stituted, must vary. And in this light, constitution 
 is tlie true criterion by which, at all times, and at 
 all seasons, we are justly empowered to try the go- 
 vernment of ministers. 
 
 A ROMAN FINE GENTLEMAN WITH HIS 
 TRAVELLING EQUIPAGE. 
 T. ViDiL's PoLLio, wholly immersed in pleasure* 
 was making the tour of the Asiatic towns for his 
 recreation. The Reman method of travelling was 
 on horseback, but Vidius rod£ in his four-wheeled 
 chaise, followed by a couple of covered waggons, 
 carrying his kitchen, tents, beds, and all the instru- 
 ments of luxury. A litter, or hand-chair, likeAvise 
 attended his pleasure, when he had a mind to ex- 
 change the jolting of a chaise for a smoother car- 
 riage ; otherwise the chair was occupied by a 
 baboon he carried about to divert him. These four 
 vehicles, with a great train of servants, and several 
 wild asses, either for their milk or colts (for a suck- 
 ling of this species was reckoned a dain,ty), made 
 up his equipage.
 
 152 NOTES OF A nooKwounf. 
 
 SEVERE FROSTS, 
 From A.D. 220 to A.D. 1785. 
 
 In the year 220, a frost in Britain, which lasted 
 five montlis. 
 
 In 250, the Thames was frozen over nine weeks. 
 
 In 291, most of the rivers in Britain were frozen 
 six weeks. 
 
 In 359, there was a severe frost in Scotland, 
 Avhich lasted fourteen weeks. 
 
 In 401, the Euxine sea was frozen over for 
 twenty days. 
 
 In 508, there was so severe a frost all over Bri- 
 tain, that the rivers were frozen up for above two 
 months. 
 
 In 558, there happened so severe a frost that the 
 Danube was quite frozen over. 
 
 In 695, the Thames was frozen over for six 
 weeks, when booths were built on it. 
 
 In 763, a great frost at Constantinople, began in 
 October and lasted till Februar}' ; the two seas 
 there were frozen 100 miles from shore. 
 
 In 827, a great frost in England, which lasted 
 nine weeks. 
 
 In 854, carriages were used on the Adriatic sea. 
 
 In 908, most of the rivers in England were frozen 
 over for two months. 
 
 In 923, the Thames was frozen over for thirteen 
 weeks. 
 
 In 987, a frost that lasted 120 days, beginning 
 December 22. 
 
 In 998, the Thames was frozen over for five 
 weeks. 
 
 In 1035, a frost on Midsummer day, so severe 
 that the corn and fruit were destroyed. 
 
 In 1063, the Thames was frozen for fourteen 
 weeks.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 153 
 
 In 1076, n very eevere frost in England, from 
 November till April. 
 
 In 111-1, several bride;es in England, being then 
 of timber, were broken down by a frost. 
 
 In l'20j, a frost from January 14, to March 22. 
 
 In 1296, the sea between Norway and the pro- 
 montory of Scageruit, frozen over. 
 
 In 1402, the Baltic was quite frozen over, from 
 Pomerania to Denmark. 
 
 In 1409, a severe frost, with deep snow, which 
 lasted fifteen weeks, and killed the small birds. 
 
 In 1426, tlie Baltic was frozen over. 
 
 In 1429 the J5altic again frozen over, so that the 
 j)cople travelled on the ice from Denmark to Lubec, 
 ^Vismar, Rostock and Stralsund. 
 
 In 14.34, the Tliames frozen some miles below 
 Gravesend, and fish and merchandise arriving at the 
 mouth of the Thames, were obliged to be brought 
 by land-carriage through Kent and Essex to Lon- 
 don : the frost began in November and lasted till 
 February. 
 
 In 1683, a frost for thirteen weeks. 
 
 In 1709, a great frost for three months, with 
 heavy snows from December to March. 
 
 In 1716, a great frost, when a fair was held on 
 the Thames. 
 
 In 1739, a remarkable frost, began on Christmas 
 eve, and lasted nine weeks, when all sorts of car- 
 riages went upon the Thames, and all manner of 
 diversions were carried on upon the ice. This is 
 generally calleil the great frost of 1740, and it 
 lasted one hundred and three days. 
 
 In 1763, a frost for ninety-four days. 
 
 In 1779, a frost for eighty-four days. 
 
 In 1784, one for eighty-nine days, and 
 
 In 1785, one for one hundred and fifteen days, 
 being twelve days longer than that of 1740.
 
 154 NOTES OF A BOOKWOKM. 
 
 EARLY ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 The first dwellings of some of the Britons are 
 supposed by several antiquaries to have been pits 
 nnd caves, many of which have been found in va- 
 rious parts of the country, with evidence of habi- 
 tation.* Diodorus Siculus speaks of the houses 
 of the Britons, at the time of the Roman invasion, 
 as being built of wood, the walls made of wattling, 
 a rough sort of basket work, resembling hurdles, 
 and thatched with either reeds or straw. These 
 wattled buildings, it a])pears, must have continued 
 in use a very considerable time. Sammes, in sjieak- 
 ing of the first church at Glastonbury, states, 
 ** the walls of the church were made of twigs 
 winded and twisted togetlier, after the ancient cus- 
 tome that kings' palaces ore used to be built. So 
 the king of \Vales, by name lleolus Wha, in the 
 year of our Lord 940, built o house of white twigs, 
 to retire into when he came a liuutiug into Soutli 
 AVales; tliereforo it was culled Ty Guyu, that is 
 the wJiite house ; for to the end that it might be dis- 
 tinguished from vulgar buildings, he caused the 
 twigs (according to his princely quality), to be 
 barkt ; nay, castles themselves in those days were 
 framed of the same materials, and weaved togetlier ; 
 for thtis writes Giraldus Cambrensis of Pembroke 
 Castle: " Arnuljihus de iMonlgomniery," saith he, 
 *' in the dales of King Henry the First, built thut 
 small castle of twigs and slight turf." Such reed 
 houses as these we all along see in Ireland, and in 
 many places in England. 
 
 The next advance in improvement, was to fill up 
 the chinks of the wattles, &c. with clay ; and when 
 
 • See Martiu's Western Islands, Builasc'g Anti<juitics i.f 
 Cornwall, &c.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 155 
 
 somo atu^rapt at docoration was made, tlie dry clay 
 wall was, according to Baxter, whitewashed with 
 chalk, if it could be obtained. — Magna Britininia 
 et Hibernid, 1629 ; Peiniant's London, «Sf. 
 
 At the commencement of the 15th century, 
 chimneys in the walls, or against the sides of houses, 
 apjtear to have been a novelty. The houses of the 
 common people consisted of only one floor ; the 
 idea of boarding them, either at sides or bottom, 
 had not then been conceived ; the ground in the 
 inside was covered with a few rushes, and amongst 
 these were thrown all the bones, dirt and filth, oc- 
 casioned by the habitation of the family, which 
 were seldom removed till they became ofi'ensive. 
 
 EXPERTNESS OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS 
 IN WORKING METALS. 
 
 Tnr art of working in iron and steel had risen 
 to such perfection in the 10th century, that even 
 tlie liorses of some of the chief knights and barons 
 were covered witli steel and iron armour. Artificers 
 wlio wrought in iron were so highly regarded in 
 that warlike time, that every military officer had 
 his smith, who constantly attended his person, to 
 keep liis arms and armour in oi-der. 
 
 The chief smith was an officer of considerable 
 dignity in the court of the Anglo Saxon and Welsh 
 kings, where he enjoyed many privileges, and his 
 wages were much higlier than those of any other 
 artificer. In the Welsh court, the king's smith 
 was next in rank to the domestic chaplain, and was 
 entitled to a draught of every kind of hquor that 
 was brought into tlie hall. — Henry\ History of 
 Great Britain.
 
 156 NOTtS or A BOOK\VORM. 
 
 SINGULAR APPLICATION OF PROPHECY. 
 
 In the prophecies of Scripture, it is said, eccle- 
 siastical and civil tyranny are descrihed under the 
 denomination of two beasts, particular!}- mentioned 
 in the 13th chapter of Revelations. Vivian, a 
 French writer, who published his works about eight 
 years before the French Revolution, asserts, that 
 these beasts meant the king of France, and i\ie pope 
 of Borne ; and it is somewhat extraordinary, that 
 the name Ludovicns, which is the Latin for Lords, 
 should apply to the following lines in the Revela- 
 tions : " Let him that hath understanding count 
 the number of the beast, for it is the number of a 
 man, and his number is six hundred, three score and 
 six." — It applies thus : 
 
 L stands for 5Q 
 
 V 5 
 
 D 500 
 
 O 
 
 V 5 
 
 I 1 
 
 C 100 
 
 V 5 
 
 S 
 
 666 
 The exact number mentioned in the prophecy. 
 
 ANCIENT MILL-STONES. 
 
 The ancient domestic mill-stones, called by the 
 British querns, consisted of one circular flat stone 
 of about eighteen inches in diameter, upon which 
 was placed (he upper stone, in shape resembling a
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOnM. 157 
 
 sugar-loaf, with a perforation through tlie centre, 
 and on the side was fixed a handle. The whole 
 was placed on a cloth, and the grinder poured 
 in the com with one hand, and with the other 
 turned the upper stone with a rapid motion, while 
 the meal ran out at the sides, and fell on the cloth. 
 This mode of grinding was so tedious that it would 
 employ two persons four hours to grind one bushel. 
 — Milder welCs Scarborough, 1798. 
 
 PUNCTUATION. 
 
 Whoever has the power, and will take the 
 trouble, of examining the first printed books, will 
 discover nothing which answers to our present sys- 
 tem of punctuation, but merely arbitrary marks 
 here and there, according to the humour of the 
 printer. 
 
 In the 16th century, the stops began to assume 
 their ])resent appearance and use ; but they were 
 not all produced at the same time. In the books 
 of this age we first meet with the comma, the 
 parenthesis, the note of interrogation, and the 
 full point. After a lapse of many years the colon 
 was discovered. " Hackluyt's Voyages," printed 
 in 1.599, contains the first instance of a semicolon, 
 and, as though the editor did not fully apprehend 
 the propriety of its general admission, it is but 
 sparingly introduced. The note of admiration was 
 last invented, and seems to have been added to the 
 other stops at a period not far distant from our own 
 times. — Gentleman's Mas:azine, 1811.
 
 158 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 ^xiQin of i2itgU0l& (^oin^. 
 
 POUNDS, WHY SO CALLED IX MONEY 
 
 CONCERNS. — PECUNIARY, WHENCE 
 
 THE TERM, 6cc. 
 
 In the earlier ages of society, sheep, swine, or 
 oxen, were the chief requisites for the immediate 
 necessaries of life, as food and riument, besides 
 other uses to which they might be applied. Men 
 at first carried on all their traffic with cattle, in 
 which the whole of their wealth originally con- 
 sisted. But because it soon became too troublesome 
 and difficult a thing for a man to drive a flock of 
 sheep, or a drove of swine before him, or to lead a 
 cow or bullock by the horns for making of pay- 
 ments, and tlie wit and experience of men increas- 
 ing, they began to consider what other commodity 
 they possessed in common, that was next in value, 
 and more portable ; and finding that nothing was 
 of more general use for all domestic purposes than 
 iron or copper, which were all the metals then 
 discovered, they fixed upon the latter, as being 
 more ductile, and answering a greater variety of 
 services, to be made their medium of exchange, 
 mutually giving and receiving it by weight, for the 
 purchase or pro-rate of the things they needed. 
 
 This metal they first divided by pounds ; which 
 word still remains among us, to signify twenty 
 shillings ; which is about the just value that so 
 much copper bore in those days. This was called as, 
 in Latin, which, according to Varro, is derived from 
 cEs, signifying copper. They used it first in bullion 
 unmarked ; but soon after, to save themselves the 
 trouble and time of weighing this pound, or the
 
 N0T£3 OF A BOOKWORM. 169 
 
 lesser parts of it, and to give it a readier currency, 
 they stamped upon one side the figure of a ship, as 
 an emblem of commerce, with the weight and 
 value ; and on the reverse, the picture of one of 
 those beasts which are designed by the word Pecus, 
 as being the most prized commodities ; whence 
 money came to be afterwards called peciinia, in 
 Latin, and hence the English word " pecuniary." 
 
 But in the natural process of things, when states 
 grew great, and men grew vain, the arms of the 
 prince became substituted for the ship, and Con- 
 stantine, out of a religious zeal, put a cross in the 
 place of the beast. However, because in the old 
 Gaulish language a ship was called pile, (from 
 whence the word pilot) that side of the coin is still 
 called pile, and the other cross, to this day } though 
 different stamps have succeeded, and been varied 
 in different reigns and nations since. 
 
 POUND. 
 
 TnovGH a pound is one of the most common 
 denominations for money, it never was a real coin, 
 either in gold or silver, in any age or country. Such 
 large and ponderous coins would have been in many 
 respects inconvenient. But for many ages, both in 
 Britain and in other countries, that number of 
 smaller coins which was denominated a pound in 
 computation, or a pound in sale, really contained a 
 jjound of silver, and they might have been, ^nd fre- 
 quently were weighed, as well as numbered, to ascer- 
 tain their value. If the number of coins that were 
 denominated o, pound in sale, did not actually make 
 a pound in weight, an additional number of coins 
 were thrown in to make up the weight. — Henry's 
 History of Great Britain. 
 
 p 2
 
 160 NOTES Of A BOOKWORM. 
 
 MONEY 
 
 Was coined in the Temple of Juno Munela, 
 whence our English word money. 
 
 COIN. 
 
 Coin (cxina pixiinia), seems to come from the 
 French coign, i.e. aufruhis, a corner — ^ whence it 
 has heen held that the ancientest sort of coin was 
 square with comers, and not round us it now is. 
 
 CASH. 
 
 Cash in a commercial style signifies the ready 
 money which a merchant or other ptrson has at his 
 present disposal, and is fio called Irc^ni the French 
 term cuisse, i.e. " chest or coffer," for the keeping 
 of money. 
 
 GUINEA. 
 
 This coin took its denomination Guinea, hecause 
 the gold wheieof the first was struck, was brought 
 from that part of Africa so called ; for which reason 
 it likewise, formerly, bore the impression of an 
 elephant. 
 
 The value or rate of the guinea has varied. It 
 was first struck on the footing of '20*. ; but by the 
 scarcity of gold was afterwards advanced to 21s. 6d. 
 and again sunk to iils.
 
 N01£b 01- A COOKWOUM. 161 
 
 ANGEL. 
 
 The angel, called in French angelot, was a gold 
 coin, value ten shillings, struck in England, where 
 some few are still to be seen in the cabinets of the 
 curious- It had its name from the figure of an 
 angel represented on it, which figure was adopted, 
 according to Rapin and others, to commemorate a 
 pun of Pope Gregory the Great, which seems to 
 have greatly flattered the vanity of the nation. 
 Struck with the fair complexions and blooming 
 countenances of some Anglo-Saxon captives, wlio 
 had been brought to Rome, he inquired of v»hat 
 nation they were, and what they were called, and 
 being answered Ani^les: " Justly be they so called," 
 (juoth he, " for they have aw^ei-like faces, and seem 
 meet to be made co-heirs with the angels in 
 heaven." 
 
 SHILLING. 
 
 The etymology of the word scylliug would Irad 
 us to suppose it to have been a certain quantity of 
 uncoined silver ; for whether we derive it from 
 f cylan, to divide, or pceale, a scale, the idea pre- 
 sented to us by either word is the same, that is, 
 so much silver cut ofi", as in China, and weighing 
 so much. — Turner's Anglo-Saxons. 
 
 There were none coined until 1504. Fabian 
 mentions them under their proper name,34 Henry 
 Vlll.— Rider,
 
 ]62 NOTES or A BOOKWORM. 
 
 WHY SIXPENCE CALLED A TESTER. 
 
 Tester, is derived from the French tv'ord tete, a 
 head. A piece of money stamped with a head, 
 which in old French was called, " tni testioji," and 
 which was about the value of an old Engbsh six- 
 pence. Tester is used by Shakspeare. 
 
 Tester, sixpence, from teston, French, an old 
 silver coin formerly worth. ISd., sinking by degrees 
 to gilt brass, and sixpence. — Coles Diet. 1708. 
 
 " Testona are gone to Oxford to study in Brazen-nose." 
 
 This proverb began about the end of the reign 
 of King Henry the Eighth, at the same time as he 
 debased the coin, allaying it with copper (which 
 common people confound with brass). It conti- 
 nued till about the middle of Queen Elizabeth, who 
 by degrees called in all the adulterated coin. Tes- 
 tone, and our English tester, came from the Italian 
 testa, signifying a head, because that money was 
 stamped with a head on one side. Copstick, in High 
 Dutch, hath the same sense, i.e. nummus capitatus, 
 money with a head upon it. — Ray's Proverbs, 
 
 GROAT. 
 
 Other nations, as the Dutch, Polanders, Saxons, 
 Bohemians, French, &c. have likewise their groats, 
 groots, groches, gros, Sec. In the Saxon times, no 
 silver coin bigger than a penny was struck in Eng- 
 land, nor after the Conquest until Edward III., who 
 about the year 1351 coined grosses, i.e groats or great 
 pieces, which went for 4rf., and so the matter stood 
 till the reign of Henrj'- VIII., who in 1504 first 
 coined shillings. — Encychypedia.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 163 
 
 PENNY— HALFPENNY— FARTHING. 
 
 Camden derives the word penny from the Latin 
 pemnia, " monev." 
 
 Hie ancient English penny, penig, or pening, was 
 the first silver coin struck in England ; nay, and the 
 only one cunent among our Saxon ancestors ; as is 
 agreed by Camden, Spelman, Dr. Hicks, ikc. 
 
 The penny was equal in weight to our three 
 pence ,; five of tliem made one shilling, or scilling, 
 Saxon ; thirtj' a mark or mancuse, equal to our 
 7s. 6d. 
 
 Until tlie time of King Edward I. the penny was 
 struck with a cross, so deeply indented in it, that it 
 might be easily broke, and parted on occasion, into 
 two parts, thence called half-pennies ; or into four, 
 thence called foarthings, or farthings. But that 
 }»rince coined it without indenture : in lieu of which, 
 he first struck round halfpence and farthings. 
 
 He also reduced the weight of the penny to a 
 standard ; ordering that it should weigh 32 grains 
 of wheat, taken out of the middle of the ear. This 
 penny was called the penny sterling. Twenty of 
 these pence were to weigh an ounce ; whence tlie 
 penny became a weight as well as a coin. 
 
 The penny sterling is now nigh disused as a 
 coin, and scaVce subsists but as a money of account, 
 containing the 12th part of a shilling, or the 140th 
 part of a pound. 
 
 Penny, in ancient statutes, &c. is used for all 
 silver money, and hence the ward-penny, aver- 
 penny, hundred-penny, tithing-penny, and brothel- 
 penny.
 
 164 NOTlig OF A liOOKWORM. 
 
 i^otf0 on laamrjj. 
 
 It must be admitted to be singular tbat INIr. 
 Loiigv an is not an incb above tbe middle stature ; 
 that there are not three srreater slovens within the 
 bills of mortality than Messrs. Spruce, Buck, and 
 Tidv ; and that Captain Sloicman actually achieved 
 (about three years back), the task of going to 
 Wetherby, in Yorkshire, and back again, in six 
 daj's. 
 
 There is not in Europe a more civilized, domestic, 
 or well-behaved man, than Mr. Savage. We know^ 
 a Mr. Sharp who is as great a flat as Mr. Flat is a 
 sharp. Mr. Bachelor has already had three wives, 
 and is such a stickler for connubial happiness, that 
 he swears he will never live single. We well re- 
 collect a lady who, when she married, became 
 A-miss ; her husband, however, did not long sur- 
 vive their nuptials ; but still she continued A-miss, 
 though many years a widow, until the day of her 
 death. Mrs. Diayia Virgin, on the other hand, 
 having survived three husbands, died a widow at 
 an advanced age, leaving a family of twelve chil- 
 dren. 
 
 There are many better men in the world than 
 Mr. Best ; Mrs. Trollope is really a tidy sort of body 
 " enough ; and we do not know a more sober man 
 than JMr. Drinkdregs. 
 
 It has been remarked (by we know not whom), 
 that nothing can be more ridiculous than, upon 
 asking the name of a lean, weazel-faced fellow, 
 whom we have been anxiously watching in appre- 
 hension lest the first puff of wind should carry him 
 aloft, to be informed that it is Hercules or Sampson 
 Strong i'th'arm! So Smollett in his " Adventures
 
 NOIES OF A BOOKWOUM. 165 
 
 of an Atcm," says : "Let us suppose a foreigner 
 reading an English newspaper in these terms, 
 * Last Tuesday the Right Hon. Timothy Sillyman, 
 secretary of state for the home department, gave a 
 grand entertainment to the nobility and gentry, at 
 his house in Knave's Acre. The evening was con- 
 cluded by a ball, which was opened by Sir Samuel 
 Hog and Lady Diana Roughhead. By the last mail 
 from Germany we have certain advice of a complete 
 victory which General Cou:urd has obtained o^er 
 the enemy. On this occasion the general displayed 
 all the intrepidity of the most renowed hero. By 
 the same channel we are informed that Lieut. Little- 
 fear has been broke by a court-martial for cowardice. 
 We hear that Edward West, Esq. will be elected 
 president of the directors of the East India Com- 
 pany, for the ensuing year. It is reported that 
 Commodore JNWt/iwill be sent with a squadron into 
 the South-sea. Captains East and Souf/i are appointed 
 by the lords of the Admiralty, commanders of two 
 frigates to sail on the discovery of the north-west 
 passage. Yesterday morning. Sir John Siunmer, 
 bart. lay dangerously ill, at his house in Spring 
 Gardens : he is attended by Dr. Winter, but no 
 hopes are entertanied of his recovery. Last week 
 IMr. John Fo^, teacher of astronomy in Rotherhithe, 
 Avas married to the widow Fairweather of Puddle- 
 dock. We hear from Bath that on Thursday last 
 a duel was fought at Lansdown, between Captain 
 Sparrow, and Richard Hawk, Esq. in vrhich the 
 latter was mortally wounded. Friday last ended 
 the sesions at the Old Bailey, when the following 
 prisoners received sentence of death. 
 
 " ' Leonard Lamb, for the murder of Julius Wolf; 
 and Henry Grave, for robbing and assaulting Dr. 
 Death, whereby the said Death was put in fear of 
 his life. Giles Gosling, for defrauding Simon Fox
 
 166 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 of four guineas and his watch, hy subtle craft, was 
 transported for seven years ; and David Drinkwuter 
 was ordered to be set in the stocks as a perpetual 
 drunkard. The trial of Thomas Green, Avhitster 
 at Fulham, for a rape on the body of Flora White, 
 a mulatto, was put off till next sessions, on account 
 of the absence of two material witnesses, viz., 
 Sarah Brown, clear- starcher, of Pimlico, and An- 
 thony Black, scarlet-dyer, of Wandsworth." 
 
 All these appellations are tnily British, and we 
 can scarcely wonder at Smollett's " Atom" con- 
 sidering us as a nation of humourists, delighting in 
 cross purposes, and ludicrous singularities. 
 
 THE N-\3IES OF ILLEGITIMATES. 
 
 Bastards are said to have not only their birth 
 indicated by their surnames, but also tlie degree, 
 rank, or station of their parents. Thus Misson, 
 Goodyson, Mollison, Anson, Jenniscn, Bettison, and 
 Nelson, were called after their motliers' names, tliose 
 of their fathers being unknown. But 3iJsson and 
 Goodyson were evidently ^efattx pas of Miss and 
 Goody ; whereas Jennison, Nelson, Betson, 6cc. 
 were the slips of dairy and milkmaids, or other 
 girls in low situations. The hke distinctions may 
 be traced in illegitimates, the names of whose 
 fathers were either unknown or concealed. Thus 
 Masterson and Steicardson, show the children of the 
 master and steward ; while Jackson, Tomson, and 
 Tl'27son, were the misbegotten offspring of hinds, 
 servants, and labourers. 
 
 On this subject the followino- anecdote was told 
 in America many years ago, and is referred to in 
 the Gentlemuns Magazine, 1820. The governot of 
 West Florida gave a puplic dinner on the birth-day
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKMOnM. 167 
 
 of our late revered monarch, and liis name was 
 Chester. At the same table sat a w-itty counsellor 
 named Morrison. After dinner, the toasts having 
 gone cheerfully round, the governor, addressing the 
 counsellor, said : " Is it true, Mr. Morrison, that, 
 as 1 have been told, all names ending in son, are 
 bastards?" The reply was instantaneous : " Xo, 
 no, please your excellency, by no means ; such are 
 bastards, as 1 always understood, whose names are 
 derived from places." The table was in a roar of 
 laughter, and the governor did not venture on 
 another joke the remainder of the evening. 
 
 The Pains, Aikensides, Aikenheads, and Anguishes, 
 are said to have owed their appellations to the dolorous 
 sensatiuus of their ancestors ; while the Wilds, the 
 Sanguines, the Joys, the Merrys, and the Bucks, an- 
 nounce their descent from a set of happy thought- 
 less sinners of the earlier ages. 
 
 It was a custom among the ancient Irish, when 
 the father died, for his son to take the name, lest 
 it should be forgotten ; hence the names F/t2-her- 
 bert, Fif:-gerald, derive their origin ; not as de- 
 noting the individuals to be of spurious birth, as 
 some have imagined, but in comphance with the 
 custom observed before the use of surnames, vv-hen 
 a person took his father's name, with the addition 
 of his being his son ; the prefix Fitz being a Nor- 
 man word, derived from the French fls, a son. — ■ 
 Camden's Remains.
 
 168 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 
 " Nay, nay ; Maister Wiseman ; tell ns the efymon,-"i\\e 
 oriyo— let us hear the origin o't."-~Old Play. 
 
 DOWLE STONES— DOLE— DEALING. 
 
 Dele is a Saxon -word, and wrote thus, dasl, 
 which signifies pars, a part, or portion, and this 
 comes from the Saxon verb doelan, dividere, to 
 divide, to part, to distribute ; from thence comes 
 our EngHsh word dole, as " to dole out" any thing ; 
 so from the Saxon doling comes our English word 
 dealing, division, or partition. From hence it is 
 that the stones, used as boundaries of lands, i. e. 
 such as divide and distinguish lands one from ano- 
 ther, are called dowle-stones. — Fortesque's Mo- 
 narchy, 1719. 
 
