Читать книгу: «Notes and Queries, Number 14, February 2, 1850», страница 2

Various

Шрифт:

NOTES FROM FLY-LEAVES, No. 5

In the library of St. John's College are some hundreds of volumes bequeathed to it by Thomas Baker; most of these have little notices on the fly-leaves, some thirty or forty of which seem worth printing. One (Strype's Life of Parker) has marginal notes throughout the book, the value of which will be duly appreciated by those who have read Baker's notes on Burnet's Reformation. (See the British Magazine for the last year.)

Hereafter, if you do not object, I hope to send larger extracts from Baker's MSS.; at present I confine myself to a single specimen, taken from the fly-leaf of a copy of Noy's Compleat Lawyer, London, 1665. (St. John's Library, Class mark, I. 10. 49)

"Gul. Noye de S. Buriens. Com. Cornub. Armig. unus Magistrorum de Banco fieri fecit, 1626. On a window in Lincoln Inn's Chapell. See Stow's Survey, &c. vol. ii. lib. ii. p. 73.
"This book has a former edition, London, 1661; but not so fair a print, and without the Author's Life.
"See Fuller's Worthies in Cornwall, p. 200.
"See Mr. Gerard's Letter to Lord Strafford, dated Jan 3. 1634. Mr. Noy continues ill, & is retired to his house at Brentford: I saw him much fallen away in his Face & Body, but as yellow as Gold—with the Jaundice—his bloody waters continue with drain his Body.
"See Lloyd's State Worthies, p. 892, 893. &c.
"Aug. 9. [1634] Wm Noy Esquire the King's Attorney died at Brainford.—Mr. Ric. Smith's Obituary.
"See Wm Noy's Will (very remarkable) MS. vol. xxx. p. 309.
"16th Dec. 1631. Conc. Ornatissimo viro Gulielmo Noye, ut sit de Consilio Universitatis—et annuatim 40th recipiat, &c.—Regr. Acad Cant.
"See Howell's Letters, sect 6. pp. 30, 31.
"Rex 27. October. 1632 constituit Willielmum Noye Arm. Attornatum suum Generalem, durante beneplacito.—Rymer, tom. 19. p. 347.
"See his (W.N.) will, very pious except the last clause, which is next to impious. vol. xxxvi. MS. p. 379.
"Young Noy, the dissipanding Noy, is kill'd in France in a Duell, by a Brother of St. John Biron; so now the younger Brother is Heir and Ward to the King.—A Letter to Lord Deputy Wentworth, vol. ii. p. 2 dat. Apr. 5. 1636."

It may be as well to add, that the references to vols. xxx. and xxxvi. of MS. are to two different copies of the will in two volumes of Baker's MSS., in the University library. The word "dissipanding," in the last quotation, doubtless is an allusion to "dissipanda" in the will itself. I once had occasion to take a copy of this will, and found the variations between the two copies trifling.

J.E.B. MAYOR

[We shall be obliged by our correspondent forwarding, at his convenience, the proposed copies of Baker's MS. notes.]

THE PURSUITS OF LITERATURE

Many years ago, the satirical poem, entitled The Pursuits of Literature, engaged public attention for a very considerable time; the author concealed his name; and from 1796 at least to 1800, the world continued guessing at who could be the author. Amongst the names to which the poem was ascribed were those of Anstey, Colman, Jun., Coombe, Cumberland, Harry Dampier, Goodall, Hudderford, Knapp, MATHIAS, Mansell, Wrangham, Stephen Weston, and many others, chiefly Etonians. George Steevens, it is believed, fixed upon the real author at an early period: at least in the St. James's Chronicle, from Tuesday, May 1. to Thursday, May 3. 1798, we find—

"THE PURSUER OF LITERATURE PURSUED

"Hic niger est.

"With learned jargon and conceit,
With tongue as prompt to lie as
The veriest mountebank and cheat,
Steps forth the black –.

"At first the world was all astounded,
Some said it was Elias;
But when the riddle was expounded,
'Twas little black –.

"This labour'd work would seem the job
Of hundred-handed Gyas;
But proves to issue from the nob
Of little black –.

"Through learned shoals of garbled Greek
We trace his favourite bias,
But when the malice comes to speak,
We recognise –.

"What strutting Bantam, weak but proud,
E'er held his head so high as
This pigmy idol of the crowd,
The prancing pert –.

"[Greek: Touto to biblion], he'll swear,
Is [Greek: plaeron taes sophias],
But men of sense and taste declare
'Tis little black –.

"Oh! were this scribbler, for a time,
Struck dumb like Zacharias,
Who could regret the spiteful rhyme
Of little black –.

"Small was his stature who in fight
O'erthrew the great Darius
But small in genius as in height
Is little black –.

"Say, could'st thou gain the butt of sack
And salary that Pye has,
Would it not cheer thy visage black,
Thou envious rogue –.

"When next accus'd deny it not!
Do think of Ananias!
Remember how he went to pot,
As thou may'st, friend –.

