66

way, but are very far from being "perfect." The 'Dictionnaire' belongs to the prescientific period of paleography, lumping together without distinction abbreviations belonging to different caligraphic schools and to different periods, which in scientific books, such as those of Wattenbach and Gardthausen, are carefully distinguished. Chassant even apologizes in his preface for omitting the dates which were given in 1745 by Walther, his great predecessor. To take one instance of this unscientific method. Chassant gives five abbreviations for quoniam, but without any indications of date or script. Now, one of these is only found in Merovingian charters. At a later time, in the Caroline script, this sign stands for quomodo, a new sign being adopted for quoniam. One of the other abbreviations which he gives for quoniam stands also, he says, for quum, an assertion which Wattenbach has shown to be a mistake. These are just the things likely to bewilder the student. For English documents the book certainly does not furnish all that the record- reader can require," as it only deals with MSS. of continental origin. Some six hundred abbreviations of French words are given, but not one abbreviation of any English word. But even in Latin documents Chassant omits the usual abbreviations of styles and titles found in the charters of our English kings, and he also omits the abbreviations used in England for a host of common words, such as armiger, vicecomitibus, salutem, gratia, literæ, ideo, or proximum. Perhaps the best test of the value of the work to an English student is to take Domesday Book, the most important of our national MSS. With only Chassant's work for a guide he would be hopelessly at sea. Chassant lumps together, without dates, seven abbreviations for esse, fourteen for est, and twenty-four for et, but he manages to omit those usually employed in Domesday for these common words. To test the sufficiency of his lists, I have taken three lines at random from the facsimile of Domesday. These three lines contain nineteen abbreviations, only two of which are correctly given by Chassant, while most of them are not given at all. Neither is Chassant s book, as the Precentor maintains, "the most perfect work of the kind yet published." M. Prou's book, published thirty years later, has many improvements, although, as he confines himself, like Chassant, to Gallican MSS., it is of comparatively little use for Anglican records, as I showed at considerable length in a review of the book which I wrote some two years ago for the Academy.

ISAAC TAYLOR.

EARLIEST ADVERTISEMENT OF A SALE OF TEA (8th S. i. 511).—I would call the attention of phonetic students who are fond of quoting,—

Here thou great Anna! whom three realms obey,
Dost sometimes counsel take, and sometimes Tea,

and the like, in proof of their assertion that tay was classical English in Pope's time, to the "Tay, alias Tee" of MR. MANSERGH's citation from the Mercurius Politicus of September 30, 1658. The said advertisement is to be found in Edmund King's 'Ten Thousand Wonderful Things' (p. 122). There, too, we may read :—

"From a number of the Public Advertiser of May 19 to May 26, 1657, we have In Bartholomew-lane, on the back side of the Old Exchange, the drink called Coffee is advertised as to be sold in the morning and at three of the clock in the afternoon."-P. 153.

Miscellaneous.

ST. SWITHIN..

NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.

Epistola Ho-eliana: The Familiar Letters of James Howell. Edited by Joseph Jacobs. 2 vols. (Nutt.) THAT a new edition of the letters of James Howell, under the direction of Mr. Jacobs, was in preparation was known to all who had read Mr. Sidney Lee's life of Howell contributed to the Dictionary of National Biography. One of the most entertaining of observers active, assertive, and capable of taking care of his own and gossips, a man of judgment, wisdom, and influence, interests, Howell, in his own time and subsequently, has been the recipient of a good deal of admiration. Editions of his letters were multiplied during his lifetime and until the middle of the eighteenth century. Since then they have ceased, until now the old historiographer to Charles II. obtains the honours of a scholarly, an annotated, and a sumptuous edition. Early editions, in spite of American demand, cannot yet be regarded as scarce. These, however, are for the most part ill printed and uncomfortable to read. The reasons, moreover, that commend to the scholar first editions of Herrick and Carew, to mention men of Howell's time, do not exist in the case of these letters, and it is certain that the two handsome and well edited volumes before us will do much to popularize Howell with modern readers. Such will not be disappointed. Howell was of his generation. To other men of his time, and in his long travels in Holland, the beauty of landscape he was as insensible as were France, Spain, Italy, and elsewhere he saw little worthy of admiration except the cities, such as Naples, Venice, and Florence, on the beauties of which he expatiates. What will modern visitors to the Alps say concerning a man who can write from Lyons, "I am now got over the Alps, and return'd to France; I had crossed and clambered up the Pyreneans to Spain before; they are not sohigh and hideous as the Alps; but for our mountains in Wales, as Eppirit and Penwinmaur, which are so much cry'd up among us, they are Molehills in comparison of these, they are but Pigmies compar'd to Giants, but Blisters compar'd to Imposthumes, or Pimples to Warts. Besides, our mountains in Wales bear always something useful to Man or Beast, some Grass at least; but these uncouth huge monstrous Excrescences of Nature bear nothing (most of them) but craggy Stones"? On persons and events, however, Howell writes with much force. He was in Spain when Prince Charles and Buckingham came over in search of a Spanish bride. Sadly did their unsuccessful mission interfere with the success of his own schemes; but he gives us an admirable account of the incident. As with George Wither, much of his best work was written in prison, in which he was long kept by the Parliament. We had marked many passages for comment, having taken advantage of the appearance of

these volumes to reperuse the work. Howell is, however, all but a classic, and those who care to read concerning him may turn to the Retrospective Review, or to Mr. Jacobs's interesting and valuable introduction. Mr. Jacobs has executed his task with characteristic thoroughness and capacity. His edition will at once take its place as standard. Much advantage will attend the study of his notes. A few explanations are still demanded by the editor, who would do well to send the list to N. & Q.' The delightful portrait by Claude Melan and Abraham Bosse prefixed to the French translation of Howell's 'Dodona's Grove' is reproduced, and adds to the attractions of a very handsome, delightful, and scholarly book.