 MEASURES : ELL, FOOT, HAND, YARD, &c. 
 
 Most nations have regulated the standard of 
 measures of length by comparison with the parts 
 of the human body ; as the palm, the hand, the 
 span, the foot, the cubit, the ell, (ulna or arm), 
 the pace, the fathom. 
 
 But as these are of different dimensions in men 
 of different proportions, our ancient historians in- 
 form us, that a new standard of longitudinal mea- 
 sure was ascertained by King Henrj' the First ; who 
 commanded the ulna, or ancient ell, which answers 
 to the modern yard, should be made of the exact 
 length of his own aim.
 
 KOTES or A BOOKAVOR.M. 169 
 
 PENNY- WEIGHT 
 
 Is a Troy weight, containing twenty-four grains ; 
 each grain weighing a grain of wheat gathered out 
 of the middle of the ear, well dried. The name 
 took its rise hence, that this was anciently the 
 weight of one of our silver pennies. — Encyclopedia. 
 
 At this time (about 700 years ago), and long 
 after, a pound of good money was a pound in 
 weight ; every penny weighing what we now call a 
 penny weight ; 20 pence weighed one ounce, and 
 240 pence, or 12 ounces, a pound. — Parker's Ncn-- 
 utich. 
 
 GRAIN. 
 
 The standard of weights was originally taken 
 from ears of wheat, whence the lowest denomina- 
 tion of weights we have, is still called a grain, &c. 
 
 BACKGA_ALAION. 
 
 The game of backgammon is said to have been 
 invented in Wales about tliis period (i.e. from 900 
 to 10(36), and derived its name from the two Welch 
 words, back, little ; and cammon, battle. — Henry's 
 History of England. 
 
 FORTNIGHT AND SE'NNIGHT. 
 
 In the Book of Domesday we often meet with 
 Tot nodes de Firma, or Firma tot noctium ; which is 
 understood of entertainment of meat and drink for 
 so many nights, for in the time of the English 
 Saxons, time was computed not by days hui nights ; 
 Q
 
 170 NOTES OF A liOOKWORM. 
 
 and so it continued till the reign of Henry I., ns 
 appears by his laws, cap. 66. 76. : and hence it is 
 still usual to say a se'iinight, i. e. septem 7wctes, seven 
 nights, for a week, and a fortnight, for two weeks, 
 i. e.qiiutuor decern nodes, or fourteen nights. 
 
 AVAST. 
 
 A TERM frequently used on board a ship, signi- 
 fying to stop, 6y;c. The word is formed of the 
 Italian vasia, or basta, it is enough, it suffices. 
 
 ACE. 
 
 As was used to denote any integer, or whole. 
 Whence the English word ace. Thus us signified 
 the whole inheritance ; whence lueres ex asse, the 
 heir to the whole estate. 
 
 AFFIDAVrr, 
 
 Is borrowed from the Canonists, among whom 
 affidare is used for jidem dare, and so it signifies, 
 lie has sworn or given liis faith, but with us it is 
 generally taken for an oath, or deposition put in 
 writing.— B/ouni's Diet. 1681. 
 
 ARRAIGN. 
 
 In law, signifies to set a thing in order, or in its 
 place. It is derived from the French urraisoner, i.e. 
 ad rationem ponere, to call a man to answer in form 
 of law, which comes from the barbarous Latin adra- 
 tionure.
 
 NOTES OF A EOOKWOUM. 171 
 
 BUGLE-HORN. 
 
 The bugle, or beugle horn is said to be so called 
 from tlie lowing of oxen. Beugler is to low ; an 
 ox's horn is a beu or le -horn. 
 
 GARBLE — GARB. 
 
 Garbling of bowstaves, anno. 1 G. IIL cap. 11. 
 is the sorting or culling out the good from the bad. 
 As garbling any thing is nothing more than puri- 
 fying it from dust, or improper mixtures. It may 
 seem to proceed from the Italian garbo, that is, fine- 
 ness, neatness ; whence probably we say, when we 
 see Q man in neat habit, " he is in a handsome garb." 
 Luiis Interpreter, by Manky, 1671, 
 
 NICK NAME. 
 
 A name given in ridicule or contempt ; from the 
 French, nam de nique, in which language nique is 
 a movement of the head to mark a contempt for any 
 J erson or thing. 
 
 GROCER— WHENCE THE TERM. 
 
 It is derived from grossiere, which signifies, in 
 Italian, a man who buys silk from the weaver, and 
 sells it to the mercer or wholesale dealer. This 
 appellation was naturally applied to a dealer in 
 Italian commodities, such as figs, raisins, oils, &c. 
 — Gentleman's Magazine, 1795. 
 
 "Grocers, (by 37Eliz. 3. 5.) were merchants 
 that engrossed all merchandize vendible ; but now 
 Q 2
 
 172 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 it is a particular and well-known trade/' &c. (5tc. — 
 Law Interpreter by Manley, 1672. 
 
 Jacobs says the same in his Law Dictionary, 
 1774.— Ed. 
 
 PASQUINADE, WHY LAMPOONS SO 
 CALLED. 
 
 Pasquin is a mutilated statue at Rome, in a 
 corner of the palace of the Ursini. It takes its 
 name from a cobbler of that city, called Pasquin, 
 famous for his sneers and gibes, and who diverted 
 himself by passing his jokes on all that went through 
 that street. After his death, as they were digging 
 up the pavement before his door, they found in the 
 earth the statue of an ancient gladiator. Well cut, 
 but maimed and lialf spoiled ; this tliey set up in 
 the place where it was found, and by common con- 
 sent named it Pasquin. Since that time all satires 
 are attributed to that figure ; and are either put into 
 its mouth, or pasted upon it, aa if they were written 
 bv Pasqubt redivivus. 
 
 Pasquinade signified a satirical libel fastened to 
 the statute of Pasquin ; these were commonly short, 
 witty, and pointed ; and hence the term has been 
 applied to all lampoons of the same cast. 
 
 PREVARICATE— WHENCE THE TERM. 
 
 The Roman ploughman who went crooked (for 
 they took great pains to make straight furroAvs, and 
 of equal breadth), was said delirare and pniLaricar, , 
 to prevaricate. Whence this word was transferred 
 to express a crime in judicial proceedings. — Pliny, 
 Adam's Roman Antiq. 1807.
 
 NOltU or A £00K\V011M. 173 
 
 EAGLE— WHY FEIGNED AS CARRYING 
 JUPITER'S ARMOUR. 
 
 Speaking of lightning, the eagle and sea calf 
 are never hurt therewith, wherefore the poets feign 
 that the eagle carrieth Jupiter's armour. — CoeliPn's 
 Almanack, 1(580. 
 
 EYES DRAW STRAWS— WHENCE THE 
 SAYING. 
 
 Let any one close his eyes nearly, and look at a 
 candle placed at some distance ; t)ie rays of light 
 will resemble straws both in breadth and colour. 
 'J'he motion of the eyelids will appear to draw tliem 
 from the luminary to which they are directed. 
 Therefore, those inclined to sleep will consequently, 
 if looking towards a candle, occasion their eyes to 
 draw straws. Whence the vulgar saying. — Gen- 
 tleman's Mai^azine, 1790. 
 
 COURT OF ARCHES— WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 AuciiEs, or Court of Arches, the chief consistory 
 belonging to the archbishop of Canterbury, for de- 
 bating of spiritual causes, so called because it is 
 kept in Bow church, tlie top of whose steeple is 
 raised of stone pillars, builded archwivse, like so 
 many bent bows. — Philip's Diet. 1671. 
 
 SOAP. 
 
 Pliny ascribes the invention of soap {sapo) to 
 the Gauls, though he gives the preference to the
 
 174 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 German soap. Professor Beckmann, however, 
 afterwards mentions that the word sapo first occurs 
 in Martial. 
 
 SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 
 
 The excellent founder of Sunday Schools was 
 Mr. Raikes, a gentleman of Gloucestershire, who, 
 together with Mr. Stock, a clergyman in the same 
 county, and who, we believe, was equally instru- 
 mental in the business with Mr. Raikes, shewed 
 the example, and convinced many of the utility of 
 the plan. From Gloucestershire the institution 
 was quickly adopted in every county, and almost 
 every town and parish of the kingdom. 
 
 FRESH WATER— SALT WATER. 
 
 After this they discoursed of salts, and bitumi- 
 nous matter, hid in the bottom of the sea. The 
 weight of each paiticle of these salts is regulated 
 in such a manner, that the sea cannot draw them 
 upwards, whence it is that the vapours and rain 
 which fall again upon the earth, not being over- 
 charged with them, become plenteous sources of 
 fresh water. — Travels of Cyrus. 
 
 CANT, CANTING— WHENCE THE TERM. 
 
 Cant, a quaint aflfected manner of speaking, 
 adapted chiefly to the lower sort. Skinner racked 
 his invention for the origin of this word ; which 
 he successively deduces from the German, Flemish, 
 and Saxon tongues. According to the general 
 opinion, cant is originally the proper name of a
 
 NOTES OK A BOOKAVORM. 175 
 
 Cameronian preacher in Scotland, who by exercise 
 had obtained the facidty of talking in the pulpit in 
 such a tone and dialect, as was understood by none 
 but his own congregation : since Andrew Cant's 
 time, the word has been extended to signify all 
 sudden exclamations, and whining unmusical tones, 
 especially in praying and preaching. But this 
 origin of the word has been disputed by others ; 
 aud perhaps the true derivation is from the Latin 
 cantare, to sing. 
 
 FLUTE— WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 Its name is derived from the word fiuta, the 
 Latin name of the lamprey, or small eel, taken in 
 the Sicilian seas, because, like that fish, it is long 
 and perforated at the side. The flute was in great 
 esteem with the ancient Greeks and Romans. — 
 Dr. Busby s Musical Diet. 1800. 
 
 THE KING'S MEWS. 
 
 MuTARE signifies to mew up hawks, in the time 
 of their moulting or casting their plumes. In the 
 reign of Edw. II. the manor of Broughton, in the 
 county of Oxford was held per serjeantiam mu- 
 tundi unu7n hostricum domini regis, Sec. — (Paroch. 
 Antiq. 560.) Mutatus accipiter is a mewed hawk, 
 and hence the mews (^muta regia), near Charing-cross, 
 London, late the king's stables, were formerly the 
 falconry, or place for the king's haioks.
 
 176 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 CASTLE AND THREE HANDS— WHY THE 
 ARMS OF THE CITY OF ANTWERP. 
 
 AxTWEUP, upon the Scheldt, is one of the most 
 famous cities of the Pais Bas. It is the ancient 
 Antuerpa, or Andoverpum of the Romans. The 
 Germans call it Antorff, the Spaniards ^Anveres, 
 and the Italians Arversa. This city, like every 
 other of distinction, has had its origin ascribed to 
 fable. It was pretended that before Caesar came to 
 Gaul, a certain giant named Antigonus, dwelt in a 
 castle upon the Scheldt, where he obliged every 
 passenger to give him liaif of whatever they had. 
 Tliose who refused, he punished by cutting off their 
 right hand, and throwing it into the river. To 
 support this fiction, they pretend that tlie name 
 of this city is derived from haudt, which means 
 haud, and uerpen, to cast or throw. Thus, accord- 
 ing to these ingenious fabulists, Antwerp is de- 
 rived, 6cc. To support still further this fable, they 
 pretend that the figures of the castle and the giant, 
 are, for this reason, borne in their processions, and 
 particularly that which is called the kirkmis, and 
 that it is even the cause of the castle and three 
 hands forming the arms of the city. — Register of 
 the Times, 1794. 
 
 BOSOM FRIENDS— WHENCE THE TERM. 
 
 Ancient nations used to recline on beds or 
 cushions, and to lean upon each other at entertain- 
 ments. This posture of eating was practised hy 
 the Greeks, Romans, &.c., and is said to be the 
 origin of our term " bosom friends."
 
 NOIES OF A BOOKWORM. 177 
 
 To palliate dulness, and give time a shove." 
 
 Cowpcr. 
 
 ANECDOTES. 
 
 In the year 1732, one John Somerton tumbled 
 from the upper gallery of the theatre into the pit, 
 without receiving any hurt. When the plav was 
 over he told Tvlr. Rich that he had made himself 
 free of the gallerii, and hoped he should have the li- 
 berty of going into it when he pleased : to which 
 Rich consented, with this proviso, " that he did 
 not come out again in the same abrupt manner.'' 
 
 An English officer was recommended to o certain 
 admiral for a ship, as not only being a good com- 
 mander, but one that would be of service, as he 
 could talk Spanish very well. The admiral replied, 
 that as to his talking Spanish, it could be of no ad- 
 vantage, for " if 1 sail to the Spanish coast, by G — d 
 1 sh&ll talk to the Spanish in pUin English." 
 
 When George the First landed at Greenwich, 
 the highest honour they could possibly pay to him 
 was to elect him churchv.*arden, whicii was actually 
 done. A dispute, however, afterwards took place 
 in the vestry, " Whether he who wns elected to serve 
 the office of king, could serve the office of church- 
 warden at the same time ?"
 
 178 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 A town in the neighbourliood of Weymouth is 
 said to have printed the following hand-bill : — 
 
 " Whereas his majesty the king and queen is ex- 
 pected to honour this ancient corporation with 
 their presents in the course of their tower : in or- 
 der to prevent them from meeting no impediments 
 in his journey, the worshipful the mayor and 
 bailiffs have thought proper that the following re- 
 gulations shall be prohibited as follows : 
 
 '• Nobody must leave no durt, nor notliing in 
 that shape, before their doors nor shops, and all 
 wheelbarrows, cabbage-stalks, and other wheel 
 carriages, must be swept out of the streets. 
 
 •' Any one who shall fail offending in any of these 
 articles, shall be dealt with according to law, witli- 
 oul bail or mainprize." 
 
 In a Dublin newspaper, some years back, it was 
 stated, that •• in a late affray ^i^e persons were killed, 
 and, if the military had not interfered in time, 
 something serious might have happened." 
 
 A clergyman (not an Hibernian) preaching on 
 the omnipotence of the Deity, observed, that in 
 every part of the world, and in every event, the 
 footsteps of the almighty hand were visible. 
 
 American Anecdote. — A member of the general 
 court of Massachusetts, who from accustoming 
 himself to take a nap after dinner when at home, 
 could not dispense with the custom even when at- 
 tending in his seat as a legislator, occasioned much
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 179 
 
 sport, some years ago, by the following incident. 
 A day was assigned for the second reading of a bill 
 called the Linnber Act ; and as our sleeper felt in- 
 terested in this question, he requested a friend, 
 who sat next him, to wake him if he should be so 
 unlucky as to drop asleep before the bill was intro- 
 duced. His friend, however, happening to step 
 out, the Lumber Bill was called for and committed, 
 during his absence ; and on his return he found a 
 discussion going on respecting a bill for preventing 
 fornication. Just at this moment, as ill luck would 
 have it, he happened to tread on the toe of his 
 sleeping friend, who, supposing it a signal for his 
 waking, to add his voice in favour of the Lumber 
 Act, roused himself immediately, rubbed his eyes, 
 and, perceiving a pau^ in the debate, he arose, 
 and addressed the Speaker as follows: "Sir, I 
 wish to speak a few words on the bill now in ques- 
 tion. It affects my constituents very much, Mr. 
 Speaker ; as you cannot doubt, when I assure you 
 that above half our town get their living by it." 
 
 Bon Mot. — When a certain noble lord was ranger 
 of Hyde Park, a lady, to whom it was generally 
 thought he had paid unsuccessful addresses, as she 
 was walking there, on a very windy day, happened 
 to fall. His lordship being nearest to her, had the 
 happiness to assist her in getting up ; after which 
 a friend of his lordship's assured him, that what- 
 ever opinion might before have been formed as to 
 his interest in the lady, his lordship having picked 
 her up in the park, at a time when he was ranger 
 thereof, might now unquestionably lay claim to her 
 as a icindfall.
 
 180 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 Anecdote of Dr. South, Chaplain to Charles the 
 Second — The doctor one day preaching before the 
 king ond some of his dissolute courtiers (who had 
 been spending the preceding night in a manner 
 quite dissimilar from preaching and praying), ob- 
 serving his royal and noble auditors to have en- 
 tirely resigned themselves to sleep, suddenly 
 dropped in his discourse, and called three times 
 on the Earl of Lauderdale ; and on the earl's 
 starting up, the doctor coolly addressed him in 
 the following manner : " My Lord Lauderdale, I 
 sailed upon you, merely to caution you against 
 cnoring so loud, h st you should wake His Majesty." 
 
 The Kinif and the Dervhe. — A sultan amusing 
 himself with walking, observed a dervise sitting 
 with a human scull in his lap : not observing his 
 majesty, the reverend old man was looking very 
 earnestly at the scull, and appeared to be in a pro- 
 found reverie. His avtitude and manner surprised 
 the sultan, who approached him, and demanded 
 the cause of his being so deeply engaged in re- 
 flection. " Sire," said the dervise, " this scull 
 was presented to me this morning, and I have from 
 that moment been endeavouring in vain to discover 
 whether it is the scull of a powerful monarch like 
 your majesty, or of a poor dervise like myself." 
 
 Anecdote, — An old culprit was lately carried before 
 a learned justice of the peace in the country. The 
 constable, previously to commencing business, 
 informed his worship, that he had in his custody 
 John Simmons, alias Jones, alias Smith. "Very 
 well," said the magistrate, " I will try the tito women 
 first — so bring in Alice Jones." — Old Newspaper.
 
 SOT. Lb 01 A liOOKWORM. 181 
 
 " We may read, and read, and read again; and still glean 
 eoniething new, something to please, and something to 
 instniet."— //wrdi*. 
 
 CHAllACTPm OF THE WELSH IN THE 
 TIME OF HENRY THE SECOND. 
 
 Not only the nobility and gentry, but the whole 
 people of ^V'ales, were universally addicted to arms. 
 They ])aid no attention to commerce or navigation, 
 and but little to agriculture, depending for suste- 
 nance chieily on their cattle, and disliking, or rather 
 disdaining, any labour, except the toils of war and 
 huuting, in which from their infancy they trained 
 themselves up with unwearied alacrity. Military 
 exercises, or the severest fatigues in the woods and 
 mountains, were their constant diversions in time of 
 peace : and though their bodies were naturally not 
 robust, yet by this manner of life, they became 
 exceeding active, hardy, and dexterous in the use of 
 their arms, and ever ready to take them up when oc- 
 casion required it. To fight for their country, and 
 lose their lives in defence of its honour and liberty, 
 was their chief pride ; but to die in their beds they 
 thought disgraceful. 
 
 A very honourable testimony was given to their 
 valour by King Henry the Second, in a letter to 
 the Greek emperor, Comnenus. This prince 
 liaving desired that an account might be sent him 
 of all that was most remarkable in the island of 
 -Britain, Henry, in answer to that request, was 
 pleased to take notice^ among other particulars, of
 
 ^82 ^OTtS OF A £00KW011M. 
 
 the extraordinary courage and fierceness of the 
 Welch, "who were not afraid to light unarmed 
 with enemies armed at all points, willingly shedding 
 their blood in the cause of their country, and pur- 
 chasing glory at the expense of their lives." But 
 these words must not be taken in too strict a sense, 
 as if they had absolutely Avorn no armour 5 for they 
 used small and light targets, which were commonly 
 made of hides, and sometimes of iron ; but except 
 their breasts, which they guarded, all the rest of 
 their bodies were left defenceless, nor did they 
 cover their heads with casques, or helmets, so that 
 in comparison of the English, or other nations of 
 Europe, they might be called " unarmed." Their 
 offensive weapons were arrows, and long pikes, or 
 spears, which were of great use against cavalry ; and 
 these they, occasionally, either pushed with, or 
 darted j in which exercise the whole nation was 
 wonderfully expert ; but more especially those of 
 Korth Wales, who had pikes so strong and well 
 pointed, that they would pierce through an iron 
 coat of mail ; but those of South Wales, and par- 
 ticularly the province of Guent, or Monmouth, 
 which was then a part of that kingdom, were ac- 
 counted the best archers, not being inferior in the 
 use of the long bow to the Normans themselves. 
 
 The common people fought on foot ; but some 
 of the nobility began now to ride upon horses bred 
 in their own country, which were high mettled 
 and swift, but not very strong ; and even these 
 gentlemen would frequently dismount, both in com- 
 bating, and when they fled, the nature of their 
 country, as well as their discipline, being better 
 adapted to foot than horse. Their first onset was 
 terrible, but if stoutly resisted they soon gave 
 ground, and could never be rallied ; in which they 
 resemble other barbarous nations, and particularly
 
 XOTPS OF A HOOKWORM. IBS 
 
 the Britons and Celts, their forefathers. Yet, 
 though defeated and dispersed, they were not sub- 
 dued, but presently returned to make war again 
 upon those from whom they fled, by ambuscades 
 and night marches, or by sudden assaults when they 
 were least expected, in which their agility, spirit, 
 and impetuosity, made up what they wanted in 
 weight and firmness : so that although they were 
 easily overcome in a battle by regular troops, they 
 were with great difliculty vanquished in a war. 
 The same vivacity which animated their breasts, 
 inspired their tongues. They were of quick and 
 sharp wit, naturally eloquent and ready in speaking, 
 without any awe or concern before their superiors, 
 or in public assemblies ; but from this fire in their 
 tempers they were all ver\' passionate, vindictive, 
 and sanguinary in their resentments ; nor was their 
 revenge only sudden and violent when they re- 
 ceived any personal injury or affront, or while the 
 sting of it was recent in their minds ; but it was fre- 
 quently carried back by a false sense of honour, even 
 to very remote and traditional quarrels in v.'hich any 
 of their families had been engaged. For not only the 
 nobles and gentry, but even the lowest among thera 
 had each by heart his own genealogy, together with 
 which he retained a constant remembrance of every 
 injury, disgrace, or loss, his forefathers had suf- 
 fered, and thought it would be degenerating not to 
 resent it as personal to himself ; so that the vanity 
 of this people, with regard to their families, served 
 to perpetuate implacable feuds, and a kind of civil 
 war among private men ; besides the dissensions 
 it excited among their kings and chief lords, which 
 proved the destruction of their national union, and 
 consequently broke their national strength. 
 
 The}' were in their nature very light and incori- 
 Btant, easily impelled to any undertaking, even the 
 n 2
 
 184 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 most wicked and dangerous, and as easily induced 
 to quit it again ; desirous of change, and not to be 
 held by any bonds of faith or oaths, which tliey 
 violated without scruple, or sense of shame, both 
 in public or private transactions. To plunder and 
 to rob was scarcely' accounted dishonourable among 
 them, even when committed against their country- 
 men, much less against foreigners. 
 
 lliey hardly ever married without previous coha- 
 bitation, it being customary for parents to let out 
 their daughters to young men upon trial for a sum 
 of monej'' paid down, and under a penalty agreed 
 upon between them, if the girls were returned upon 
 them. The people in general, more especially their 
 princes and nobles, gave themselves up to excessive 
 lewdness ; but were remarkably temperate in eating 
 and drinking, constantly fasting until evening, and 
 then making a sober meal ; unless when they were 
 entertained at the tables of foreigners, when they 
 indulged themselves immoderately both in liquor 
 and food, passing at once from their habit of ab- 
 stinence, to the most riotous and brutal excess ; 
 but, nevertheless, when they came home, they re- 
 turned with great care to their former course of 
 life, and none of their nobles were led by the ex- 
 amples of the English to run out their fortunes by 
 a profuseness in keeping a table. No kind of 
 luxury was 3'et introduced into their manner of 
 living, not even a decent convenience or neatness. 
 They seemed to be proud of not wanting those de- 
 licacies, which other nations are proud of enjojnng. 
 Their kings, indeed, and a few of their principal 
 nobles, had built some castles in imitation of the 
 English, but most of their gentry still continued to 
 dwell in huts made of wattles, and situated in 
 solitudes, by the sides of the woods, as most con- 
 venient for hunting and pasture, or for a retreat in
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOIiIVI. 185 
 
 time of vrar. They had no gardens, orchards, nor 
 any improvements about their dwelhngs, which 
 they commonly changed every year, and removed to 
 other places, (as the Britons and Celts their an- 
 cestors had been accustomed to), for the sake of 
 fresh pasture, and a new supply of game. 
 
 Their furniture was as simple and mean as their 
 liouses, such as might answer the mere necessities 
 of gross and uncivilized nature. The only elegance 
 among them was music, which they were so fond 
 of, that in every family there were some who 
 played on the harp ; and skill on that instniment 
 was valued by them more than all other knowledge. 
 This greatly contributed to keep up that cheerful- 
 ness, which was more universal and constant in the 
 Welsh, than in the Saxons or Nonnans. 
 
 NotvN-ithstanding their poverty, they were so 
 hospitable, that every man's house was open to all ; 
 and thus no wants were felt by the most indigent, 
 nor was there a beggar in the nation. When any 
 stranger or traveller came to a house, he used no 
 other ceremony than at his first entrance to deliver 
 his arms into the hands of the master, who there- 
 upon oifered to wash his feet ; which, if he ac- 
 cepted it, was understood to signify his intention of 
 staying there all night ; and none who did so were 
 refused. Whatever the number or qualitj^ of their 
 guests might happen to be, the master and mistress 
 of the house waited on them, and would not sit 
 down at table v^-ith them, or taste any food until 
 they had supped. The fire was placed in the mid- 
 dle' of the room, on each side of which was 
 spread a coarse bed of hemp, over a thin mat 
 of rushes, where the whole family and their guests 
 slept together, vrithout even a curtain between 
 them. Their feet lay always next to the fire, 
 which, being kept burning all night, supplied the
 
 186 NOTr.S .OS- A BOOKWORM. 
 
 want of bed-clothes, for they had no covering but 
 the clothes they wore in the day. 
 
 It was customary for them to receive in a morn- 
 ing large companies of young men, who following 
 no occupation but arms, whenever they were not in 
 action strolled over the country, and entered into 
 any house they found in their way, where they 
 were -entertained until the evening with the music 
 of the harp, and free conversation with the young 
 women of the family. 
 
 Whenever any of them happened to meet a 
 monk, or other ecclesiastic, they instantly threw 
 down their arms, and bowing their heads implored 
 his blessing. When they imdertook a journey into 
 any foreign country, or when they married, or 
 were enjoined by their confessors any public pe- 
 nance, they paid a full tenth of all their goods, 
 which they called " the great tythe," in the pro- 
 portion of two parts to the church where they had 
 been baptised, and one to their bishop. 
 