"BARACHIAS."

I am, &c., your humble servant,

H.E.

QUERIES

BARRYANA

The inquiries of "DRAMATICUS," and others in your number for Nov. 10., prompt me to say that should any of your correspondents happen to possess information answering the following queries, or any of them, I shall be thankful to share it.

1. What became of the natural child of Elizabeth Barry, the actress, who died 1713; and whether the Earl of Rochester, its father, was really Wilmot (as Galt assumes) or Hyde, on whom that title was conferred at Wilmot's death? The former mentions a natural daughter in his last will; but he names it "Elizabeth Clerke," and does not allude to its mother. Mrs. Barry's will mentions no kindred whatever. But Galt describes her as daughter of Edward Barry, Esq., a barrister of Charles I.'s reign.—Who was he? Spranger Barry, the actor of fifty years later, Sir William Betham and myself have succeeded in connecting satisfactorily, and legitimately, with the noble house of Barry, Lord Santry; but I cannot as yet show that Mrs. E. Barry inherited her theatrical talent from an identical source.

2. Of what family was Mr. Barry, the Secretary to the Equivalent Company, who died about 1738? I possess immense collections on the name of Barry, but I cannot identify any London will or administration as this individual's.

3. Whether Sir Robert Walpole's Secret Government Lists of the Pretender's adherents, agents, and emissaries in London (who were supposed to be under the evil-eye of Jonathan Wild) still exist, and are accessible?

WILLIAM D'OYLY BAYLEY.

Coatham, Yorkshire, Jan. 1849-50.

NINE QUERIES

1. Book-plate.—Whose was the book-plate with the following device:—An eagle or vulture feeding with a snake another bird nearly as large as herself; a landscape, with the sea, &c. in the distance: very meanly engraved, in an oval, compassed with the motto, "Pietas homini tutissima virtus"?

2. Addison's Books.—I have two or three volumes, bound apparently at the beginning of the last century, with a stamp on the cover, consisting of J.A., in a cursive character, within a small circle. Was this the book-stamp of Joseph Addison?

3. Viridis Vallis.—Where was the monastery of "Viridis Vallis," and what is its vernacular name?

4. Cosmopoli.—Has Cosmopoli been ever appropriated to any known locality? Archdeacon Cotton mentions it among the pseudonymes in his Typographical Gazetteer. The work whose real locality I wish to ascertain is, Sandii Paradox. iv. Evang. 1670. 1 vol. 8vo.

5. Seriopoli.—The same information is wanting respecting "Seriopoli; apud Entrapelios Impensis Catonis Uticensis:" which occurs in the title-page of "Seria de Jocis," one of the tracts connected with the Bollandist controversy.

6. Early Edition of the Vulgate.—Where is there any critical notice of a very beautiful edition of the Vultage, small 4to., entitled "Sacra Biblia, cum studiis ac diligentia emendata;" in the colophon, "Venetiis, apud Jolitos, 1588"? The preface is by "Johannes Jolitus de Ferrarüs." The book is full of curious wood-cuts. This is not the book mentioned in Masch's Le Long (part ii, p. 229), though that was also printed by the Gioliti in 1588; as the title of the latter book is "Biblia ad vetustissima Exemplaria castigata," and the preface is by Hentenius.

7. Identity of Anonymous Annotators.—Can any of the correspondents of "NOTES AND QUERIES" point out to a literary Backwoodsman, like myself, any royal road towards assigning to the proper authors the handwriting of anonymous annotations in fly-leaves and margins? I have many of these, which I should be glad to ascertain.

8. Complutensian Polyglot.—In what review or periodical did there appear, some time ago, a notice of the supposed discovery (or of conjectures as to the existence) of the MSS. from which the "Complutensian Polyglot" was compiled, involving, of course, the repudiation of the common story of the rocket maker of Alcala? Has any further light been thrown on this subject?

9. Blunder in Malone's Shakspeare.—Has any notice been taken of the following odd blunder in Malone's Shakspeare, Dublin ed. 1794?

In vol. ii. p. 138, the editor, speaking of John Shakspeare's will (the father of William), says "This extraordinary will consisted of fourteen articles, but the first leaf being unluckily wanting, I am unable to ascertain either its date, or the particular occasion on which it was written." He then gives a copy of the will, beginning at the third article, in the middle of a sentence, thus: "… at least spiritually." Now, in the first vol. p. 154. is a document, professing to be William Shakspeare's will. But of this the first three paragraphs belong to John Shakspeare's will, his name being mentioned in each: and the third concludes with the words "at least spiritually." The fourth paragraph, to the end, belongs to William Shakspeare's will, as given in Johnson and Stevens's editions. This is a palpable instance of editorial carelessness: Mr. Malone had mixed the two documents, mislaid the first portion of the transcript of William Shakspeare's will, and then neglected to examine the postscript, or he must have found out his mistake.

Was this error acknowledged or corrected in any subsequent edition?