Ethnology in Folk-lore. By George Lawrence Gomme, F.S.A. (Kegan Paul & Co.)

MR. GOMME's eminently scientific and valuable volume belongs to a "Modern Science Series," edited for Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co. by Sir John Lubbock. To serious students in folk-lore it is indispensable. In the task of collecting materials for a work such as this a generation has been occupied. Behind the collector comes the scientist, who sifts, collates, uses. Much excellent work in this direction by Prof. Rhys, Mr. Andrew Lang, Dr. Tylor, and many others has already been done. The relation of folk-lore to ethnology has not meanwhile been previously exhibited. From ethnological sources, however, a flood of light is thrown upon the significance of folk-lore customs, while from folk-lore a corresponding amount of illumination is obtainable as to prehistoric man, the ancestry of Scottish, English, and Greek customs being traced back to races on a level in point of civilization with the African savage of to-day. In dissenting from some of the more distinguished of his predecessors Mr. Gomme advances very cogent arguments drawn from observation of life in India, "less levelled by civilization" than the Western world. His conclusions are always valuable and generally command our assent. It is useless to commend to our readers a book of the class which makes direct appeal to them. We may recommend to their special notice the portion dealing with stone worship and tracing the ceremonies connected with it to non-Aryan indigenes of various countries, and the chapters on the "Ethnic Genealogy of Folk-lore " and on the "Continuation of Races." In the pages of no historian, ancient or modern, do we trace the origin of the rites, bloodthirsty, orgiastic, and obscene, which were common at one period in various countries and have left abiding marks upon civilized religions. In the practices of modern savagedom Mr. Gomme traces the history of early life and peoples afresh, so to speak, the ages before the establishment of history, or it may even be said of myth. Every page of his work is pregnant with information of the most suggestive kind, suggestive in that the careful reader will go outside the limits the author has prescribed, and will see how many customs which still command a certain amount of popular belief or respect in such matters, say, as curative agencies and others, are associated with or derived from the early and abhorrent practices with which he is specially concerned.

The Works of William Shakespeare. Edited by William Aldis Wright. Vol. VII. (Macmillan & Co.) CONTAINING as it does 'Timon of Athens,' Julius Cæsar,' 'Macbeth,' and 'Hamlet,' the seventh volume of the new edition of the Cambridge Shakespeare is, perhaps, the most important of all. It is that, at least, which represents the most arduous labour. In Hamlet' alone the amount of variorum readings is immense, and the most scrupulous care is necessary to secure correctness. Close supervision fails to detect the slightest inaccuracy, and

though a list of addenda to' Hamlet' forms the closing page of the volume, it consists only of the later conjectures of Mull and of Maclachlan. Mr. Aldis Wright is to be warmly congratulated upon the approaching close of his labours. Still more to be congratulated are the student and the scholar, who may look forward with sanguine hope to the possession of the complete work by the close of the present year. How much of a boon this will be it is needless to say.

Sylvia; or, the May Queen. A Lyrical Drama. By George Darley. Introduction by John H. Ingram. A NEW and pretty series of books, to be called "The (Dent & Co.) Lovers' Library," opene with a reprint of George Darley's Sylvia; or, the May Queen.' When the present century was young Darley made some mark as a poet and a dramatist. Some, at least, of the High Gods of Poetry stooped to take his hand and help him up the acclivities of Parnassus. He could not maintain his seat, his verse is somewhat hidebound, and the imitation of the Elizabethan dramatists is almost servile. Sylvia' is, however, his best work, and its reproduction is the more welcome as the original is not easily obtained. What Darley chiefly lacks is high lyrical faculty, on the possession of which he prided himself. A certain lyrical faculty he had, as his editor points out. He is a less interesting man and a feebler dramatist than Lovell Beddoes, with whom it is natural to compare him. Mr. Ingram has given a capital account of Darley's life and career and some sound and indulgent criticism. His book, thus constituted, is sure of a welcome.

THE seventh volume of the Bijou Byron of Messrs. Griffith Farran & Co. contains the Two Foscari,' 'Cain,' and The Deformed Transformed.'

Notices to Correspondents.

We must call special attention to the following notices : ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

We cannot undertake to answer queries privately.

To secure insertion of communications correspondents must observe the following rule. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication "Duplicate."

Contributors will oblige by addressing proofs to Mr.
Slate, at this office, instead of Editor.
MACROBERT.-

A daughter of the gods, divinely tall,
And most divinely fair.

Tennyson, A Dream of Fair Women.' W. R. CARLES ("Address Wanted").-We have no means of tracing the address of correspondents in 1854. CORRIGENDA.-P. 25, col. 1, 1. 19 from bottom, delete Sir"; p. 30, col. 2, 1. 23, for "Carlisle read Carlyle; p. 31, col. 2, 1. 12, for "fuggi "read fugge; 1, 22, insert "semel" at end of line.

word

NOTICE.

Editorial Communications should be addressed to " The Editor of 'Notes and Queries ""-Advertisements and Business Letters to "The Publisher"-at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C.

We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print; and to this rule we can make no exception.