 A DISSERTATION ON TAILS; 
 
 Particularly those uorn by the human species, being 
 an Oration delivered by a Student in the College 
 
 of . 
 
 The Tail, gentlemen, is so great, so distin- 
 guished an ornament to the person, either in 
 bipeds or quadrupeds, that it has excited equally 
 my astonishment and indignation, to find that it 
 has never been celebrated by the pen of any emi- 
 nent writer, either in verse or prose ; a subject 
 which, in the hands of a skilful orator, might be 
 turned and twisted in a thousand ways, and give 
 scope to the most beautiful flourishes of rhetoric !
 
 NOTES OF A B00KT\ORM. 187 
 
 My poor abilities, I own, are very unequal to the 
 task ; yet shall I do my best to treat of the subject 
 in a plain unadorned manner, endeavouring, with 
 all the accuracy I am capable of, first, to make some 
 researches into the antiquity of tails ; secondly, 
 to illustrate their beauty, dignity, and use ; and 
 lastly, to treat of the various substitutes that have 
 been made use of, to supply the want of this natural 
 ornament, and particularly of the British queue, or 
 'pig-tail, so much in vogue in this noble seminary. 
 
 First, then, of the untiquitif of Tails. 
 
 When we consider how kind Nature has been to 
 the lower part of the creation, — when we contem- 
 plate the bushy tail of the fox, the shady umbrella 
 of the squirrel, the gorgeous train of the peacock, 
 the scaly folds of the dragon, or the graceful ap- 
 pendages which deck the monkey race, now curling 
 over their heads, now spread on the ground in spiral 
 folds, and now assisting them in their flight from 
 tree to tree, — we are apt to repine at our own de- 
 ficiency, and to wonder that Nature, who has been 
 so liberal to other creatures, should have sent man, 
 her prime work, out into the world, so destitute and 
 unfurnished; but let us not judge too rashly. In 
 the golden age every thing was produced far more 
 perfect than at present ; the fruits of the earth were 
 brought to maturity without the least culture ; not 
 only the necessaries, but the elegancies of life 
 rose spontaneously : the woolly vesture of the 
 sheep was now stained with lovely yellow, now 
 tinged with azure, and now glowed with the Tyrian 
 purple. Can it be imagined, then, that man was 
 obliged to have recourse to art, as in these latter 
 ages, for so natural, so becoming a part of his 
 attire 1 Surely not. The familiarity which seems 
 then to have prevailed between man and his bre- 
 thren of the wood, affords a fresh presumption in
 
 188 NOTES OF A nOOKWORin. 
 
 favour of this opinion ; for such an intimacy would 
 scarcely have been formed, had there been so cha- 
 racteristical a difference between them. There is 
 even a tradition among the Japanese, that the 
 genius Lien Tien Chi, (who seems to answer to 
 the European Prometheus), at first gave his man a 
 longer and more magnificent tail than any other 
 creature ; but upon his murmuring that he had not 
 the wings of an eagle, nor the trunk of the ele- 
 phant. Lien Tien Chi, in great wrath, took away 
 his tail, and gave it to the monkey, who was before 
 that but very scantily provided. 
 
 Others say that the great emperor Xo Ho Chang- 
 fu, cousin to the moon, in a battle with the Tartars, 
 was seized with a sudden panic, and, flj^ng through 
 a wood, his tail was so entangled in the brakes, 
 that he found himself obliged to leave it behind 
 him ; upon whicli his courtiers (for courtiers were 
 sycophants in all ages), immediately cut off theirs, 
 to lessen their monarch's disgrace, from which time 
 they grew out of fashion. 
 
 I shall not here insist on the Rabbinical fable, 
 that man was at first created with a tail, but that it 
 was afterwards cut off, and woman made out of it. 
 This has too much of the air of fiction ; and I 
 should be sorry to have my system rest on an ac- 
 count, as improbable in itself, as injurious to the 
 fair sex. 
 
 But without examining the records of such re- 
 mote antiquity, manj' terms and usages still cur- 
 rent among us, plainly refer to such a custom. " It 
 is neither head nor tail," " I can make neither head 
 nor tail of it," would seem to imply that the two 
 parts are of equal dignity and importance, and that 
 it was reckoned as singular to appear without the 
 one as the other. The whole army " turned tail," 
 and fled, is also a phrase which is to be met with
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 189 
 
 in the most accurate and polite authors, and which 
 could never have obtained, if the part in question 
 had not originally belonged to man. 
 
 To mention one instance more, cutting off en- 
 tails, which appears to us a strange and unmeaning 
 term, seems to have taken its rise from the manner 
 of disinheriting among the ancients, which ( if I 
 may he allowed to conjecture), was signified by 
 cutting oft' the tail, when a son or next heir proved 
 undutiful, by which ceremony he was deprived of 
 the succession ; a severe and ignominious treat- 
 ment. 
 
 Thus much, I should imagine, might serve to 
 show the great probability at least of tails being 
 originally natural to us ; but, if the fact should still 
 seem dubious, it ought not, however, to prevent us 
 from endeavouring to supply them by art. Nature 
 has not given to man the fur of the beaver, nor the 
 fleece of tlie sheep, but he has reason and invention, 
 by which he is able to imitate or surpass the cover- 
 ing of any other animal, and it is fit and proper he 
 should exert them. 
 
 I come now to consider the beauty, use, and dig- 
 nity of tails. 
 
 Of their beauty little need be said ; it is striking, 
 it is self-evident. Nor is their use less apparent. 
 The tail supplies the fox with his various strata- 
 gems ; it serves the swallow for a rudder in sailing 
 through the air ; the beavers make use of it on 
 various occasions for carts ami barrows in building 
 their houses, and for trowels in their mason work. 
 The Syrian sheep are so jealous of the dignity of 
 them, as to have little carts made for them, in which 
 they take the trouble of dragging them about, lest 
 they should be soiled in the dirt. 
 
 To other animals they afford a cheap diversion, 
 and I cannot help wishing that many subtle logi-
 
 190 NOTES Of A BOOKWORM- 
 
 cians, and puzzling schoolmen, makers of anagrams 
 and acrostics, and metaphysicians who prove that 
 there is no such thing as matter or motion, had so 
 easy, simple, and innocent an amusement always at 
 hand, as a cat enjoys in running after her own tail. 
 
 There has ever been a propensity in man to sup- 
 pl}'- the deficiency we have been speaking of by 
 some artificial ornament. The sweeping trains of 
 the ladies, the bushy fleece of the judges, which 
 spreads down half their back, the knowing wigs of 
 counsellors, and the long, straight, taper pig-tail 
 of the beau of the last, but of the steady old gen- 
 tleman of the present generation, seem to be imi- 
 tations of different patterns. In Turkey it is made 
 the highest badge of nobility. When the Grand 
 Signer considers what shall be done for the man 
 whom he delights to honour, he makes him Bashaw 
 of one Tail ; if he be a great favourite he gives 
 him two ; but if his merits are very extraordinary 
 indeed, he makes him Bashaw of three Tails, which 
 is considered the highest honour the sultan can 
 confer upon a subject. 
 
 Something like this formerly took place amongst 
 our physicians, where the tails of the tie-wig 
 usually settled precedence, and indicated the merit 
 of the wearer. The Turks likewise hang out this 
 as an ensign of war, and when the black horse's 
 tail is displayed upon their standard, their enemies 
 tremble no less than if some comet hung over their 
 heads, with omens of ruin and devastation. 
 
 In one or two circumstances only, 1 would take 
 the liberty to suggest an alteration ; and first, as 
 there are various patterns for imitation, would it 
 not be better to choose one from a more graceful 
 animal than the pig? The monkey's, for instance, 
 ia infinitely more flowing and dtgagte ; and se- 
 condly, I can see no -sort of reason for changing tlie
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORBI. 191 
 
 ancient situation of tbe tail ; but this I submit to 
 better judges, Ccttera desunt. 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 Heylin in bis " Cosmographie," 1652, speaking 
 of Peru, saj^s : — 
 
 ♦' Not less profitable than the metalls, is one of 
 those vulgar plants, I mean tobacco, growing more 
 abundantly here than in any other countries of 
 America : for which cause, and the resemblance 
 which it hath to henbane, in form and quality, it is 
 called the henbane of Peru, by Gerrad and some 
 others of our modern herbalists. A plant which, 
 though in some respect, moderately taken, it may 
 be serviceable for physick, yet besides the impair- 
 ing of our inward parts, the immoderate, vain, and 
 \ hantastical abuse of this stinking weed, cor- 
 rupteth the naturall sweetness of the breath, stu- 
 pifieth the brain, and indeed is so prejudicial to the 
 general esteem of our countrymen, that one sai(h 
 of them, Anglorum corpora qui hide plant (t tantopere 
 indulgent, in barbarorum naturam degenerasse videnlur. 
 The two chief virtues ascribed unto it are that it 
 avoideth rheume, and is found to be a soveraign 
 antidote against lues venerea. For this last like 
 enough it is, that so unclean a disease may be 
 helped with such an unsavor^^ medicine. But for 
 the second it may perhaps consist more in opinion, 
 than truth or reality ; the rheume which it is said 
 to void, being no more than what it breedeth at 
 the present. We may as well conclude that bottled 
 ale is good for the breaking of winde, (which effect 
 we finde commonly to follow on the drinking of it), 
 though indeed it be only the same winde which 
 itself conveyed into the stomack. But tobacco is
 
 192 NOTES OF A BOOKWOR31. 
 
 by few now taken as medicinal ; it is of late times 
 grown H good fellow, and fallen from a physitiau to 
 a complement : an liumour which had never spread 
 so far among us, if the same means of preven- 
 tion had been used by the Christian magistrates, as 
 was by JMorat Bassa among the Turks ; who com- 
 manded a pipe to be thrust thorow the nose of a 
 Turk whom he found taking tobacco, and so to be 
 carried in derision all about Constantinople. It is 
 observed that the taking of tobacco was first 
 brought into England by the marriners of Sir Francis 
 Drake in 1585 ; and that it happened not unfitly in 
 the way of an antidote to that immoderate use of 
 drinking, which our low-country soldiers had 
 brought out of the Netherlands much about that 
 time, anno 1582. Before wliich time, the English 
 of all northern nations were deemed to be the most 
 free from that swinish vice, wherein it is to be feared 
 that they have now much outgone their teachers, 
 the Dutch." — Heylm's Cosmographie, 1652. 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh was the first who brought 
 tobacco into England and into fashion. They had 
 first silver pipes. The ordinary sort made use of a 
 walnut-shell and a strawe. I have heard my grand- 
 father say, that one pipe was handed from man to 
 man round the table. Within these thirty-five 
 years (written about 1680), it was scandalous for a 
 divine to take tobacco. It was then sold for its 
 wayte in silver. I have heard some of our old 
 yeomen neighbours say, that when they went to 
 market they culled out their biggest shilling to lay 
 in the scales against the tobacco. Now the custo- 
 mers of it are the greatest his IVIajestie hath. — 
 Aubrey MSS.
 
 KOTES DF A BOOKWORSt. 193 
 
 INVENTION OF GUNPOWDER. 
 
 As the origin of printing, an art calculated for 
 the promotion of knowledge and the general good of 
 mankind, is generally referred to the Germans, so 
 are they likewise supposed to he the authors of 
 those destructive and murderous inventions of guns 
 and gunpowder. The discovery indeed, like many 
 others, seems to have heen casual ; and according 
 to Polj'dore Virgil the name of the inventor is not 
 known. Trevet says the person was a monk of 
 Friburg, whose name was Anelzen ; but other 
 authors, with more probability, ascribe it to Bar- 
 tholdus Schwartz, a friar, who in making chemical 
 experiments mixed some salt-petre and brimstone 
 w4th other ingredients, and set them upon the fire 
 in a crucible, into which a spark happening to get, 
 the pot suddenly burst with great noise and vio- 
 lence. This unexpected effect surprised him at 
 first ; but repeating the experiment, and finding it 
 constant, he set himself to work to improve it : to 
 which purpose he caused an iron tube to be made 
 with a small hole at the end ; and putting in some 
 of his new composition, together with some little 
 stones, he set fire to it, and found it answer his ex- 
 pectations by penetrating all before it. This 
 Schwartz, say they, taught the use of gimpowder 
 to the Venetians, who first employed it in their war 
 with the Genoese in 1330 ; but the invention is 
 undoubtedly of an earlier date ; for we read, that 
 when Alphonsus, king of Castile, besieged the 
 Moors in 1343, they discharged a sort of iron mor- 
 tars which made a noise like thunder ; and this is 
 confirmed by what Don Pedro, bishop of Leon, 
 relates in his chronicle of king Alphonsus, who 
 reduced Toledo, namely, that "in a sea-fight be- 
 tween the king of Tunis, and the Moorish king of 
 s
 
 194 NOTES OF A EOOKWOKM. 
 
 Seville, about that time, tlie Tuuicians made use of 
 iron tuns or barrels, from wlience they threw thun- 
 der-bolts of fire." Add to this what Du Cange 
 tells us, that the registers of the chambers of ac- 
 counts in France make mention of gunpowder as 
 early as the year 1338, but after all there is suffi- 
 cient reason to think, that our celebrated friar 
 Bacon understood the composition of gunpowder 
 long before Schwartz was born, or any mention is 
 made of its being used in war. — Beauties of Nature 
 and Art. 
 
 THE SPECTRE OF THE BROKEN. 
 
 The Spectre of the Broken is a curious phenomenon 
 observed on the summit of the Broken, a mountain in 
 Hanover. We have the following account of itby 
 M. Hane. "After having been here," says he, 
 " for the thirtieth time, and having procured infor- 
 mation respecting the above-mentioned atmospheric 
 phenomenon, I was at length, on the 23d of May, 
 1797, so fortunate as to have the pleasure of seeing 
 it ; and perhaps my description may afford satisfac- 
 tion to others who visit the Broken through 
 curiosity. The sun rose about four o'clock, and 
 the atmosphere being quite serene towards the 
 east, his rays could pass without any obstruction 
 over the Heinrichshbhe. In the south-west, how- 
 ever, towards Achtermannshbhe, a brisk west wind 
 carried before it thin transparent vapours, which 
 ■were not yet condensed into thick heavy clouds. 
 
 About a quarter past four I went towards the inn, 
 and looked round to see whether the atmosphere 
 would permit me to have a free prospect to the 
 south-west ; when I observed, at a very great dis- 
 tance towards Achtermannshohe, a human figure of
 
 »OTES OF A EOOKWORM. 195 
 
 a monstrous size. A violent gust of wind having 
 almost carried away my hat, I clapped my hand to 
 it by moving my arm towards my head, and the 
 colossal figure did the same. 
 
 The pleasui-e Avhich I felt on this discovery can 
 hardly be described ; for I had already walked 
 many a weary step in the hope of seeing this sha- 
 dowy image, without being able to gratify my 
 curiosity. I immediately made another movement 
 by bending my body, and the colossal fig-ure before 
 me repeated it. 1 was desirous of doing the same 
 thing once more, but my colossus had vanished. 
 [ remained in the same position, waiting to see 
 whether it would return ; and in a few minutes it 
 again made its appearance on the Achtermannshohe. 
 I paid my respects to it a second time, and it did 
 the same to me. I then called the landlord of the 
 Broken ; and having both taken the same position 
 which I had taken alone, we looked towards the 
 Achtermannshohe, but saw nothing. We had not, 
 however, stood long, when two such colossal figures 
 were formed over the above eminence, which re- 
 peated our compliments by bending their bodies as 
 we did ; after which they vanished. We retained 
 our position ; kept our eyes fixed on the spot, and 
 in a little time the two figures again stood before us, 
 and were joined by a third. Every movement that 
 we made by bending our bodies these figures imi- 
 tated, but with this difference, that the phenome- 
 non was sometimes weak and faint, sometimes 
 strong and well defined. Having thus had an op- 
 portunity of, discovering the whole secret of this 
 phenomenon, I can give the following information 
 to such of my readers as may be desirous of seeing 
 it themselves. When the rising sun, and according 
 to analogy, the case will be the same at the setting 
 sun, throws his raj^s over the Broken upon the 
 s 2
 
 196 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 body of a man standing opposite to fine light 
 clouds, floating arour.d or hovering past Ijim, he 
 need only fix his eyes stedfastly upon them, and, 
 in all probability, he will see the singular spectacle 
 of his own shadow extending to the length of five 
 or six hundred feet, at the distance of about two 
 miles before him." 
 
 If our memory does not deceive us, there is in one 
 of the volumes of the Manchester Transactions, an 
 account of a similar phenomenon observed by Ur. 
 Ferrier, on a liill somewhere in England. — Additioti 
 to Encyclopedia. 
 
 THE LEGEND OF ST. ANTHONY— ST. 
 ANTHONY'S PIG. 
 
 Saint Anthony was bom in Egypt in 251, and 
 inherited a large fortune, which he distributed 
 among his neighbours and the poor, retired into 
 solitude, founded a religious order, built many 
 monasteries, and died anno 356. Many ridiculous 
 stories are told of his conflict with the devil, and 
 of his miracles. There are seven epistles extant 
 attributed to him. 
 
 St. Anthony is sometimes represented with a 
 fire by his side, signifj'ing that he relieves persons 
 from the inflammation called after his name ; but 
 always accompanied by a hog, on account of his 
 having been a swineherd, and curing all disorders 
 in that animal. To do him the greater honour, the 
 Romanists in several places, keep, at common 
 charge, a hog denominated St. Anthony's hog, for 
 which they have great veneration. Some will have 
 St. Anthonj'-'s picture on the walls of their houses, 
 hoping by that to be preserved from the plague ; 
 and the Italians, who do not know the true signifi-
 
 VOTES OF A BOOKWORM- 197 
 
 cation of the fire painted by the side of their saint, 
 concluding that he preserves houses from being 
 burnt, invoke him on such occasions. Both painters 
 and poets have made very free with this saint and 
 his followers ; the former by the many ludicrous 
 pictures of his temptation ; and the latter, by divers 
 epigrams on his disciples or friai-s ; one of which is 
 the following, printed in Stephens's " World of 
 Wonders." 
 
 " Once fed'st thou, Anthony, an herd of swine. 
 
 And now an herd of monks thon feedest still. 
 For wit and gut alike both charges him ; 
 
 Both loven filth alike ; both like to fill 
 Their greedy paunch alike ; nor was that kind 
 
 More beastly, sottish, swinish than this last ; 
 All else agrees, one fault I only find. 
 
 Thou feedest not thy monks with oaken mast." 
 
 REFLECTIONS OF A DERVISE. 
 
 A Dervise, remarkable for the sanctity of his 
 life, went one day to the house of a confectioner 
 at liagdad, the master of which, eager to entertain 
 the holy man, presented a vase filled with honey ; 
 but scarcely had he uncovered it, when a swarm of 
 flies settled on the honey. The confectioner took 
 a fan, in order to put them to flight — the flies that 
 were on the edges of the vase easily saved them- 
 selves, but those that were greedy had by throwing 
 themselves into the middle, become clogged with 
 the honey, and could not fly away. The Dervise, 
 absorbed in a profound reverie, examined this 
 sight with great attention, and when he recovered 
 himself a deep sigh escaped him. The confec- 
 tioner, surprised, asked him the cause of it. " The 
 vase," said the Dervise, " I was considering as this 
 world, and these flies as the inhabitants of it. Those
 
 198 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 who have stopped en the border of the vase re- 
 semble the wise, who, setting bounds to their de- 
 sires, do not run like madmen after pleasures, but 
 content themselves with moderately tasting them. 
 While those who have plunged into the middle of 
 the vase, represent those, who, giving reins to their 
 irregular passions, abandon themselves, without 
 restraint, to all sorts of sensuality. 
 
 " When," continued the holy man, " the angel 
 of death, arriving with rapid flight upon the surface 
 of the earth, shall shake his tremendous wings, the 
 men who shall have stopt on the borders of the 
 vase of this world will freely take their flight, and 
 soar with facility and rapture to the regions of 
 eternal day ; but those who, slaves to sensuality, 
 shall have plunged themselves into the empoisoned 
 vase of pleasure, will sink deeper therein, and at 
 last be precipitated into the unfathomable abyss of 
 endless night." — Translated from the French of the 
 Abbt Velly. 
 
 LACONICS. 
 
 From the French. 
 
 Though some women without fortunes have 
 made the marriage state happy, it was owing to 
 this reason 3 that the husband had fortune enough 
 for both. 
 
 It is more easy to appear worthy of a preferment 
 which we have not, than of that which we have. 
 
 Adversity is the touchstone of friendship.
 
 XOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 199 
 
 Kindnesses are written on the sand, and the 
 least wind effaces them ; but injuries are graven on 
 marble, and nothing can obliterate the impression. 
 
 Prudence without courage is useless ; and 
 courage without prudence is madness. 
 
 He is not so great an orphan whose parents are 
 dead, as he who is void of education. 
 
 CAUSE OF THE APPEARANCE OF YOUNG 
 FROGS AFTER RAIN. 
 
 Frogs are produced in the same manner as other 
 ovij)arous animals. The female lays her eggs, and 
 deposits them in holes of the earth, where she 
 nurses them as toads do their young ones. After 
 great rains, the water, deluging the little caverns 
 in which they lay their nests, obliges them to leave 
 them to prevent destruction. This sudden appear- 
 ance of frogs, after a great deal of rain, induced the 
 common people to imagine that they were engendered 
 in the rain, and so came down from the skies. In 
 Lapland, the sudden appearance of rats, bred in the 
 mountains, after heavy showers, gave rise to the 
 same opinion in that country concerning their ge- 
 neration. — French Anas, 1797. 
 
 ANCIENT DRESS OF THE IRISH. 
 
 GiRALDUs Cambrensis, A. D. 1180, informs us, 
 that the Irish wore braccce, or breeches, that is, the
 
 200 NOTES or A BOOKWORM. 
 
 long ancient breeches now", called pantaloons or 
 trowsers. On old monuments, the Irish kings are 
 dressed in a close tunic or vest, long trowsers down 
 to the ancle, and a long robe fastened on the breast 
 by a large broach. 
 
 THE CART OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 
 
 The Carrus, or Currus, was the common cart or 
 waggon. This kind of carriage was used by the 
 ancient Britons, in times of peace, for the purpose 
 of agriculture and merchandize, and in time of war 
 for carrying their baggage, wives, and children, who 
 commonly followed the armies of all the Celtic 
 nations. — Henry's History of England. 
 
 ALMS-HOUSES— POOR RATES. 
 
 Before the Reformation there were no poor's 
 rates ; the charitable doles given at religious houses, 
 and church-ales, in every parish, were sufficient. 
 In every parish there was a church-house to 
 which belonged spits, pots, crocks, &c. for dressing 
 provisions. Here the house-keepers met and were 
 merry, and gave their charity. The young people 
 came there too,^and had dancing, bowling, shooting 
 at the butts, ice. According to A. Wood, there were 
 few or no alms-houses before the time of Henry 
 VIII., that at Oxford, opposite to Christ church, 
 is one of the most ancient in England. — Note to 
 Valentine Greene's Worcester, 1796.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 201 
 
 " Nay, nay ; Maister Wiseman ; tell ns the eti/mon,-'t\\e 
 origo— let us hear the origin o't." — Old Play. 
 
 TOWN GUARD OF EDIXBURGH— THE 
 ORIGIN OF. 
 
 Bv the overthrow of James IV., at the battle 
 of Flodden, the city of Edingburgh was over- 
 whelmed with grief and confusion, that monarch 
 having been attended in his unfortunate expedition 
 by the Earl of Angus, then provost, with the rest 
 of the magistrates, and a number of the principal 
 inhabitants, most of whom perished in the battle. 
 After this disaster, the inhabitants being alarmed 
 for the safety of their city, it was enacted that every 
 fourth man should keep watch at night ; the forti- 
 fications of the to\%-n were renewed, the wall also 
 being extended in such a manner as to inclose the 
 grass market, and the field on which Heriot's Hos- 
 pital, the Grey Friars Church, and Charity Work- 
 house stand. On the east side it was made to in- 
 close the College, Infirmary, and High School, 
 after which, turning to the north, it met the old 
 wall at Netherbow Port. After this alarm was 
 over, the inhabitants were gradually relieved from 
 the trouble of watching at night, and a certain 
 number of militia appointed to prevent distur- 
 bances, who continue to this day, and are known 
 by the name of the To\\ti Guard.
 
 20^ NOTES OF A EOOKWORM. 
 
 MAUSOLEUM. 
 
 Artemisia, ■wife to Mausolus, king of Caria, 
 has immortalised, herself by the honours which she 
 paid to the memory of her husband. She built for 
 him a very magnificent tomb, called the Mauso- 
 leum, which was one of the seven wonders of the 
 world, and from which the title of mausoleum was 
 afterwards given to all tombs remarkable for their 
 grandeur ; but she died of regret and sorrow be- 
 fore it was finished. IMausolus died about the end 
 of the 106th Oljinpiad, 351 years before the 
 Christian era. 
 
 We are told by Aulus Gellius (b. 10. lib. 18), 
 says the ingenious author of the " Dialogues of 
 Lucian,"* that Artemisia, the T^-ife of Mausolus, 
 was so fond of him that after his death, his body 
 being reduced to ashes, she made them into a pow- 
 der, mixed with spices and perfumes, infused them 
 in water, and drank them up. 
 
 BETWEEN THE CUP AND THE LIP. 
 
 The proverb of " Many things fall out between 
 the cup and the lip," is generally supposed to have 
 taken its origin from one of Penelope's wooers being 
 shot just as he was going to drink, but it arose, 
 according to Ainsworth, thus : 
 
 " A king of Thrace had planted a vineyard, 
 w^hen one of his slaves whom he had much op- 
 pressed in that very work, prophesied that he, the 
 king, should never taste of the wine produced in it. 
 The king disregarded the prediction, and when at 
 an entertainment he held the cup full of his own 
 
 • Dr. T. Francklin.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. g03 
 
 wine, he sent for this slave, and asked him insult- 
 ingly, what he thought of his prophecy then. The 
 slave merely answ'ered, " Midta inter pocula ac labra 
 cadunt," and scarcely had he spoken, when news 
 was brought that a huge hoar was laying the vine- 
 yard waste. The king rose in a fury, attacked the 
 boar, and was himself killed without ever tasting 
 the wine." 
 
 WHY CROOKED MEN CALLED LORDS. 
 
 Among several probable accounts of this custom, 
 the following appears most rational. 
 
 In the first year of the reign of king Richard 
 111, commonly known by the name of Crookt- 
 back, six persons, unhappily deformed in that part 
 of their bodies, were made lords, as a reward for 
 several services they had formerly done the king ; 
 the novelty whereof occasioned the whole nation to 
 make merry with this sort of people, by advising 
 them to go to court, and receive an honour which 
 nature seemed to have designed them for ; it is from 
 this, we presume, the mock title of " My Lord," has 
 ever since been peculiar to such persons. — Gale's 
 Recreations. 
 
 So far INIr. Gale, w^hile others say that the hu- 
 mour of calling a crooked man " My Lord," came 
 from the Greek word Aopdos, crooked, or bent in- 
 wards. Lordosis, in medical writings, is used for 
 a distempered state of the spine, in which it is 
 bent inwards, or towards the anterior parts. — En. 
 
 POPE'S BULL. 
 
 Bull (bulla), properly a gold ornament or jewel 
 for children, hollow within, made like a heart, and
 
 204 NOTES OF A DOOKUOllM. 
 
 which used to be hung about their necks j and hence 
 the briefs or mandates of the Pope are called BulU 
 from the leaden and sometimes golden seal affixed 
 thereto. — Spel man's Glossary. 
 
 LED CAPTAIN— THE CONTEMPTUOUS 
 TITLE OF. 
 
 At the close of Queen Ann's wars, our armies 
 were disbanded, and tlie officers turned loose upon 
 the world, where some fastened on their own, some 
 on their neighbours' families, and every man of 
 large property had a captain who lived with him in 
 a state of convenient friendship — to be taken or 
 left at the pleasure of the master, like his led-horse ; 
 and hence came the phrase. 
 
 BACCHUS— WHY CROWNED WITH IVY. 
 
 The ivy, it is said, is reputed an antidote to the 
 intoxicating effects of wine, — whence Bacchus, the 
 god of wine, is most appropriately crowned with 
 wteaths of that plant. 
 
 GILD, OR GUILD — GUILDHALL, ^c — 
 WHENCE THE TER3IS. 
 
 Gild, says Wright, is the Saxon word for money, 
 and fraternities were called guilds, because at first, 
 when they associated for charity, religion, or mer- 
 chandize, they cast their money, goods, or even 
 lands, together, for the common charge. They had 
 annual feasts, at wliich they chose new officers ; 
 and they maintained priests to say masses for the
 
 NOTES OF A BOOK\VOnM. 205 
 
 living and the dead of their society. From these 
 gilds sprang the gilds of corporations and cities, 
 and the place in which they assembled was called 
 their gild, or guild-haW, 
 
 SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS- 
 ORIGIN OF THE TITLE. 
 
 The House of Commons, consisting of the 
 knights of the shire, &c. it was found necessary to 
 choose one of their own members, at the beginning 
 of every parliament, to preside in their debates, and 
 communicate what they thought proper to the King 
 and House of Lords in their name. The member 
 who was chosen to perform these offices was very 
 properly called " the speaker of the House of 
 Commons," ice. — Henry's History of Eiigland, 
 
 STRAWS— WHY LAID CROSS-WISE IN 
 THE PATH OF A WITCH. 
 
 " Straws dissolve inchantments," was in the 
 Havamaal, or the Divine Discourse of Odin, who gave 
 these precepts of wisdom to maiikind. Hence, proba- 
 bly, is derived the custom of laying two straws 
 cross-wise in the path where a witch is expected 
 to come. — MaUet^s Northerti Antiquities. 
 
 PARSON— W HENCE THE TERM. 
 
 Though we write parson differently, yet it is but 
 person; that is, the individual person set apart for 
 the service of such a church ; and it is in Latin 
 
 T
 
 206 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 persona; Siui personal us is a persouage : iudeed with 
 the canon lawyers, personatus is any dignity or pre- 
 fennent in the church. — Selden. 
 
 COCKSWAIN, OR COXEN, 
 
 The officer who manages and steers a boat, and 
 has the command of the boat's crew. It is evi- 
 dently compounded of the words cock and swain, 
 the former of which was anciently used for a yawl 
 or small boat, as appears by several authors ; but 
 it is now become obsolete, and is never used by our 
 mariners. 
 
 " You tall anchoring bark 
 Diminish'd to her cock ; her cock a buoy," &c. 
 
 SUAKSPEARE. 
 
 PASSPORT. 
 
 Pasqvier says, that passport was introduced for 
 passe-par-tout. Balzac mentions a very honourable 
 passport given by an emperor to a philosopher in 
 these terms : " If there be any one hardy enough 
 to molest Potamon, let him consider whether he be 
 strong enough to wage war with Caesar." — New 
 Commercial Diet. 1785. 
 
 TENNIS. 
 
 This well-known game is supposed by Skinner 
 to have derived its name from the word tenez, stop ; 
 the term used by the French in playing at this 
 game, when they hit the ball w4th the racket.
 
 >iOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 207 
 
 STERLING— WHENCE THE TERM. 
 
 Easterlixgs were people who liyed in the east, 
 particular!}' the merchants of the Hans To\%tis in 
 Germany. Whence easterling money, that which 
 we commonly called sterling, or current monej-, took 
 its rise, from a certain coin which Richard I. 
 caused to be stamped in those parts, and which 
 was held in great request for its purity. — Dictionary 
 of Husbandry, ^'c. 1728. 
 
 ICH DIEX— WHY USED AS THE MOTTO 
 OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. 
 
 The battle of Cressy began August the 24th 
 1346. The French army consisting of upwards of 
 100,000 men, out of which they lost 11 princes, 
 8 banners, 1,200 knights, above 80 standards, and 
 upwards of 30,000 common soldiers. The old 
 king of Bohemia, although blind, would not be 
 absent from the battle ; he, therefore, had his 
 horse's bridle fastened to the bridles of two valiant 
 knights. He was slain, however, for his temerity, 
 and his standard taken, on which there were three 
 ostrich feathers embroidered in gold, with these 
 words, Ich dien, I serve. The prince of Wales, in 
 commemoration of the day, wore three ostrich 
 feathers in his coronet with the same motto, which 
 has been continued by all his successors up to the 
 present time. 
 
 THE PILOT FISH. 
 
 Sea-farino people observe that this fish fre- 
 quently accompanies their vessels : and as they 
 
 T 2
 
 208 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 see it generally towards the fore-part of the ship, 
 they imagined, that it was guiding and tracing out 
 the course of the vessel, and hence it received the 
 name of pilot-fish. 
 
 Osbec tells us, that they are shaped like mack- 
 rels, which have a transversal line across the bod}''. 
 Sailors, continues he, give them the name of 
 pilots, because they closely follow the dog-fish, 
 swimming in great shoals round it on all sides. 
 It is thought that they point out some prey to the 
 dog-fish ; and indeed that fish is very unwieldy. 
 They are not only not touched by it, but also pre- 
 served by it against all their enemies. 
 
 EFFENDl, MASTER. 
 
 Effendi, in the Turkish language, signifies Mus- 
 ter; and accordingly it is a title very extensively 
 applied, as, to the mufti and emirs, to the priests 
 of mosques, to men of learning, and of the law. 
 The grand chancellor of the empire is called Reis 
 Effendi. 
 
 CATHOLIC KIXG. 
 
 Catholic King is a title peculiar to the king^ of 
 Spain, as Most Christian, to France ; and Defender 
 of the Faith, to England. 
 
 Alphonso the First, of Oviedo, had this title for 
 his sanctit}" ; with him it died, and was revived in 
 Alphonso the Great, the Twelfth of Leon and 
 Oviedo, by the grant of Pope John YIII. After it 
 lay dead till the days of Ferdinand the Great, 
 who re-obtained this title from Pope Alexander the 
 Sixth, because he procured the Moorg to be hap-
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 209 
 
 tized, banished the Jews, and in pait converted the 
 Armenians to Christianity. — Hint, of Spain. Blaunfs 
 Diet. 1681. 
 
 FLAMSTEAD HOUSE. 
 
 On tlie 10th August, 1675,* the Royal Obser- 
 vatory of Greenwich Park, was began to be erected 
 by order of Charles the Second, at the solicitation 
 of Sir Jonas IVIoore, and Sir Christopher Wren. 
 The first astronomer royal was Mr. Flamstead, hence 
 the house adjoining is called Flamstead House» — 
 Butler's Chron. 1807. 
 
 TO TAKE HECTOR'S CLOAK— WHENCE 
 THE SAYING. 
 
 That is, to deceive a friend who confideth in his 
 faithfulness. 
 
 When Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, 
 anno 1569, was routed in the rebellion he had 
 raised against Queen Elizabeth, he hid himself in 
 the house of one Hector Armstrong, of Harlow, in 
 this county (Northumberland), having confidence 
 he would be true to him, who notwithstanding be- 
 trayed him to the Regent of Scotland. It was ob- 
 servable, that Hector being before a rich man fell 
 poor of a sudden, and became so generally hated, 
 that he never durst go abroad. Insomuch that the 
 proverb to " take Hector's cloak" is continued to 
 this day among them, in the sense above men- 
 tioned. — Ray's Proverbs. 
 
 Some say 1679.— Ed.
 
 210 NOTES OF A BOOKWOUM. 
 
 ^acetiar, ^nttnote^f ^c. 
 
 To palliate dulness, and give time a shove." 
 
 Cowper. 
 
 ADVICE TO A YOUNG PHYSICIAN. 
 
 After the awkward ceremony of your first ap- 
 pearance is over, and matters a little adjusted, take 
 great care to be upon your guard : indulge in a 
 variety of signijicant gestures, and emphaticuL hems! 
 and hahs! proving you possessed of singularities, 
 that may tend to excite ideas in the patient and 
 surrounding friends, that a physician is a superior 
 part of the creation. 
 
 Let every action, every icord, every look, be strongly 
 marked, denoting doubt and ambiguity ; proceed to 
 the necessary inquiries of " what has been done in 
 rule and regimen previous to ihy being called in V* 
 Hear the recital with patience, and give your nod of 
 assent, lest you make ^Ir. Emetic, the apothecary, 
 your formidable enemy, who will then most con- 
 scientiously omit to recommend the assistance of 
 such extraordinary abilities on any future occasion. 
 
 Take care to look wisdom in every feature ; speak 
 but Little, and let it be impossible that that little 
 should be understood ; let every hint, every shrug, 
 be carefully calculated to give the standers-by a 
 wonderful opinion of yoiir learning and experience. 
 
 In your half-heard and mysterious conversation 
 with your medical inferior, do not forget to drop a 
 few observations upon the animal economy, circu- 
 lation of the blood, acrimony, the non-naturals,
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOnM. 211 
 
 stricture upon the parts, acute pain, inflammatory 
 heat, nervous irritability, and all those technical 
 traps that fascinate the hearers, and render the 
 patient yours ad libitum. 
 
 To the friends or relations of the patient (as the 
 case may he), you seriously apprehend g)-eat danger ; 
 but such apprehension is not without its portion of 
 hope ; and you doubt not but a rigid perseverance in 
 the plan you shall prescribe, will remove all diffi- 
 culties in a few days, and restore the patient (whose 
 recovery you have exceedingly at heart), to his 
 health and friends ; that you will embrace the 
 earUest opportunity to see him again, most probably 
 at such an hour (naming it) ; in the mean time you 
 are in a great degree happy to leave him in such 
 good hands as IVIr. Emetic, to whom you shall give 
 every necessary direction, and upon whose integHty 
 and punctuality you can implicitly rely. 
 
 You then require a private apartment for your 
 necessary consultation and plan o£ joint depredation 
 upon the pecuniary property of your unfortunate 
 invalid, which you are going seriously to attack with 
 the full force of physic and Jinesse. 
 
 You first learn from your informant what has 
 been hitherto done without effect, and determine 
 accordingly how to proceed ; but, in this, great 
 respect must be paid to the temper, as well as the 
 constitution and circumstances of your intended 
 p-ey. 
 
 If he be of petulant and refractory disposition, 
 submitting to medical dictation upon absolute com- 
 pulsion, as a professed enemy to physic and the 
 faculty, let your harvest be as short and complete 
 as possible. 
 
 On the contrary, should a hypochondriac be your 
 subject, with the long train of melancholy doubts, 
 fears, hopes, and despondencies, avail yourself of
 
 212 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 the faith implicitly placed in you, and regulate your 
 proceedings by the force of his imagination ; let 
 your prescription (by its length and variety), re- 
 ward your jackall for his present attention and 
 future service. 
 
 Take care to furnish the frame so amply with 
 physic, that food may be unnecessary ; let every 
 hour or two have its destined appropriation ; render 
 all possible forms of the materia medica subservi- 
 ent to the general good ; draughts, powders, drops, 
 and pills, may be given at least every tvs'o hours ; 
 intervening apozems or decoctions may have their 
 utility ; if no other advantage is to be expected, 
 one good will be clearly ascertained, the convenience 
 of having the nurse kept constantly awake, and if 
 one medicine is not productive of success another 
 may be. 
 
 These are surely alternatives well worthy your 
 attention ; being admirably calculated for the pro- 
 motion of your patient's cure, and your own repu- 
 tation. 
 
 Having written your long prescription, and learnt 
 from Mr. Emetic any necessary information, you 
 return to the room of your patient, to prove your 
 attention, and renew your admonitions of punctu- 
 ahty and submission ; then, receiving yonrfee with 
 a consequential air of indifference, you take your 
 leave ; not omitting to drop an additional assurance 
 that " you shall not be remiss in your attendance." 
 
 These, sir, are the instructions you must steadily 
 pursue, if you possess an ardent desire to become 
 eminent in your profession, opulent in your circum- 
 stances, formidable in your competitions, or a valuable 
 practitioner to the company of apothecaries, from 
 whom you are to expect the foundation of support. 
 
 A multiplicity of additional hints might be added 
 for your minute observance j but such a variety
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 213 
 
 will present themselves in the course of practice, 
 that a retrospective view of diurnal occiirrencea 
 will sufficiently furnish you with every possible in- 
 formation for your future progress; regulating- 
 your behaviour by the rank of your patients, from 
 the most pompous personal oste?itatjo?i, to the meanest 
 and most contemptible servUiti/, 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 Ik the year 1688, when James the Second left 
 London to join his army at Salisbury, he was at- 
 tended, among several other noblemen, by his son- 
 in-law, the Prince of Denmark. Whenever news 
 arrived, which was very frequent, of the revolt of 
 any one person from the king, Prince George was 
 wont to exclaim, with looks of wonder and amaze- 
 ment, " Est il possible?" The king, however, had 
 not been long at Salisbury, when this Danish prince, 
 consulting his worldly interest, but affecting a re- 
 gard for his religion, thought proper to desert his 
 father, friend, and benefactor. AH the comment 
 the poor king made upon this shocking instance 
 of perfidy and ingratitude, was contained in the 
 following words : " Est it possible? gone too !" 
 
 ANECDOTE OF THE DUKE OF QUEENS- 
 BURY. 
 
 When the Duke of Orleans was in England, he 
 frequently fell into the company of the Duke of 
 Queensbury, in consequence of his great attach- 
 ment to the amusements of the turf. His Grace, 
 it seems, amongst his various accoinplishments, 
 epoke French very indifferently. He was once
 
 314 NOTES OF A BOOKWOUM. 
 
 boasting, in the presence of His Royal Highness 
 the Prince of "Wales, of his great intimacy with 
 the French prince of the blood. " Why my Lord 
 Duke," said the Prince, " I understood quite the 
 contrary ; I have been informed you could never 
 agree with him." " Never agree with himl" an- 
 swered the Duke hastily. " No, never," replied 
 his Royal Highness, " for I am credibly informed 
 you never were in company with the Duke of Or- 
 leans, \s4thout giving him a great deal of 6ad, very 
 had language /" 
 
 EVERY MAN TO HIS TRADE. 
 
 In an advertisement by a reverend gentleman in 
 the West of England, against poachers, it is com- 
 manded that all persons do take notice, ** as they 
 value their eternal welfare." 
 
 IRISH ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 An advertisement in an Irisli paper, by a gentle- 
 man who wishes to sell an estate, runs thus " The 
 purchaser may have the whole by appraisement; 
 but if he objects to these terms, he may have it at 
 half jrrice.'^ 
 
 ANECDOTE OF DAVID HUME. « 
 
 Lady W was partial to the philosopher, and 
 
 the philosopher was partial to the lady. They once 
 crossed the Frith together, when a violent storm 
 rendered the passengers apprehensive of a salt 
 water death ; and her ladyship's terrors induced
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 215 
 
 her to seek consolation in her friend, who with infi- 
 nite sangfroid assured her " he thought there was 
 great probability of their becoming food for fishes." 
 
 " And pray, my dear friend," said Lady VV , 
 
 •' which do think they will eat first?" " Those 
 who are gluttojia," replied the historian, " will un- 
 doubtedly fall foul of me ; but the epicures will most 
 assuredly attack your ladyship." 
 
 AXCIENT DRESS. 
 
 In the reign of Queen JMary, a proclamation was 
 issued, ordering that no person should wear shoes 
 aboie six inches square at the toes. 
 
 The large periwig worn by Steele, cost him forty- 
 guineas. Combing their 'own wio:s by gentlemen 
 in public, was, in the reign of Charles II., the very 
 quintessence of gallantry", and good breeding. 
 
 A satirical writer has described a buck of the 
 last centurv', as decorated with a coat of hght green, 
 with sleeves too small for the arms, and buttons 
 too big for the sleeves ; Manchester small-clothes 
 without money in the pockets ; clouded silk stock- 
 ings, but no legs : a club of hair behind larger than 
 the head which carries it, and a hat of the size of 
 a sixpence, on a block not worth a farthing. 
 
 BEAU OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 The costume of an English beau of the fourteenth 
 century, consisted of long pointed shoes, the curl- 
 ing toes of which were fastened to his knees by 
 gold or silver chains ; a stocking of one colour on 
 one leg, and one of a different colour on the other ; 
 breeches which did not reach to the middle of his
 
 216 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 thighs; a coat, one half white, and the other black 
 or blue ; a long beard, and a silk hood buttoned 
 under his chin, embroidered with grotesque figures 
 of animals, and sometimes oraaraented with gold, 
 silver, and precious stones. 
 
 ANCIENT MYSTERIES. 
 
 It is asserted by Warton, on the authority of a 
 MS. in the Harleian Library, that mysteries were 
 thought to contribute so much to the information 
 and instruction of the people, that one of the popea 
 granted a pardon of one thousand days to every 
 person who resorted peaceably to the plays acted 
 at Chester in the Whitsun week, commencing with 
 the " Creation," and ending with the " General 
 Judgment." The exhibitions were at the expense 
 of the different trading companies of that city, and 
 the reader will smile at the ludicrous combination 
 of actors. The •' Creation," was performed by 
 drapers; the "Deluge," by dyers; Abraham, 
 JNIelchisedech, and Lot, were performed by bar- 
 bers ; the " Purification," by blacksmiths ; the 
 *' Last Supper," by bakers ; the " Kesurrection," 
 by skinners; and the " Ascension," by tailors. 
 
 TURNPIKES AND HIGHWAYS. 
 
 The first act for erecting turnpikes was passed 
 in 1662. The stations for them at that time were 
 Wadesmill, Caxton, and Stilton. The general and 
 great improvement of highways did not take place 
 until the reign of George 11.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. '217 
 
 iBmtlUntom. 
 
 " We may read, and read, and read again ; and still glean 
 something new, something to please, and something to 
 instruct."— Hurdis. 
 
 GOLDEN MAXIMS. 
 
 The following extracts are taken from 'a little 
 work, in the Editor's possession, entitled " Miscel- 
 lanea, or Clioice Observaiions and Pleasant Remarks 
 on the Vertnes, Vices, and Hnmours of Mankind, both 
 Moral and Divine. Second Edition; by J. H." 
 The initials J. II., the Editor is informed, are those 
 of John Hall, Bishop of Norwich, who died anno 
 1659, ajt. 8ii. 
 
 On Dress. 
 
 In thy apparel avoid profuseness, singularity, 
 and pjaudiness ; let it be decent, and suited to the 
 ([uality of thy place and purse. Too much punc- 
 tuality, and too much morosity, are the extremes 
 of pride. Be neither too early in the fashion, nor 
 too long out of it, nor too precisely in it. What 
 custom hath civilized hath become decent ; until 
 then it was ridiculous. Where the eye is the jury, 
 thy apjiarel is the evidence : the body is the shell 
 of the soul, apparel is the husk of that shell ; and 
 the husk will often tell you what the kernel is. 
 Seldom doth solid wisdom dwell under fantastic 
 apparel ; neither will the pantaloon fancy be im- 
 mured witliin the walls of grave habit. The fool 
 is know^n.by his pied coat, 
 u
 
 213 NOIES or A BOOKWORM. 
 
 On Conversation. 
 
 Cloatlic not thy language eitlier with obscurity 
 or affectation ; in the one thou discoverest too much 
 darkness, and in the other too much lightness ; he 
 that speaks from the understanding to the under- 
 standing, doth best. Know when to speak, lest 
 while thou shewest wisdom in not speaking, thou 
 bewray thy folly in too long silence. If thou art a 
 fool, tiiy silence is wisdom ; but if thou art wise, 
 thy long silence is folly. As too many words from 
 a fool's mouth, gives one that is wise no room to 
 speak, so too long silence in one that is wise, 
 gives a fool opportunity of speaking, and makes 
 thee in some measure guilty of his folly. To cou- 
 clude, if tliou be not wise enough to &peak, be at 
 least so wise as to hold thy peac«. 
 
 On Bearing Adieriity, 
 
 Hath fortune dealt thee ill cards, let wisdom 
 make thee a good gamester. In a fair gale every 
 fool may sail, but wise behaviour in a storm com- 
 mends the wisdom of a pilot* To bear adversity 
 with an equal mind, is botli sign and glory of a brave 
 spirit. As there ia no worldly pain without some 
 loss, so there is no worldly loss without some gain. 
 If thou hast lost thy wealth, tliou hast lost some 
 trouble wtli it ; if thou art degraded of thy honour, 
 thou art likewise freed from the stroke of envy ; 
 if sickness hath blurred th}- beauty, it hath delivered 
 thee from pride. Set the allowance against thy 
 loss, and thou shall find no great fos«. He loseth 
 little or nothing, who keepeth the favour of his 
 God, and the peace and freedom of his conscience.
 
 NOTES ()!• A BOOKWORM. gl9 
 
 On Anger, 
 
 Beware of him that is slow to anger. Anger 
 
 when it is long in coming, is the stronger when it 
 I'omes, and tlje longer kept. Abused patience turns 
 to fury. When fancy is the ground of passion, that 
 understanding which composes the fancy, qualifies 
 the passion ; but when judgment is the ground, the 
 memory is the recorder, and this passion is long 
 retained. 
 
 On Secret Euemies. 
 
 He that professeth himself thy open enemy, arms 
 thee against the evil he means thee ; but he that 
 dissembles himself tliy friend, when he is thy secret 
 enemy, strikes beyond caution, and wounds above 
 cure. From the first, thou may'st deliver thyself: 
 from the last, good Lord deliver thee. 
 
 On Law and Physic 
 
 If thou study law or physic, endeavour to know 
 both, and to need neither. Temperate diet, moderate 
 and seasonable labour, rest, and recreation, with 
 God's blessing, will save thee from the physician ; 
 n peaceful disposition, prudent and just behaviour, 
 will secure thee from the law. Yet if necessity 
 absolutely compel, thou may'st use both ; they that 
 use either otherwise than for necessity, soon abuse 
 themselves into weak bodies, and light purses. 
 
 V 'i
 
 ^20 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 On Inconstancy. 
 
 Be not unstable in thy resolutions, nor %'arious 
 in thy actions, nor inconstant in thy affections. So 
 deliberate that thou mayest perform ; so perform 
 that thou mayest persevere. Mutability is the 
 badsre of infirmity. 
 
 Charity Allegorized. 
 
 Charity is a naked child, giving honey to a bee 
 without wings. Naked, because excuseless and sim- 
 ple ; a child, because tender and gTOwing ; giving 
 hone}', because pleasant and comfortable ; to a bee, 
 because a bee is industrious and deserving ; -without 
 wings, because wanting and helpless. If thou de- 
 niest to such, thou killest a bee ; if thou givest to 
 Other than such, thou preservest a drone. 
 
 On Diet and Regimen. 
 
 If thou desirest to take the best advantage of 
 thyself, especially in matters where the fancy is 
 most employed, keep temperate diet, use moderate 
 €xercise, observe seasonable and set hours for rest, 
 and let the end of th}- first sleep raise thee from 
 thy repose ; then hath thy body the best temper ; 
 thy soul the least incumberance ; then no noise 
 shall disturb thine ear ; no object shall divert thine 
 eye ; then, if ever, shall thy sprightly fancy trans- 
 port thee beyond the common pitch, and shew tho 
 magazine of high invention.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOnSI. ygl 
 
 How to use Prosperity. 
 
 So use prosperity, that adversity may not abuse 
 thee. If in prosperity thy security admits no fear ; 
 in adversity thy despair will afford no hope ; he 
 that in prosperity can foretel a danger, can in ad- 
 versit}' foresee deliverance. 
 
 On Believing and Communicating Keics. 
 
 Let the greatest part of the news thou hearest, 
 be the least part of what thou believest, lest the 
 greatest part of what thou believest, be the least 
 part of what is true ; and report nothing for truth, 
 in earnest or in jest, unless thou know it, or at least 
 confidently believe it to be so ; neither is it ex- 
 pedient at all times, or in all companies, to report 
 what thou kuowest to be true ; sometimes it may 
 avail thee, if thou seem not to know, that which 
 thou knowest. Hast thou any secret, commit it 
 not to many, nor to an}', unless well known unto 
 thee. 
 
 On Conduct towards a Friend. 
 
 Hast thou a friend, use him friendly ; abuse him 
 not in jest or earnest ; conceal his infirmities ; pri- 
 vately reprove his errors. Commit thy secrets to 
 him, yet with caution, lest thy friend become thy 
 enemy, and abuse thee. 
 
 On Court Favourites and Promises. 
 
 Be not too ambitious of becoming a court fa- 
 vourite, nor too confident in court promises, nor
 
 222 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 too proud of court preferment : the first will vanish 
 upon the least disgust ; the second is easy to be 
 forgotten ; the third doth often end in ruin. Look 
 upon a gallant ship -well rigg'd, trini'd, and tackl'd, 
 and man'd, and muniiion'd, with her top and top- 
 gallant, and her spread sails swelling with a full 
 gale in fair weather, putting out of the haven into 
 the smooth main, and drawing the spectators' eyes 
 with a well-wishing admiration ; but soon after the 
 same ship is split upon some dangerous rock, or 
 wrecked by some disastrous tempest, or sunk by 
 some leak sprung in her by accident : such is the 
 court-favourite's condition. To-day, lite Sejanus, 
 he dazzleth all men's eyes with the splendour of 
 his glory, and with the proud beak of his powerful 
 prosperity cutteth ihe waves, and ploweth through 
 the press of the multitude, scorning to fear any 
 remora at his keel below, or any cross winds from 
 above ; and yet to-morrow, in some storms of un- 
 expected disfavour, springs a leak in his honour, 
 and sinks in the (luicksands of disgrace, or dashed 
 against the rocks of displeasure, is split and wrecked 
 in the Charybdis of infamy, and so concludes his 
 voyage in misfortune. 
 
 On Equanimity, 
 
 'Tis hard to be cheerful without levity, or serious 
 without melancholy ; we verge to extremes : in- 
 conveniences and snares attend all constitutions 
 and complexions, and, like syllogisms, sequimiir dC' 
 teriorem 'partem. Cheerfulness is most like to do 
 the body good, and the soul hurt : that therefore 
 soul and body may receive good and no hurt, be 
 cheerfully serious, and seriously cheerful ; while 
 cheerfulness is the sail, let seriousness be the bal-
 
 NOTES OF A HOOKWORM. ^2'3 
 
 last ot the vessel j if thou want ballast, thou wilt 
 move too swiftly ; if thou v/ant sails, thou shalt 
 move too slowly. 
 
 On Running iii Debt, 
 
 Let not thy expence exceed thy income, lest 
 thou run in debt ; and spend not too much on hopes, 
 lest thou be disappointed of thy hopes, and never 
 recover thy expence. As it is miserable to live 
 upon the bounty or benevolence of another, so it 
 is the highest aggravation of this misery to live ft 
 servant, in continual fear of an exacting creditor ; 
 better it is that thou continue in the estate wherein 
 God hath set thee, though but mean, than for ft 
 time to live above it, and after to bo brought low. 
 He that fallri from on high is in great danger, and 
 ahall receive more damage than he that keeps lov/. 
 
 On Moderation in Food, 
 
 Let that table which God hath pleased to give 
 thee, please thee ; accustom thy palate to that 
 which is most usual, consulting rather thy health 
 than thy appetite. He that delights in varieties 
 must often feed displeased, and sometimes lie at the 
 mercy of a dear market. Common food nourishes 
 best ; delicacies please most ; the sound stomach 
 l)refers neither : what art thou the worse for thy 
 last year's plain diet, or what now the better for 
 tliy last great feast 1 If thou be content with a 
 little, thou hast enough : if thou complain, thou 
 liast too much. In the entertainment of thy friend, 
 let thy provision be solid, and fuller of substance 
 than of art ; be wisely frugal in thy preparation.
 
 S24 NOTES or A r.OOK^VORM. 
 
 and freely cheerful in thy entertainment; if thy 
 guests be right, it is enough ; if not, it is too much : 
 too much is vanity, enough is a feast. 
 
 Oil Moderation in our Exertions. 
 
 Hast thou any business of consequence in agita- 
 tion, let thy care and endeavour to accomplish it 
 be reasonable and seasonable. Continual standing 
 bent weakens the bow ; too hasty drawing breaks 
 it. Put oft' thy cares with tliy clothes ; so sliall 
 thy rest strengthen thy labour, and thy labour 
 sweeten thy rest. 
 
 On Patience under Injuries. 
 
 Hath any wounded thee witli injuries, meet them 
 with patience ; hasty words rankle the wound, soft 
 language dresses, forgiveness cures it, and oblivion 
 takes away the scar. It is more noble by silence 
 to avoid an injury, than by argument to overcome it. 
 
 AUTHENTIC SPEECH OF QUEEN 
 ELIZABETH 
 
 To her army embarked at Tilbury, under the commanJ 
 of the Earl of Leicester, in the year lo8S, when 
 these kinfrdoms were threatened with an invasionfrom 
 Spain. Referred to by Rapin in his History oj 
 England. 
 
 My loving People, 
 
 We have been persuaded by some that are care- 
 ful of our safety, to take heed how we commit
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKV.-ORM. 225 
 
 ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery ; 
 but 1 assure you I do not desire to live to distrust 
 my faithful and loving people. 
 
 Let tyrants fear : I have always so demeaned 
 myself, that, under God, I have placed my chiefest 
 strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good 
 will of my subjects ; and, therefore, I am come 
 amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my 
 recreation and disport, but being resolved in the 
 mid.-it and heat of battle, to live or die amongst 
 3'ou all, to lay down for my God, and for my king- 
 doms, and for my people, my honour and my blood, 
 even in the dust. 
 
 I know 1 have the hody but of a weak and feeble 
 woman ; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, 
 and of a king of Eui^land too ; and think foul scorn 
 that Parma or Syiain, or an}' prince of Europe, 
 should dare invade the borders of my realm ; to 
 which, rather than any dishonour should grow by 
 me, I myself will take up arms, 1 myself will be 
 your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of 
 your virtues in the field. 
 
 I know that, for your forwardness, you have 
 already deserved rewards and crowns ; and we 
 do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall 
 be duly paid you. In the meantime, my lieutenant- 
 general shall' be in my stead, than whom never 
 prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject ; 
 not doubting but by your obedience to my general, 
 by your conduct in the camp, and your valour in 
 the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over 
 these enemies of my God, of my kingdoms, and 
 of my well-beloved and loving people.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 BUMPER— BUMPKIN— BUMPING LASS, 
 
 The jolly toper is so fond of the thing we call a 
 bumper, that he troubles not himself about the 
 name, and so long as the liquor isbut fine and clear, 
 cares not a farthing in how deep an obscurity the 
 etymology is involved. The sober antiquarian, on 
 the contrary, being prone to etymology, contem- 
 plates the sparkling contents of a full glass with 
 much less delight, than he does the meaning, the 
 occasion, and the original of the name. The com- 
 mon opinion, (1 call it the common opinion, because 
 I have heard it from so many) is, that the bumper 
 took its name from the grace-cup ; our Koman Ca- 
 tholic ancestors, say they, after their meals, always 
 drinking the Pope's health in this form.au bon Pere. 
 But there are great objections to this ; as first, the 
 Pope was not the bim Pere, but the saint Pere ; 
 amongst the elder inhabitants of this kingdom, the 
 attribute of sanctity being in a manner appropriated 
 to the Pope of Rome, and his see. Again, the 
 grace-cup, which went round of course, after every 
 repast, did not imply any thing extraordinary, or a 
 full glass. Then, 3aly, let us consider a little the 
 nature of the grace-cup. Drinking-glasses were 
 not in use at the time here Supposed, for the grace- 
 cup was a large vessel, proportioned to the number 
 of the society, which went round the table, the 
 guests drinking out of one cup one after another. 
 Virgil describes something like it ; when speaking 
 of the entertainment Queen Dido gave to iEneas, 
 he says : 
 
 Postquain prima quies epulis, mensaeque remote ; 
 Crateras magnos statuunt, et vina coronant. 
 
 Hie regiiia gravem gemmis auroque poposcit, 
 Implevitque mero pateram
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOUM. 227 
 
 Primaqnc libato, summo tenus attigit ore. 
 Turn Biti2e dedit increpitans ; ille impiger hansit 
 Spuraantem pateram, et plcno se prolult auro. 
 Post alii proceres. 
 
 The feast waa ended, the cup went round after it, 
 and the health was " that Jupiter should shower 
 down his blessings, and that peace and concord 
 might reign between the parties, the Trojans and 
 Tyrians ;" which leads me to remark, 4tbly, and 
 lastly, that there is no proof of the fact, that the 
 grace-cup was the Pope's health. At St. John's 
 college, Cambridge, the president, or his locam 
 tenens, gave the old house, meaning prosperity to 
 the college. But then this, it may be said, was 
 since the reformation ; therefore, to go higher, at 
 Mr. Newman's of VVestberc, near Canterbury, in 
 Kent, I saw the grace-cup of John Foch, alias 
 Essex, the last abbot of St. Austin's, Canterbury, 
 and my ever valuable friend. Dr. George Lynch, 
 was pleased afterwards, with 3Ir. Newman's leave, 
 to make me a present of a very neat drawing of it, 
 which I now have by me. It was mounted with 
 silver gilt, much in the manner as the shells of 
 cocoa nuts commonly are, and was very neat. Foch, 
 the abbot, was a man of note in his time, as like- 
 wise afterwards, as appears from John Twyne'a 
 commentary de Rebus Albionicis, in which piece he 
 is the principal interlocutor. Mrs. Newman Avas a 
 Foch of the same family, and by that means the 
 cup came to Mr. Newman. Now, the inscription 
 round the neck of this cup, in old letters of the 
 time, is this. 
 
 Welcome zc be, 
 Dryiig for cliarite. 
 
 This cup is too small to be a vessel employed in 
 the common refectory of that large foundation, and 
 probably wag only used in the abbot's own apart-
 
 228 NOTES Ol- A EOOKWOIIM. 
 
 ment. But now, if the Pope's health was not usually 
 drank, after dinner, by the religious societies, and 
 I think there is no proof it ever was, we can much 
 less expect it should go round in those jovial meet- 
 ings of the laity, in which bumpers were introduced. 
 For these reasons, I am for looking out for a dif- 
 ferent original ; and, in the first place, the word is 
 of no great antiquity, but on the contrary rather 
 modern, for it occurs not either in Littleton's dic- 
 tionary, or Cotgrave ; I shoidd think it might be 
 the French bon verre, which is a genuine French 
 phrase, as may be seen in Boyer ; and certainly, 
 B, P, and V, being leiters of the same organ, are 
 easily changed for one another. But if this does 
 not please, I would observe next, tliat in some of 
 the midland counties, an}- thing large, is called a 
 bumper, as a large apple, or pear ; hence, buviping 
 ]ass is a large girl of her age, and a huwpkin is a 
 large-limbed uncivilized rustic ; the idea of gross- 
 ness and size, entering the character of a country 
 bumpkin, as well as that of an unpolished rudeness. 
 Mr. Johnson in his dictionary, 1 observe, deduces 
 the word bumper from bump. But what if it should 
 he a corruption of butiibard or bombard, in Latin 
 bombardus, a great gun ; and from thence applied 
 to a large flaggon, black jack, or a full glass. Thus 
 the lord chamberlain says to the porters, who had 
 been negligent in keeping out the mob, 
 
 You are lazy knaves : 
 And here ye lie baiting of bombards, when 
 Ye should do good service. 
 
 Shaks. H. viii. act v. sc. 7. 
 
 Baiting of boynbards, is a cant term for sotting 
 and drinking, which Nash, in his Supplication to 
 the Devil, (p. 44.) calls by a hke metaphor, beer- 
 baiting. So Shakspeare again, " Yond same black 
 cloud, yond huge one, looks hke a foul bombard
 
 KOTES OF A rOOKWORM. 229 
 
 that would shed his liquor.'* — Tempest, actii. sc. 2.; 
 where Mr. Theobald rightly explains it a large vessel 
 for holding drink, as uell as the piece of ordnance so 
 called. P and B, as I said before, are so similar, 
 biimbard would easily be turned into bumper. How- 
 ever, I should prefer any one of these etymologies 
 to that of ait bon Pere, but which of the three to 
 choose 1 am uncertain, and therefore am very willing 
 to leave it to the reader to take which he likes best ; 
 and if he approve of none of them, the liquor I 
 hope, and the quantity, may still please. — Gentle- 
 man's Magazine, 1759. 
 
 THE STATE OF MATRIMONY AMONG THE 
 ANCIENT NORTHERN NATIONS. 
 
 The matrimonial ceremonies of the ancient in- 
 habitants of the North were very simple, and 
 chiefly consisted in feasting. The bridegroom 
 having obtained the maiden's consent, together 
 with that of her parents and guardians, appointed 
 the day ; and having assembled his own relations 
 and friends, sent some of them to receive in his 
 name the bride and her portion from her father. 
 The friends were answerable for the charge that was 
 committed to them, and if they abused their trust, the 
 law amerced them in a sum treble to what was paid 
 for murder. The father or guardian of the young w^o- 
 man attended her also to her husband's house, and 
 there gave her into his hands. After this the new- 
 married pair sat down to table with their guests, 
 who drank their healths along with those of the 
 gods and heroes. The bride's friends then took 
 her up and bore her on their shoulders, which was 
 a mark of esteem among the Goths ; her father af- 
 terwards led her to the nuptial bed, a great number 
 of lights being carried before her ; a custom known 
 to the Greeks and Romans, and still in use in some 
 
 X
 
 230 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 parts of the North. The marriage being consum- 
 mated, the husband made his wife several presents, 
 such as a pair of oxen for the plough, an harnessed 
 horse, a buckler, together with a lance and a sword. 
 " This was to signify," says Tacitus, " that she 
 ought not to lead an idle and luxurious life, but 
 that she was to be a partaker with him in his la- 
 bours, and a companion in dangers, which they 
 were to share together in peace and war." He adds, 
 that " the women on their parts gave some arms ; 
 this was the sacred band of their union, these their 
 mystic rites, and these the deities who presided 
 over their marriage." The yoked oxen, the capa- 
 risoned horse, and the arms, all served to instruct 
 the women how the}- were to lead their life, and 
 how perhaps it might be terminated. The arms 
 were to be carefully preserved, and being ennobled 
 by the use the husband made of them, were to be 
 consigned as portions for their daughters, and to 
 be handed down to posterity. 
 
 The German women have been justly noted for 
 fidelity to the marriage-bed ; and indeed chastity 
 seems to have been the general character of this 
 nation. Let us see what that most excellent writer 
 Tacitus says on this subject : "A strict regard for 
 the sanctitj^ of the matrimonial state characterizes 
 the Germans, and deserves our highest applause. 
 Among them female virtue runs no hazard of being 
 debauched by the outward objects which are pre- 
 sented to the senses, or of being corrupted by such 
 social gaieties as inflame the passions. The art of 
 corresponding by letters is equally unknown to both 
 sexes. Very few adulteries happen in that popu- 
 lous nation ; where the power of instantly inflicting 
 punishment is granted to the injured husband ; who 
 after having cut off her hair in the presence of her 
 relations, drives liis wife naked out of his house.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOUM. 231 
 
 and whips her through the village. Chastity once 
 prostituted is never forgiven ; nor to such a one 
 can the attractions of beauty, youth, or riches, pro- 
 cure an husband. Vice is not there made the ob- 
 ject of wit or mirth : nor can the iashiou of the 
 age be pleaded in excuse either for being corrupt, 
 or for endeavouring to corrupt others. Good cus- 
 toms and manners will avail more among these 
 barbarians, than good laws among- a more refined 
 people." 
 
 Our own historical monuments coHifirra these 
 testimonies. I have before observed, that their 
 religion threatened the seducers of women with 
 the severest torments of the next world. Adam 
 of Bremen, in his voyage to Denmark observes,, 
 that adultery was there most strictly punished; 
 and that the woman who was detected in it was. 
 sold on the spot. The law in Iceland was equally 
 remarkable ; for it not only denounced very severe 
 punishments against rapes and adulteries, but pro- 
 ceeded farther ; expressly prohibiting even kissing 
 or secret embraces. Whoever kissed a woman 
 against her own consent was condemned to exile ; 
 and even with her consent he was fined three marks 
 of silver. Every degree of this crime was rated in 
 the same proportion. If a man abused a free 
 woman he was punished with death ; and if one 
 that had been freed, with banishment ; if a slave, 
 he was amerced three marks. Among the Swedes 
 and Danes, the husband who caught his wife in 
 the act of adultery, might immediately kill her. 
 Saxo takes notice of the same law, which he at- 
 tributes to King Frotho. 
 
 When the people of the North migrated into the 
 
 southern parts of Europe, they carried along with 
 
 their laws, a chastity and reserve which excited 
 
 universal surprise. Sulvian, a priest of Marseilles 
 
 X 2
 
 232 NOTES OF A EOOKWOUM. 
 
 in the 15th century, exclaims, " Let us blush," s«ys 
 he, " and be covered with a confusion -whicli ought 
 to produce salutary efiects. ^^'herever llie Goths 
 become masters, we see no longer any disorders, 
 except among the old inhabitants. Our manners 
 are reformed under the dominion of Vandals. Be- 
 hold an incredible event ! an unheard-of prodigy ! 
 Barbarians have by the severity of their discipline, 
 rendered chaste the Romans themselves : and the 
 Goths have purified those jdaces which the others 
 have defiled by their debaucheries. A cruel nation, 
 adds he, but worthy to be admired for their conti- 
 nence." These virtues were not there of long 
 continuance ; the climate soon warmed their frozen 
 imaginations, their laws by degrees relaxed, and 
 their manners still more than their laws. — 3IaUet's 
 Norther)i Antiquities. 
 
 OF THE INVENTION OF THE MARINER'S 
 COMPASS. 
 
 The attractive property of the loadstone has 
 been known in all ages. Thales, surprised with so 
 constant an efifect, ascribed to it a soul. Plato, 
 Aristotle, and Pliny, have each made mention of 
 this attraction, but neither they, nor any other, 
 down to the eleventh centurj'-, or even to the be- 
 ginning of the twelfth, knew that the loadstone, 
 suspended, or floating on the water, by means of a 
 piece of cork, always turned one and the same 
 point towards the north. 
 
 These two properties, of attracting iron, and of 
 turning towards the north, being kno's^Ti, some vir- 
 tuosi repeated the experiments, by floating, in a 
 vessel of water, a piece of iron and a loadstone 
 upon corks, that they might meet with no obstacle i
 
 KOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 233 
 
 they observed that when the piece of iron was 
 rubbed upon the loadstone, it acquired the nature 
 of turning to, the north, and of attracting, as load- 
 stones did, needles and small pieces of iron. From 
 one experiment to another, they came to the lav- 
 ing a needle touched by the loadstone on two bits 
 of straw upon water, which they observed con- 
 stantly turned to the north. These were in a fair 
 way to the grand discovery, but had not yet at- 
 tained to the knowledge of what is called the com- 
 pass. But this experiment being at last applied to 
 navigation, a poet of the twelfth century acquaints 
 us, that the French pilots made use of a needle 
 rubbed upon the loadstone, which they called " la 
 marinette." Soon after, instead of floating these 
 needles upon the surface of the water, upon straw 
 or cork, which the motion of the ship agitated too 
 much, an intelligent mariner thought of suspending 
 the needle exactly in its centre, upon an immove- 
 able point, that it might have full liberty to play 
 and turn towards the pole. Another workman, in 
 the fourteenth century, thought of laying over this 
 needle a very light circle of pasteboard, on which 
 the fotrr cardinal points, and the principal winds, 
 were marked out, and the whole circle divided into 
 the 360 degrees of the horizon. The little ma- 
 chine, suspended in a box, which box itself was 
 hung pretty nearly like the mariner's lamps, an- 
 swered the hopes of the inventor ; for however the 
 ship might change its situation, the needle always 
 faithfully turning to the north, distinguished on 
 the pasteboard by a flower de luce, and the other 
 points of the v.'ind marked us aforesaid, pointed out 
 the course that was held, and the winds they were 
 to guard against. Thus at last the mariner's com- 
 pass was invented ; but after such a manner that it 
 is hard to decide by whomj or in what nation. Yet
 
 234 NOTES OV A BOOKWORM. 
 
 this is certain, the English may justly lay claim to 
 the honour of having brought it to perfection, by 
 the manner of suspending the box which holds the 
 needle. They say in their own favour that the 
 names which the compass bears were received from 
 them by all other riaiions, at the time that they 
 communicated the compass to them brought to a 
 commodious form ; that it is called the Sea Com- 
 pass, or Circle of Mariners, from the two English 
 words, Mariner's Compass; and from the English 
 word "box," the Italians have made their "bos- 
 sola ;" as they change the name of Alexander to 
 Alexandre. 
 
 Others endeavour to give the honour of this in- 
 vention to the Chinese ; but as to this very day 
 they float their needle on a cork, it is without any 
 just foundation. — Magazine, 1717. 
 
 The following is a curious extract from an old 
 dictionary on the same subject. 
 
 " Lode Stone. — A stone of colour of dusky iron, 
 which hath an admirable virtue, not onely to draw 
 iron to itself, but also to make any iron, upon which 
 it is rubbed, to draw iron also. It is written, not- 
 withstanding, that being rubbed with the juice of 
 gar lick, it cannot then draw iron; as likewise if a 
 diamond be laid close unto it. This stone is found, 
 in the Indian sea ; and also in tlie countrey of Tra- 
 chonitis. It is of greatest use in navigation, for by 
 it sailors finde out the certain course of their voy- 
 age ; the needle (in their compass) tempered here- 
 with, still standeth directly toward the north and 
 south."— Eh^/js/i Diet. 1663.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 235 
 
 IRISH HURLING. 
 
 HrRLiNG, in Ireland, is a sort of cricket; butin- 
 stead of throwing a ball in order to knock dowTi a 
 wicket, the aim is to drive it, with a racket or hurl, 
 tlirough a bent sticl, the ends stuck in the ground. 
 The game is exhibited in an extensive level plain, 
 usually contiguous to the town, and consists iu 
 taking and carrying off the ball from the opposite 
 part}', after being hurled into the air, midway, be- 
 tween the two bent sticks which are called goals, 
 and the party who bears off the ball, and passes 
 through their goal, wins the game. The racket 
 or burl is an implement somewhat resembling a 
 cricket-bat, but about three feet long. In this 
 manly exercise the Irish perform such amazing 
 feats of strength and agility, as ought to evidence 
 the food they live on to be far from deficient in 
 nourishment. — Sporting Magazine, 1804. 
 
 ATTAR OF ROSES. 
 
 After this subject I shall perfume my paper 
 with a brief account of that luxury of India, the 
 attar of roses. Lieutenant Colonel Poller gives a 
 full history of extracting this essential oil, in vol. i. 
 p. 332, of the Asiatic Researches. The roses grow 
 cultivated near Lucknow, in fields of eleven acres 
 each. The oil is procured hy distillation ; the pe- 
 tals of the flowers only are used ; and in that coun- 
 try no more than a quantity of alaout two drachms 
 can be procured from an hundred-weight of rose 
 leaves, and even that in a favourable season, and by 
 the process being performed with the utmost care. 
 The oil is by accident of different colours ; of a
 
 236 NOTES OF A EOOK^A■OnM. 
 
 bright 3'ellow, of a reddish hue, and a fine emerald. 
 It is to the mother of .Nlebrul Nessa Begum, after- 
 wards called Nourjchau Begum, or, Li^ht of the 
 World, that the fair sex is indebted for this disco- 
 very. On this occasion the emperor of Ilindcs- 
 tan rewarded the inventress with a string of A-alu- 
 able pearls. Nourjehan Begum v.-as the favourite 
 wife of Jehangir, and her game the fiercest of 
 India. In a hunting-party she killed four tigers 
 with a matchlock, from her elephant, and her 
 spouse was so delighted at her skill, that he made 
 her a present of a pair of emerald bracelets, valued 
 at a lack of rupees, and bestowed in charity a 
 thousand mohuns. — FennanVs Haidostan. 
 
 THE POSTAGE OF LETTERS. 
 
 The postage of letters, now so important a 
 branch of the revenue, was first established in the 
 short reign of Richard the Third. The plan was 
 originally formed in the reign of his brother Ed- 
 ward, when stages were placed at the distance of 
 tv\-enty miles from each other, in order to procure 
 the king the earliest intelligence of the events that 
 passed in the course of the war, which had arisen 
 with the Scots ; but Richard commanded in the ex- 
 pedition, and it is, probably, more to his sagacity 
 and talents that the merit of the invention ought to 
 be given. In the reign of the latter the practice 
 was extended over the greater part of the kingdom. 
 
 The penny post office was established in 1683. 
 Its original institutor was a INIr. Povey, author of a 
 pamphlet now obsolete and quite forgotten, en- 
 titled, "The Virgin of Eden, with the Etemitj 
 of Hell Torments." He formed a design of con- 
 veying letters, by messengers, to different pares ef
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 1^37 
 
 the city and its emnrons; and for some time he 
 executed his plan with great approhation, and was 
 distinguished by the title of the halfpenny carrier. 
 But the then ministry, suspecting it to he too lu- 
 crative for a private subject, laid their injunctions 
 on the inventor, and ^-ithout making him any sa- 
 tisfaction (as is said) laid their hands upon the job. 
 
 PROGRESS OF ENGLISH COINAGE. 
 
 In the reign of Edward the First, a certain stan- 
 dard was established for the silver coin of England ; 
 but no gold was coined till the reign of Edward the 
 Third ; who, about the year 1320 (when the statea 
 of Europe first began to coin gold,) caused several 
 pieces to be coined, called Florences, because they 
 were coined by Florentines. Afterward he coined 
 nobles; then rose nobles, current at 6s. 8d. ; half nobles 
 at 3s. 4d., called halfpermies of gold ; and quarters, 
 at Is. 8d., called /a )-t/ii7io^i- of gold. The succeeding 
 kings coined rose nobles, and double rose nobles ; great 
 sovereigns, and half Henry nobles ; angels dini shillings. 
 James the First coined itnites, double crowns, and 
 Britain crowns ; then crowns, half crowns, shillings, 
 sixpences, and other inferior pieces ; and Charles the 
 Second converted most of the ancient gold coins 
 into guineas, — Scrap Book, 1783. 
 
 ON SLEEP, 
 
 By John Wesley. 
 
 Healthy men require a little above six hours 
 sleep ; healthy women a little above seven in four 
 and twenty. If any one desires to know exactly
 
 238 NOTES OF A DOOKWOnJI. 
 
 what quantity of sleep his own conBtitution re- 
 quires, he may very easily make the experiment 
 which I made about sixty years ago. I then waked 
 every night about twelve or one, and lay awake for 
 some time. I readily concluded that this arose from 
 my being longer in bed than nature required. To 
 be satisfied, I procured an alarum, which waked me 
 the next morning at seven, (near an hour earlier 
 than I rose the day before,) yet 1 lay awake again 
 at night. The second morning I rose at six ; but, 
 notwithstanding this, I lay awake the second night. 
 The third morning I rose at live ; but nevertheless, 
 I lay awake the third night.. The fourth morning 
 I rose at four, as, by the grace of God, 1 have done 
 ever since. And 1 lay awake no more. And I do 
 not now lie awake, taking the year round, a quarter 
 of an hour together in a month. By the same ex- 
 periment, rising earlier and earlier every mornings 
 may any one find how much sleep he really wants.. 
 
 Wesley's Works^ 
 
 SUPERSTITION OF OUR ANCESTORS. 
 
 During the 11th century the pope and Roman 
 clergy carried on a lucrative traffic in relics, of 
 which they never wanted inexliaustible stores. 
 Kings, princes, and wealthy prelates, purchased 
 pieces of the cross, or whole legs and arms of the 
 apostles, while others were obliged to content 
 themselves with the toes and fingers of inferior 
 saints; and an English archbishop, who was at 
 Rome, in 1021, purchased from the pope an arm of 
 a saint, for which he gave one hundred talents of 
 silver, and a talent of gold.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOnai. 239 
 
 " Nay, nay ; Maister Wiseman ; tell us the etymmi,— the 
 origo — let us hear the origin o't "—Old Play. 
 
 JACKALL — WHY CALLED THE LION'S 
 PROVIDER. 
 
 Large animals of the forest want swiftness and 
 a distinguishing scent for catching their prey, but 
 they have strength to overcome it ; others, who 
 want strength, make up by cunning ; and those to 
 whom nature has denied strength and speed, as the 
 hound and jackall, follow by the smell, and at last 
 overtake their prey by perseverance, &c. 
 
 The jackaH, pursuing his prey, does it by scent, 
 barks like a dog, and hunts in a pack, in the same 
 manner. Nor is it uncommon for the strongest 
 animals to follow where they hear this cry begin ; 
 and wlien the jackall has hunted down the prey, to 
 come in and monopolize the spoil. It is this which 
 has given rise to the report of this little animal be- 
 ing the lion's provider ; but in fact, the jackall 
 hunts for himself alone, and the lion is an unwel- 
 come intruder upon the fruits of his industry. — 
 Court Miscellaim, 1767. 
 
 BANYAN DAYS, &c. 
 Banyan-day is a sea term for those days on 
 which no meat is allowed the sailors. The term is
 
 240 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 borrowed from the Banyans in the East Indies, a 
 caste that eat nothing that had life. — Diet. Viilg. 
 Tongue. 
 
 It rppears that tliese Banyans, or Banians, are a 
 religious sect in the empire of the Mogul, who be- 
 lieve in metempsychosis ; and will therefore eat 
 no living creature, nor kill even noxious animals, 
 but endeavour to release them even from the hands 
 of others. 
 
 THE KING'S TITLE. 
 
 Henuy the Eighth was the first king of England 
 %vho assumed the title of majesty. Before his reign 
 the sovereigns were usually addressed, ''My Liege," 
 and " Your Grace.'' The latter epithet was origi- 
 nally conferred on Henry the Fourth ; " Excellent 
 Grace," was given to Henry the Sixth ; " Most High 
 and Mighty Prince," to Edward the Fourth ; " High- 
 ness," to Henry the Seventh ; which last expression, 
 and sometimes " Grace," was used to Henry the 
 Eighth. About the end of his reign all these titles 
 vere absorbed by that of " Majesty," with which 
 Francis the First addressed him at tlieir interview, 
 in 1520. James the First completed this title to 
 the present " Sacred," or " Most Excellent Majesty." 
 
 Before the union of the crowns, Britain alone 
 was in general use in the style of our sovereigns, to 
 signify England and Wales. Alfred, however, was 
 called " Governor of the Christians of Britain ;" 
 Edgar, " Monarch of Britain ;" Henry the Second, 
 " King of Britain;" and John, " Rex Britoyiiiim, 
 King of the Britons." 
 
 The royal style, as settled on the 5th November, 
 1800, on the union with Ireland, which was to
 
 WOTES OF A E00KW0R3I. 241 
 
 commence from the first of Januan-, 1001, runs 
 thus : 
 
 " George the Third, by the Grace of God of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 
 King, Defender of the Faith, and of the United 
 Church of England and Ireland on Earth the Su- 
 preme Head." 
 
 In Latin, " Geoi-gius Tertius, Dei Gratia Bri- 
 tanniarum Rex," &c. •, the word Britannia rum, which 
 was first introduced on this occasion, being re- 
 garded as expressive, imder one term, of the united 
 kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. 
 
 QUIT-RENT— WHENCE THE TEEM. 
 
 Quit-rent is so called, according to some, from 
 quick-rent, on account of its smallness ; but, ac- 
 conling to others, from white-rent, because paid in 
 silver. The ancient records, on Avhich it is written 
 white-rent, support the last etymology. — Rider. 
 
 Quit-rent (quietus redditus, i. e. " quiet rent,") 
 is a certain small rent payable by the tenants 
 of manors, in token of subjection, and by which the 
 tenant goes quiet and free. In ancient records it is 
 called lihite rent, because paid in silver money, to 
 distinguish it from rent-corn, &c. — Jacob's Law 
 Diet. — Encyclopedia. 
 
 BEACONS AND TELEGRAPHS. 
 
 The art of conveying intelligence from one place 
 to another, by signals, is of very ancient date ; and 
 many of our hills still retain the naroe of the Bea- 
 con Hills, from the sigiials which used to be made 
 on them. Tire and smoke were by land the chief 
 y
 
 242 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 tilings employed ; the fire by night, smoke by 
 day. 
 
 The French make use of a new mode, the inven- 
 tion of which (the telegraph) they ascribe to them- 
 selves, but their pretensions to the merit of the dis- 
 covery may be justly called in question. The ad- 
 vantages derived from this mode of communication 
 was, like most other things, first laughed at, and 
 then adopted in England. — Monthly Magazine, 1796. 
 
 BLOCK-HEAD — PROBABLE ORIGIN OF. 
 
 Ocn navigators use for tlie purpose of pointing 
 out where the anchor lies a large but light block of 
 wood, which, in order tliat it may float better, is 
 often made hollow. A large cask is sometimes em- 
 ployed. The Dutch sailors call these blocks of 
 wood hoei or boeye ; and hence comes their proverb, 
 " Ily heeft een kop als ee boei," he has a head like 
 a buoy ; he is a blockhead. — W. Johmton'a Translation 
 of J, Beckmann'i Inventions and Discoveries. 
 
 PURSE, PURSER, BURSAR— WHENCE 
 THE TERMS. 
 
 Bursar, orburser, (bursarius,) is used in middle 
 age WTiters for a treasurer or cash -keeper. In this 
 sense we meet with bursars of colleges. Conventual 
 bursars were officers in monasteries, who were to 
 deliver up tlieir accounts 3'early on the day after 
 Michaelmas. The word is formed from the Latin 
 bursa, whence also the English word purse ; hence, 
 also, the officer who in a college is called bursar, in 
 a ship is called purser.
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 243 
 
 Bursars, or bursers, (bursarii,) also denote those 
 to wliom stipends are paid out of a burse or fund 
 appointed for that purpose. 
 
 VILLAIN, VILLAGE. 
 
 The slaves among the Franks were rather far- 
 mers tlian slaves. They lived separate from the 
 rt'st of the nation. The Franks, after they had 
 coiuiuered Gaul, sent them to cultivate the lands, 
 whicli had fallen to them by lot, and which were, 
 consequently, divided among them. They were 
 called People of Power, Gentes Potestatis ; and it 
 was by those serfs that France was afterwards 
 peopled. They multiplied fast, and consequently 
 llieir villages and farms were multiplied in propor- 
 tion ; and the spots which they inhabited retained 
 the name of villa'y the appellation which the Ro- 
 mans had given them. From villcc and villani were 
 derived the words village void villain ; which latter 
 signihed people who inhabit the country, or people 
 of low condition. — Institutions of Antient Nations, 
 1776. 
 
 HORN— WHY BLOWN TWICE EACH NIGHT 
 FROM THE STEEPLE OF STRASBOURG. 
 
 At Strasbourg they show a large French horn, 
 whose history is as follows. About 400 years ago, 
 the Jews formed a conspiracy to betray the city, 
 and with this identical horn they intended to give 
 the enemy notice when to attack. 
 
 The plot, however, was discovered ; many of the 
 Jews were burnt alive, the rest were plundered of 
 Y 2
 
 244 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 their money and effects, and banished the town ; 
 and this horn is sounded twice every night from 
 the battlements of the steeple in gratitude for the 
 deliverance. 
 
 The Jews deny the facts of this story, except the 
 murdering- and pillaging their couutrvmen. They 
 say the v^'^hole story is fabricated to furnish a pre- 
 text for these robberies and murders, and assert 
 that the steeple of Strasbourg, as has been said of 
 the Monument of London, — 
 
 " Like a tall bully lifts the head and lies." 
 
 Moore's France. 
 
 CAT— WHY ONE AT THE FOOT OF LI- 
 BERTY, AT NEWGATE, &c. 
 
 At length, Newgate being much damaged by the 
 fire of London in 1666, the present structure was 
 erected. The west side is adorned with three 
 ranges of Tuscan pilasters, with their entablatures, 
 and in the intercolumniations are four niches, in 
 one of which is a figure representing Liberty. The 
 word Libertas is inscribed on her cap, and at her 
 feet lies a cat, in allusion to Sir llichard \Yhitting- 
 ton, a benefactor to the prison, who is said to have 
 made the first step to his good fortune by a cat. — 
 History of London, 1761. 
 
 NEEDLE— BELLONA. 
 
 Bellona is said to have been the inventress of 
 the needle, and from that instrument is supposed to 
 hare taken hername, Brj\oj/7j, signifying a needle.
 
 NOTE5 OF A DGOKWORM. 245 
 
 \yHITE RAINBOW. 
 
 " The philosopher Mariotte of France, in the 
 time of Louis XIV., was the man who first affirmed to 
 have seen a white or colourless rainbow. Mentzeluis 
 mentions such a thing some years aftervvards. I 
 saw one once myself." — Piozzi's Retrospect ion, 1809. 
 
 CORPORAL OATH— WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 The word oaih is a corruption of the Saxon eoth. 
 It is often in England called corporal oath, because 
 in the days of popery, the person swore over the 
 host or corpus Christi. — Evcycbpedia. 
 
 STA VIATOR— WHY ON TOMBSTONES. 
 
 BunvixG grounds were not established until the 
 year 200. People before were interred in the high- 
 ways, and ancient tombs are still to be seen on the 
 roads leading to Rome. Hence these words, so 
 often repeated in epitaphs, "sta viator," i. e. 
 stop traveller. — Historical Magazine. 
 
 PALL— THE ORIGIN OF. 
 
 An archiepiscopal vestment, coming over the 
 shoulders, made of sheep's skins, (in memorial of 
 him that sought the stray sheep, and having found 
 the same laid it upon his shoulders,) wrought and 
 embroidered with crosses, first laid upon St. Peter's 
 coffin or shrine. — Browne's Diet. 1731, and English 
 Diet. 1663.
 
 246 son 5 OF a bookworm. 
 
 A JACKALENT, 
 
 Meaks ft boy that is employed to run about the 
 fields to scare the birds from the corn, or from landa 
 newly sown. 
 
 The authority, produced both by Johnson and 
 the editors of Bailey, from Shakspeare, is nothing 
 to the purpose, and doth by no means prove the 
 word to mean, a poor, starved, simple, or sheepish 
 fellow, but rather the contrary. A more pertinent 
 authority might have been taken from Fielding's 
 Joseph Andrews ; where he says Joseph was em- 
 ployed as a Jackalent, till his voice grew so musical, 
 that he rather enticed the birds, than frighted them 
 away. The word is also used by Thomas Killigrew, 
 and other old w^riters exactly in the same sense. 
 In fine, Jackalent seems to be a corruption oi Jack- 
 U'lanthorn, and possibly those boys were thus 
 called, because of their shifting about the fields 
 like a jack-a-lanthorn or will o'wisp. — Aynmiitnous. 
 
 COLDSTREAM GUARDS— WHY SO 
 CALLED. 
 
 The third regiment of Guards are called Cold- 
 stream Guards, because at a place of that name 
 General Monk first raised two battalions, which 
 were so denominated. 
 
 REDSTART— WHY A BIRD SO CALLED. 
 
 A START, a long handle of any thing, or tail, as 
 it signifies in Low Dutch ; so Redstart is a bird 
 with a red tail. — Ray's Proverbs, 1737, North Coun- 
 try Words.
 
 NOTES OF A fiooKwon.M. 247 
 
 QUEER. 
 
 A CORRESPONDENT of Dr. Johnson's supposes a 
 queer man, to be one who had a qujere set against 
 liis name in a list. - 
 
 VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 The additional value of money, and the increase 
 of opulence in England, might form, says Johnson, 
 a curious subject of research ; as in the reign of 
 Edward VI., Latimer mentions as a proof of his 
 father's prosperity, that though only a yeoman, he 
 gave his daughters five pounds each as a marriage 
 portion. 
 
 GUNPOWDER. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, that from time immemo- 
 rial the oriental tribe of Cahnucks have possessed 
 the art of making gunpowder. They boil the efflo- 
 rescence of nitrat of potass in a strong ley of poplar 
 and birch ashes, and leave it to crystallize ; after 
 which they pound the crystals with two parts of 
 sulphur, and as much charcoal ; then, wetting the 
 mixture, tliey place it in a cauldron over a charcoal 
 fire, until the powder begins to granulate.
 
 248 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 " To palliate dulness, and give time a shove." 
 
 C'ou'pcr. 
 
 ADVICE TO A SLOVENLY PHYSICL\N. 
 
 The following jeu d'esprit was written by the 
 ingenious Paul Whitehead, to his friend Doctor 
 Thompson, at ihat time physician to Frederick, 
 Prince of Wales — a man of wit, learning and 
 liberality ; but so great a sloven that he seldom had 
 his shoes cleaned, which he generally bought at a 
 Yorkshire warehouse, wore them till his feet came 
 through the leather, then shook them oflf at the 
 same place, and purchased a new pair. And this 
 he did with all his other habiliments. 
 
 " Let not the soil of a preceding day be ever 
 seen upon your linen ; since your enemies will be 
 apt to impute it rather to an unhappy scarcity of 
 shirts, than to any philosopliical negligence in the 
 wearer of them. 
 
 " Let not father Time's dilapidations be discover- 
 able in the ragged ruins of your garments ; and be 
 particularly careful that no more holes appear in 
 your stockings than the weaver intended ; that 
 your shoes preserve the symmetry of two heels ; 
 and that your galligaskins betray no poetical in- 
 signia; for it will be generally concluded, that he 
 has verj^ little to do with the repair of others' consti- 
 tutions, who is unable to preserve that of his own 
 apparel. 
 
 " Let your wig always swell to the true college 
 dimensions ; and as frequently as possible let the
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOhM. 249 
 
 apothecary bob give way to the graduate tie ; 
 for, what notable recommendation the head often 
 receives from the copiousness of its furniture, the 
 venerable full-bottoms of the bench maj determine. 
 
 " Thus dressed, let your chariot be always ready- 
 to receive you ; nor be ever seen trudging the 
 streets with an herculean oak, and bemired to the 
 knees ; since an equipage so unsuitable to a sick 
 lady's chamber, will be apt to induce a belief that 
 you have no summons thither. 
 
 " Forbear to haunt cook-shops, hedge-alehouses, 
 cider-cellars, &c., and to display your oratory in 
 those inferior regions ; for, however this may agree 
 with 3'our philosophical character, it will by no 
 means enhance your physicral one. 
 
 " Xever stay telling a long story in a coffee- 
 house, when you may be writing a short recipe in 
 a patient's chamber; and prudently consider, that 
 the. first may cost you six-pence, while the last will 
 gain you a guinea. 
 
 " Never go out in the morning without leaving 
 word where you may be met with at noon ; never 
 depart at noon without letting it be known where 
 you may be found at night ; for the sick are apt to 
 be peevish and impatient ; and remember that suf- 
 fering a patient to want you is the ready way for 
 you to want a patient. 
 
 "Be mindful of all messages, punctual to all 
 appointments, and let but your industry equal your 
 abilities, then shall your physical persecutors become 
 abashed, and the legions of Warwick-lane and 
 Blackfriars shall not be able to prevail against you." 
 
 ANECDOTE OF THE LATE KING. 
 Mr. Goupy was the person who taught his 
 Majesty, when a Prince, the elements of drawing ;
 
 250 NOTES OF A BOOKWOnM. 
 
 and as it is the characteristic of the king never to 
 forget any person whom he has once known, I 
 shall relate an anecdote which does him honour. 
 After an intervention of fifteen years, the king, as 
 he was driving through Kensington, saw his old 
 master Goupy seized by two ill-looking ruffians ; 
 and, immediately recognizing his tutor, he stopped 
 the carriage, and called Goupy to him, when the 
 following dialogue took place : " Goupy," said the 
 king, " what is the reason you have not called upon 
 me lately 1" " I could not think of presuming so 
 far as to trouble your majesty with my visits." — 
 " Poh, poh, pohj man, call to-morrow : but, Goupy, 
 who are those men yonder V — " Why, to tell your 
 majesty the truth, they are bailiffs who have ar- 
 rested me, and only stand aloof now out of respect 
 to your majesty." — " What is the sum, Goupy 1" 
 •' Eighty pounds, sire." — " Well, well, I cannot 
 interfere with the course of law ; but, do you hear. 
 Bend to Ramus as soon as you can, and he shall 
 settle the business." 
 
 After this friendly colloquy, the sovereign pro- 
 ceeded to court, and poor Goupy to a spunging- 
 house, whence he sent to Mr. Ramus as desired ; 
 when the debt was instantly discharged ; and the 
 grateful Goupy waited upon his royal benefactor, 
 who settled on him an annuity, to shield him, in the 
 evening of his days, from similar embarrassments. 
 — Paiquin'i History of the Irish Artists, 1789. 
 
 ANECDOTE OF PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 This prince was in the habit of giving audiences 
 to ambassadors at four o'clock in the morning ; but 
 it so happened that M. de BestuchefF, who was 
 appointed to go to-England, and who was to attend
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOHM. 251 
 
 at this hour, delayed coming until five, wlien the 
 emperor had finished his audiences, and had gone 
 to the dock-yard. Thither Bestucheff followed, 
 and having found the emperor at the top of a mast, 
 he was under the necessity of getting himself hoisted 
 in a basket between the water and the heavens, 
 and, in that situation, actually received his cre- 
 dentials, — Fugitive Miscellany, 1773. 
 
 SUICIDE EXTRAORDINARY. 
 
 In the Gentleman's Magazine, some years back, 
 it is asserted by a contributor " that he had seen a 
 cat attempt suicide, by throwing herself repeatedly 
 head foremost from a high shelf on a stone floor, 
 and that though she did not accomplish her end, 
 she bruised herself so much, that it was thought 
 humane to drown her." Barrow says of the Afri- 
 san Gnoo, that " it is an animal addicted to suicide." 
 
 MUSTACHIOS. 
 
 "I HAVE a very favourable opinion," says an 
 old author in his Elements of Education, 1640, 
 " of that young gentleman who is curious in fine 
 mustachios. The time he employs in adjusting, 
 dressing, and curling them, is no lost time ; for the 
 more he contemplates his mustachios, the more his 
 mind will cherish, and be animated by, masculine 
 and courageous notions." 
 
 ANECDOTE OF HENRY VII. 
 " To conclude this general discourse concerning 
 England, there goes a tale, thatlicnry Vll., (whooc
 
 352 NOTES 01- A BOOKWORM. 
 
 breeding had been low and private), being once 
 pressed by some of his counsell, to pursue his title 
 unto France, returned this answer, " That France 
 was indeed a flourishing and gallant kingdom ; but 
 England in Lis mind was as pretty a seat for a court' 
 try-gentleman as any could be found in Europe." — 
 Heylin's Coimographie. 
 
 STEWARDS' PERQUISITES. 
 
 The third in rank in the courts of the Anglo- 
 Saxon kings was the steward, who had a variety of 
 perquisites, of which the following is remarkable. 
 " As much of every cask of plain ale, and as much 
 of every cask of ale with spiceries, as he could 
 reach witli the second joint of his middle finger ; 
 and as much of every cask of meat as he could 
 reach with the first joint of the same finger." 
 
 RICHARD CCEUR DE LION. 
 
 When, in the year 1250, Henry the Third held 
 a merry festival in France, a joculator, born in 
 Hampshire, stept forward, as we are told, and with 
 permitted gibe, said, " Send away Coeur de Lion's 
 shield out of the hall, my liege, else your fine din- 
 ner will have no digesters. You see these French 
 fellows are afraid to look on it ; the thought of 
 Richard takes away their appetite." This was 
 more than a biting jest, for it was a true one. 
 Joinville acknowledges that when a Frenchman's 
 horse started under him, the common exclamation 
 of anger was " Qu'as tu? Vols tu le lloi Richard?''' 
 What ails you ? Do you see King Richard coming 1 
 — Piozzi's Retrospection, 1809.
 
 ■NOT1.5 or A BOOiWOIlM. ■2o3 
 
 " We may rcrd, and read, and read again; and still glean 
 something n.w, . j nething to please, and sometiiing to 
 instruct." — Hurdis. 
 
 RELIGIOX OF THE ANCIENT DANES, AND 
 OTHER NORTHERN NATIONS. 
 
 The account we have of the religion of the 
 northern nations, before it departed from its ancient 
 purity, is as follows . 
 
 " It taught the being of a supreme God, master 
 of the universe, to whom all things v/ere submis- 
 sive and obedient. Such, according to Tacitus, 
 was the supreme God of the Germans. The an- 
 cient Icelandic mythology calls him the author of 
 every thing that existeth ; the eternal, the ancient, 
 the living and awful Being, the searcher into con- 
 cealed things, the Being that never changeth. It 
 attributed to their deity an infinite power, a bound- 
 less knowledge, an incorruptible justice. It for- 
 bade them to represent this divinity under any 
 corporeal form. They were not even to think of 
 confining him within the inclosure of walls, but 
 were tauglit that it was only within woods and con- 
 secrated forests, that they could serve him properly. 
 There he seemed to reign in silence, and to make 
 himself felt by the respect which lie inspired. Jt 
 was an injurious extravagance to attribute to this 
 deity a human figure, to erect statues to him, to 
 suppose him of an}- sex, or to represent him by 
 images. From this supreme God were sprung (as
 
 254 NOTES or A BooKwoar.r. 
 
 it were emanations of big divinity) an infinite 
 number of subaltern deities and genii, of wkich 
 every part of the visible world was the seat and 
 temple. These intelligences did not barely reside 
 in each part of nature ; they directed its operations, 
 it was the organ or instrument of their love or li- 
 berality to mankind. Each element was under the 
 guidance of some being peculiar to it. The earth, 
 the water, the fire, the air, the sun, moon, and 
 stars, had each their respective divinity. The 
 tiees, forests, rivers, mountains, rocks, winds, 
 thunder and tempests had the same ; and merited 
 on that score a religious worship, which, at first, 
 could not be directed to the visible object, but to 
 the intelligence with which it was animated. The 
 motive of this worship was the fear of a deity ir» 
 ritated by the sins of men, but who, at the same 
 time, was merciful, and capable of being appeased 
 by pra3'er and repentance. They looked up to him 
 as to the active principle, which, by uniting with 
 the earth or passive principle, had jjroduced men, 
 animals, plants, and all visible beings ; they even 
 believed that he was the only agent in nature, who 
 preserves the several beings, and disposes of all 
 events. To serve this divinity with sacrifices and 
 pra^^ers, to do no wrong to others, and to be brave 
 and intrepid themselves, were all the moral con- 
 sequences they derived from these doctrines. Last- 
 ly, the belief of a future state cemented and com- 
 pleted the whole building. Cruel tortures were 
 there reserved for such as despised these three 
 fundamental precepts of morality, and joys without 
 number and without end awaited every religious, 
 just, and valiant man." 
 
 This religion is supposed not to have lost its 
 original simplicity in Scandinavia till the coming 
 of Odin. From his time till the propagation of
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. S!55 
 
 Christianity in that country, the exterior worship 
 is thus descrihed : 
 
 " They offered to Thor, during the feast of luul, 
 fat oxen and horses ; to Friga, the largest hog they 
 could get ; to Odin, horses, dogs, and falcons, 
 sometimes cocks, and a fat bull. When they had 
 once laid it down as a principle that the effusion of 
 the blood of these animals appeased the anger of 
 the gods, and that their justice turned aside upon 
 the victims those strokes which were destined for 
 men ; their great care then was for nothing more 
 than to conciliate their favour by so easy a method. 
 It is the nature of violent desires and excessive 
 fear to know no bounds, and therefore when they 
 would ask for any favour which they ardently wished 
 for, or would deprecate some public calamity which 
 they feared, the blood of animals was not deemed 
 a price sufficient, hut they began to shed that of 
 men. It is probable that this barbarous practice 
 was formerly almost universal, and that it is of 
 yery remote antivquity. It was not entirely abolished 
 among the northern nations till towards the ninth 
 century, because before that time they had not re- 
 ceived the light of the gospel, and weie ignorant 
 of those arts which had softened the ferocity of the 
 Romans and Greeks whilst they were still Pagans. 
 
 " The appointed time for these sacrifices was 
 always determined by another superstitious opinion 
 which made the northern nations regard the num- 
 ber Three as sacred and particularly dear to the 
 gods. Thus in every ninth month they renewed 
 this bloody ceremony, which was to last nine days, 
 and every day they offered up nine living victims 
 whether men or animals. But the most solemn 
 sacrifices were those which were offered ut Upsal 
 in Sweden every ninth year. Then the king, the 
 senate, -^nd all the citizens of any distinction, 
 z 2
 
 Uob NOTES OF A HOOK WORM. 
 
 were obliged to appear in person, and to bring 
 ofleriugs, which were placed in the great temple 
 described above. Those who could not come them- 
 selves, sent their presents b}- others, or paid the 
 value in money to priests^ whose business it was 
 to receive the offerings. Strangers flocked there 
 in crowds from all parts ; and none were excluded 
 except those whose honour had suffered some stain, 
 and especialh- such as had been accused of cowardice. 
 Then thej chose among the captives in time of 
 war, and among the slaves in time of peace, nine 
 persons to be sacrificed. The choice was partly 
 regulated by the opinion of the by-standers> and 
 partly by lot. The wretches upon whom the lot 
 fell, were treated with such honours by all the as- 
 sembly, they were so overwhelmed with caresses for 
 the present, and with promises for the life to come, 
 that they sometimes congratulated themselves on 
 their destiny. But the}' did not always sacrifice 
 such mean pej'^ons. In gTeat calamities, in a press- 
 ing famine for example, if the people thought they 
 had some pretext to impute the cause of it to their 
 king, they even sacrificed him without hesitation, as 
 the highest price wiih which they could purchase 
 the divine favour. In this manner the first king of 
 Vermland was burnt in honour of Odin, to put an 
 end to a great dearth ; as we read in the history' of 
 Norway. The kings, in their turn, did not spare 
 the blood of their subjects : and many of them 
 even shed that of their children. Hacon, king of 
 Norway, offered his son in sacrifice to obtain of 
 Odin the victory over his enemy Harold. Aune, 
 king of Sweden, devoted to Odin, the blood of his 
 nine sons, to prevail on that god to prolong his life. 
 The ancient historj' of the north abounds in similar 
 examples. These abominable sacrifices were ac- 
 pompanied with various ceremonies. When the
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. ^257 
 
 victim was chosen, they conducted him towards the 
 altar, where the sacred fire was kept burning night 
 and day. It was sun-ounded v\-ith all sorts of iron 
 and brazen vessels. Among them one was dis- 
 tinguished from the rest by its superior size ; in 
 this they received the blood of the victims. When 
 they oflfered up animals, they speedily killed them 
 at the foot of the altar ; then they opened their 
 entrails to draw auguries from them, as among the 
 Remans ; afterwards they dressed the flesh to be 
 served up in the feast prepared for the assembly. 
 Even horse flesh was not rejected, and the grandees 
 often eat of it as well as the people. But when 
 they were disposed to sacrifice men, those whom 
 they pitched upon were laid upon a great stone, 
 where they were instantly either strangled or 
 knocked on the head. Sometimes they let out the 
 blood ; for no presage was more respected than 
 that which they drew from the greater or less de- 
 gree of impetuosity with which the blood gushed 
 forth. Hence the priests inferred what success 
 would attend the enterprize which was the object 
 of their sacrifice. They also opened the body to 
 read in the entrails, and especially in the heart, the 
 will of the gods, and the good or ill fortune that 
 was impending. The bodies were afterwards burnt 
 or suspended in a sacred grove near the temple. 
 Part of the blood was sprinkled upon the people, 
 part of it upon the sacred ; with the same they also 
 bedewed the images of the gods, the altars, the 
 benches and walls of the temple both within and 
 without. 
 
 " Sometimes these sacrifices were performed in 
 another manner. There was a deep well in the 
 neighbourhood of the temple ; the chosen persons 
 were thrown headlong in ; commonly in honour of 
 Goya, or the earth. If he went at once to the bot-
 
 / 
 
 258 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 torn, the victim had proved agreeable to the god- 
 dess, and she had received it ; if it swam a long; 
 time upon the surface, she refused it, and it was 
 hung up in a sacred forest. Near the temple of 
 Upsal there was a grove of tins sort, of which every 
 tree and every leaf was regarded as the most sacred 
 thing in the world. This, -which was named Odin's 
 grove, was full of the bodies of men and animals 
 w^ho had been sacrificed. They afterwards took 
 them down to burn them in honour of Thor, or the 
 sun ; and they had no doubt that the holocaust had 
 proved agreeable, when the smoke ascended very 
 high. In whatever manner they immolated men, 
 the priest always took care, in consecrating the 
 victim, to pronounce certain words, " I devote thee 
 to Odin." "Isend thee to Odin," or, " I devote 
 thee for a good harvest ; for the return of a fruitful 
 season." The ceremony concluded with feastings, 
 in which they displayed all the magnificence known 
 in those times. They drank immoderately ; the 
 kings and chief lords drank first healths in honour 
 of the gods, every one drank afterwards, making 
 some vow or prayer to the god whom the}'- named. 
 Hence came that custom among the first Christians 
 in Germany and the north, of drinking to the health 
 of our Saviour, the apostles, and the saints ; a cus- 
 tom Avhichthe church was often obliged to tolerate. 
 The licentiousness of these feasts at length in- 
 creased to such a pitch, as to become mere bac- 
 chanalian meetings, where, to the sound of barba- 
 rous music, amidst shouts, dancing, and indecent 
 gestures, so many unseemly actions were committed, 
 tiiat the wisest men refused to assist at them." — 
 Mallet's Introduction a VHistoire de Dannemarc.
 
 NOTES OF A noOKWORJI. §59 
 
 TETE— WIG— PERUKE. 
 
 Pehuke, or Periwig, was anciently a name for a 
 long head cf natural hair; such particularly, as 
 there was care taken in the adjusting and trimming 
 of. Menage derives the word rather fancifully from 
 the Latin pi/«s, " hair." It is derived, according 
 to this critic, thus, pilus, pelus, pehitus, yelutlcus, 
 pelutica, peruca, perruque.* The Latins called it 
 coma ; whence part of Gaul took the denomination 
 of Gallia comata, from the long hair which the in- 
 habitants wore as a sign of freedom. An ancient 
 author says, that " Absolom's peruke weighed 200 
 shekels." 
 
 The word is now used for a set of false hair, 
 curled, buckled, and sewed together on a frame or 
 cawl ; anciently called capUlamentum, or " false 
 peruke." It is doubted whether or not the use of 
 perukes of this kind was known among the ancients, 
 It is true, they used false hair ; Martial and Juvenal 
 make merry with the women of their time, for 
 making themselves look young with their borrowed 
 hair ; with the men who changed their colours ac- 
 cording to the seasons ; and with the dotards, who 
 hoped to deceive the destinies by their white hair. 
 But these seem to have scarce had any thing in 
 common with the perukes ; and were at best only 
 composed of hair painted, and glued together. 
 Nothing can be more ridiculous than the description 
 Lampridius gives of the emperor Commodus's 
 peruke ; it was powdered with scrapings of gold, 
 and oiled (if we may use the expression), with 
 glutinous perfumes for the powder to hang by. In 
 effect the use of perukes is not much more than 
 
 * Something in the same way as Cucumber from Jere- 
 miah King : viz. Jeremiah King, Jeremy King, Jerry King, 
 Jer-King, Ger-Mn, Cucumber ! Ed.
 
 26G NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 180 years old; the year 1629 is reckoned the epoch 
 of long perukes, at which time they hegan to ap- 
 pear at Paris, from whence they spread hy degrees 
 through the rest of Europe. At first it was re- 
 puted a scandal for young people to wear them, 
 because the loss of their hair at that age was at- 
 tributed to a disease the very name whereof is 
 reproach ; but at length the mode prevailed over 
 the scruple, and persons of all ages and conditions 
 have worn them, foregoing, without any necessity, 
 the convenience of their natural hair. It was, 
 however, some time before the ecclesiastics came 
 into the fashion ; the first who assumed the peruke 
 were some of the French clergy, in the year 1660 ; 
 Cardinal Grimaldi in 1684, and tlie bishop of Le- 
 vant in 1688, prohibited the use of the peruke to 
 all priests without a dispensation or necessity. M. 
 Shiers has an express treatise, to prove the peruke 
 indecent in an ecclesiastic, and directly contrary to 
 the decrees and canons of councils. A priest's 
 head, embellished with artificial hair curiously 
 adjusted, he esteems a monster in the church, nor 
 can he conceive " any thing so scandalous as an 
 abbot with a florid countenance, heightened with 
 a weU-curled peruke." 
 
 TOWN AND COUNTRY. 
 
 Almost every town of any consequence in the 
 kingdom, has been for many years past, and is at 
 this moment, rapidly increasing, by the addition of 
 houses fit for the accommodation of gentlemen's 
 famiHes. 
 
 The old inquiry is, of course, very frequent, 
 "where are they to come from?" The answer is 
 " they are to come from the country ;" and the re-
 
 NOTES OF A EOOKWOUM. 261 
 
 moval i3 to be imputed to the growing taste for ele- 
 gant society, for more constant conversation, for 
 the best intelligence, and the earliest, on everj' 
 subject ; and for a great variety of other conve- 
 niences, which can only be obtained where they 
 are required by such a number of persons as may 
 make it worth the while of others to afford them. 
 
 Whatever common-place sayings may be repeated 
 of the worth of the old English gentlemen, and the 
 utility of their residence in the country, it will be 
 found that the race of gentlemen who live in towns, 
 is the better, and their residence there the more 
 useful of the two. 
 
 Take a gentleman of one or two thousands a 
 year, who has resided for the greater part of his 
 life upon his estate : see how he has been employed, 
 and what he has learned. In general it will be 
 found that he has been employed chiefly in watch- 
 ing, the encroachments of his neighbours ; in setting 
 his cunning against that of his tenantry ; in buying* 
 and selling horses ; contending with the vicar ; 
 visiting, and that only at distant intervals, the fa- 
 milies of other gentlemen, who are so necessarily 
 his rivals, that friendship can scarcely exist •, and 
 contriving, with his utmost effort of mind, that his 
 interest shall be sufficient to give him some conse- 
 quence at assizes and county meetings. 
 
 Another gentleman with an equal estate has re- 
 sided in a great city ; visiting the country only for 
 health and variety, and even then choosing those 
 places where mixed company is to be found. He 
 has made excursions also to neighbouring kingdoms, 
 and has attended wherever any events extraordinary 
 in the History of Blan were to be witnessed — 
 " Mores Jwmiiium multorum vidit et tirbes." This 
 gentleman has seen, almost necessarily, the profes- 
 sors of every sort of learning ; the great masters
 
 S62 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM. 
 
 in the theory, and agents in the practice of politics ; 
 has witnessed the many uses to which wealth may 
 be applied ; the various methods of obtaining 
 distinction ; the perfection of many different arts ; 
 the display of great characters ; and the serious 
 labour of intellectual struggles, either in political 
 or other science. He has had opportunities of 
 observing almost every sort of excellence, and that 
 which he has seen excites emulation, without 
 enmity, because it does not directly interfere with 
 his own qualities, and his inferiority is never no- 
 ticed, if he does not choose to invite the compa- 
 rison. 
 
 It were unnecessary to point out how much more 
 valuable in almost every respect, is this man than 
 the other. 
 
 MR. POPE. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Mr. Pope, during the time 
 he was translating the Iliad, to Mr. Jervas, dated 
 July 28, 1714. 
 
 I AM cut out from any thing but common ac- 
 knowledgments, or common discourse : the first 
 you would take ill, though I told but half what I 
 ought ; so in short the last only remains. 
 
 And as for the last, what can you expect from a 
 man who has not talked these five diiys ; who is 
 withdrawing his thoughts, as far as he can, from 
 all the present world, its customs and its manners, 
 to be fully possessed and absorbed in the past 1 
 When people talk of going to church, I think of 
 sacrifices and libations. When I see the parson, I 
 address him as Chryses priest of Appollo } and 
 iastead of the Lord's praj-er, I begin, 
 
 " God of the silver bow, &c."
 
 NOTES OF A EOOKWonM. 'iOS 
 
 While you in the world are concerned about the 
 Protestant succession, 1 consider only how Mene- 
 laus may recover Helen, and the Trojan war be put 
 to a speedy conclusion. I never inquire if the 
 queen be well or not, but I heartily wish to be at 
 Hector's funeral. The only things I regard in this 
 life are, — whether my friends are welll whether my 
 translations go well on 1 whether Dennis be 
 A^Titing [criticisms'? whether any hody will an- 
 swer him, since I don't 1 and whether Lintou be 
 yet broke 1 I am, &c. 
 
 PETHERTON BRIDGE, 
 
 AN ELEGY. 
 
 ^ee'st thou the limpid current glide 
 
 Beneath that bridge, my hapless theme, 
 
 Where brambles verge its verdant side, 
 And willows tremble o'er the stream 1 
 
 From Petherton it takes its name, 
 
 From whence two smiling infants stray 'd ; 
 
 Led by the stream they hither came, 
 And on the flow'ry margin play'd. 
 
 As each, by childish fancy led, 
 
 Cropt the broad daisies as they sprung 3 
 Lay stretch'd along the verdant bed. 
 
 And sweetly ply'd the lisping tongue j 
 
 Lo ! from' the spray-deserted steep. 
 Where either way the twigs divide. 
 
 The one roU'd headlong to the deep, 
 And plung'd beneath the closing tide.
 
 264 
 
 NOrtfe Oh A LOOkWOKM. 
 
 The other saw, and from the land 
 
 (\\ hile Nature imag'd strange distress) 
 
 Stretcb'd o'er the brink his little hand, 
 The fruitless signal of redress. 
 
 The offer'd pledge, without delay, 
 
 The struggling victim rose and caught ; 
 
 But, ah ! in vain, their fatal way 
 
 They both descended, swift as thought. 
 
 Short was the wave-oppressing space, 
 Convuls'd with i)ains too sharp to bear. 
 
 Their lives dissolv'd in one embrace. 
 Their mingled souls flew up in air. 
 
 Lo ! there yon time-worn sculpture shows 
 The sad, the melancholy truth ; 
 
 What pangs the tortur'd parent knows, 
 What snares await defenceless youth. 
 
 Here, not to sympathy unknown. 
 
 Full oft the sad Muse wand'ring near. 
 
 Bends silent o'er the mossy stone. 
 And wets it with a willing tear. 
 
 YEOMEN OF THE CROWN. 
 
 SiK Howel y Fwyall was constable of this castle, 
 (Crickaeth), and a heir descended from Collwyn ap 
 Tangno. He attended F.dward the Black Prince, 
 at the battle of Poictiers ; and we say (i. e. the 
 Welsh) was the person who took the French 
 King prisoner ; but history bestows that honour en 
 Denis de Moiebeque, a knight of Artois. Perhaps 
 we may wave that particular glory, but he undoubt- 
 edly behaved on the occasion with distinguished 
 valour ; for the Black Prince not only bestowed on
 
 NOTKS OF A BOOKWORM. 265 
 
 liim the constableship of this castle, which he after- 
 wards made his residence, but knighted him, and, 
 in perpetual memorial of his good services, ordered 
 that from thenceforth a mess of meat should be 
 served up before the pole-ax with which he per- 
 formed such great feats, for which reason he bore 
 it in his coat of arms, and was styled Sir Howel y 
 Fwyall, or, of the Ax. After the mess had appear- 
 ed before the knights, it was carried down and be- 
 stowed on the poor. Eight yeomen attendants 
 were constituted to guard the mess, and had eight- 
 jience a day constant wages, at the king's charge ; 
 and these, under the name of yeomen of the crown, 
 were continued on the establishment till the reign 
 of Elizabeth. Some do not scruple to say, that the 
 yeomen of the crown were grafted upon this stock. 
 After the death of Sir Howel the mess was carried 
 OS before, and bestowed on the poor for the sake of 
 his- soul. — Femiant's Wales. 
 
 C A USE OF HOLES IN LEAVES AFTER A 
 SHOWER. 
 
 "When in summer-time, after several days of fine 
 weather, a storm, attended with a gentle fall of 
 rain, arises about noon, and the sun immediately 
 afterwards breaks out with its former splendour, 
 the leaves and blossoms on which the shower has 
 fallen are burnt up, and all hopes of fruit extin- 
 guished. The common people in Normandy, and 
 in other provinces of France, mark this phenomenon 
 by the term brou'itiire, and call the trees thus af- 
 fected brouies, or blasted. The term vredo, used by 
 Cicero,* which may be interpreted heat-blast, is 
 
 * Si uiedo aut glando quippiara nocuit. Nat. Dcor. 3.35. 
 A A
 
 266 KOTES Of A liOOKMOHM. 
 
 very expressive of this circumstance, as the effect 
 seems produced by a red hot iron. Naturalists 
 have often attempted to account for this strange 
 event, but their reasonings appear inconclusive. 
 The solution, which I am about to propose, appears 
 to me, though new, to be satisfactory. In the calm 
 days of summer, some dust, more or less, according 
 to the quantity of motion in the air, lights on the 
 leaves of trees, (S:c. as on other places. When rain 
 falls on this dust, the drops collect themselves to- 
 gether, and assume an oval or round form, as it hap- 
 pens when water is thrown on a sanded floor. 
 These globules of water, remaining with the leaves 
 and blossoms, act upon them in the same manner as 
 those convex glasses called burning mirrors do on 
 persors who approach them. But when the shower 
 is heavy and lasting, the effect of the sun's emerg- 
 ing soon after it is not the same, because the force 
 of a long and violent rain removes the dust, which 
 would form itself into water globules ; and the drops 
 of rain, losing that round figure, in which consists 
 their burning quality, expand themselves, and pro- 
 duce not the former singular process. — Huetiuna, 
 1797. 
 
 MYSTERIES. 
 
 In the early dawn of literature, and when tli^ 
 sacred mysteries were the only theatrical perform^ 
 ances, what is now called the stage, consisted then 
 of three several platforms or stages, raised one 
 above the other. On the uppermost sat the Puter 
 Coelestis (Father of Heaven), surrounded with his 
 angels ; on the second appeared the holy saints or 
 glorified men ; and the last and lowest was occupied 
 by mere men, who had not yet passed from this
 
 NOTES OJ A BOOKWORM. 967 
 
 transitory life to the regions of eternity. On one 
 side of this lowest platform was the resemblance of 
 a dark pitchy cavern, whence issued the appearance 
 of fire and flames ; and when it was necessary the 
 audience were treated witli hideous ^-ellings and 
 noises, as imitative of the howlings and cries of 
 wretched souls tormented by relentless demons. 
 From this yawning cave the devils themselves con- 
 stantly ascended to delight and instruct the spec- 
 tators ; to delight, because they were usually the 
 greatest jesters and buffoons that there appeared ; 
 and to instruct, for that they treated the wretched 
 mortals who were delivered to them with the ut- 
 most of cruelty, thereby warning all men carefully 
 to avoid falling into the clutches of such hardened 
 and remorseless spirits. — StrutVs Manners and Cus^ 
 tows of the English. 
 
 FAIRS--SUNDAY FAIRS. 
 
 It is the opinion of Strutt that fairs had their 
 origin from country feasts, where hawkers and ped- 
 lars first attended, afterwards tradesmen, who set 
 up stalls in the churchyard of the village to supply 
 the wants of the people assembled. These Sunday 
 fairs were not entirely abolished till the reign of 
 Henry VI., when royal charters were granted for 
 fairs to be held only in towns where magistrates re- 
 sided, in order that they might be at hand to sup- 
 press the tumults which frequently arose on such 
 occasions. In 1617, all kinds of diversions were 
 allowed and encouraged on Sundays after after- 
 noon service, but in 1643, the parliament abolished 
 these also. — Strait's Manners and Customs of the 
 English, 
 
 AA 2
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWORM, 
 
 
 *' Nay, nay; Maister Wiseman; tell us the f/ymowj— the 
 ori^o— let us hear the oriyin o't." — Old Play, 
 
 SIGNALS— WHEN FIRST USED AT SEA, &c. 
 
 r" We find in particular that Queen Elizabeth, oa 
 occasion of the expedition to Cadiz, ordered lier se- 
 cretaries to draw up instructions which were to be 
 coramunicated to the admiral, the general, and the 
 five counsellors of war, and by them to be copied 
 and transmitted to the several ships of the navy, 
 not to be opened till they should arrive in a certain 
 latitude. It was on this occasion (says our histo- 
 rian Guthrie,) that we meet with the first regular 
 sets of signals and orders to the commanders of tho 
 English fleet. 
 
 QUAKER— FRIEND. 
 
 The members of the religious society now called 
 Quakers, were originally', it is said, styled Seekers, 
 from their seeking the truth. The name of Quaker 
 was affixed to this people early, by way of reproach. 
 In their assemblies it sometimes happened that 
 some of them were so struck with the remembrance 
 of their past follies, and forgetfulness of their con- 
 dition, others so deeply aflected with a sense of 
 God's mercies to them, that they actually trembled 
 or quaked. Hence they were called Tremblevrs iu
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKVVOnM. 269 
 
 French, and Quakers in English ; and the nickname 
 so suited the vulgar taste that it soon became gene- 
 ral. Friends, or the friends of truth, was the name 
 by which they were ccniraonly known to one an- 
 other, but the epithet of Quaker was stamped upon 
 them by their enemies, and perhaps indelibly. — 
 Antiquarian Repertory, 1774. 
 
 Their founder is generally believed to have been 
 George Fox, an illiterate shoemaker, but this 
 opinion has been lately controverted. An ingeni- 
 ous writer having found, or fancied a sirailaiily of 
 sentiments among the ancient Druids and modern 
 Quakers, seems to think that Fox must have been 
 nothing more than a tool employed by certain 
 Deists, to pave the way for their sj^stem of natural 
 religion, by allegorizing the distinguishing articles 
 of the Christian faith. 
 
 It must be confessed, for experience will not al- 
 low it to be denied, that extremes in religion are 
 very apt to beget each other ; and if the Deists al- 
 luded to reasoned from this fact, they could not 
 liave pitched upon a tool fitter for their purpose 
 than George Fox. From his works still extant, he 
 appears to have been one of the most extravagant 
 and absurd enthusiasts that ever lived, and to have 
 fancied himself, in his apostolic character, some- 
 thing infinitely superior to man. — Encyclopedia 
 Britannica. 
 
 THE BELLE SAUVAGE. 
 
 This sign has been the subject of various con- 
 jectures, many of them ingenious, but all erroneous. 
 By some it is attributed to a lady of the name of 
 Arabella Savage ; others suppose it to allude to an 
 old romance, and to be a corruption of Lu Belle
 
 270 NOTKS or A BOOKWORM. 
 
 Sauvage. The sign formerly represented a aavage 
 man standing by a bell ; and the truth is, that it 
 arose from an union of two inns which bore these 
 respective signs. This piece of information I 
 gained from an ancient record, in which it is de- 
 scribed as the Savage Inn, alias the Bell upon the 
 Hoop. There is reason to suppose that most signs 
 consisted formerly of carved representations fixed 
 upon a hoop ; and several old books mention the 
 Crown upon the Hoop, the Bunch of Grapes upon 
 the Hoop, the Mitre upon the Hoop, and the Angel 
 upon the Hoop. A sign of this nature is still pre- 
 served in Newport-street, and is a carved representa- 
 tion of a bunch of grapes hanging within a hoop. 
 The Cock on the Hoop may be seen also in Holborn, 
 painted on a board, to which perhaps it was trans- 
 ferred on the removal of sign-posts. It is probable 
 also that this sign may have given rise to the 
 phrase of" Cock-a-Hoop." — -Looker-On, Jan. 1795. 
 
 CHAPEL— WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 Chapel, a place of divine worship so called. The 
 word is derived from the Latin capella. In former 
 times, when the kings of France were engaged in 
 war, they always carried St. Martin's hat into the 
 field, which was kept in a tent as a precious relic ; 
 from whence the place was called capella, and the 
 priests, who had the custody of the tent, capellani ; 
 afterwards the word capella became applied to pri- 
 vate oratories. 
 
 ANCIENT HOSPITALS. 
 
 Ancient Hospitals were principally intended for 
 the accommodation of pilgrims and poorer travel-
 
 NOTES 01' A BOOKWOUM. 271 
 
 lers on their journies ; and with this view, were 
 built by the sides of great roads, and near the en- 
 trance of towns ; a few poor men Avere stationed in 
 each, to do the offices of hospitality, and were 
 liandsomely paid out of the revenues of their foun- 
 dation. — Valentine Greens Worcester, 1796. 
 
 WRIGHT— AS SHIP-WRIGHT, &c. 
 
 Wright, a carpenter or any other mechanic, or 
 handicraft man, or that tradeth in manufactures, 
 coining from the Saxon wrytha, a workman, or 
 maker of any thing- ; whence their scyld wrytha, 
 for a maker of shields. — Broioi's Diet. 1731. 
 
 SCOT AND LOT— SCOT FREE, &c. 
 
 "Scot and lot (ar. 3S. H. VIIT. cap. 19.) signifies 
 a customary contribution laid upon all subjects after 
 their ability. Scot comes from the French escot, i.e. 
 S3'mbolum, a shot. Rastalsaith it is a certain cus- 
 tom or common tallage made to the use of the 
 sheriff or his bailiff. Scot, says Camden " ilhid 
 dicitur quod ex diversis rehiis in unum acervum uggre' 
 gatur," and in this sense it is still used ; for when 
 good -fellows meet at a tavern or ale-house, they at 
 parting call for a shot, scot, or reckoning ; and he 
 is said to go scot free, that pays not his part or share 
 towards it. — Blount's Diet. 1681. 
 
 SEXTON, 
 
 A CHURCH officer, thus called by corruption of 
 the Latin sacrista, ovSuxou segerstone, which denotes
 
 NOTES OF A BOOKWOKM. 
 
 the same. His office is to take care of the vessels, 
 vestments, &c. belonging to the church ; and to 
 attend the minister, church-wardens, 6:c. at church. 
 
 FAIRY RINGS— GRASS RINGS. 
 
 Those places on fields and commons, of a circular 
 form, vulgarly called the "rings of the fairies," are 
 supposed to proceed from lightning, the second 
 circle arising from the grass growing more plenti- 
 fully where the first grass was burnt up,6:c. — Gale's 
 Recreations. 
 
 DAMASK AND DAMASK ROSE. 
 
 Speaking of Damascus, a city of Syria. " The 
 flower called the Damask Rose, was transplanted 
 from the gardens of this city, and the silks and 
 linens known by the name of Damasks, were pro- 
 bably invented by the inhabitants." — Anonymous. 
 
 APRICOT— WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 Apricot, or apricot-plum, quasi in aprio coctus, 
 i. e. ripened in the sun, because they grew not, 
 unless in the sua and warmth. — Blount, 1681. 
 
 CURRANTS— WHY SO CALLED. 
 
 The fruit called currants first took name from 
 their likeness to the small grapes or raisins brought 
 from Corinth, a city of Greece. — Dictionary oj" 
 Husbandry, 1728.
 
 BOOKWORM. 273 
 
 SAKE— HOW DERIVED, &c. 
 
 Sac A, in the Saxon, properly signifies as much 
 as causa in Latin ; whence we in English still retain 
 the expression, for whose sake, i. e. for whose 
 cause, or on whose account. 
 
 TURN COAT, TOURNER CASAQUE— 
 ORIGIN OF THE EXPRESSION. 
 
 The Duke of Savoy took indifferently sometimes 
 the part of France and sometimes that of Spain, 
 For this purpose he had a justeau corps, or close 
 coat, white on one side, and scarlet on the other ; 
 80 that when he meant to declare himself for 
 France, he wore the white outside, and when for 
 Spain, he turned it, and wore the red. This is the 
 origin of the proverb ioiirner casaque, or to turn 
 your coat. — Sportsman's Mug., 1798. 
 
 ROTE— BY ROTE, &c. 
 
 By rote, rotalis, signifies rowiingly, roundly, as 
 when one has a lesson by heart, and says it as 
 roundly and perfectly, as a wheel runs on its rota, 
 OX track. The French say pai ratine.
 
 IND'EX. 
 
 Page 
 Ace, etymon of, - - - - 170 
 
 Adjutant, why so called, - - - 93 
 
 Admiral, when commanders of fleets so called, 
 
 and why, .... ibid 
 
 Adversity, how best to bear, - - 218 
 
 Advice to a young physician, - - 510 
 
 to a slovenly physician, - - S?48 
 
 Affidavit, how derived, . . . 170 
 
 Ale, English, remarks on, - - - 119 
 
 Almshouses, - , . _ 2OO 
 
 Ambassadors, why held bj the arms at the Ot- 
 toman court, - - - . o^ 
 Ancients, the bells of the, - - - 25 
 Ancient custom of crowing the hours, - 142 
 
 ■ dress, - . . , 215 
 
 grants, - - - - 70 
 
 . hospitals, - - - ■ - 270 
 
 mysteries, - - - 216,266 
 
 Anecdote of Cardinal Riclielieu, - - 34 
 
 of Charles the First's jester - 35 
 
 ■ of the effects of Aristotle's rules, - 34 
 
 illustrative of the ruling passion 
 
 strong in death, - - - 35 
 respecting the chair of venerable 
 
 Bede - - - - 106 
 
 of Dr. Richard Busby, - - ibid 
 
 -. — . of Dr. Monsev, - -- - 107
 
 INDEX. '275 
 
 Page 
 Anecdote, historical, ... io8 
 
 of the Duke of Monmouth, - 128 
 
 of Mr. Pitt, ... 143 
 
 of Lord Maynard and William III., ibid 
 
 illustrative of a Jew's principles, - ibid 
 
 of James II. and Mr. Clifton - 144 
 
 of John Somerton and Mr. Rich, - 177 
 
 of an English officer who could talk 
 
 Spanish - - . . ibid 
 
 ■ — — - of George I., and the vestry of 
 
 Greeu'svdch, . _ . ibid 
 
 illustrative of the serious character 
 
 of the Irish, .- - - 178 
 
 ■ of a clerical hull, .... ibid 
 
 ^ ■ American, - . . ibid 
 
 ■ of Dr. South, chaplain to Charles II., 180 
 
 of a learned magistrate - - ibid 
 
 ■ of James IL, and the Prince of Den- 
 mark, . - - 213 
 
 of the Duke of Queensbmy, - ibid 
 
 of David Hume and Lady W., - 214 
 
 of the late king, - - - 249 
 
 of Peter the Great, - - 250 
 
 of Henry the Seventh, - - 251 
 
 Angel, a coin, why so called, 6cc. - - 161 
 
 Anger, on, - - - - - 219 
 
 Anthony, saint, his legend, &c., * - 196 
 
 Apricot, why so called, . . - 172 
 
 Arabs, their funeral ceremonies described, - 116 
 Arches, court of, its origin, ... - 173 
 
 Architecture, early, - . - - i54 
 
 Aristotle's rules, the effects of, an anecdote, - 34 
 Arraign, origin of the word, - - - 170 
 
 Attar of roses, .... 235 
 
 Avast, origin of that term, - - - 170 
 
 Bacchus, why crowned with ivy, 
 
 204
 
 276 iNctx. 
 
 Page 
 Bachelor, the derivation of that title, - 93 
 
 Backgammon, origin of the word, - - 169 
 
 Banyan days, wh}- so called - - iJ39 
 
 Baron, whence that title, > ' - 64 
 
 Baronet, whence that title, - - -66 
 
 Beacons and telegraphs, - - - 241 
 
 Beau of the fourteenth century described, - 215 
 Becket, Thomas a - - - - 23 
 
 Beer, Euglisli, remarks on, - - - 119 
 
 Bell, the cry of the deer, why so called, - 67 
 
 Bells, ancient ceremonies in baptising, 6cc. - 24 
 
 , tlie largest in the world, list of, - ibid 
 
 ■'—^ — of the ancients, - - - 25 
 
 Bellona, inventress of the needle, and hence 
 
 her name, _ . . . 244 
 
 Benefit of clergy explained, - - 104 
 
 Between the cup and the lip, whence the saying, 202 
 Blockhead, probable origin of, - - 242 
 
 Bois-le-duc, whence the name, - - 128 
 
 Bon mot, - - - - - 179 
 
 Books, titles of, curious mistakes in, by binders,-105 
 Bosom friends, whence the term, - - 176 
 
 Botcher, whence the term, - - - 103 
 
 Bouquet, the French word for nosegay, whence 
 
 derived, - - - - 30 
 
 Bubble and squeak, why so called, - - 135 
 
 Buckingham, duke of, his father's ghost, - 113 
 
 Buffoon, the requisites of a, - - 148 
 
 Bugle-horn, why so called, - - - 171 
 
 Bulls, a dissertation on, by Dr. Gregory, - 44 
 
 of an Englishman, ... 107 
 
 Bull, Pope's, why so called, - - 203 
 
 Bull-running, at Tutbury, in Staffordshire, - 85 
 Bumper, bumpkin, bumping lass, - - 226 
 
 Bmsar, whence the term, - - . ^42 
 
 - 174
 
 IKDEX. 277 
 
 -1 . . . ^^8^ 
 
 Cardinal, origin of that term - - 94 
 
 Carronades, why a species of gun so called, - 28 
 Cart or car of the ancient Britons, - - 100 
 
 Cash, whence the term, ... igo 
 
 Castle and three hands, why the arms of i\nt- 
 
 werp, ..... 176 
 Cat, why one at the foot of Liberty at Newgate, 244 
 Catholic king, when first adopted by the king 
 
 of Spain > .... «08 
 
 Cause of the appearance of young frogs after 
 
 rain, - - - . - 199 
 
 Cause of holes in leaves of trees, - - 265 
 
 Champion, the king's &c. - - - 88 
 
 Cha])el, why so called, - ^ . 270 
 
 Character of the Welsh in the time of Hea. 11. 181 
 Charity allegorized . - - - 220 
 
 Chess, the game of, its origin, &c. - '73 
 
 , further particulars respecting, - 75 
 
 Chronological Table, a very curious one, - 121 
 
 Church, the, at Malta, - - - 13 
 
 Churches, ancient, the reading-desks in, - 42 
 
 Clergy, benefit of, explained, - - 104 
 
 Clergyman, the history of an unfortunate, - 57 
 Cockfighting, origin of, 6i.c. - - 69 
 
 Cockswain, whence the term, - - 206 
 
 Coin, whence the term, ... i6o 
 
 Coinage, English, the progress of, - - 237 
 
 Coins, origin of English, - - - 158 
 
 Coldstream guards, why so called, • - 246 
 
 Colonel, why so called, - - -95 
 
 Conduct of the Romans on a remarkable occa- 
 sion, - . . . - 
 Conduct towards a friend, on, - - 221 
 Constitution and government, the difference 
 
 between - - - l-^O 
 
 Conversation, advice respecting, - - 219 
 
 Copenhagen, whence the name, - - 126 
 
 u i; 
 
 83
 
 SrS INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Coronations, prices paid for seats at, - 120 
 
 Corporal oath, why so called, - - 245 
 
 Count, origin of that title, - - - 90 
 
 , the first institution of, as a dimity, - ibid 
 
 Coward, whence the term, - 135 
 
 Crone, or Croney, whence the term, - 134 
 
 Crooked men, why called Lords - - 203 
 
 Curfew, the, why so called, - - 30 
 
 • , when first used, &c. - - ibid 
 
 Currants, why so called ... 272 
 
 Damask, damask rose, w^hy so called, - ^T2 
 Danes, ancient, their religious ceremonies, - 253 
 Danger of a Avord, an anecdote, - - 34 
 Daniel Lambert, some account of, - - 84 
 Dealing^, whence that word, - - - 168 
 Debt, on running in, - .. - 223 
 Deodand, that term explained, •■ - 101 
 Dervise, reflections of a - » - 19?" 
 Devilish opinion on the playhouse, «- - 72 
 Dialogue between echo and a glutton, - 140 
 Diet and regimen, on, _ _ . 220 
 Difiference between constitution and govern- 
 ment, - - - - - 150 
 Dissertation on bulls, a, - - - 44 
 
 ' tails, - - - 186 
 
 Doge's marrying the sea, origin of, - - 130 
 Doit, and " he is not worth a doit," explained, 136 
 
 Dole, dowle-stones, origin of, - - 168 
 
 Dom or don, whence that title, - - 92 
 
 Dowager, whence the term, - - -95 
 Dress of the English in the reigT^ of Richard II. 14 
 
 -French, - - -27 
 
 , ancient, of the Irish, - - - 199 
 
 in the reign of Queen -Mary, - - 215 
 
 , advice respecting, - - 217 
 
 Druid, whence the name, . - . 134
 
 INDEX. 279 
 
 Page 
 
 Duke, whence that title, &c., - - 6% 
 
 Eagle, why it carries Jupiter's armour, - 173 
 
 Earl, whence that title, &c., - -63 
 
 Early architectiu-e, . - - « 154 
 
 Echo and a glutton, dialogue between, - 140 
 
 Edinburgh town guard, . _ _ 201 
 
 Eft'endi, reis effendi, &c. what it signifies, - 208 
 
 England, the women of, remarks on, - 118 
 
 English ale and beer, » _ - 119 
 
 bull, - - - - 107 
 
 coinage, progress of, - ' 2S7 
 
 nun, the first, - - - 22 
 
 Ensign, why so called, - - - 95 
 
 Epigram, by E. Walsh, M. D., - - 7^ 
 
 Epitaph, in Micklehurst church yard, - 36 
 
 on a marine officer, - - ibid 
 
 on a Mr. Peck, - - - ibid 
 
 in VVigton churchyard, Galloway, - 108 
 
 Equanimity, on, - - , , ^22 
 
 Esquire, whence that title, - - - 65 
 Essex, earl of, letter from, to the lord keeper 
 
 Egerton, - - - - 20 
 
 Every man to his trade, - - - 214 
 
 Exertions^ on moderation in our, - - 224 
 Expertness of the Britons in working metals, 155 
 
 Extraordinary sleeper, - - - 60 
 
 Eyes draw straws, whence the saying, - 173 
 
 Fairs, how they originated, &c., ' - 26T 
 
 Fairy rings, what they are, - - - 272 
 
 Faro, Italy, whence the name, - - 126 
 
 Farthing, what it was originally, - - 163 
 
 Filbert, supposed etymon of, - - 136 
 
 Flamstead house, why so called, - - 209 
 
 Flute, why so called, . - - 175 
 
 Font of a church, why so called, - - 33 
 
 BBS
 
 Page 
 Food, on moderation in, - - - 223 
 
 Forks, in Italy, - - - -9 
 
 ^- when lirst used in England, - - 10 
 
 Former times, the women of, - - 14 
 
 . treatment and condition of wo- 
 men in, - - - 17 
 
 — - — ■ magnificence of, - - 18 
 
 Fortnight, why bo called, • - - 169 
 
 French dress, - - - - 27 
 
 Friar or frier, whence the term, - - 94 
 
 Friend, title among quakers, - - 268 
 
 ■ ■ — how to use a, . . _ 221 
 
 Frogs, young, cause of their appearance after 
 
 rain, - - - - - 199 
 
 Frosts, severe, from 220 to 1785, - - 152 
 
 Funeral ceremonies of the Arabs, • - 116 
 
 Galloways, why particular horses so called, - 67 
 Gander's soliloqiiy on Michaelmas eve, - 140 
 
 Garble, garb, whence those terms, - - 171 
 
 Ghost of the father of Villiers, duke of Buck- 
 ingham, - - - - 113 
 Gild or guild, guildhall, Sec, whence those 
 
 terms, ----- 204 
 Godfathers and godmothers, why called gossips, 103 
 Golden maxims, by John Hall, bishop of Nor- 
 wich, - - - - - 217 
 Gossips, why godfathers and godmothers so 
 
 called - - - - - 103 
 
 Grain in weight, why so called, - - 169 
 
 Grants, ancient, - - - - 70 
 
 Grase the skin, whence that expression, - 102 
 
 Grass rings, what they are, , - - 272 
 
 Greyhound, why so called, - - - lOti 
 
 Grey mare the better horse, ludicrous origin of, 54 
 Grpat, when first coined, ibcc, - - 162 
 
 Grocer, whence the term, two accounts, ' 171
 
 INDEX. 281 
 
 Page 
 Guinea, why so called, &c., - - 160 
 
 Gunpowder, known from time immemorial by 
 
 the Calmucks, - - - - 247" 
 invention of, - - - 193 
 
 Ha^e, whence the name, - - . 126 
 
 Halfpenny, why first so called, - - 163 
 
 Harlots, why so called, - • - 132 
 
 Harrier, why so called, - , _ 102 
 
 Hermits, the first, - - - -30 
 
 why so called, . » . Hid 
 
 Horn, why blown twice each night at Strasbourg, 243 
 
 Hurling in Ireland, - - - - 235 
 
 Ich dien, why used as the motto of the Prince 
 
 of Wales, .... 207 
 
 Imposition of the monks, - - - 43 
 
 Inconstancy, on, ... - 220 
 
 Infants of Spain, why so called, - - 68 
 
 Invention of gunpowder, - - - 193 
 
 the mariners' compass, - - ^32 
 
 Irish advertisement, ... 214 
 
 , ancient dress of the, - - - 199 
 
 hurling, .... 235 
 
 Jackalent, whence the term, &c., - - 246 
 
 Jackall, why called the lion's provider, - 239 
 
 Jane Shore,' the history of, by Sir Thos. Moore, 48 
 
 Jew principles, .... 143 
 
 Kill-devil, why rum punch so called, - 135 
 
 King and the dervise, _ . - I8O 
 
 King's champion, interesting account of that 
 
 splendid office, - - - - 88 
 correct list of those who have 
 
 performed that office, - - - 89 
 cock crower, - - - - 142
 
 282 INDEX. 
 
 King s mews, what they were, why so called, 175 
 
 — title, the, .... 240 
 
 Knight, whence that title, - - - 92 
 
 Knives and forks, - - - - 9 
 
 La Belle Sauvage, explanation of that sign, - 269 
 Laconics from the French, - - . 193 
 
 Lady, whence the title, - - - 64 
 
 Lambert, Daniel, account of his dieath, &c. - 84 
 Law and physic, on, - - - . 219 
 
 Lazars and lazar -houses, miscellaneous infor- 
 mation respecting, - - - 10 
 Led-captain, whence the contemptuous title, - 204 
 Lepers, leprosy, miscellaneous information 
 
 respecting, - - - - 10 
 
 Letter from Archbishop Tillotson to Lady Hen- 
 rietta Berkeley, - - - 80 
 
 ■ from the Earl of Essex to lord keeper 
 
 Egerton, - - - - 20 
 
 from Mr. Pope, - - - 262 
 
 Loss, extraordinary, - - - - 107 
 
 Lord, whence that title, &c., - -63 
 
 Lords, why crooked men so called, - - 203 
 
 Macaronism, origin of, - - - 133 
 
 Macaroni, why a coxcomb so called, - ibid 
 
 Machines, the use of, in manufactures, - 37 
 
 Magnificence of former times, - - 18 
 
 Majesty, title of, when first assumed, &c.^ - 240 
 Malta, the church at, ... 13 
 
 Manufactures, the introduction of machines into, 37 
 Mare, the grey, the better horse, origin of, - 54 
 Mariners' compass, on the invention of the, - 232 
 Marquis, whence that title, &c., - - 62 
 
 Mar3'land, whence the name, - - 125 
 
 Matrimony, the state of, among the ancient 
 
 northern nations, ... 229
 
 i.vDEx. 283 
 Page 
 
 Mausoleum, whence the term, - - 202 
 
 Maxims on various subjects, - - - 217 
 
 Mayor, derivation of the title of, - - 69 
 
 Measure, ell, foot, &c., - - _ i68 
 
 Memoirs of Nell Gwynn, . - - 145 
 
 Metals, the expertuess of the Britons in working, 155 
 
 Mews, the king's, why so called, - - 175 
 
 Michaelmas eve, or the Anserine massacre, - 140 
 
 Millstones of the ancients, - - - 155 
 
 Miser's praj^er, the, ... 144 
 
 Moderation in our exertions, on, - - 224 
 
 Money, whence the term, . - . igo 
 Monmouth close, Dorsetsliire, whence the 
 
 name,, _ . . . . 128 
 
 Monsieur, whence that French title, - - 92 
 
 Mortars, why so called, - - - 68 
 
 Mustachios, an old author's opinion respecting, 251 
 
 Mynheer, whence that Dutch title, - - 93 
 Mysteries, ancient, - - - - 216,266 
 
 Names of persons, curious and humorous, mis- 
 cellaneous notes respecting the, - 96,138 
 - ■ ■ — fuither notes on, - - 164 
 
 places, miscellaneous notes respect- 
 
 ing, . . - - - 125 
 
 Navy of Great Britain, a curious display of the 
 
 nominal prowess of the, - - 71 
 Nell Gwynn, memoirs of, ... 145 
 " Ne sutor ultra crepidam," origin of that adage, 57 
 . that adage illus- 
 trated by the history of an unfortunate 
 clergyman, _ - - - ibid 
 Newgate, why a cat at the foot of Liberty there, 244 
 News, on believing and communicating, - 221 
 Newspapers among the Ilomans, - - 82 
 Nick name, why a name given in ridicule so 
 
 called, l^i
 
 284 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Nominal prowess of the nav}' of Great Britain, 71 
 iVosegay, its etymology, - - - 29 
 
 tlie judges', . - - ibid 
 
 Nuns, the first English, - - - 22 
 their extreme profligacy, - - 23 
 
 Padua, vlience the name, - - - 127 
 
 Pall, the origin of, - - - - 245 
 
 Parliament, when first so called, - - 31 
 
 ■ — the first, where held, - - ibid 
 
 when made triennial and when 
 
 septennial, - - - - 32 
 
 payment to members of, - - ibid 
 
 Parliamentary repartees in the lime of Charles 1., 48 
 
 Parson, origin of that terra, - - - •i05 
 
 Pasquinade, why a lampoon so called, - 172 
 
 Passport, whence the term, - - - 206 
 
 Patience under injuries, on, - - 224 
 
 Paul, St. and the viper, - - - 13 
 
 virgin Thecla, - - 52 
 
 Payment of members of parliament, - 32 
 
 Peachamiana, or short extracts on various sub- 
 jects, from " Henry Peacham's Complete 
 
 Gentleman," . . - - 109 
 
 Pecuniary, whence the term, - - 158 
 
 Penny, why so called, 6cc., - - - 163 
 
 Pennyweight, why so called, - - 169 
 
 Peruke, why so called, ice, - - 259 
 
 Petherton bridge, an elegy, - - - 263 
 
 Physician, advice to a young, - - 210 
 
 slovenly, - - 148 
 
 Pilot fish, why so called, - - - 207 
 
 Plantagenet, the first, whence so called, - 14 
 
 Playhouse, the temple of the devil, - - 72 
 
 Poor rates, none before the Reformation, - 200 
 
 Pope, Mr., extract of a letter from, - - 263 
 
 Postage of letters, first established, &c., - 235
 
 iKunx. 285 
 
 Page 
 
 Pounds, why so called in money concerns, - 153 
 
 Prayer of a miser, - - ' - . 144 
 
 Prevaricate, whence the term, - - 172 
 Prices for seats at coronations from \Villiam the 
 
 Conqueror, - - . . 120 
 Prophecy, singular application of, - - 156 
 Prosperity, how to use, - = _ 221 
 Proxy, why peers can vote by, - - 26 
 why membeis of the house of com- 
 mons cannot vote by, ... ibid 
 Punctuation, curious particulars respecting, - 157 
 Purse, purser, whence the terms, - - 242 
 
 Quaker, whence the term, ... 268 
 Quater cousins, the meaning of the designation, 103 
 Queen Elizabeth, authentic speech of, - 224 
 
 Queer, whence the terra, = - . 247 
 
 Quit-rent, whence the term, - . - 241 
 
 Rain on St. Swithin's day, - - - 33 
 
 Rainbow, a white one, by whom first seen, - 245 
 Reading desks in churches, - - - 42 
 
 Redstart, why a bird so called, - - 246 
 
 Reflections of a dervise, - , . 197' 
 
 Religion of the ancient Danes, - - 253 
 
 Repartees, j)arliamentary, in time of Charles I. 43 
 Recjuisites of a BuS'oon, - , _ 143 
 
 Rice Bank, Calais, whence the name, - 127 
 
 Richard Coiuv de Lion, - . . 252 
 
 Richard II., his tomb, - - - 13 
 
 . , dress of the English in his reign, 14 
 
 Roman fine gentleman described - - 151 
 
 Romans, newspapers among them, = - 82 
 
 -^ -, their conduct on a remarkable occa- 
 sion, - - - - 83 
 Rooking, why that expression for cheating, - 136 
 Rote, as «' by rote," ace, - - - 273
 
 286 iNDtx. 
 
 Page 
 Rules of Aristotle, the effects of following the, 34 
 Rum -punch, why called kill-devil, - - 135 
 
 whence the term, . - - 273 
 
 Scot and lot, Scot-free, &c. - - - 271 
 
 Sea, marriage of the, by the doge of Venice, - 130 
 Seats at coronations, the prices paid for, - 120 
 
 Secret enemies, on, - - - 219 
 
 Se'nnight, why so called, . - - 169 
 
 Septennial parUaments, when first instituted, 32 
 Severe frosts from 220 to 1785 - -152 
 
 Sexton, whence the term, ... 271 
 Shilling, why so called, when first coined, &cc., 161 
 Shore, Jane, curious account of, by Sir T. More, 48 
 Signals, when first used at sea, - - 268 
 
 Silkworm, the, some account of, - - 123 
 
 Singular will, - - - - 105 
 
 Sixpence wliy called a tester, - - 162 
 
 Sleep, on, by John Wesley, - - - ^37 
 
 Sleeper, an extraordinary, - - - 60 
 
 Soap, to whom the invention is ascribed, - 173 
 Speaker of the house of commons, whence the 
 
 title, - - - - - 205 
 
 Spectre of tlie Bioken, the, - - 194 
 
 Speech, authentic, of Queen Elizabeth, - 224 
 
 Spinster, origin of that term, - - 14 
 
 Spit, as " two spit deep," origin of, - - 137 
 
 St. Anthony, his legend, - - - 196 
 
 ibid 
 
 St. Paul and the Virgin Thecla, - - 52 
 
 and the Viper, - - - 13 
 
 St. Swithin's day, rain on, - - - 33 
 
 Staffordshire bull-running, - - - 85 
 
 Stage, the, in the time of Athenian elegance, 21 
 Sta Viator, why on tombstones, - - 245 
 
 Sterling, whence the term, - - - 207 
 
 Steward's perquisites among the Anglo-Saxons, 252
 
 INDEX. 287 
 
 Page 
 Strasbourg, why a horn blown tbere twice each 
 
 night - ' - - . -243 
 
 Straws, why laid crosswise in the path of a 
 
 witch, - - - - - 205 
 
 Suicide extraordinary, ... 251 
 
 Sunday Fairs, - - . _ 267 
 
 Sunday Schools, origin of, - - - 174 
 
 Superstition of our ancestors, - - 238 
 
 Table, a curious chronological, - - 121 
 
 Tails, dissertation on, . . » 186 
 
 " Take Hector's cloak," whence the saying, - 209 
 Tennis, whence the term, - -' - 206 
 
 Terrier, why so called, ... 102 
 
 Tester, why a sixpence so called, - - 162 
 
 Thimble, of what supposed to be a corruption 137 
 Thomas a Becket, - - - - 23 
 
 Tillotson, archbishop, letter from, toLady Hen- 
 rietta Berkeley, in 1682, - - - 80 
 Titles of books, curious mistakes in, by binders, 105 
 Title-deed, copy of a curious poetical, - 70 
 Tobacco, Peter Ilej-lin's opinion concerning - 191 
 
 curious particulars respecting, - 192 
 
 Town and country - - - - 260 
 
 Town -guard of Edinburgh, origin of, - - 201 
 
 Trident, its etymon, &c. - - - 137 
 
 Triennial parliaments, when first instituted, - 32 
 Turncoat, origin of that expression, - -273 
 
 Turnpikes, why so called, - - - 137 
 
 Turnpikes and Highways, . - - 216 
 
 Value of money, curious as a subject of research, 247 
 Venice, whence the name, - - - 126 
 
 Villain, Village, whence the terms, - - 243 
 
 Alrgin Islands, West Indies, why so called, - 125 
 Viscount, whence the title, - - -65 
 
 A'oting by proxy, explained, - - - 26
 
 288 INDEX. 
 
 "Waits, vrhj so called, and bow they originated, 29 
 Water, fresh and salt, causes of, - - 174 
 
 "Welsh in the time of Henry II. character of the, 181 
 White rainbow, by whom first seen, - - 245 
 
 Wier, why so called, - - ^ ^ g59 
 
 Wild goose chase, oris^in of the expression, - 133 
 Will, copy of a singular, - - > io5 
 
 Women of antiquity, how employed, - - 14 
 
 treatment and condition of in former 
 
 times, - - - - 17 
 
 Women of England, remarks on the, - - 118 
 
 Worcester, earl of, account how he lived before 
 
 the civil wars of 1741, - » * 18 
 
 Word, the danger of a single, an anecdote, - 34 
 Wright, as shipwright, 6cc. whence the term, 271 
 
 Yeoman, whence derived, - - -93 
 
 Yeomen of the crc-v^-n, ... 26'h 
 
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